Centralia, PA

Durelle and I visited Centralia, PA yesterday. It's an old mining town in PA that has been, for the most part, abandoned due to an underground fire that has been burning since the 60's. You can read more about it on wikipedia... it's really quite interesting.

Here is a bench welcoming you into town... it sits across the street from one of very few houses that remains:

Here is a street that was once lined with houses and buildings:

There is a section of PA Route 61 that has been cut off and re-routed due to the road caving in. You can't see it in the pictures, but there is smoke coming out of the large crack in the road:

You can see more photos on my Flickr page. Definitely a cool place to visit if you live nearby or are driving through the area.

Rings!

I've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks working on some new designs. I'm excited to be bringing 2 new elements to my shop: rings and resin! My first of these items will be the combination of both... rich, opaque colors of resin set in a uniquely designed sterling silver ring. These will be available in my Etsy shop soon.

Flowers

Perhaps it's all of the springtime blossoms popping up, but I noticed today that I've been incorporating lots of flowers into my designs lately. I'm especially excited about the Tiny Blossom earrings. They are small and delicate, yet have lots of detail that make them special. I'm one who tends to just stick with one piece of bold jewelry at a time... either focusing on earrings or a necklace. While these are interesting enough to be worn on their own, I think they are a perfect match for a bolder necklace.

I really like the way the flower turned out on this pendant. It has a funky look that will go great with breeze summer dresses.

Cherry Blossoms

On Sunday I went to Washington, DC to check out the Cherry Blossoms. It was really cold, damp, and muddy. They were pretty, but I'm not sure I'd need to go back to see them again. Perhaps I'd feel differently if the weather was nicer.

I did have fun taking pictures, though...

Reinvention

I am excited to announce that I have a brand new name! I am now Esma Studios! I've been wanting to come up with a name that I could use that would work for both my jewelry and home decor that would be unique, yet short and easy to remember. My real name is so common, and I felt like it didn't stand out enough. I decided on Esma because it is a loose derivative of Amy and it means "emerald" in Spanish, which is my favorite gemstone and one of my favorite colors.

I've already posted a few brand new pieces in my Esma shop, and over the next few weeks, I'll be moving in the items from my Amy's Jewelry shop. I'm hoping to open my home decor shop in the next few weeks, as well, so stay tuned for more info on that.

Berry Earrings

Modern Cross Stitch

I decided I needed a new sitting-around hobby now that spring has sprung. It just doesn't feel right to knit a scarf in the warmer months, especially since I can't wear it right away. I thought cross stitch might be a good choice, but I hadn't done it since elementary school, and that was the kind with the printed on pattern. I thought that since the arts and crafts movement has hit the younger, hipper crowd, a modern-looking pattern would be easy to find. Well, I realized that my search was going to be a little harder than I thought as I leafed through pattern after pattern of cats, dated flower arrangements, and home-sweet-homes. Then I came across a book called Parisian Panache by Jenna Lynne that had cute French-themed patterns. (Ok, actually my boyfriend found it as I was getting ready to give up due to my growing frustration at not finding anything I liked). I'm planning to decorate my studio with some fashion illustrations that I have, and I think some of the patterns in this book will go nicely with those.

If anyone knows of any other sources for modern patterns, let me know. Otherwise, I think I may just design my own, which I think could be quite fun!

Dress Form

I'm so excited about this new dress form I got! I've been wanting one to take pictures of my necklaces and to use as a display stand, but I really didn't want to spend 100+ dollars on one. I was so happy when I found one on PB teen's website for under $100. Initially I wanted a traditional ivory fabric one, but I really love the look of the black wire. The proportions aren't exact, but I don't think that's too important since I'm not actually using it to make clothing.