Sun Ah Blair Jewelry Short CM

Good morning! It is a good morning, indeed. I just wanted to share this tiny little video  for one of my Pendants.  It's now available in a white rose style too! Enjoy :)

xoxoxo -Amy

Morning Memory

Woke up this morning and was so thankful for my new french press that Kirk got me for Christmas!  I ran for an hour yesterday so that amazing cup of dutch chocolate coffee was just the thing I needed. I also randomly remembered something funny from our trip to Japan. Did you know that Tommy Lee Jones is the face of  Boss Coffee over there?? We just thought it was the best thing ever! Here is the set of commercials TLJ does for  Boss Coffee. He is an alien sent to observe the habitants of the planet:

This is a photo I took of one of the vending machines in Tokyo

Little Bird Falls in Love Collaboration

One of the most exciting things about being an artist is being able to meet other artists and share our ideas and talents. You just never know what will be created. I'm super excited to share a collaboration that amazingly talented artist, teacher, and friend, Caitlin Johns has created for Sun Ah Blair Jewelry.

 Caitlin has an  uncanny knack for making things just plain adorable, so it was only natural for her to collaborate with my little bird pendants which so many people label as "so cute!" Caitlin has her degree in Art Education from Towson University and teaches children of all ages the joy of creativity. She is amazing in just about every medium, but painting is her main love.

I'm also very excited to announce that she has graciously decided to create a line of holiday cards for my upcoming shows! You will be able to purchase them at the Holiday home Show and all of my shows through December. I will share preview photos when they are ready.


Some of Caitlin's paintings:

Nice Commercial Design

So I was up early this morning working on the Shop and I'm constantly listening/ watching the world news on Aljazeera. I sometimes stumble on some great commercials during my work. Here is one that I especially love. (just for the cinematic value, not for what it stands for especially) Here is the link for the videos since I couldn't embed it!


http://www.rasgas.com/rg/media/t64.htm

The Real Deal

So I was on Etsy Today and I saw a pair of Sterling Silver ruby earrings being sold for 11.99. I was of course shocked at the price but what shocked me more was that the owner of the store claimed to have handcrafted the piece herself. Now as an artist I know that when pricing something one takes into consideration, time, cost of materials, perceived value, and other things along the way. Also as an Artist that works in gemstones I know the going price of fine gemstones, Rubies being one of them and let me tell you that for 38 carat rubies, set in .925 sterling silver, you would not make a profit if you sold them for 11.99.  Now the killer of this whole story is not only was I shocked at the price and claim of "handmade", but what topped the whole deal was the fact that I had seen the EXACT pair of ruby earrings at a wholesale show in VA. 

Now Etsy is supposed to be a marketplace for all things handmade, and that is what makes it wonderful! So when people come in claiming to be selling handcrafted goods that are actually imports and selling them at rock bottom prices, it makes me slightly upset. Not only does it go against the rules, it also brings down other sellers work that actually is handmade. I think most people will agree that it is incredibly hard to compete with commercially made goods. Which is not to say that commercial goods are not a God send in their own Big Box, assembly line sort of way. It's just that handcrafted goods are created by individuals that spend a lot of time and concentration to create beautifully unique and one-of-a-kind pieces that cannot be bought at any old store.  So the fact that people are trying to sell non-handmade goods  basically says,  "Hi I am trampling on and disregarding artists efforts!".  It just makes me a bit upset. Sorry for the rant, thanks for listening!