Of Good Cheer: Joie de Vivre jewelry

•• c o o l m e t a l s

Finding cool metal pendants and charms is the easy part, but selecting which ones to try and which to leave at the table is tough! Generally, I look for strong design, quality materials, and fine craftsmenship. Vendors here create products that I love: Patricia Healey and The Lipstick Ranch put the stamp on patina copper and wrought iron, respectively; Jess Imports offers lovely satin smooth vermeil charms; Nina Designs has an imaginative and impressive selection of precious metal charms, links, and components; Green Girl Studios cooks up amazing pewter beads, charms, and buttons literally in their basement; and Elysium showcases Southwestern inspired sterling silver designs.

If you enjoy the items featured here, consider visiting their websites and supporting their business. Many have a retail option or work with other vendors, like Artbeads, to make their products available to the public.

•• d e s i g n s w i t h m e t a l

s t a i n l e s s s t e e l

These stainless steel pendants come from a number of jewelry suppliers, but one trait they all share is sleek modern style.

All Clear

Chic

Strong

Urban Loft

p a t r i c i a h e a l e y

Patricia Healey easily has one of the most interesting booths at the gem show. Her copper creations gleam under the lights - new designs! new ways to use past components! - and she and her staff have good energy; a positive, happy vibe is simply there around the booth. Her charming patina copper designs are all hand-crafted.

Heartened

Dragonfly

High Five

Have a Heart

Beep, Beep

e l y s i u m

Elysium Inc has been specializing in high quality Mexican hand-crafted sterling silver jewelry items since its start in 1985. The company works closely with the silversmiths - often small, family owned workshops - to create a terrific array of earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

Cup & Spiral

Leaf & Spiral

Cascade

Wing

h i l l t r i b e s i l v e r

Hill Tribe silver refers to fine quality silver items (99% pure silver) from the Karen Hill Tribes in Thailand. The higher silver content means it tarnishes more quickly and easily than sterling silver or other silver alloys, but simple cleaning keeps components as good as new.

Heaven on Earth

Gone Fishing

Midnight Magnolia

Jean Jacket

Tall Tales

n i n a d e s i g n s

Nina Designs has been creating high quality metal jewelry components for the past 25 years, and their quality is rooted in fair trade practices with metalsmiths in Bali and Thailand; the company gets consistently excellent worksmanship because they pay a good wage. The sterling silver, bronze and 24kt gold-plated bronze components speak for themselves: imaginative designs of great quality at a reasonable cost.

Hanging Around

Slowing

Longest Night

Multnomah

The Telling Distance

The Deer in Winter

Paper Moon

Monodon Monoceros

Impressions

Worries

Bright Creatures

Sentient

Ides of March

Day Trip

Ice Cream Cone

The Protector

The Keeper

Spring Thaw

Prancing Pony

Gentle Quiet

Bubo the Owl

Fly

Via de la Luna

Octopus Garden

New Moon

Emerald Essence

Little Bird

Going Om

Sea Song

Honey Bee

Bubbles

Flora

Nom de Plume

Best Behavior #2

Olive Branch

Going Batty

Beauty Within

Bees to Honey

Chirp

Bronze Drop

Direction

Your Heart is a Muscle (bronze)

Your Heart is a Muscle (silver)

Fibonacci Squares

g r e e n g i r l s t u d i o s

Green Girl Studios is a company in Asheville, NC that creates some of the most imaginative and creative pewter components I've seen in 10+ years of shopping jewelry components. They do all the work in-house, from molds to casting to finishing, and dedicated craftmanship shows.

Howl