Our latest photographer feature should be a familiar face to you--she's the gorgeous gal in our Fall Collection photos, in town and in country and looking beyond beautiful in every setting we shot!  Yes, it turns out that Chelsea Lewis is as talented BEHIND the camera as she is in front of it, and we're thrilled to share her work with you (especially now that you've had a chance to see her wear so many of our jewels...it'll be fun to see how she captures them on her own camera!)

We actually first officially met Chelsea mere moments before we began the photo shoot for our Fall 2011 jewels, and we were immediately impressed by her ability to take what she knew as a professional lens-woman and apply it to posing and positioning for her frequent partner in camera crime, Jessie Kriech-Higdon, for whom she began assisting in 2008.  Chelsea credits Jessie (and her hands-on experiences at Kriech-Higdon Photography) with teaching her about the business of photography, but owes the encouragement and support of taking the leap to starting her own business, Chelsea Lewis Photography, to her husband Clayton.  She'd always been fascinated by photography growing up, snapping pics with her first camera starting at around age 10...and she's captured many a memory since.  A girl after our own nostalgic heart, Chelsea even saves old calendars to look back on days from years past, so taking beautiful pictures is yet another way to ensure she'll never forget anything along the way.

What we love most about Chelsea's work is that she seems to get right to the heart and meaning of a moment and a subject.  It's clear that she takes great pride and honor in being part of moments and relationships, and in specializing in lifestyle and wedding photography in both Louisville and Indianapolis, she has many an opportunity to experience and capture unique emotions and memories.   Amidst her days full of photo shoots, editing, and assembling albums (did we mention she also photographs for Underwired Magazine?) Chelsea was kind enough to share some images from a favorite fall shoot of an adorable little lady... 

as well as some autumn-inspired images of a pair of earrings from the Fall Collection--our faceted green glass clusters.  Taken near home in Historic Fletcher Place in Indianapolis, Chelsea captured color and texture so beautifully!  (No wonder she says she's inspired by color, beauty, age, wrinkles...and travel and wisdom!)  

[all images courtesy Chelsea Lewis Photography]

We loved seeing our jewels captured by such a beautiful and talented lady...thank you, Chelsea, and see you at the next shoot!  

It's an Elva Fields first and we couldn't be happier:  our jewels are featured in the hilarious romantic comedy What's Your Number? starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans!  The beautiful and talented Blythe Danner plays Anna Faris's mother in the film, and we were over the moon about seeing our necklaces on her (and on the big screen!)  They seem the perfect accessory with a bit of flash for her classic, tailored style, and we cannot thank the team enough for the inclusion.  (Want to own a piece of cinematic history?  See two of the necklaces featured here and here for sale on our site!)

(And...besides going to see the film in theaters now, you MUST check out the book on which the movie is based--20 Times A Lady by brilliant author Karyn Bosnak!  We're off to get ourselves a copy now...)

We're happy to introduce our latest friend-photographer in the blog spotlight...Anna Jones!  Among other things, Anna and I have one important thing in common:  our significant others (who are great friends) have a significant (unhealthy?) obsession with fishing and hunting.  So not only did we feel a serious kinship right off the bat, we both know the joys of weekends to ourselves, leaving all the more time to pursue our respective passions.  For Anna, this is no doubt photography, and though it is now her full-time career, the love and excitement for the craft she discovered in the high school dark room has not waned.

Anna is three years into a successful and growing career with OMS Photography in Cincinnati (after graduating from Ohio University with a B.A. in Commercial Photography) where she works as an Onsite Photographer shooting specifically for HomeMadeSimple, a web-based publication and television show featuring recipes, crafts, home decor, and party inspirations.  Working in a renovated firehouse studio, Anna creates beauty shots of her assignments that are published on HomeMadeSimple.com, viewed by millions of subscribers every day.  (Of whom we are now one...and guessing you will be, too, after you have a look!)

Her day job (lucky for us!) allows her a bit of creative freedom, so Anna also has a photography site of her own, and a recent project has us equally green with envy and blown away by her beautiful talent.  A photographer friend enlisted Anna's help with his wedding (which she says was an honor and privilege--doing what she loves, documenting two amazing people start their life together, AND being paid to do so) and Anna found herself in Maui to shoot the celebration among family and friends.  Below are a few of the moments she captured in Hawaii this past June...and you'll find even more on her website.  Stunning!

When we asked Anna to photograph a pair of earrings from our Fall Collection, we knew the vintage ivory and brass drops were a wonderful fit for her...and also, as it turns out, for her neighbor Jenny, who was enlisted as the model for the shoot.  They both live in the Mansion Hill District of Newport, Kentucky, a historic neighborhood filled with winding streets, centuries-old homes, and hidden alley-entranced gardens, and after a morning of mimosas and a bit of overgrown garden "borrowing," a photo shoot was born!  (Anna also incorporated a favorite bone-bead necklace--a perfect fit for the ivory dangles!)

One of the things Anna says she loves best about photography and portraiture is capturing a subject's personality so that she can look back and remember who they were at that time in their life.  No doubt this will be the case with these fun and carefree "capturings" (especially above!)

With our maiden name, we'll love Anna forever for the image above--absolutely gorgeous!  Many thanks to Anna for her beautiful work and effort...and can't wait to see more from you!  (When are those boys going fishing again?)

[all photos courtesy of Anna Jones]

Those of you who've shopped the site since our Fall Collection launch might have noticed a fun little something extra enclosed with your jewels upon arrival.  We hope you've loved the unexpected gift with purchase--we loved planning the surprise!  

Here's the full story on the fun:  With each purchase over $100, we decided to include one of four limited-edition art prints exclusively created for our Fall 2011 Collection.  Two are prints of watercolors (one pictured above) designed and painted by Deborah Wheat--yes, sweet mama of Deb Collection fame!  (Though we think she's most famous for a multitude of other things...among them being a fantastically talented and creative artist.)  She came up with a couple of paintings this season and has MUCH more in store to see...but more on that soon.

The other two prints are of beautiful photographs (one seen above) taken by the immensely gifted photographer Jessie Kriech Higdon of Kriech-Higdon Photography during our Fall Collection photo shoot last spring.  

Without sounding too much like a cereal commercial, we do hope you'll collect all four of these beauties...we won't circulate them again, and we'll have a whole new round of inclusions come Holiday time...enjoy!