Wedding Season – Matching Jewelry for California Almond Orchard Engagement Photo Shoot

Happy March! Wedding season is upon us, and this year I get to make the jewelry

for my own wedding! I’ve already designed the necklace I will wear, and next items on my list are the jewelry for my sister (maid of honor) and her daughters (flower girls.)

Last weekend we took a drive out into the California valley, and had a mini engagement shoot in an almond orchard. We were a little late in the blooming season – most of the blossoms are at their peak around mid February, but we were able to find one area that still had some pretty white petals.

Of course, I made myself a bracelet and earrings set to match my dress! The bracelet is multi-strand and features beautiful vintage glass, olive and plum freshwater pearls, and large link brass chain, all finishing with an ivory satin tie-up ribbon. I made some petite vintage glass drop earrings to go with it.

The bracelet and earring set..

A close-up with the bracelet, and a different image where you can see it in action!

 

I absolutely had to take a photograph of my beautiful engagement ring (an Edwardian antique) over one of the almond blossoms in the orchard!

Most of the blooms here had already fallen, giving way to the little green leaves, but you can see there were still a few hanging on. The ground was filled with flower petals.. they were dropping right before our eyes!

There were LOTS of honeybees buzzing about. I’m daydreaming about almond blossom honey..Mmm.

This is my favorite time of year – spring is well underway in California!

New Year – BuzzFeed Article Feature – and Custom Map Quote Compass Necklaces!

Happy New Year! I know, I know, it’s February and I’m a little late to the 2014 game. I think it’s socially acceptable to wish someone a Happy New Year up until January 31st, after that, well.. what can I say?

I spent the first couple of weeks of the new year catching up on orders from December, and then spent the last part of it working on a happy flurry of new orders, thanks to a Buzzfeed Travel list that included one of my designs!

The article was titled “21 Things Every Traveler Wishes They Owned” and can be found here. The quote on the back of the compass can be personalized with anything you wish – poetry, a special message, a birthday, etc.

This piece is a really fun design for me with an amusing story about its conception. It started over a year ago, and was inspired by a Christmas gift I gave to my parents: a GPS for their car (how ironic, no?) I didn’t have the GPS on hand yet to physically give to them – it was being shipped from the store to their home – but I still wanted to give them something tangible in the mean time as a place holder. I mailed them an envelope that I’d made out of a paper road map, and on the front of the envelope I displayed the following Robert Frost quote, printed onto paper that I had tea-stained:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.”

My mom called me and said how much she loved the envelope, and was carrying it around in her purse to hold coupons. She was so sad when it started falling apart, that I decided I needed to make her something a little more permanent that she could carry with her.. subsequently, I made her a compass key chain with the same design – a map clipping background, and the same quote on the same tea-stained paper. And with that, a new design idea was born!

Lately, I’ve had a lot of requests to personalize the map behind the quote. I don’t typically do this, as I like to use maps cut from the same atlas used in the sample photos (it’s a vintage atlas with beautiful earth toned colors and really great fonts!) However, I do love to make my customers happy, so I worked on a design that does allow for a custom map in the background behind the quote/text area. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of small towns available, but do have the major cities and large suburbs of most areas in the U.S., and major cities worldwide. Both the map and the quote are protected under a hard glossy layer of jeweler’s resin, for a professional finish and durability.

The sample shown is with a map of the San Francisco bay area. I’m using prints from my antique atlas collection for these – the atlases are nearly 100 years old!

I made a samples showing 8 different cities, but you can of course request your own different city!

You can order your own Custom Map Compass Necklace with Personalized Quote here: http://www.victoriaallison.com/Large-Personalized-Compass-Necklace-Custom-Map-p/compass-lgpersonalizedmapquote.htm

Speaking of quote compasses, I need to go make some more tea-stained paper. Happy February!

Amending the All Work and No Play mentality..

Dear Blog,

I know it has been a while since I’ve written, but I promise that I still care about you! I have been so busy these past few months, I never had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts. Contrary to my prior all-work-and-no-play lifestyle, I decided that massive amounts of hard work and designing schedules that consume all daylight hours do actually merit some time away, even if I don’t leave the comfort of the West Coast.

With that in mind, I have tried to schedule time to see family, get some fresh air, and try my hand at some new baking recipes (one of which I’ll share this weekend.)

Much love,

Victoria

PS- Here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been up to in my blogging absence..

April..

After my Fab.com sale ended, we took a couple of days up north to relax along the Sonoma County Coast, and spent some time at the Timber Cove Inn (with a room overlooking the cove and shoreline.) Foggy mornings mixed with patchy afternoon sun, delicious food, no television, and little to no cellphone reception made for a peaceful and rejuvenating escape.

May…

The month of May brought with it an engagement, followed by a graduation ceremony for my fiance, in which I watched him speak to his graduating class as Valedictorian!…

Another shot to show off the beautiful detailing (it’s an antique!)

Towards the end of May, I also had the privilege of seeing some of my jewelry designs on TV! They were on the air in Salt Lake City for a Celebration Gifts segment on The Daily Dish.

You can see my jewelry there in the center! (Heart lockets, constellation lockets, and constellation compasses, all available on my website http://www.victoriaallison.com.)

June…

Both May and June were so busy with gifts for graduates! Some of my most popular designs were the quote compasses:

Working Compass Necklace with Vintage Map and Robert Frost Quote – The Road Not Taken (http://www.victoriaallison.com/Working-Compass-Necklace-Vintage-Map-Robert-Frost-p/lgcompass-map-rfrostquote.htm) Available with the quote shown, or a custom quote of your choice!

..as well as my constellation compasses, in the small size:

Small Working Compass Necklace with Personalized Zodiac Constellation (http://www.victoriaallison.com/Small-Brass-Zodiac-Constellation-Compass-Necklace-p/smallconstellationcompassbrass.htm)

But, keeping with the mindset of not living an all work and no play life, we decided to take a road trip down south for some family time. We visited my sister and her family in So. Cal, as well as my future brother-in-law and his wife in Las Vegas.

During our San Diego visit, we visited some friends, went to the San Diego Zoo, as well as the Old Town area for some fun. Our time in Vegas included a backstage tour of the Celine Dion production at The Colosseum (or maybe I should say “up stage”, as we saw where the crew production takes place!,) played a few slot machines (obligatory,) visited the Boot Barn (lots of cowboy hats and boots!,) and ended with the Bellagio fountains show via a fabulous view from the Louis Vuitton balcony.

As for July.. well, the month is only half over! I have a recipe to post for you this weekend – cherry crumb bars! They were so delicious, I’ve been daydreaming about them for days since we finished eating them.

Hope you’re having a great summer!

Behind the scenes at Victoria Camp Designs – Fab.com sale wrap up!

Oh my – I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my sale with Fab.com!

When my sale started, I’d created half of the available inventory up front so that it would be ready-to-ship upon purchase, and the other half was made-to-order.  I was able to send my first big shipment the day after my sale ended, and sent the second shipment less than a week later. As of early last week, all of the merchandise has been received at their warehouse, which means it should be in most customers’ hands by now! Hooray!

It’s sort of funny that no matter how much prep work you do,  once the sale starts, it’s still a (happy) whirlwind! I thought it might be nice to share a few ‘behind the scenes’ photos from my sale event with you..

 

I took the above photo before I got started. I used almost all of these lockets for my sale. Doesn’t it look so daunting?! I spent a an entire month preparing the inventory for my sale, before it went live.

 

 

Work in progress photo above, with a collection of large map heart lockets towards the front, and tiny constellation lockets amassing in the back…

 

 

An army of Orion’s.. I painted each constellation type in groups. There were 14 all together – the 12 zodiac constellations, plus Orion and Ursa Major (Big Dipper.)

 

 

My sale event was 3 days long, and I could hardly sleep the night before it started; I was so excited! I joked with my mom (who lives 3,000 miles away) that I spent all 3 days just staring at my computer, watching the ‘sold items’ number increase. She would routinely check in with me by email, asking, “What’s the current number?” We both got a kick out of watching the little red “sold out” flag appear on the item styles.

The morning after the sale ended, I had the final item numbers and could begin gathering all of the ready-to-ship pieces for the first warehouse shipment! At this point, I was feeling pretty thankful that I had already packaged and labeled each item individually. It saved a LOT of time later on.. time which I now needed to finish up the made-to-order items! The box for the first shipment was so large, I just had to take a photo of it next to my “floor manager,” Butters, for comparison. I think he was disappointed that the box did not contain any treats for him. Sorry, Butters!

 

 

Once the first shipment was on it’s way to Fab, I resumed work on the items for the second shipment. The first designs I needed to get started on were the Tiny Initial Notebook Locket Necklaces, since the finish on them needed adequate drying time before heading off to the customers.  The above photo is one of my favorites, because you can see all the various letters in the font design – so much fun! (I offer these in two different fonts, and with one or two letters, on my website.)

 

 

The second item style I needed to complete were the small heart map locket necklaces. I offered 15 different cities for the sale event, and made sure to double and triple check the quantity of each city that sold. The most popular cities were Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New Orleans. (The first two didn’t surprise me – although the third one did!) San Francisco has always been one of the popular locations. Can’t say I blame you guys, as I do live in the Bay Area myself!

 

 

An overhead view..I still can’t get over this! I’ve never seen so many map lockets on my table at one time! This photo didn’t even include the lockets that I’d completed earlier. Crazy.

 

 

Five days later, and the second (and final) shipment is ready to go! *whew!*

I spent the week after the sale trying to relax a little bit, and working on custom orders. This week I am back to what is a little more “normal,” and have finally had some time to work on new designs.

Hope everyone is having a great March!

Victoria Camp Designs on Fab.com! – Constellation Jewelry, Map Jewelry and more

I promised you last weekend that I would come back here and tell you the fun news this weekend..

Well, here it is – I’m having a sale event on Fab.com!

It’s a 3-day sale, and I’m offering my Hand Painted Tiny Constellation Locket Necklaces, my Personalized Initial Notebook Locket Necklaces, and a variety of small and large Antique Map Heart Locket Necklaces. Go check out the sale here: http://fab.com/sale/18016

The sale runs until 8amPST on Wednesday morning, but I expect some styles may sell out before then.

One of my favorites, and a highly popular item – the California Map Heart Locket, is also included in the sale. You can find that one here: http://fab.com/sale/18016/product/339689/

Please keep in mind that I think the links will only be active until the sale ends. I’ll try to remember to update this page after it’s over so no one is confused.

Happy Weekend! 🙂

The Inner Workings of Wintertime..

My oh my.. I seem to have lost track of not only the entire month of January, but half of February as well!

February in the Bay Area is one of my absolute favorite seasons. I find this amusing, because February used to be the month I absolutely despised back in New England. (Gloomy, dark, dreary, muddy snow, snowstorms and just plain cold weather. Need I go on?!) Ah, but February here in California…quite the different story! We have nights that are cool but not freezing; days that are warm and sunny but not too hot; the occasional rain shower; springtime birds singing morning songs, and least I not forget – spring blooms! The trees in my neighborhood start blooming and it makes my heart happy.

This one is right outside my window..

I also like to pretend that my allergies do not exist during this favorite time of year. I’m living a lie, but what can I say? It’s worth it.

 

In these past 6 weeks of the new year, I haven’t been idle.. far from it, in fact. You see, the “slower” months of my business are used to prep inventory (for upcoming events, stock, and otherwise,) work on new designs, and work on business maintenance – you know, all the ‘boring’ stuff that needs to be done, such as taxes, website updates, and such.

For example, I’ve been working on a big (in terms of my usual scale) project, which I can tell you all about next weekend. It involves lots and lots of product-making. Here’s a glimpse of what my work table looked like at one point in time..

 

I’ve also been taking some..okay, a LOT..of time to completely re-vamp my domain website, http://www.victoriaallison.com. When I started my site a few years back, it was originally intended to be more of a ‘portfolio’ type of site. Since then, I expanded it to include some items for sale. Fast forward to today, and the future, and it really didn’t leave me a lot of room for growth. With that being said, I now have a fancy schmancy new “shopping cart” function on my site, as well as a mobile version. Hooray! I’m excited. It’s not entirely finished – I still have quite a few items to add – but the layout is done and there are some items up. Here’s a peek..

It’s absolutely up and running, so feel free to check it out as-is, and keep in mind I’ll be adding more inventory later on.

 

Speaking of adding inventory, I did add one new product last night! I have a fun new design; a working compass necklace, with the constellation of your choice! (All 12 zodiac constellations area available, plus Orion, Ursa Major, and Ursa Major/Ursa Minor.) The graphic on the back was designed by me. The compass is made of brass and really does work! They hang from a long brass chain, so you are free to play around with it while you’re wearing it.

The example above shows the constellation Orion. (One of my personal favorites.)

Here you can see it with the 32″ length. (Recommended.) You can also order it a little longer or shorter if you prefer. This necklace is available to order right here: http://www.victoriaallison.com/Personalized-Zodiac-Constellation-Compass-Necklace-p/lgconstellationcompass-brass.htm

 

Alright, time to get back to work. I’ll be back to update next weekend!

A Glimpse into my Product Packaging Process..

One of the perks about shopping handmade is that there is a real person behind the item you’re purchasing. There is thought, love, care, and attention within each carefully crafted item, not to mention a unique product that you wouldn’t find at a mass retailer.

For many of us that sell handmade goods, the fun doesn’t stop as soon as we’ve finished creating the item – there’s still the joy that arrives when the item is purchased and sent to a new home somewhere across the country – or globe!

 

 

As an independent designer and “one woman show,” as its often referred to, I tend to get a little excited packaging my jewelry. I want my customers to be delighted, and think of each package as a gift (even if the customer is buying it for themselves!) My packaging has somewhat morphed from when I first began selling online, and I expect that it will continue to evolve as time goes on.

 

As the real person behind this business, I wanted to share with you a glimpse into my packaging routine.

 

My very first step is to set aside each item that is ready to ship. I keep my inventory well organized, so it’s quick and easy to find the items that need to be mailed. If I am sending out custom orders,  I also move them to the ‘completion table’ here when they are finished.

The next step is really a multiple step process. I put out the “care instruction” cards for each applicable item, and affix a little decoration to the box when available, (in this case, I attach a map cut-out for the map jewelry, and a constellation map cut-out for the constellation jewelry.) Once those materials are prepped, I package up the jewelry and put it into a bubble mailer with the recipient’s name on it; this helps keep everything organized so that the customer does not receive the wrong item! Each box includes a business card with a quick note written on the back, and a satin ribbon tied around it.

This is my Floor Manager, Butters. (Get it? Har har..) His responsibilities include chasing after runaway beads (don’t worry, he’s not interested in eating them,) greeting the mailman, and making sure I remember to take scheduled breaks and pay him some attention. He gets paid in belly rubs and squeaky toys.

Once all of the boxes are tucked safely inside their respective bubble mailer (these ones are biodegradable!,) I print out all of the shipping labels and attach them to the packages. It’s somewhat of a matching game, especially when I have a large shipment. When the labels are printed, each customer receives an email notification that their package has shipped.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed a little behind-the-scenes view of what’s involved after you place your order.

Constellation Lockets in the Etsy Finds

I hadn’t gotten a chance to post this earlier, but my hand painted tiny constellation locket necklaces are in Etsy’s holiday gift guide: Editor’s Picks: Personalized Gifts. I took a screen capture from the website:

Pretty awesome, right?

You can order your own constellation locket through my website: http://www.victoriaallison.com/Zodiac-Constellation-Necklace-on-Vintage-Locket-p/smconstellationlocket-brass.htm I currently (as of Nov. 25th) have at least one of each constellation made and ready to ship, so the turnaround time isn’t quite as long as stated at this moment.

Time to get back to work .. enjoy the rest of the weekend!

The Upcycled Collection – Wedding and Special Occasion Statement Necklaces

One of my latest collections has been brewing in my mind for quite some time.

 

I’m sure most of us are at least vaguely aware of the wastefulness that occurs in today’s society, but it’s probably not something that is given too much thought on a daily basis. As a jewelry designer, I see “wasted” product every day that I work. Paper scraps from map cut-outs. Wire clippings from metalwork. Short segments of chain from a previously broken strand. It happens. I recycle as much of it as I possibly can, but in the back of my mind I knew that there is so much jewelry that’s tossed out, destined for the landfill without a second chance.

 

This got me thinking. Instead of continuously buying new materials, what else could I do?

 

Well, for starters,  I use vintage materials whenever I can. If I can re-purpose something that’s already been in existence for decades rather than buying brand new, then I do it. I’ve actually been doing that for a long time, but I felt like I needed to do something more.. challenging.

 

And thus, the Upcycled Collection was born!

 

 

To design this collection, I’ve spent many hours sourcing the perfect components: vintage brooches, beads and baubles; broken necklaces and bracelets destined for the landfill; strands of vintage pearls, chains and beads that need a little TLC..

 

 

The purpose of this collection was to utilize as many old/vintage components as possible without buying anything new. Now, I do have to use some newer pieces – such as jump-rings, beading wire, and other small (but essential) pieces to hold everything together – but the bulk of the designs are composed of vintage and re-purposed parts. Many of the parts I had were broken necklaces, half-length strands of chain that had broken in the middle, vintage pearl strands that weren’t all pretty. (Of course, I didn’t use any of the ones that couldn’t be made presentable with a good cleaning.)

 

In the necklace below, for example, I had four jumbo metal chain links that had been removed from an old broken necklace. These links were still in good usable condition, and were a great accent to this statement piece!

 

Multi Strand Statement Wedding Necklace, Vintage Flower Brooch

 

The next design also contains of my FAVORITE vintage brooches! This color orange is so unusual.. not quite orange, not quite salmon.. but something in between. You’ll notice the center of the daisy is composed of teeny tiny orange and yellow flowers, with orange rhinestone centers. Beautiful!

 

 

 

The vintage brooches in the majority of these designs are removable. I think they look fantastic on the necklace and really add the “oomph” factor, but they’re too pretty to remain static.. they are pinned in place, and can be taken off if you want to wear just the brooch and make a more subtle statement.

 

I’ll admit.. it’s been a little difficult to let some of these go. (Such as the PHENOMENAL vintage brooch in the first photo – gold filigree flowers with white enamel, blue and clear rhinestones.. that piece still had its original tags on it when I found it!) Not to mention this Coro brooch; I have a weakness for Coro brooches. Perhaps it’s the rhinestones. This brooch isn’t in perfect condition, but really adds a delicate femininity to the pearl necklace (all vintage pearl strands.) It needed a little TLC first, including a replacement of the center rhinestone. Still one of my favorite pieces, regardless.

 

 

I also made a couple of longer statement pieces that could be worn on everyday occasions, such as a day at the office or a day out with your friends. If you’re a more dramatic bride, you could wear them on your wedding day! The brooches are not removable on these two designs.

 

 

 

I may add a couple more pieces to the collection later on, but these are the designs currently available. Each necklace is absolutely one of a kind. You can view my current pieces on my website, http://www.victoriaallison.com/Upcycled-Collection-Wedding-and-Bridal-Jewelry-s/1827.htm.

 

Feel free to share your thoughts!

Personalized Constellation Cuff Bracelet (with glow-in-the-dark stars!)

Oh, hello..yes, I am still on the constellation kick. I can’t help it – sometimes my mind is swirling with ideas and I just have to get them all made and physically held in my hands before I can move on to the next project.

These bracelets were one of those ideas where I was thinking about them one afternoon, and suddenly found myself at the art store the next day to pick up the final pieces needed to get started. (In this case, it was glow-in-the-dark paint….)

 

 

I found myself spending the entire afternoon happily painting away. For some reason, painting puts me back into the memories of my grade school days. Perhaps I just never allowed myself the time to enjoy it as an adult.

 

I swirled around the colors and created a painted palette of deep dark black, indigo and violet night sky on the cuff, accented with teeny tiny stars, meteor showers, and of course – the focal point – constellations. (That glow!) The longer I painted, the more happy I became about this piece. As a designer, sometimes something just “clicks” and you know it’s going to be a great piece. Halfway through completion, I started sending picture messages to my friends with accompanying notes such as “Aah! So excited about this cuff!” I couldn’t help it – these turned out even better than I’d originally been anticipating! Here is one of the finished pieces…

 

 

The first completed cuff featured the Ursa Major (Big Dipper) constellation. I painted a few more bracelets, but left a space in the center to add a custom constellation of your choice. After the constellation is chosen, I then follow a finishing process of sealing and protecting the cuff with three layers of various sealants, and a felt lining.

 

 

I added a special embroidered detail into the inside of this one.. (the initials of the couple who’s zodiac signs were represented on the front)…

 

 

Here’s a photo of how the bracelet looks in the dark…

 

 

Pretty awesome, right? These bracelets are available in my Etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/listing/104265444/personalized-constellation-cuff-bracelet You can choose from any of the zodiac signs, Ursa Major, or if you have another choice just let me know! (I’ve already made one with Orion for a customer’s request.) These make great gifts for your friends, or something special for yourself.. perhaps the constellations representing yourself and a loved one?