
Bummed out by all the generic “funky” iPhone cases out there? I know I am. Enter Casetagram, a simple way to create a personalized case using your very own Instagram photos. They ship worldwide, and won’t break the piggy bank, coming in at a reasonable $35. I don’t know about you, but at the rate I’ve been dropping my phone this doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Cases come in an array of patterns, designs, and colors. Read all about it here.

Sarah Atkins of Martine Satchels—one of the designers showing in our Open Season fashion show on May 12—just sent over the latest photos of her gorgeous line of leather handbags, taken by Christine Taylor.
Model, Sarah Schroeder
Hair/Makeup and Wallpaper design, Danielle Delceppo http://delceppo.com/
Wardrobe, Laura Leibe
Assistant photography, Aaron Montaigne
Production, Ritchie YoungLocation, School House Electric http://www.schoolhouseelectric.com/

Joining the throng of spring boutique anniversaries is Multnomah Village's Anne Bocci, celebrating the big five with five reasons to attend the party this Friday May 4 from 5-9 pm:
1) Featured artist Christopher Moody, whose oil paintings depict iconic Portland landscapes:



Flora is one of the best stores in downtown to wander through, with their charming jumble of jewelry, apothecary, and all sorts of eye-catching treasures that make great gifts and little pick me ups. This Friday, May 4, they're hosting a spring trunk show to highlight new jewelry from some of the store favorites: Amy Wing's "ballet inspired Blossom Collection," Amy Olson's "warm gems and hard metals," and Favor's "delicate" new summer collection. Also on hand will be the local Alima Pure cosmetics, dispensing advise on all things makeup. On the edible side, Higgins pastry chef Faith Dionne will be on hand with her Bees & Beans confections, plus champagne and tea will flow throughout the event, which runs from 5-8 pm.

Her name doesn't get bandied about as much as other Portland jewelers like Emily Baker, Anna Korte, Katie Freedle, and Hazel Cox, but Alessandra Murgia's line, Autoctona, is really something special. Launched just last year, the latest 2012 collection's lookbook has been released. You can find the line locally at Stand Up Comedy and Una.
Young, independent, LA designer Amanda Thomas has been turning heads on the fashion scene as her accessory line Luv Aj has blown-up, with boho starlets such as Nicole Richie, Vanessa Hudgens, and Whitney Port rocking her line. This 23 year-old California girl recently graduated from Otis College of Art and Design, and has been mentored by some of the best in the industry. Luv Aj stocks drool-worthy body chains, studded headpieces, anklets, handpieces, turbans, ear cuffs and more. I first spied her bold collection in Solestruck’s On the Road Lookbook, and have been lusting over her bossy accessories ever since. Shop the latest looks here.


I knew Portland had a thriving community of jewelry and accessory designers making original, of-the-moment pieces that thrive on the indie commerce channels, but turns out we've had fine jeweler Mark LaJoie in our back pocket too. After a 40-year career, he just recently entered himself in his first contest, the international 2011 Designer Jewelry Competition, where he walked away with the top honor of Jeweler of the Year, a cash prize, an "engraved crystal achievement award, and will be featured in the coveted Designer Jewelry Showcase website through 2012. The annual online and print resource highlights contemporary jewelry designers. His winning entry will be published in the 2012 Designer Jewelry Showcase yearbook, which gets distributed to more than 6,000 jewelers worldwide."

Titled “Sunrise,” the composition has a choice oval checkerboard cut 25 carat Brazilian Lemon Citrine, which is set into a handmade 18 karat yellow gold carved and fabricated design and then mounted on a 4 mm rubber cord with 18 karat yellow gold slide ends. This allows the wearer to freely adjust the overall length anywhere from 15 to 25 inches. The pendant measures approximately 39.5 by 25 by 9.5 mm with a gold weight of 1.25 ounces.

In this week's Sold Out column I write about acclaimed Portland jewelry artist Hazel Cox, who, after a bit of a dry spell event-wise, is holding a two-day trunk show of her latest work, beginning with an opening reception (with drinks, and handmade truffles for purchasers) this evening at OKO. For an artist of any sort to say they are inspired by "nature" is the most typical thing in the world, but Cox is never that simple, drawing specifically on the work of deep sea creatures and a long dead biologist's collection of amazing drawings. She's one of those artists whose pieces, however visual they may be, are, when you actually tease open their origins, can be a gateway into discovering fascinating new things that have nothing to do with the world of fashion, like the shift in metal content over the course of the US penny's existence or a little-known animated documentary film. OKO Gallery is located at 2774 NW Thurman, and the reception runs from 5-9 tonight and 11 am-6 pm tomorrow.
Puppy Love month is happening right now at Radish Underground where they are promoting two brands that will directly help our furry little friends. Amy Sacks Eyewear is founded on the belief that glasses should look good, feel good and do good. They create the frames you want to wear, in shapes and colors to fit every aspect of your style. Amy Sacks Eyewear supports animal rescue and adoption services through the Pixie Project and every purchase helps provide food, shelter and medical care to animals in need. You can also support Oregon Dachshund Rescue by buying Bean products, (like the super cute tote pictured below) and 10% of every purchase will go directly to supporting them.
On another note, there is a Mega Yard Sale happening to benefit the Newberg Animal Shelter on May 4th from 8AM-5PM and May 5th from 8AM-4PM at the Zion Lutheran Church in Newburg. Alyson Clair of Clair Vintage Inspired has been a longtime supporter and volunteer for them, and all proceeds from this event will help build a much needed new shelter for the animals. Alyson has offered to help pick up donations for this event, so if you have items you would like to donate e-mail her here.
Even if you've never bought anything there, everyone in Portland should be proud of Una. It is one of those few things in this mid-sized city that, along with our Humane Society and city parks, is world class. Drawing from designers all over the world, owner Giovanna Parolari curates a shop that's as exotic as it is homey, and particularly in her accessories choices has a knack for finding things that would look at home under museum glass. Such is the case with Pariscope Studios, which this time doesn't hail from too far (Seattle). Una's hosting a trunk show of their work next Thursday, April 19 (5-8 pm). Hop over to MOD for more images.
It feels like it's been a while since we've heard from jewelry artist Hazel Cox, though her work continues to draw interest at some of Portland's most well regarded boutiques (Lille, Souchi, Una). Well, time's up: Cox is hosting a two-day presentation of her latest pieces at OKO Gallery in a couple short weeks.


The Opulent Project is a high-minded collective of jewelry makers that "investigates opulence within the context of our society’s obsession with material possessions. We seek to create a dialogue between the precious and non-precious and subvert mainstream preconceptions regarding value in material culture. To do so we are constantly questioning and considering where these ideologies originate and examining ways in which we may alter and intervene with this visual language. We value a conceptual approach to jewelry design that is rooted in a deep understanding of the making process."
For April's First Thursday (noon-9 pm),, they'll be opening their in-studio exhibition space, T.O.P. Crate, for a viewing of Mistakes Were Made, in which they'll display a selection of the last four years' worth of rejected wax models used to make their cast metal jewelry, as well as mistakes cast in silver and bronze. So says the event description, "It is not always possible to pull the perfect wax model out of a mold, so we are left with many, many rejects. Some are near perfect, some are hardly recognizable and others are anywhere in between. They are all accidents. Last month, we used our accidental waxes to create a variety of forms and objects which we cast in bronze and silver."
During this event the public will also be invited to help "re-craft" some of the mistakes into new objects, so you can "save a wax," make it permanent in metal and, naturally, make your own mistakes in the process. Or, you can just watch.

I usually keep things strictly local on this blog, but a link to Jump from Paper just came across my desk, so this is for all the international online shoppers in the house. This si a real bag:

In the relatively saturated jewelry market, it's a constant struggle to get noticed. Perhaps more than any other designer in the past year or so (well, maybe not more than Sticks & Stones), Katie Freedle's RillRill exploded onto the scene and became something of a darling among organizers of curated sales and Yo Vintage! trunk shows. Her secret weapon? Thigh chains:
First mentioned here, don’t miss the weekend long event taking place at Lille Boutique. Featuring a Yo Vintage! pop-up, AK Vintage Jewelry trunk show, and the “Collision” art series by Pattern People. Tonight's opening reception will also debut the whimsical, romantic, and lovely lookbook by Yo Vintage! entitled Dreamers, which was a collaboration with Lille. Get a sneak peek below, the soirée goes from 6-9pm. Lille is located at 1007 E Burnside.

First Friday is just around the corner, so make sure to mark your calendars for the launch of designer Emily Baker of Sword+Fern and local eyewear designer Amy Sacks event at the Sword+Fern shop. Baker and Sacks collaborated on a newly designed collection of eyeglass chains that merge together their signature styles. Think chunky vintage chains, gemstones, leather, and recycled car parts incorporated with Amy Sacks vivid hand polished Italian acetate frames. A portion of the proceeds from the First Friday event will also benefit The Pixie Project animal rescue organization. The new collection of eyeglass chains as well as a selection of Amy Sacks eyeglasses will be unveiled next Friday from 6-10 pm at 811 East Burnside. It makes me want to get my geek chic on, because there’s just something about glasses that make you feel sexy and smarter!
Independent New York jewelry designer Erica Weiner makes affordable vintage inspired jems with a sense of humor. I was first introduced to her line when I received an adorable little heart necklace from one of my besties as a graduation present and I’ve been rocking it everyday since. Called the Sweetheart Necklace, these hearts can have just about anything inscribed on them mine says, “baby monk” on one side (it’s long story but a term of endearment in my tribe) and “follow your bliss” on the other. Weiner has also just released the Heartbeats Necklace that has memorable lyrics from her favorite songs including R. Kelly, Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, more. Erica Weiner is more than just necklaces though; she makes a wide variety of bracelets, earrings, rings, wedding jewelry, and more. She even has a pin called the "Put a Bird On It" Pin Trio which is obvi in reference to that show they film here. Erica Weiner is carried locally at Cassidy Jewelry and Moule, click here to shop her lovely collection, or perhaps place a custom order of your own.
Items I’m lusting over:
Grayling jewelry, designed by Katy Kippen, has quickly become one of Portland's most recognizable exports in the very saturated, very competitive accessory world, in part because she is so damn prolific. The Grayling collection is huge, with a steady stream of new collections keeping the ranks full. It being bridal season all, her just-released new batch is intended to be bridal, but no one's going to complain if you just want 'em. These photos are all by Lisa Warninger, using Elizabeth Dye dresses, a veil by Brady Lange, MUAH by Kelly Peach, and styling by Kippen and Shannon Zweck.
Tilde loves Valentine's Day, and they must love you too, because they're celebrating by slashing just about everything in the shop by 20%—for four days! From this Saturday the 11th through Tuesday/heart day, you can score plenty of gift ideas at a sweetened price. Plus, Saturday kicks off with a trunk show for jewelry artist Elisa Shere—her pieces will also be 20% off, plus there'll be a raffle for purchasers to win a bonus necklace to match.

Amy Burgess is offering two classes in wire techniques for jewelry making on Thursday and Saturday this week at her studio. Her own designs feature beautifully wrapped stones, intricate chains, and wire-wrapped rings. If you can't make it to the class, you can see more of her work on her website, or purchase her jewelry online at the Amy Burgess Etsy Shop.

The Class:
Learn the basics of wire wrapping techniques: the coiled loop, attaching beads to clasps, earwires and chain to make a necklace and earrings. If you've come to my classes before, this workshop will help you brush up on your skills and expand your wire working techniques. You'll make as many pieces of jewelry that you can create in 2 & 1/2 hours. If you have beads you've been wanting to use in a jewelry project, feel free to bring them! Beginners are welcome. $40 - Includes beads, tools, supplies....and wine and appetizers!
When
Thursday, February 2 from 6pm-8:30pm
Saturday, February 4 from 4pm-6:30pm
Where
Amy Burgess Jewelry Studio
2516 NW 29th Ave. Suite 202
Portland, OR 97210
One of the first accessories brands to make its mark on the independent boutique scene Portland, Queen Bee Creations is all grown up with their very own brick 'n' mortar these days, and they're spreading some good vibes into the new year with a sale that runs through Sunday. Trucker and Truckette bags and Minimo and Maximo wallets are marked down 10%. If you've yet to make your first purchase of the year (mine: new running shoes, so sensible, so... sigh), this is a good excuse to make it a practical and fun one.

San Francisco painter Sophie Leininger recently debuted her new collection of hand drawn and designed yoga mats. Combining her affinity for painting and practicing yoga, Ms. Leininger found the perfect new project; Magic Carpet Yoga Mats. Each mat design is hand drawn, and are sustainably printed in California using only non-toxic, phthalate-free materials. Leininger believes that “Performing yoga postures on a beautiful mat enhances the yoga experience by connecting the pleasures of the heart to the movement of the body,” and I couldn’t agree more. These beauties put my decomposing Lululemon mat to shame- I know what’s on the top of my Christmas list this year! To purchase via her website click here.
One more late addition to the last minute round of holiday shopping events (refer back to here for others going down this week): Isaac Hers is featuring another of their bag lines from the area. Will Leather Goods has been around since the early '80s and currently operates out of Eugene, but they're well established, available in boutiques internationally. Isaac Hers will be featuring new arrivals like the Vintage Army Tote, Ammunition Bags, and the Guatemalan Carryall. Wine, apps, and no-brainer gift buying all starts tomorrow at 6 pm and rolls till 9.

RillRill’s latest lookbook is mah-jor. If you aren’t familiar with this talented, young, designer her custom pieces are showstoppers. Looking for a last minute gift for your hard-to-shop for fashionista girlfriend, or sister? RillRill has got you covered, guaranteed. Scope the entire lookbook and shop the looks here.
Portland seems like it's on a roll these days with great bag makers, and the newest one to pop up on my radar is Martine Satchels. Designed by Portlander Sarah Atkins. This Saturday at Isaac Hers there will be a trunk show (from 3-6 pm) where you can take a look at "a whole mess of new stuff," including the debut of her leather iPad cover.



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