Innocent yet Sexy

I love the look of a backless dress, they are so innocent, yet so sexy! Definetely a look that would drive Christian Grey crazy!!

Its also kind of like a mullet, business in the front party in back!! Well maybe not quite!!

 

I love the trend of adding a necklace backwards to dress up the look. It definetly can take the dress from day to night. 
                                                                                                  

          

1 / 2

Luckily, a customer requested a custom piece to be worn with an evergreen low back dress.  I haven't seen the dress & she needed the piece to be in Charleston by Saturday so it was a little bit of challenge, an exciting challenge for me.

I wanted clean lines, a simple pendant that still made a statement.  I hope my client loves the look & I can't wait to see the pictures from her event. 

What do you think?  Would you wear this backwards? 

Finally American!

Last week was such a long week for me!!  Most importantly on Thursday we  were sworn in as American Citizens! Thankfully no more paperwork or trips to D.C for testing & I get to come through customs as a Citizen instead of waiting in the tourist lines flying back into the country!!

Oh & the little privilege of freedom in this country. 

After driving two hours in awful weather we enjoyed a special ceremony in Abingdon, Va.  I was shocked that local residents took time out of their day to watch the ceremony & congratulate us.  It was very kind of them to come & welcome us as Americans.  

Then the weather brightened up we enjoyed our ceremony & popped some bubbly. 

Due to the tiring week a nice & quiet Easter was perfect. I enjoyed dinner with family, time with friends & a few hours working on jewelry.

This piece is for the partnership with Angels POV coming up, check back this week for details on how you could win this & matching earrings.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter & ate to much chocolate!!

Happy Monday!!

New TV Obsession

I am a week late with this find but I cannot get enough of GCB.  The writing is amazing & I am obsessed with GG.  The one liners are perfection & their jewelry collections are ridiculous!!  I need some of those statement pieces!!

credit

How adorable is Kristin Chenoweth?  I mean I can't stand her character but she plays the GCB too a tee.  Part of me feels like these characters were based on a few VA ladies.  

credit

If you haven't seen the show yet you MUST watch it next Sunday!

Summer Plans

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.  During my downtime I caught up on my favorite blogs, found lots of amazing new ones thanks to {longdistanceloving} & looking into summer metal smith classes. 

I have come quite far in terms of my jewelry yet I want to actually be able to create the elements & set stones myself.  I will never be Tiffany but would love to make simple pieces like these from Tangerine Jewelry.

1 / 2 / 3

I am obsessed with these colors & the clean lines.  They are the perfect Spring Pop of color, especially seen as I wear so much black.   I am also loving this LBD from ASOS. 

So far I have found classes in NYC & LA & Italy.  All fab places to learn.  So I am thinking about packing up for the summer.  Obviously I have two jobs, which I would have to leave.  My work in general is draining for me both physically, mentally & emotionally for various reasons & the last two weeks have been even worse.  My gut is telling me this is the time to do it whether you are ready or not.  If  I don't make the change now I am going to be in same situation next year only more discouraged & miserable.  Yet my logical side is saying you have bills, you need more in savings. 

Argh what to do, what to do??  

Have you ever taken a large leap because you gut told you to? Was it the right decision?

Natural Beauty

credit

I don't think anything man made could ever compete with natural beauty!  I mean the colors in the Barrier reef waters are gorgeous & so inviting!! So inspiring when I am creating new jewelry.

Recently I have been very drawn to the accessory trend of using raw stones.  I almost prefer this look rather than a polished stone.

1 / 2 / 3 /4 

The brightness of the the Blue Agate is stunning & would look wonderful with a coral dress.  I love that the sparkle from the Druzy earrings (middle) formed by a layer of crystals on top of another stone.  So glam.

An intention of mine for 2012 is to find a class where I can learn to dip stones & mold metals.  I have so many designs already in mind!

P.S Speaking of Jewelry!  We have a little sale going on right now!

Instagram Sunday!

I'm linking up with Jenni again for the Best of Instagram! As I spent most of my spare time this week working on our spring collection & as a result most of my pictures are of jewelry. 

Well except for Romeo & Juliet pic!  My friend & I took it back to the 90's during movie night, I was obsessed with this movie back then & with Leo!  He was is so dreamy!

I am really excited about the colorful jade bead's we ordered, they will make a fun pop of color to any outfit!

What do you think of the two new earring designs?  I am not sold on the green & gold look yet and would love your opinions!!

Hope you all had a fab weekend & have a great Monday!

Bracelets again!

Clearly I love jewelry & I have spoken of my love of Bracelets before.  I seriously feel lost if I leave the house without one!  

So lucky for me bracelets are still in style for Spring 2012.  Stacking chunky bangles, pops of color & tribal elements are whats its all about.

1 / 2 / 3 

Unfortunately for me I am not a huge tribal fan, I tend to like cleaner lines & as much as I love the layer look of lots of bracelets with a great watch being 5'3 it makes my arms look like stumps.  Not cute. 

To create similar looks I would opt for multiple skinny bracelets or one statement bracelet that is not a cuff like below.

      4 / 5 / 6 

Are you into lots of bracelets, a statement piece or nothing at all on your wrists?

Fashion Friday ~ Stella Jewelry Edition

I was planning a cute Montauk inspired 4^th of July outfit for Fashion Friday but then I spent the last two days working on a video for Stella Jewelry.  Jewelry is fashion after all so this counts as my fashion post.

Remember when I talked about my friend Blair and his TV Showed Tuned Out?  Well he is working on running the show on a local network and needs sponsors for commercials, hence a video for us.  With no budget, a camera, very little time and some jewelry Blair spent the last two nights filming, directing, editing, and listening to me being picky and vague with my descriptions.  The outcome is a cute video of my beautiful friend Brianna wearing our jewelry around town. 

The only story line to the video is that our pieces are for everyday life, simple but fun for any occasion.  Please watch the video and leave us a comment on what you think? 

I am so happy with the video and can’t believe something I created is on video looking professional.  Silly I know but its kind of weird to see someone online wearing my jewelry.  In reviewing the process the only changes I would make would be for me to find a way to be clearer about what I want and define the story beforehand.  When I say this I don’t mean for you to think the video isn’t what I want, because it is. If I had been clearer and more descriptive about what I wanted filming and production would have been easier for Blair and Brianna.  I am simply reviewing the process so I can grow as a person and creating a business with intention.

Thank You’s

~ Viva La Cupcake ~ Thank you for allowing us to use your store to film and thank you making amazing chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes!  If you are in Roanoke you must visit it them on Grandin Road.

~ Obvious Thanks to Blair for all he did and for supporting us!

~Thank you to Brianna, who not only modeled but styled the shoot!  You were gorgeous!

~ My little Brother who helped with production.

~ Thank you to my friends who played extras, sorry most of the scenes didn’t make the cut.

~ Taryn, thank you again for the logo! We love it.

~Krystal, thank you for buying a piece straight from the shoot.  You are so sweet and supportive of us.

Stella Jewelry Update

This is our current header on StellaJewelrystore.com.  Thanks to my amazing friend Taryn, who created our new logo we were able to customize the colors to match the earrings.

What do you think? 

Right now I am feeling that the business side of my life is going slow and I want things to fall into place and be up and running right now. Realistically, I know I need to be patience, you know Rome wasn't built in a day.  However I am British not Italian and patience has never been my thing.  Once I decide I want something I obsess until I get it.  Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as buying a new Hobo wallet. With my business I spend more time thinking about how I want this to do be, rather than making my thoughts actions.   

Sometimes I do this because I don't have enough time to execute my plans.  Other times I have visions and need assistance but can't clearly explain the image, so then I become frustrated.   I also get frustrated when buying supplies, how many of each stone should I get?  How much chain do I need? Is this the quality I want for our line?  Then I question whether making just one of each item is the right thing to do.  I love that most pieces are unique but it is hard to keep the pictures up to date with items currently available.  If we make more than one of each piece, how will I know how many to make? What if they don't sell?  What if our current customers get upset because the pieces are not one of a kind.  

Logically I know I need patience, I need to make sacrifices when it comes to my use of free time and sometimes I will just to take a risk and then analyze the outcome.   Hopefully I let the emotion behind my business take a backseat and will be realistic about what is needed. 

So as stated yesterday, I will be more open on my blog and there it openness about my business right now.

On to a lighter note the Royal Wedding is tomorrow!! I will be up bright and early wearing a fancy hat, eating crumpets for breakfast.  Do you have big plans to watch?

How adorable to the happy couple look in their official program picture?

credit

Design Your Look for Jess LC

Design Your Look for Jess LC by Roxy1021 featuring cream dresses

My look for the Jess LC contest. What do you think?

I love this cream top shop dress and of course the Jess LC jewelry!!

Starting Monday you can vote for me to win the contest!!  So look out for my shameless blogging and facebooking :)

Trunk Show

As I continue to work on Stella Jewelry I need to get my name out there a little bit more so people can become familiar with my product.  As I have talked about before, I am working on our etsy store but I also want to do more in Roanoke.

I am debating if I should try out setting up some home shows, I have had a few friends offer to have one, which is really sweet of them.  I know this will be great exposure but I am nervous about a few things. 

What if people don't like my jewelry?  I am quite confident with the collection at my Mum's store but that aims a older demographic than my friends.  What if no one comes? Also, I don't want people to feel pressure to buy anything! These are all probably things I shouldn't worry about but I am hesitant because of this.

In the meantime we are having a trunk show at Plantagenet Rose on April 10, as part of their Spring Open House.  If you are in town come enjoy refreshments, jazz music and a little shopping.

working on my business!

Did anyone get the title of the blog? "working on my fitness business"? Ok lame? I just couldn't get the fergie song out of my head when I started writing this blog lol.

I have spent most of this week thinking, talking, working on my business.  It was almost two years ago when we decided to really do something with jewelry, back then I wasn't passionate and didn't have confidence.  Things are different now, I'm motivated to create the life I want.  So my business partner and I are planning to do a soft launch on April 1st, with new advertising, a full etsy shop, new logo and lots new jewelry. This seems really soon but I'm impatient and want to dig right into my business.

This post could get long, I will try not to write too much :)

The Logo:

So this is our current logo which I LOVE, however the colors and the shape haven't been the easiest to work with on price tags etc. Plus I can be a little OCD and need everything to be symmetrical.  Thankfully my friend Taryn, who designed this logo, was willing to help me with a new logo to re-launch the right way.  We talked about new colors and using clean lines and fonts.  I am really looking forward to seeing her designs.

Displays:

We hadn't updated the displays at Plantagenet Rose pretty much since January which is somewhat unprofessional.  People are shopping for Spring and they don't want to see the same display or merchandise they saw during the holidays.  My plan from now on is to keep the displays relevant and update them every month.

How lovely are the handcrafted wooden earring holders?

My Mum purchased them from a company in Colorado.

Also, I love the cream bases we used for our display.  My Parents so kindly made them for us and they are perfect, clean color, clean lines, perfect for the new style we are going for.

Website:

This weekend my friend, Jenna, took pictures of our spring stock for the website!  Luckily there is some really interesting places in downtown Roanoke.  I wanted to go with something that related to Roanoke and a little rustic.  We decided the area by the railroad was perfect.  I can't wait to see the outcome and how they look on an all new website!

Selling:

In the past we have had giveaways on facebook and through other sites and they have always increased traffic to our website. Unfortunately we have not put any effort into online selling.  These giveaways are fun and get our name out there but don't show people where they can buy/see our merchandise.  So finally I found the time/effort to take some pictures of our current stock and get them loaded on to Etsy.

I am proud to say we now have 16 items on Etsy.  It may not seem like a lot but it takes me about 15 mins to add one item.  That has to get faster the more I do it, at least I hope anyway! 

Well this ended up being a long post, hopefully some of you enjoyed reading about my current business adventures!  If you didn't I apologize for boring you for 15 mins :)

Our First Etsy Order

Last week I mentioned I had uploaded eight of our pieces to Etsy.  I was really excited to get that started. It takes a long time to get good/decent pictures taken to ensure the product looks accurate for the buyers to see.  Then you need to ensure the descriptions entice the consumer and tags are appropriate for people to find the products.

It took me approximately three hours to finish the first eight and I am still not happy with the titles and descriptions.  I know I can't learn the easiest and best ways for online selling immediately and trying to keep that in my mind but I am frustrated with how long it took to add so few items.

Then comes today and I find out we made our first sale on Etsy.  This honestly made my day.  It was the little boost that made me feel those three hours last week were worth it.  I should provide a disclaimer here that the buyer was my college roommate but still our first sale. Plus so she lives in a different state so its a legitimate business deal, right? Renatta is a natural when it comes to looking stylish and never has a bad outfit in my opinion. This makes the sale a little sweeter because if she likes our product it must be relevant. I hope :)

These are the earrings Renatta purchased, I can't wait to see her rock these!

Thank you Renatta for being our first online customer <3

Creating my Life Week 2

This week I feel like I didn't have a lot of motivation to just get things done to create my small business but never the less I did get some work done and made time for myself.

Saturday ~ I had an amazing sushi lunch at Metro, it was great to be off work early enough on a weekend to be able to go downtown during the day.  I also picked up some great beads and spent the afternoon working on new pieces with Tricia.

Sunday ~ I pretty much did nothing all day.  I did visit Salem Antiques and Collectables, my Mum's store is opening a booth there.  The building is great and is building up a nice selection of furniture.  Check out www.salemantiquesandcollectables.com if you are into Antique hunting.

Monday ~  I did laundry ~ exciting stuff!!

Tuesday ~ Went shopping for more supplies and got quite a bit of the new collections made.  We seem to be on a nice roll of getting out Spring Collection together, but I also feel like its not fast enough.  We need a lot of new pieces for the store and then need items specifically for the photo shoot and online sales. I am impatient and want everything to be done today which is not realistic.

I know I shouldn't try to rush things but I have a clear view of what needs to be done just not how to get there.  I want to jump from the beginning to the end right away but I know that won't make my business work.  I need to learn some patience.

Wednesday ~ I felt like I was getting sick so I rested most of the day.

Today ~  I got some stock pictures taken of the new pieces and added them to our etsy store.  The names and descriptions need some work but I am excited to have some items posted.

Visit www.etsy.com/people/StellaJewelryStore to see our pieces!!

*Update on No Fast Food February 3 days in and I haven't been near a McDonald's lol

SAG Awards

As I sit and watch the SAG Awards I can't believe how many people wore red tones.  They all looked great but I don't get how the fashion industy all know what color will be on trend.  Do they call each other up and say Spring 2011 we all must use hues of red?  I really want to know how that part of the industry works.

So I didn't see all the of the Red Carpet Coverage but my two favorites so far are:

Mila Kunis in Alexander McQueen

www.people.com

Sometimes Alexander McQueens gowns are too much for me, so dramatic and theatrical that I only think they would work on the runway or Lady Gaga.  However this gown is stunning.  Just the material alone would look great in almost any shape dress.  Mila looks lovely, confident and comfortable in the gown, I love her loose waves and smokey eye make up too.

My other favorite was Mariska Hargitay but I cannot find any photos online of her or who designed her dress.  She wore a classic strapless gown from what I could see in a gorgeous royal blue with a beautiful pair of aqua stud earrings.  I hope there are some pictures tomorrow so I can see the full outift.  I have to say I am a little disappointed she didn't win Best Actress in a TV Drama, SVU is one of my favorite shows and she is amazing at potraying the character. 

Well its almost 10 pm and I need to watch the Kardashians in NYC they are my fav guilty pleasure :)

Starting to create....

So as my first week not working at my part time job comes to an end I thought I would go over the baby steps I’ve taken to create my new life and career.

The weekend ~ As I mentioned, I went to Charleston SC to get away for a couple of days and see a friend.  It was a great break and I was able to find some cute beads for my business.  I also had a bunch of ideas for a photo shoot for my summer collection by the water and downtown.

Monday ~ I spent the Morning with my Mum shopping for things for her store.  Then went to Blacksburg with Tricia (friends/business partner) to visit Beadsburg only to find out after 30 mins of the GPS taking us all over that the store was closed on Monday’s lol 

Then I got to see the beautiful baby Brianna.  Rachel and Matt definitely made one cute little love muffin!!  I fell in love immediately and cannot wait until she is around 1 or 2 yrs old and can talk and be animated J

 Isn't she the cutest!!!!

Although, I didn’t get to much business stuff done it was great to have a day off and see some of my favorite people.  My life needed this; I see some of my friends a lot and others never.  Working less will hopefully make it easier for me to make time for people who I care about.

Tuesday ~ I met up with Jenna a friend and photographer (she a new blogger at http://birdseyeviewoflife.blogspot.com/ go follow her) to talk about a photo shoot for my Spring Jewelry Collection.  We spent most of the time talking, like girls do,  but did come up with some great concepts.  Right now, I am leaning towards a very girly tea party think a little Alice in Wonderland.  Lots of tea cups and clocks with the model in a cute spring dress, or just a cute downtown photo shoot.  I want something bright and fun.  Another idea was to convince a local Cupcake store to let us shoot there for some of the pictures! I am indecisive so I need to think about this some more.  Let me know your opinions! I would love to hear them.

Wednesday ~ I got quite a bit of the Spring Collection started.   Not completed but started and there is a clear direction I am going in.  I want the collection to be girly and feminine with some pieces that have a little edge to them.   

Bad Blackberry pick but this is a piece I'm currently working on.

Thursday ~ Continued to work on my Spring Collection and placed some supply orders.

Friday ~ I plan to relax and not doing anything business or work related.  Just a good chill night maybe go see No Strings Attached.  Has anyone seen it?

Weekend Away

I love love to travel and if I could that's all I would do!  This past weekend I drove down to Charleston S.C. to see my friend Brianna.  It was great to get away and to see one of my favs. 

I am officially in love with Charleston.  The buildings are gorgeous, I would love love love to live in a house downtown and be able to walk to work everyday and do something I love.  Maybe a little jewelry boutique with other fab accessories.  King Street reminds me of shopping the high streets in England and I love it.  Sure the mall is nice when the weather is bad but I love being able to enjoy a day outside and shop at the time same time.  I love the chill/relaxed atmosphere of the town and that although it is a beach town, their downtown didn't have a cheesy beach feel.  I love the independent unique stores and the cute 7yrs old selling hot chocolate outside their house to raise money for "microasia".

How cute is this house?  It kind of reminds me of the house in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  How relaxing would it be to sit on the porch in summer with a cool lemonade?

* www.plantware.com

Next time I go I hope to set up a little photo shoot for my jewelry and to take their Candle Light Ghost Tour.  Has anyone ever been and taken the tour?

My Golden Globe Top Picks

Like a million bloggers yesterday I wanted to do a Golden Globe Fashion Blog with my best picks of the night. 

Unfortunately,  I didn't have time to watch the show or write the blog yesterday.  Instead of doing a long blog showing the dresses you have all probably seen 20 times by now I figured I would just post a couple of my favs.

Amber Riley from Glee!

*photo instyle.com

As mentioned a million times I'm obsessed with anything that sparklesand love this dress.  For this curvy girl the full length beaded silver dress by Oliver Tolentino could have gone sooooo wrong but it didn't.  She looked amazing and the belt added some edge to the outfit and complimented her figure nicely.  You can tell she feels amazing too.   I also LOVE she made her own earrings how cute!!!!

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen

I know Kelly has lost a lot of weight and that's a great thing for her health but you can also tell its helped her confidence wise too.  She has gone from emo to glamor over the last couple of years.  I can't help but wonder, did she not like dressing up because she was unhappy with her body? Was her mood represented in her dark emo style?  At first when the Osbournes was on I thought it was just she liked that style, but now I'm not sure. 

I think Kelly looks like a modern day Hollywood starlet.  The dress compliments her body perfectly and the hair looks so classic and balances out the drama of the gown.   I am becoming a huge fan of Kelly's style and her new attitude to life and health.

*photo latimes.com

Hope everyone is having a great week! 

Peacocks

As I mentioned before MAC just released their Peacocky collection which I think is perfect ! The regal colors are so vibrant and will make anyones eyes really pop. 

So thinking about the Peacocky collection made me a remember a bracelet I fell in love with last summer.  I love love love this bracelet but had to put it to the back of my mind because I don't NEED it and it has a $185 price tag!

It is from the House of Harlow 1960 Collection by Nicole Richie.  I can't say I love all her pieces some are a little too retro for me, but this piece is gorgeous and of course has a little bit of sparkle which I always love.

* http://twitpic.com/yuhid

Without a doubt this would be the statement piece of an outfit, imagine a little black dress and nude lips with a smokey blue eye and this cuff!  Perfection!! 

I would definitely pair it with a simple stud earrings and no necklace as I think it could be easy to make this bracelet look gordy.

Nicole Richie is in Lucky Magazine this week and tweeted there is an offer code for an "AMAZING" discount.  Maybe I would give in a buy the piece.

What are your opinions on the bracelet?

a spot of tea...

I am not sure how to start out my blog,  I have so many ideas of things I would love to write about, from fashion to travelling to memories. I have a feeling my blog is going to be quite random.  I will start of with a little about me.

First off you should know that I actually don't like tea at all but thought the name was cute for a blog.  I know weird, I'm British and don't like tea. 

So you already know I am British, what else?  Well I have lived in America since I was 17.  I am a 90's Pop Child who will always have love for the Spice Girls.  I am a fashionista wannabe, who can't bring herself to be daring with clothes!  I am an amateur make up artist, which means I buy lots of make up and sometimes practice on friends :).  I work in the corporate world and dream of my handmade jewelry making me millions, positive thinking works right? I am a part time traveller, wannabe jet setter.  A Bravo reality TV show junkie, candy lover, coca-cola addict.  I have champagne taste with a beer budget.  I am random thinker and self proclaimed detective.  I am possibly a social media addict, and cannot be without my phone, isn't that sad? I am shy and insecure at time and other outgoing and confident.  I know who I am or should say who I want to be and am ready to work on myself and my life to be the best friend, sister and daughter I can be.

YAY I've actually started my blog! 

Roxy xoxox