Jewelry Design

Hello!

Today I have some BIG news to share.

I’ve been waiting for almost a year and a half to share what is really going on behind the scenes.  Yes, I’ve been keeping a secret for that long!  You see, in the summer of 2011 (!) I finally took the first steps in pursuing a long-time dream.  After submitting work for jewelry publications for many years, I knew that it was my time to embark on a larger goal.

I am absolutely thrilled and downright giddy to announce that I am writing a wire book for Interweave! My very first publication was a design in Interweave’s Step-by-Step Wire back in 2008.  I always knew I wanted to pitch a book to Interweave – they have a wide range of titles, great stepped out photography, and incredibly professional staff.  During the Fall of 2011, I enjoyed developing my concept with the acquisitions editor, Allison Korleski.

Throughout this process I have had constant encouragement from my husband Randy and my good friend, Kerry Bogert.  They let me know that I could really rock this topic, and have been there every step of the way.  I also have Christine Damm,  Jeanette Ryan, Lori Anderson, Stacie Florer, Kashmira Patel and more to thank – all friends that encouraged me, and were sounding boards whenever one was needed.  I want to thank not only these friends, but all of you in my circle of jewelry friends – your visits alone to my blog have helped fuel my dream, that whisper that I had something unique to offer to the jewelry community.

What is the book going to cover?  If you guessed wire, you are correct!  Around the time I was having book thoughts on a frequent basis, I got an email from a designer friend, Linda Sinish. She asked if I had considered a book about a topic in particular.  She gave me great food for thought and rather than make it just a chapter which I had been considering, I took it and explored like never before.  You’ll see there is going to be something for everyone across all mediums.  And to really pay tribute to this topic, I have gathered an incredible group of contributors.  I’m honored to be joined by  Christine Damm, Diane Cook, Kerry Bogert, Lori Anderson and Tracy Statler.  If you’re familiar with their work, you’ll know that these artists each have distinctive styles and are in a league of their own.

I’m feeling good about where I am today, with the bulk of work behind me now.  It was a long road getting here though, and I was definitely challenged along the way. Here’s a look back, leading up this week which was an important one.

 Signing my book contract with a gift from Randy – a special, engraved pen.

Celebrating  –  Cheesecake Factory style.

A memorable day this past winter – mailing my contract.  The ball was set in motion.

I kept all of my book ideas, sketches, tutorials and important information in this journal from my husband. It is almost full, complete with many coffee-stained pages.  I spent many a late night with it by my side!

I had a half-way point deadline.  My personal projects and corresponding tutorials were due back at the end of May.  We celebrated this milestone with cupcakes.  Do you see a trend here?

It was an exciting time when contributor projects began to arrive.  Here,  beautifully distressed packages from Diane Cook.

A huge portion of the book work was done over the summer, when the kids were home and out of school.   My days were spent with the kids usually at the beach.   My creative studio time was relegated to the  evening, once the kids went to bed.  Making a cup of coffee at midnight was common,  and I worked away listening to my playlists on Grooveshark.  

Packing the projects to mail to my editor.

The end of the summer rolled around and my final deadline arrived.  My manuscript and all of the projects were completed.  The entirety of my book was mailed from a Fed Ex in Delaware, as we began our drive to New England for vacation.  I cannot begin to explain the relief and excitement I felt to reach this point.  If you’ve ever written a book, you know exactly what I mean!  Pure joy.

Now fast forward to this past week…another big milestone in my book-writing journey. I headed to Loveland, Colorado for the book photo shoot!  There were many days of preparation in advance of this trip. I recreated projects so that everything would hopefully run smoothly during photography.  I felt nervous and excited at the same time!

I was greeted at the airport by my editor, Marlene Blessing.  Marlene is well-respected in the jewelry community, and many of you may know her as the former Editorial Director at Interweave, a presenter on “Beads, Baubles, and Jewels”, and jewelry design book author.  I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but I know I am in good hands with Marlene overseeing my book.

The Interweave and F+W Media offices are housed in this charming old bank, among other locations.

Marlene introduced me to this great local coffee shop, The Coffee Tree.  We discovered that we both share a love of good lattes and homemade baked goods!  We shared baking stories and plan to swap some of our favorite recipes.

I spent two full days in Joe Coca’s wonderful photography studio.  You may recognize his name as the photographer of many, many Interweave books. Go flip open a few books in your jewelry library and you’re sure to see his name.  If there was ever such thing as a photography studio fairyland, I found it. Joe’s studio is in an old 1910-ish corner store.  There are signs of the past from the wood floors to the brick walls and high ceilings.  And inside is one extremely talented and friendly photographer and his two sweet dogs, RJ and Katie.

Joe took pictures of the book’s techniques section as well as the step-by-step project photos.  Everything flowed nicely and it felt reassuring to be in the capable hands of my editor, photographer, and the book designer, Julia Boyles.  I’ll be honest, it really felt too good to be true.  I enjoyed the moment, knowing I was at the highlight of my jewelry career thus far.

Julia working her magic, styling a scene.   It was instant gratification, seeing Joe’s photos right on the large computer screen moments after he took the shot.

What a set up…. Look who has the best seat in the house!

It doesn’t get any better than this, having your furry friend right there with you all day.

It was a whirlwind few days out West.  I thoroughly enjoyed each moment with my editor – we were up early and out late.  Marlene kept everything on schedule with experienced professionalism.  And boy does she know how to have fun!  I never would have imagined that we would squeeze in our fair share of sweet treats, a little shopping binge, and stories about growing up and life in general.  I’m going to treasure my time in Colorado – it was the best.  Now I’m looking forward to moving on to the next step in the process…… and that soon the calendar will turn its pages to 2013, the year the book will finally be out (Fall time frame)!

I cannot wait to share more with you, and hopefully help to inspire a passion for wire jewelry design if you do not already have one.

Returning Home

– Cindy  xoxo

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