A Cold and Windy first Sunday in March

 Today feels like winter but it could be the beginning of spring; and the afternoon finds me in the studio creating some multi dangle earrings to place in the front display window. Green is a color that calls to me when little bulbs start rising from the ground and buds appear on the trees. Anyhow, today I finished making three pairs of spring earrings in colors that say hello to this change of seasons. 

I used my own sterling silver earring tops and added a collection of teeny beads and charms for the dangles. These are light and flirty earrings, perfect for anyone. I think Easter is early this year so of course these would be a pretty edition to any Easter or spring basket. Chocolates, earrings and maybe a flowering little plant - I will check in with the bunny and ask for just those things! 

I love making multi dangle earrings and have collected beads for decades to use in making them. I like combining small things in a variety of color and texture. I even occasionally use tiny beads from 1930's Germany. I have a special fondness for old beads. 

Hope to see you soon around town and in the shop plus hop on in and visit me on line. Facebook, Instagram or wynwoods.com. XO, Lois

New Month, New Beads

 It is a gray and wet Saturday afternoon and although I am very grateful for this much needed rain, which makes snow in the mountains; I am stuck indoors with weather and a virus. Yuck. Not my ideal  way to spend the day!

Anyhow, new beads and inventory has been arriving like crazy and I am gradually pricing and getting it out into the shop. I like this time of year, when the holidays of the previous year are tucked away and we are thinking forward, at this mid point between winter's dark days and the spring solstice, to spring! Longer days, a bit of the sun's warmth and the feeling of rebirth and newness. 

With that in mind, here are some of the new beads I popped into the bead shop's inventory yesterday:

New beads make me so happy and inspire me too. I love color and these colorful birds and that brilliant orange make me feel very creative and like new earrings and stitch markers are coming on!

You can always order these beads by emailing me at lois@wynwoods.com, calling the shop at 360-385-6131 ( PST on the west coast ) or posting a message to my FB or Instagram pages all under my business name of Wynwoods Gallery and Studio.

Next up I am unpacking a beautiful shipment of baskets and more bells and chimes. Hope to see you soon in the shop ( yes, an old fashioned brick and mortar store in an actual down town. ) Or see you on line or on the phone or.... Love, Lois

www.wynwoods.com

Can you Believe it is 2024?!

 I am thunderstruck that time has moved so fast, so forward, that it is now 2024 and this year finds the shop entering its 34th year. An amazing blessing and a fun, creative journey. I have spent half my life in the shop and I could not be happier. Have I made any resolutions? Not really. I do want to display my jewelry and silver work differently, more prominently. I would like to remind everyone that I do silver work and also that I am a painter, an artist with a fine arts background. I resolve to be kind all the time. To appreciate every single one of my customers and potential customers. Come summer, I want to sit out on the Tyler Street Plaza and visit with friends, customers and the customers who have become or might  become friends. I resolve to encourage creativity in as many people as I can. I want to use creativity and making things as a solution or shield for what ails society and bring us back to each other in a positive, caring light. I resolve to enjoy every single day that I get to be on this earth. I resolve to love more, create more, play more. I am also thankful for the customers, friends and family who have supported me in the past 33 years. I still recall friends saying, " You are going to sell what? My accountant at the time saying, " You spent how much on what?"  I can smile at the memories and want to continue to make more memories that bring me smiles. So all, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

This is the jewelry I have made in the last day or so on the desk in my studio. A collection of hand drawn vintage glass beads, gemstones, Czech glass, seed beads, metal, horn, shell, and more. These were made specifically for the front display window. The idea for using the old hand drawn Pakistani glass beads has been floating in my mind for a few weeks now. The beads are circa 1960's. A mat cobalt glass.

This is Onyx, my son's precious 7 month old puppy. All 15 pounds of her.

She is curled tightly into a yarn basket, snoozing away on her blue rubber bone. My new assistant.

So ends my posting tonight and begins the pursuit of my 2024 almost resolutions. I leave you with love and peace and wishes for all the best for you in this new year!