Check out our new yard in late winter/early spring: http://picasaweb.google.com/willieandlu/IStayInLAForSpringtime#
~> COMING SOON : Daisy the Dog
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Please help us decide the charity that will receive our donation for April!!! Our first payment went to Community Magnet Charter School in LA. We've contributed to the Red Cross & Doctors Without Borders in recent months, in response to the disaster recovery efforts there. Nominations received for April so far are:
* The Lange Foundation, Los Angeles -- A no-kill pet/animal shelter
* The Peregrine Fund, Boise ID -- In the forefront of the reintroduction of endangered raptors into the wild
The organization with the most votes/recs gets the cash. If no one recommends an agency, I get to pick ;-}.
THANKS for participating!!!
* The Lange Foundation, Los Angeles -- A no-kill pet/animal shelter
* The Peregrine Fund, Boise ID -- In the forefront of the reintroduction of endangered raptors into the wild
The organization with the most votes/recs gets the cash. If no one recommends an agency, I get to pick ;-}.
THANKS for participating!!!
Our Spacey Galactic Collection
Thursday, March 18, 2010
About Willie & Lu Designs - The long version
WILLIE and LU's HISTORY (The LONG Version):
About 14 years ago, my sister-in-law Jenny, and I discovered the joys of Fimo, and went hog-wild wtih the polymer clay. In a very short time, we fount ourselves with zillions of handmade beads (and a whole bunch of doo-hickeys and what-nots), and, armed with a few old tools, basic wires, a box of seed beads, plus a 2-minute lesson from the local bead store, put together several dozen earrings, which WE felt were truly extraordinary (They may--or may not--have been...).
Back home in St. Louis, I begged my mother and her partner Gunda to sell Jenny's and my earrings in their fab store. To my amazement, they agreed to give it a try, and even more astounding, the earrings sold--and sold pretty well!
When it came time to replenish our stock, I decided to incorporate some of the beads I'd been toting around for years (e.g., as a child, I'd played dress-up with a long strand of amber glass beads, which, over time, had separated into many smaller strands--You'll find these beads alive and well in many Willie & Lu designs!) and found that our handmade beads looked a whole lot better when accompanied by sparkle and shine--and color we just couldn't achieve with unglazed clay. The more I used my heirloom/recycled/vintage glass and crystal, the more Jenny's and my beads faded into the background, until we found that the Fiimo beads were (alas!) a thing of the past. The simple fact was that the crystal and glass beads were prettier than ours, and offered more creative choices. Just as importantly, I felt equally connected to the earrings crafted from my family collection to those that included beads we'd made by hand. To this day, I am as proud sharing a crystal that belonged to my grandmother as I would be if I created the bead myself.
Over the past decade, a lot has changed in/about/around us, and while I update designs every day, the basic ESSENCE of my jewelry remains the same -- Simply: The treasures given to me by friends and family are by far the most vital ingredients in my work. Even when I'm making a piece that doesn't contain a single antique or vintage element, it almost certainly was inspired by one. While once I had just a small tin box of my grandmother's beads to choose from, I now have a studio filled with oodles of jewels given so generously to me by an amazing group of friends and family. Every new bauble connects me -- and hopefully, in some way, YOU, the wearer--to the person who gives it. It has been a beautiful and humbling way to widen my circle of friends and loved ones. I welcome you to join it!
Most of what happens here is done by me (Jools), but I couldn't do it without the support of son Aidan (14) and daughter Lucy (10), whose creative input and (generally) active assistance I count on daily. My husband Jeremy has claimed the title of CFO, which he wields mightily. I'm so grateful to the many friends and family members who contribute their own treasures to the cause; playing with their old jewelry never fails to make me feel closer to them, and I hope you'll get some pleasure out of knowing that your jewelry truly is made with love.
Don't forget: www.willieandlu.etsy.com!!!
xo jym 2010
About 14 years ago, my sister-in-law Jenny, and I discovered the joys of Fimo, and went hog-wild wtih the polymer clay. In a very short time, we fount ourselves with zillions of handmade beads (and a whole bunch of doo-hickeys and what-nots), and, armed with a few old tools, basic wires, a box of seed beads, plus a 2-minute lesson from the local bead store, put together several dozen earrings, which WE felt were truly extraordinary (They may--or may not--have been...).
Back home in St. Louis, I begged my mother and her partner Gunda to sell Jenny's and my earrings in their fab store. To my amazement, they agreed to give it a try, and even more astounding, the earrings sold--and sold pretty well!
When it came time to replenish our stock, I decided to incorporate some of the beads I'd been toting around for years (e.g., as a child, I'd played dress-up with a long strand of amber glass beads, which, over time, had separated into many smaller strands--You'll find these beads alive and well in many Willie & Lu designs!) and found that our handmade beads looked a whole lot better when accompanied by sparkle and shine--and color we just couldn't achieve with unglazed clay. The more I used my heirloom/recycled/vintage glass and crystal, the more Jenny's and my beads faded into the background, until we found that the Fiimo beads were (alas!) a thing of the past. The simple fact was that the crystal and glass beads were prettier than ours, and offered more creative choices. Just as importantly, I felt equally connected to the earrings crafted from my family collection to those that included beads we'd made by hand. To this day, I am as proud sharing a crystal that belonged to my grandmother as I would be if I created the bead myself.
Over the past decade, a lot has changed in/about/around us, and while I update designs every day, the basic ESSENCE of my jewelry remains the same -- Simply: The treasures given to me by friends and family are by far the most vital ingredients in my work. Even when I'm making a piece that doesn't contain a single antique or vintage element, it almost certainly was inspired by one. While once I had just a small tin box of my grandmother's beads to choose from, I now have a studio filled with oodles of jewels given so generously to me by an amazing group of friends and family. Every new bauble connects me -- and hopefully, in some way, YOU, the wearer--to the person who gives it. It has been a beautiful and humbling way to widen my circle of friends and loved ones. I welcome you to join it!
Most of what happens here is done by me (Jools), but I couldn't do it without the support of son Aidan (14) and daughter Lucy (10), whose creative input and (generally) active assistance I count on daily. My husband Jeremy has claimed the title of CFO, which he wields mightily. I'm so grateful to the many friends and family members who contribute their own treasures to the cause; playing with their old jewelry never fails to make me feel closer to them, and I hope you'll get some pleasure out of knowing that your jewelry truly is made with love.
Don't forget: www.willieandlu.etsy.com!!!
xo jym 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Things That Get a B+ Today (and why they missed the A)
1. Baskin-Robbins (just not as good as mateo's gelato)
2. Other people's babies (i don't get to keep them)
3. My house, just cleaned (never REALLY totally clean)
4. Magenta flowers (better to go with straight purple or straight pink)
5. NY-style pizza (we live in LA)
6. Our new pup, Daisy (puppies don't wear diapers)
7. Miracles of modern medicine (the need for said miracles)
8. El Nino (can't hold a candle to real winter or real storms)
9. March Madness (april letdown)
10. Home (homesickness)
2. Other people's babies (i don't get to keep them)
3. My house, just cleaned (never REALLY totally clean)
4. Magenta flowers (better to go with straight purple or straight pink)
5. NY-style pizza (we live in LA)
6. Our new pup, Daisy (puppies don't wear diapers)
7. Miracles of modern medicine (the need for said miracles)
8. El Nino (can't hold a candle to real winter or real storms)
9. March Madness (april letdown)
10. Home (homesickness)
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