You Look Like A Million Dollars

You, sculpted in precious metals and gems – Springwise

In these days of economic gloom and doom, it’s nice to know that some people have money!  (I just wish it was me!)

A service called You Look Like a Million Dollars, offered by legendary sculptors Wrightson & Platt, is accepting commissions to recreate you,  your loved ones, or whomever you choose,  in precious metals, bronze and glass, with personally significant items added and embellished with gems.

The first sculpture is that of a nine-year-old boy named Ben:

Ben with iPod. Photo by Richard Riddick

For information about how you, too, can be memorialized in this way, visit their website, http://www.youlooklikeamilliondollars.com.  For more of the work of these remarkable artists, see their website, http://www.wrightsonandplatt.com.

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Rocks and Stars

When I first encountered Joseph Brooks’ sleek website http://www.josephbrooksjewelry.com, with its slideshow display of his work, I immediately wanted to include it in this blog, so I asked for permission to use a photo of  this labradorite necklace with its carved Ganesha pendant.  What impressed me about this necklace was more than the fact that I love labradorite and that Ganesha is my favorite Hindu diety, it was how the pendant had been carefully carved to highlight the flash of labradoresence that is the hallmark of this captivating stone.

A Ganesha pendant is the focal point of this Joseph Brooks labradorite necklace.

Another thing that impressed me about his work was how versatile its appeal was to both men and women.

I asked for a bio so I could include a bit of information about the designer and found more than I could possibly have expected.  It seems that not only was I taken with his work, but I was in good company; it is also collected by Madonna,  Lennie Kravitz,  Siouxsie Sioux, and the Jonas Brothers, and Justin Timberlake wore two of Brooks’ turquoise necklaces for his photo on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Most of the designers I know, myself included, would love to have our work in the hands of rock stars like these and we wonder how to make that happen.  My own claim to fame in this department was having been commissioned to make a pair of guitar pick earrings for Judy Collins to commemorate the two Signature Edition guitars issued by Martin in her name. but my experience pales in comparison.

Brooks had his audience already in hand, because, before he became a jewelry designer, he was immersed in the rock music scene, as the owner of the iconic Vinyl Fetish record store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and later as nightclub host and DJ.   He rubbed elbows with all kind of musical acts and jumpstarted the careers of others, like Guns n Roses.  It seems that I had stumbled upon the Website of a rock legend whose passion for a different kind of rocks is adding another facet to his impressive life story.

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Canadian designer sets the record for recycling

arohasilhouettes.com

British Columbia designer Tania Hennessy has taken recycling to a new level by combining old technology with new technology to create unexpected new designs.

Tania is originally from New Zealand, and calls her company Aroha Silhouettes (from the Maori word for unconditional love).

She  looks at old vinyl records and sees something that no one else does:  great art for great jewelry.  She sees geometric designs in negative spaces and then cuts them out of the vinyl using precision laser technology, and turns that image into necklaces and earrings.

This necklace is from the Phantasmal collection. Tania Hennessy uses laser technology to cut silhouettes from reclaimed black vinyl record which results in design illusions, in this case, a stack of books. Below are thumbnails of other necklace designs.

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Israeli designer inspired by the cosmos

Ka Gold Jewelry – Gold Jewelry, Silver Jewelry, Talismans, Spiritual Jewelry

David Weitzman’s jewelry designs are based on universal spiritual symbols, and sacred geometry.

David Weitzman's gold Flower of Life Pendant

David Weitzman commented on this post, saying, “The flower of life pendant is one of my favorites and best selling item. I feel this piece holds the secret of the whole universe. It is a cross-religion, cross-cultures symbol that can be found in many places around the world.  Enjoy it.”

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