From her love of color to her whimsical approach to life and art, we have long loved Bri Emery's musings, photographs, graphic goodness, and eye for style on her blog Designlovefest.  Along with thousands of others, we look forward to her daily doses: discoveries of a great new shop, a fun and crafty how-to on making something unique for your home, a go-to cocktail recipe, or just a peek at an inspiring interior.   Her latest endeavor, Blogshop, has her sharing her creative spirit and imaginative expertise with others, working with friend and photographer Angela Kohler to teach a crash course on Photoshop for Bloggers.  Whether in London, Portland, L.A., or Chicago, eager students sign up to hone their craft and soak up what these skilled and talented ladies have to offer.  (Read all about it on The Everygirl!)

Bri is every bit the kind and cheerful person she expresses in her writing and her art, and we were honored and, well, pretty pumped to have the chance to feature her as our July Leading Lady!  I mean, a trip to the local flea market--our favorite destination anytime--would be a whole new adventure with Bri as our partner-in-crime (we were equal parts smiling and swooning over this lil' post on her Rose Bowl Flea finds recently...) so we couldn't wait to get started on a vintage-inspired jewel for her!

First, we started by asking Bri to put together an inspiration board to kick-start the project.  She gathered some snippets on Pinterest for color, texture, pattern, and mood, and Bri also mentioned that she might enjoy having a signature style inclusion in the design by adding a heart jewel somewhere in the mix, as a tie-in to Designlovefest's logo.

So...once we reveled in her mood board pins (a feast for the eyes!) we pulled from our vintage collections and did a bit of sourcing at some of our favorite fleas and antique shops to find a fun assortment of hearts for her to see.  (From rhinestone to lucite, we found some beauties!)

We also sent Bri a line-up of colorful beads, inspired by her picks from our archives and some of her inclusions on the mood board as well.  Saturated green glass and jade, melon-hued resin, and even some vintage pink lucite strands made the edited cut.

And here's Bri's initial reaction to the materials:  

So, taking her cue, we tried a fun and festive mix of her favorite colors in a random arrangement, with the vintage rhinestone heart brooch at the side.  Eye-catching, a bit quirky, but completely cheerful, we loved it, but something seemed not-entirely-Bri about it, and she agreed.   

At that point, she suggested she might be more in love with a single solid color for the beads, and we thought maybe that would allow the heart gem to glitz a bit more...  So, opting for a sunny, sparkling yellow crystal, we went for eight strands and incorporated the brooch into the design, rather than just pinning it at the side...

And Bri loved it!  She can keep the strands lined up in a delightful, more polished drape like this:

Or make it more creative and haphazard...and more her own as only Bri can do!  (As seen below.)  Paired with bold and brilliant hot pink, we were dazzled by the results and LOVE that our jointly-designed jewel is headed on some seriously stylish and fun-filled adventures with Bri.  (I mean, it has already made its debut at a Blogshop gathering, so let the games begin!)  A giant and colorful thank you to Bri for jumping in on this collaborative project with us...we had a fantastic time working (should we really call it that?) with you!

[above photos of Bri by Kimberly Genevieve for designlovefest]

For our Summer Collection, all about the simple joys in life and in season, we immediately knew we wanted to partner with Hound Dog Press, a local printmaker in Louisville, Kentucky.  We'd met the owners, Nick and Robert, at an event at 21c Museum Hotel several years ago (we were selling our respective wares for a holiday shopping night) and felt we'd found a kindred spirit in craft--they create all of their designs by hand, manually operating the giant 19th-century printing presses in their Market Street shop.  (We LOVED this video about Hound Dog Press filmed by the talented team at Kertis Creative...beautifully shares their story.)

We chose a paper coaster design--perfect for those lazy hazy days of summer when a cold beverage is a refreshing simple pleasure--and though several ideas were on the table, we loved the idea of depicting a mason jar of fireflies, capturing one of our favorite summer evening enjoyments.  Included in each purchase of $100 or more, we hope it delights and cheers when you open your Elva package--and it brings to mind how a simple joy is often the most fulfilling.  (We're posting ours on the studio inspiration board--a reminder of how special a handmade creation can be, and to savor the small things this season.)

Happy summer!

For the past few years, we've been avid and faithful readers of Erin Gates' daily posts on her Elements of Style blog--between her eye for style (in both the fashion and home arenas), her ability to bring to light a fabulous brand or product, and her genuine, approachable voice in writing, she keeps us informed and entertained each morning.  (Or...if it's really busy, we save it for an afternoon break...either way, it's a great part of our day.)

It is perhaps her honesty and integrity that we love best--both have earned her a growing and loyal readership and the attention of several sites and magazines.  (She recently wrote an article for Good Housekeeping that is not to be missed...and we were delighted to see her offices and apartment featured on TheEverygirl this month!)  Though her stylish suggestions are right-on, her candor when it comes to relationships, self-esteem, body image, attitude, and priorities are real and relatable.  We find ourselves nodding in agreement equally when she tells it like it is in the post-awards-show run-down of fashion AND when she's admitting she's working on loving her self more, a challenge for many of us.

Clearly, Erin was a Leading Lady before we even began this series, so it was never a question that we'd ask her to join us...and we were thrilled when she agreed.  We started out by asking Erin to assemble an inspiration board for us--though we have come to know her overall style fairly well through her blog, we wanted to see how she envisioned this particular design, and we loved seeing her selections:

We immediately decided this design would be more akin to one of our Deb Collection necklaces, using repurposed vintage chains as the foundation of the composition, and we knew a Maltese cross (we have long been fans of Verdura and his work for Chanel...even writing a grad-school paper on the topic!) had to factor in to the arrangement.  So, we sent along images of these materials, culled from our in-house collections, for Erin to see and consider:

[a few Maltese cross designs we liked from our vintage holdings]

[several vintage gilt, brass, and goldtone chains that might work]

[touches of faux malachite and onyx to mix in for variation with the chains]

Our first attempt (and sadly this photo is terrible, but so was the design, so let's just call it a wash) used the malachite beads more sparingly, to let the cross and chains take center stage.  We liked it, but didn't love it...and thought we'd let Erin have a look to get her insight.  After all, this is a collaborative effort AND she is a designer--we loved hearing her opinion.  And, honestly, this is why having a client's feedback is so crucial sometimes--it's easy to find yourself so caught up in the design that you lose a bit of perspective.  Not only have the materials been staring you in the face for a few hours (or days, whatever the case may be) but you come to a gridlock with them, unable to try anything else until you're sure the one on which you're stuck will not work.

When Erin mentioned that, though she loved the overall concept, that she wanted to change up the malachite a bit, we were relieved.  (And laughing--she said something about the beads reminded her of peas...not something we would have ever considered, so back to our "feedback is so crucial" statement above!)

[first attempt...not there yet.]

So...we took a few suggestions from Erin (perhaps a strand of malachite mixed with the chains? pearls or other beads mixed in?) and added some additional beads to break up the green/gold pattern--black glass in matte-finish rounds and larger faceted nuggets were just the thing to add interest, we think, especially in fun, random patterns.

We think the results are a great  mix of edgy, sophisticated, and fun--a mix of materials that can work the room of a cocktail party just as easily as a business brunch--perfect for a gal like Erin who likely attends both. (And...the Maltese cross brooch is detachable, so the chains and strands can be worn unadorned if the occasion calls for it, though we're loving the Verdura/Chanel-inspired lovely at the side!)

[the final results...love.]

Erin loved it--and we're digging how she styled her new necklace--perfect with a tailored blazer and jeans.  Many, many thanks to Erin for following along on this design adventure...and we look forward to seeing where the jewels go now that they are part of this Leading Lady's lovely life!

No offense to any of our previous leading ladies, but this one is hands-down tops on every list in our life. 

Her gown was a gorgeous shade of rich royal blue--silk taffeta with a full skirt, belted waist, and gathered portrait collar screaming for some fabulous Elva.  At first we tried beads of faceted clear crystal and silver to pick up the sparkle of the rhinestone buckle...but they seemed to disappear around the neck.  When we considered adding some glittering rhinestone brooches at the side for a bit of extra interest, they were overwhelmed by the fabric at the neckline.  (It's a good thing Deb is patient...chalk that up to her many virtues!). It became clear that color would be best...but with blue and silver being her designated Duchess colors (each gal and her entourage are assigned a color scheme) we needed to stick with shades of royal.   We proceeded to pull every deep shade of blue and silver in the studio to see what might work...and the layered pile began to form a wonderful collage of shapes, sizes, textures, and colors...

As we both looked at the beads, we began nodding in agreement.  This could work.  Multiple (endless?) strands of interesting beads, somewhat jumbled in an artful arrangement, no extra adornment in a brooch or pendant, and a fabulous clasp...just a mass of fabulousness to highlight the beautiful color and simplicity of her gown.  Let's do it.

It took a team effort, but we strung each style separately on wire--nearly 17 in all--from beads of crystal and African glass to pearls and sapphires, and artfully attached the strands to a silver clasp from India.  We only wondered if Deb's neck would be up to the task of wearing this substantial style from cocktails to dance floor.

We love the flurry of excitement that comes when we add new jewels to our collections!  Updating the site every few weeks after a bit of anticipation and patience on behalf of our dear customers is fun for us--it's a joy to show off fifty-some designs that are the culmination of our hard work over the previous few weeks, and all of us in the studio celebrate when the new jewels go live online.  

Yet--not long after we post them--they tend to disappear rather quickly, and we're left with just a handful of lovelies on our web pages for the next few weeks until we are ready to rock and roll again.

So we're changing things up a bit here at Elva this month: we'll be adding new necklaces to the online collections every week!  Along with our weekly Daily Deals (generally announced each Tuesday) we plan to post around 10 necklace designs that are fresh and fun...just to keep things interesting on the site.  Not to worry--we'll still offer one larger update each month, along with our monthly email sharing the latest and greatest from the world of Elva.  

This way, you'll have the chance to enjoy a little bit of necklace love more often each month, so we hope you'll stop by to see the goodies from time to time...and definitely sign up for our earring Daily Deal and our regular mailing list (at the very bottom right of this page!) to stay in the know about earrings at amazing prices, fun events, behind-the-scenes pics, and special savings.  (They're two separate lists, so be sure you're on both if you want the full shebang!)

Let us know what you think about our new plan of action--and hope to see you soon!

XO,

The Elva Gals