A Glimpse Into Our Studio (of Sorts)

It might not be the most glamorous place to work, but it's what we have right now! At home we have a studio set up in our basement, but while we are away at college we have to make due with what we have. This usually means making jewelry on our beds or clearing off our desks. Unfortunately, this also means no soldering until summer (or like this summer while we stay on campus for research, not until August). Most of our pieces (and all pieces now listed on Etsy) are made using cold connections. Suprisingly, this limitation has been mostly to our advantage. Limitations really challenge our creativity, and push it beyond it's limits.

Happy creating to all!
Sarah
(SuaVoce)

Fourth of July Inspirations

Angie and I created a number of Fourth of July inspired pieces. The first is a patriot pendant made from a vintage key. We bought this key, along with a tiny box of other old keys, at a yard sale a couple months ago. Going to college in an affulant town has some perks: the yard sales have some pretty nice stuff! This includes some very nice old jewelry (or keys), which we LOVE remaking into new pieces.

The second piece, which we casually refer to as our "Whitney" style earrings (inspired by a friend with the same name), is "officially" titled "Independence Dangle Earrings." We used, once again, a vintage element (the sparkling blue center bead), this time taken from an old box of jewelry given to us by our Nanna. The box contained gorgeous, but broken, vintage jewelry. So far the bits and pieces of old jewelry have gone a long way in defining our newest creations.

The third piece is a design we call "Chandelier." We use quite a few Czech glass beads for these earrings. Using Czech glass is a good, less expensive althernative to Swarovski crystal. Czech glass has a lot of sparkle and class, just like Swarovski, but with a smaller price tag.

Happy Fourth!

Sarah

As the Fourth of July Approaches...

Today Sarah and I created a few pieces for the coming holiday! I am very happy with the results. I created a key necklace pendant with Czech glass beads and a red spiral. Sarah made a pair of "chandalier" earrings with red, white, and blue Czech glass beads. These pieces and others will be posted soon (hopefully tomorrow) on our esty.com page!
Angie

P.S. I am currently listening to the soundtrack for Pride and Prejudice (which I just saw for, I think, the 5th time). It puts me in such a romantic mood. Possibly some more Pride and Prejudice pieces will come from this... :)

A Beautiful Summer Night

In Chicago, June hasn't felt at all like summer until now. It's a gorgeous summer night: 75 degrees with a cool breeze from the lake. What a nice break from lots of rain and 50 degree days! I wanted to share a few summertime-inspired jewelry pieces. Above is a pair we call "Blue Ice Chandelier Earrings." Kind of makes me want some ice cream. :)

^Above is one of my favorite pieces, called "Scrumptious Cherry Tomato Earrings." My roommate (who is now back at home in China, and from what she tells me is having a great time) helped me design this pair and I think they came out amazing. She has a knack for unique things, espeically fashion, and these earrings are definately one of a kind.

I'll just go back to soaking up this summer night and hopefully getting some new art inspirations from this beautiful weather!

Sarah

(SuaVoce)

Finally! Some Confidence with Photos

It seems like I've spent a lot of time struggling to get the right photo of my jewelry. There are so many little things to consider when picture taking: lighting (I use natural light, in the shade), editing (Picnik.com or the Microsoft Photo Editing- already installed), background (Recently I switched to a simple, but elegant backgroud: a book), and the camera (I have a simple digital camera, nothing special). I've tried all sorts of different things, like beach backgrounds, expensive camera (borrowed a friend), inside light, sunlight, Gimp (free photo editing software), etc.

Now I think I'm on to something! I took these newest photos using natural light on a cloudy day and brightened and cropped them with the Microsfot Photo Editing software already available on my computer. I placed the jewelry on the white pages of a book (The Alchemist, my favorite book, and one I'd recomend to anyone). They really popped on this background, but the background was still engaging and elegant at the same time.

I'm finally getting some photo taking confidence!

Sarah (SuaVoce)

http://suavoce.etsy.com

Publishers for Young Adult Writers

Finding time to write in college (and, if you’re like me, owning a business at the same time) is pretty tough. Searching for publishers who seriously consider young adult work can be even harder. Since I was personally searching for publishers, I thought I would share what I found. Below is a list of small presses and contests who all publish young authors:

This site provides a very good list of publishing opportunities specific to young people:
http://www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm
This newsletter (called “The Loop”) provides some publishers (specifically for playwrights). You can also subscribe to the newsletter for free to get more updates:
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=122088b08a31d84d&mt=application%2Fpdf&pli=1
This small press holds a chapbook contest and also accepts submissions year-round for publication of chapbooks:
http://www.finishinglinepress.com/submissionguidelines.htm

Hopefully this is a helpful resource for young (adult) writers. If you are seriously interested in sending your work to a publisher, my advice is to spend a good long time checking out that publisher’s website. Make sure your piece would fit well with what they do, since every publisher is different. A publisher’s website usually has a “submit” link where you can get information about their guidelines for submission. Be sure to follow their guidelines exactly or else they won’t even consider your work. If you come across the word SASE it means “self addressed stamped envelope.” Most publishers allow you (or require you) to include a SASE with your submission so that you may be informed if your piece was not chosen. Just stick the SASE in the envelope you send your piece in. Good luck!
Angie

Custom Bridal and Event (or Prom) Jewelry

Just recently Sarah and I were shopping in Walmart with our grandmother. She struck up a conversation with a lady working in the vision center…and by the time we left Walmart the woman at the vision center had commissioned us to make a custom pair of earrings for an outfit she had bought for a wedding!

This event and the fact that my cousin is having a wedding this summer (and I’m planning to design my jewelry to compensate for the fact that I can’t afford to buy a new dress ) got me to thinking…

Weddings and other special events (e.g. prom—Sarah and I designed our little sister a necklace and earring set for her prom) are coming up soon, and many women buy their outfits for these events BEFORE they buy their jewelry.

So why not have your jewelry custom made?

SuaVoce of course makes custom jewelry (just check out our Etsy store http://suavoce.etsy.com/), but I wanted to provide a resource that lists small shops that do custom and bridal jewelry.

Here is my list:
http://pickmeup.etsy.com/ OR http://www.pickmeupboutique.blogspot.com/
This is a small store that sells beautiful wire-wrapped jewelry. If you check out pickmeup’s blog you can see the jewelry they made for a bride-to-be! I like pickmeup because their designs are clean and delicate, and personally I love silver wire! Pickmeup also does custom jewelry, so check them out!
http://shacara.etsy.com/
Shacara specializes in custom-made bridal jewelry. Their pieces are very elegant and priced very well, too!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6716075
OceanBayDesigns has custom-made jewelry for bridesmaids. Their pieces are modern and unique! I love the fact that this store uses a lot of silver (can’t you tell I love it?).
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6776989
Tilley Jewels Bride also specializes in bridal jewelry. They also sell nice hair accessories that would be great for prom, too!
http://expressyourself.etsy.com/
Expressyourself makes custom jewelry pieces and bridal jewelry. I like their pieces because they are very elegant and use a lot of gorgeous pearls and beads.
http://dreamsandjewelry.etsy.com/
Dreamsandjewelry has also done some bridal work, and their pieces are very beautiful!

I hope this list is helpful. Happy shopping!
Angie (SuaVoce)

New Etsy Banner, Thought I'd Share

I created a new Etsy banner a few minutes ago on Picnik.com. I love Picnick because it makes photo editing (and banner making) easy. Plus, it’s free! The photo is from a beach on New Hampsire (there are beautiful beaches in New England, by the way). I thought it fit in well with the beach photos we have of some of our jewelry and with the new Pride and Prejudicd journals.

(Visit http://suavoce.etsy.com to see it in action on our Etsy page.)

Pretty simple, but it keeps the shop looking clean and pretty!
Sarah
(SuaVoce)

Jewelry Suppliers? Here's Where We Go!

It’s tough finding a reliable jewelry supplier that sells a variety of quality products at affordable prices. SuaVoce has made a number of mistakes when it comes to purchasing supplies. We turned to eBay in an attempt to find inexpensive supplies. EBay, however, was unreliable (sometimes you may not get quite was you expect), and quality control was iffy. We have purchased items from craft stores, and while they are often convenient, they tend to be pricy.

So where do you go? Well, SuaVoce has discovered some great suppliers, and we’d like to share…

Rio Grande Jewelry Suppliers
I could rave all day about Rio. Their customer service is incredibly helpful (they always know what they are doing, and they are very efficient). You can be assured that the supplies you receive from Rio are high quality. Plus, they ship your purchases in a timely manner.
http://www.riograde.com/

Etsy suppliers
There are a couple jewelry suppliers, who SuaVoce has had good experiences with, on Etsy.com. Etsy is a really good source for supplies. Generally, buying off Etsy is less expensive, and (from our experience) their products are quality. Also, you can contact the seller and ask if they will reserve a special order for you.

LLing2303 is a seller who sells a variety of items. Of particular interest for this post are her beads and supplies, which are very affordable. We purchased clip-on earring hooks from LLing2303, and we were really pleased! The hooks were packaged nicely and she included a free gift with our purchase J
Check out LLing2303’s shop:
http://lling2303.etsy.com/

Infiniteconcepts sells beautiful connectors, links, charms and other findings. Infniteconcepts allowed us to custom order silver plated earring wires. We were very happy with our purchase, which arrived quickly and in perfect shape.
Check out infiniteconcepts’ shop:
http://infiniteconcepts.etsy.com/
And twitter page:
http://twitter.com/rowrow1
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25580596

“Tibetan Silver Connector Charms” by infiniteconcepts

Hopefully this provides some good sources for your supply shopping!
Angie (SuaVoce)

An Introduction

Hello,
We’d like to introduce ourselves! We are two sisters who make and sell handmade jewelry. We love trying new designs and are willing to take risks with our work. Recently, we’ve created an Etsy.com store (http://suavoce.etsy.com/).

We love input from our viewers. At our college, we like to get our friends together to help us designs unique pieces. All input is taken seriously, and we love recieving it! Don’t hesitate to design your own piece. Afterall, SuaVoce is “Indenpendent Style for Independent Women!”

Love,
SuaVoce