I do Crack

No no no- not the drug! My fingers crack! Can you see how nasty they are!!??

Jewelry can be very glamorous- but making jewelry is far from it! I always have charcoal on my face, cracks in my fingers, dirt on my hands-

But you know what?? - I love every minute of it!!

So repair class has not exactly been my favorite class- but I have learned a great deal! Below are the links to a Tennis Bracelet- I had to "prepare" the links, rivet the links together, and set the stones... The three links are about the size of my small fingernail.

This ring was the last project we worked on today. First we set the stone- and then when it was all nice and pretty, we had to file one of the prongs down so we could learn how to re-tip. The prong on the bottom left is the one I filed down. Since this picture, I have re-tipped the prong. (but forgot to take the final pic- you get the point though- right?)

Well now that I have shown you my dirty side- I am off to get some shut-eye!! I have one more day of repair class. Yay!!

One thing is for sure, I do not want to pursue a career in the jewelry repair industry!

But at least I am learning!

Night Night

Don't trust me with your diamonds just yet....

Ready and Eager to start stone setting....

I learned how to use a Graver. This tool helps with many aspects of stone setting.

Food for thought: This star that I carved is smaller than my pinkie nail

What I see through my optiviser:

Before:

After:

(Forgot to take the final picture- after the middle stone was set-ooops)

Doesn't take long for me to get unorganized!!!

Happy Me

Just a few of the projects I worked on in Stone Setting ....

The INCREDIBLY sweet delivery I received while in class on Valentines Day! My Hubby is the BEST!! Thank you sweety!!!!

Stone Setting was an Amazing experience. But the skill isn't learned overnight! I have a lot of practicing to do- and I can't wait to begin!

Foil, Doodles, and Smiles....

Jewelry Design has been my favorite class so far. It was such a different experience and pushed me to use my brain in a completely different way. When the class first began yesterday morning, Alan Revere gave us lots of foil and told us to start making jewelry. He kept telling us to never let our fingers stop moving. I found that my brain had no ideas for designs- but my fingers kept twisting, crunching, folding, and shaping the foil into shapes that eventually led to jewelry. It was a quick exercise but was filled with fun and laughter. After a few minutes he told us to wear our jewelry. What a HOOT!!! Regardless, there were actually quite a few wonderful creations.

Here are two of my foil creations:

1. a folded "ruffled" cuff bracelet

2. a pair of fan earrings

Another project we were given was creating a necklace inspired by something from nature. I chose a leaf- which I then traced:

I really liked the way the veins looked. So I re-traced just the veins 3 times side by side- and then added some circles at the bottom to illustrate where stones could be places:

From here, I created a necklace... Not exactly my taste- But a nice concept nonetheless:

Another exercise we were given involved quite a bit of evolving doodles. These next two renderings of earrings began as "blind" doodles of a house, the golden gate bridge, the inside of a clock, and my portrait. I know, I know- sounds weird and hard to believe.... But after following the steps he gave us- this is what I created:

I can't wait to make the earrings below! These were my favorite by far. :)

Thin sheets of aluminum were used next. We were told to make shapes that could become links to a bracelet. After coming up with several designs, I ended up with the following three bracelets:

After 16 hours of design class - I received my certificate:

Here is a picture of the World Renowned Master Jeweler, Alan Revere, and the "Can't Wait to be world renown master jeweler,"ME!:

I am so thrilled I was able to share my experience with you! And I can't wait to start designing in this new light! Until next time.....

Jewelry School Update

Just wanted to update everyone on my status...I am still in San Francisco attending Jewelry School-and I have to say that this has been the time of my life!! I am learning so much and I cannot wait to buy some more batteries for my camera so I can share some pics of my latest designs with you.

I am so excited for this upcoming week. I am taking Design class this weekend with Alan Revere (the "Brad Pitt" of the Jewelry industry) And starting on Monday, I will be taking Stone Setting for 11 days straight. In addition, I will be featured in a local magazine showcasing my jewelry journey and designs. The 380Guide Magazines will be mailed out this week - so I am thrilled to hear what my friends and family think!

My Kitchenette

So I finally made it to my "apartment" in San Francisco- and I am attempting to make it my new home (at least for the next 2 months).

With that said... Here is a SNEAK peak of my new cRiB---- Meet my KITCHENETTE!!

These are all the groceries that I had to carry across town. I have definitely learned that I take many things for granted back home. For one, I never realized how amazing a car is. Don't get me wrong, I love walking in the city here----- BUT, when you buy 20 pounds (or more) of groceries it would be nice not to have to lug them across town!!

After organizing all my goods- I roasted some pecans, boiled some eggs, and created a wonderful salad.

Anywho, I am proud of myself for being a "big girl" in this big city all by my lonesome!!

I'm so Excited!!

A picture says 1,000 words... or One Million if it's taken by Jennifer Verde!

Jen is a wonderful friend of mine and a extremely talented photographer. Many of you have seen the incredible moments she captured of our family- and now I get the chance to share some more with you!! She was kind enough to photograph me modeling my jewelry and I can't wait to have more photo shoots with her in the future! Thanks Jen!!!

Please visit her website:

http://www.jenverde.com/

Jewelry School

For those who haven't heard, I recently recieved the New Student Scholarship to attend the Revere Academy Jewelry School in San Francisco. I began the classes at the beginning of January and I will finish with a Graduate Jewelers Diploma at the end of April.

I cant wait to upload some pics of the fabulous jewelry pieces I have been creating!!

If you haven't read about my jewelry journey - I have attached it below. Enjoy!!


Dear Friends and Family,

I am so excited to finally be able to write this e-mail. I have just launched my new website and would love for you to check it out!

www.alanasjewelrycloset.com

For those of you who don't know, I am a jewelry designer and got my business license 19 months ago. Each piece of jewelry that I make is given a name and is never duplicated. I am loving this chapter in my life and want to share it with you. Enjoy!!

Sincerely,
Alana

If you are interested in the longer version - I would love for you to read about my jewelry journey:

Growing up with an artist for a mother, I have always loved the arts! To this day, my parents still have my artwork showcased at their house.

After graduating from high school, I attended Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. I got a job at a beading store called Friendze. I started out by running the cash register but soon fell in love with the craft so much, that I began to make jewelry for their displays. Meanwhile, I met a wonderful man, Dustin Bookhout, who soon became my groom.

After our vows, we moved to Denton, Texas to start a new chapter in our lives. I attended the University of North Texas for the remaining years of my schooling and graduated four days before delivering our son Bradyn. Life was as good as I thought it could ever get. God had blessed us with a wonderful home, a healthy family, and I was able to be a stay-at-home-mother like I had always dreamed.


I loved staying at home, and still do, but I wanted something to do during my down time. I started thinking about making jewelry again and as my thoughts progressed, I dreamed of starting my own business. After lots of thinking and prayer, I obtained my business license on April 4, 2007. I started my business on what my mom calls a "silver shoestring." My wonderful, supportive husband started mowing lawns on his days off so he could fund me enough money to build my inventory of beads and business supplies.

I cleaned out our storage closet upstairs and opened shop- hence my business name: Alana's Jewelry Closet. My first jewelry pieces were all beaded. I sold a few pieces to family and friends. Then, my dear friend Rachel Grisham (who has a business making Mosaic crosses) invited me to display my jewelry at a local bistro where she would be selling her crosses. I was so excited to have my first jewelry showing. My amazing mother and father, who had supported me since day one, designed and built a beautiful display for me - and my mom came to help sell my jewelry at the bistro.

My beading passion grew until beading wasn't enough for me. I wanted to learn more. I started taking classes at the Dallas Craft Guild and learned to make glass beads. Then, that wasn't enough. Next, I learned how to work with PMC (Precious Metal Clay). I made fine silver rings and earrings and my passion continued to intensify. I began taking fabrication classes where I learned to design and create all kinds of jewelry using sterling and fine silver. I had found a new love! I thoroughly enjoyed going to weekly classes and absorbed every technique they taught me.

Going back in time a bit... When I was younger, my cousin, Lowell Layne, came and stayed at our house during his chemo treatments at MD Anderson. I got the privilege of really getting to know him and watched his jewelry passion develop. He trained under Jeep Collins (Jeweler) and soon started his own jewelry business. He had a fabulous workspace set up at his parents house (Sally and Ottis Layne) and he made beautiful jewelry. Lowell fought his battle with cancer for 9 years before the Lord took him home. I always admired his art, and never fathomed that I would be able to walk in his footsteps years later.

My love for jewelry was continuously growing and I enjoyed sharing my stories with anyone who would listen. Aunt Sally, Lowell's mother, was one of those who did. She and I had had a very close relationship for years and she was always calling to see what new jewelry stories I had. One day, she told me that their family had decided to give me Lowell's jewelry equipment. She said that it was a great feeling knowing that his tools would be put back to work and that they would be able to stay in our family. I could not believe they had offered them to me- I was more than grateful, I was honored!

I expanded from my closet and created a workshop in our garage. I continued making jewelry and participated in several jewelry trunk shows. This past summer, I came across an ad in one of my jewelry magazines. It was for the Revere Academy Jewelry School in San Francisco. I looked up their website and was impressed with the classes that they taught. Their schedule was perfect for an out-of-towner; offering 3 and 5 day workshops. I wanted to go- but knew it just wasn't realistic. My husband was the first to say, "GO!" He had supported me along the way and encouraged me to continue pursuing my dream. But, I still didn't think I would go.

A month or so went by and I received another jewelry magazine which had a new ad for the Revere Academy. This time, the ad pertained to the academy's New Student Scholarship (travel expenses, lodging, and one class paid for) It was only the second year that the academy had offered this scholarship. The criteria was:
- New student to the Academy
- 100 words or less "About Me"
- 100 words or less "Why I want to attend"
- Submit three photographs of my jewelry
- Deadline: October 1, 2008
- Winner would be announced Nov. 1, 2008

Since the academy only chooses one recipient per year- I had little faith that I would ever win. I didn't even want to submit an application, but my mother continuously encouraged me to do so. And so, I did.

Through the whole month of October, I counted down the days until they would announce the winner. I day dreamed about it, prayed about it, and anxiously waited. November 1st rolled around and there was no phone call or e-mail. November 2nd came and went and still no announcement. That night I tossed and turned and made a decision that I was going to call the Revere Academy and find out if they had announced the winner. The next morning I anonymously called and found out that they had not yet announced the winner. It was a LONG day. That night, I was on the phone with my sister when another call was beeping in- I looked at the caller ID to see the Revere Academy!! I clicked over and Alan Revere (founder of the school and master jeweler) told me that they had chosen me for the scholarship. He said that the faculty was impressed with my application and couldn't wait to meet me. I squealed like a pig and could not believe that another door had opened for me on my jewelry journey.

I am so excited to be given this opportunity. I will be taking classes at the Revere Academy between January and April. I will learn wax casting, all kinds of stone setting, basic lapidary, gem identification, design and rendering, marketing, and much more.

In the past few days I have worked around the clock to update my website. Thanks to my C.H.O. (chief help officer- my mother) and my C.M.O. (chief marketing officer- my sister) I was able to finish the site and couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

Thanks for reading about my jewelry journey- I know that I have left out lots of side stories and blessings along the way- but I am glad I got the chance to share this with you.

Thank you to those who have supported me along the way!!!

My Passion is Your Fashion
www.alanasjewelrycloset.com