This spring in Dallas has been one of the prettiest I remember since I’ve lived here. As I work all day in my home studio facing my computer or jewelry table, the garden is always in my peripheral vision. What’s interesting about the periphery is that you don’t know what’s floating in through the backdoor of your consciousness until it comes out in your work. Here are some of the highlights of our garden through my lens. What’s in your periphery?

 Mother's Day...my daughter Mila has been sick all weekend. She gave me this card for Mother's Day this morning. I added my own significance to the series and then asked her about the imagery. It was inspired from her favorite online novel Homestuck. I love love love it wherever the inspiration came from, and of course LOVE her because she's so her. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Two things I love in life are treasure hunting and making things. Recently I've been overindulging in both. I can't stop designing, which is a great problem to have unless you're my family and actually want to spend time with me. Inspiration seems to be everywhere - my walks at the lake near my house and my recent trip to the Tucson Gem Show. Tucson was a scavenging and buying trip. The sheer amount of raw materials at every price, exhibited from the Convention Center to shabby motel rooms was overwhelming. It was my idea of heaven. The challenge is to transform that "heaven" into jewelry.

STUDIO WALL

SKETCHES IN BRONZE

 Recently I met Joslyn Taylor, editor, blogger, mom and all around woman of interest. We met over business but she left as my new friend and creative ally. We talked about our fragmented connection with our other creative women friends and wouldn't it be great if we could amass these women together for a Salon. I am envious of my friends in NY that talk about all these groups that get together to network and inspire and unify the creative community. Not being big on joining groups, I realized that if I curated my own group of women  I'd obviously want to come. I have discussed this notion for a long time with other artists I know but never took the time to get if together. Enter Joslyn...the woman that makes things happen. We brainstormed the idea and are planning the first one. I have no idea what form it will take but the idea now has momentum. 

Looking around my studio as we talked, Joslyn took photos of what she found inspiring in my studio. Here's a window into what I look at everyday. What do you look at everyday that inspires you?

Julie 

On May 6th we previewed my premiere jewelry collection in Dallas at my studio and coupled it with a tour of my husband's garden. Hundreds of people came to shop and saunter through the garden with a glass of wine. It was a whirlwind and the culmination of 3 years of very hard work. 

We sold 5 times the amount of jewelry we anticipated, hit the ground running and haven't stopped. Within the first week the collection was mentioned in an article on Dallas women jewelry designers in WW Daily. Not bad for our first collection! This was followed by another article in Dallas's FD Luxe. The phones are ringing and we are rushing to launch our e-commerce site by mid June.

I guess I can now finally call myself a jewelry designer. I've been hedging on that moniker for awhile.