So Long Summer

We are enjoying our last few days of summer at the beach before school starts. We will miss the warm summer sun and the cool ocean tides. We will also REALLY miss the lazy mornings and afternoon naps. But everyone is going to benefit from a little more structure and routine around our house.

Looking out over the ocean it is so clear that all the wonderful colors come from nature. The blues and greens and all the colors in between are all here. Our new fall collection features some colors that are reminiscent of the ocean. They remind us of seaglass. The color makes me want to relax, read a book, take a nap. . . we will miss you summer.

Image from T-Party

Images courtesy of Mrs. Howard

Images of the turq jewelry fall collection. Email kat@turqjewelry.com for inquiries.

Image courtesy of Country Living

Image from Farrow and Ball

Jaime Young light available at Layla Grace

Images courtesy of House of Turquoise

Seaglass Chandelier by Arteriors

Image courtesy of Coastal Living

So Long Summer. We will miss you. Bring it Fall!

Wallpaper LOVE

The image below is from the new issue of Southern Living, it features Phoebe Howard and other designers describing how they can get that "Southern Look". This layout caught my eye- very different for Southern Living. So clean and soft! I love the grey wallpaper paired with the silver. I am assuming it is a Gracie hand painted panel or something similar? Whatever it is I want it! Does anyone know?

Image from MrsHowardPersonalshopper.com

oh Baby!

Congratulations to our friend Jenny Jordan who just had a baby girl. Jenny is a wonderful illustrator. She licenses her art here. Now she has some new inspiration!

Here are some of my favorite designs of hers:

Falling for Color

We cant wait to share with you the new Fall line! We are in the process of putting it up on the site right now. Here are some images of the new inventory. Obviously we are loving COLOR! Its like a Candy shop in our offices right now.

Time to Hang it Up?

Did anyone happen to read the Tory Burch article in the September issue of Town and Country? Great article but we havent been able to shake one comment she had. She was asked how old was too old to wear a mini skirt and her answer was 35 years old. This declaration has set many of us young lasses into a tail spin. Especially since so many minis hang in our closet and have gotten some serious face time this summer. What do you think? Is 35 too old for a mini? I think my mom would say so but it honestly never crossed our minds.

I think Gwyneth looks great in a mini dress and she is 38, right?

SJP in a mini and she is 45ish?

Jennifer Aniston is over 35.

And how about Our own Private Dancer? Miss Tina Turner can rock it and I have no idea how old she is.

So what do you think? Are the Mini skirt days behind you?

Project Turquoise Skull

Our friend Bryce has inspired us to get out the beads for something other than jewelry. It all started when she spotted this cool turquoise encrusted skull (see image below) at the super chic shop C&A Camp in Charlottesville, VA. It was love at first site -Bryce knew she had to have it but the owners would not sell it. Apparently it was the store mascot named Jimmy and they would not part with him. It didnt look like Jimmy and Bryce had a future together. But there had to be other Jimmys out there. . .

Jimmy the mascot at C&A Camp

(The Warehouse District - Charlottesville Va, 22902 - 434.973.5555)

After some research the closest thing she could find to her original love were a few pieces on ebay. But they were almost $4,000. While these works of art are surely worth that much it got the creative juices flowing and a project was born.

Turquoise Embelleshed Longhorn found on ebay here.

Semi-precious stones on Longhorn by Santa Fe artist Ali Launer. Image courtesy of J. Mackie, LTD

Turquoise Mosaic Cow Skull found on Etsy here. Made with turquoise, carnelian gemstone, translucent green quartz, smalti and glass tile.

The Project Begins:

Here is the skull bought on ebay for 32$.

There are so many different color, grades and shapes of turquoise nuggets. Bryce decided on a decent grade with a lot of shine and mixed the medium and small size to get a varied look. She opted for the green turquoise with black and brown matrix as opposed to the bright blue turquoise without matrix. These beads can be found to the public at Fire Mountain.

And here is the final masterpiece that was made by Bryce with super glue, turquoise beads and a vintage skull found on Ebay. She decided to cover only the front to give it a less overwhelming presence in her den. So unbelievably cool and creative, not to mention a lot less expensive than the ones out there. I have a feeling that this is going to add more Bohemia and Funk to the already glam Harris household.

In case you want to see more inspiration here are some other encrusted skulls:

Herb Williams created this piece with Crayolas! Amazing! What rich color. This piece is available on Vivre for a mere 14,000$ - it is signed by the artist, dated and titled with edition numbers. Cleat-mounted for flush wall hanging. Made of multiple shades of crayons. 26" x 28" x 22".

BULl Sculpture by Herb Williams, $14,000.00 on VIVRE.com

Suzan Fellman created this deer skull with Swarovski crystal-encrusted antlers. Measurements are approximate: 24"-30" high and 16"-24" wide. Weight: 9-13 lbs.

DEER SKULL WITH CRYSTAL ANTLERS

by Suzan Fellman, $1,800.00 on Vivre.com

A graffiti covered skull from C&A Camp (Jimmys home).

Mad Style

I know I am late in the game on the Mad Men craze but Holy Wowza. I just finished season I (in about 3 days) and love everything about this show. The 60s style is out of control - they make smoking, plaid and wood paneling look so cool. I am dying for this turquoise headboard. Club furniture came out with their version of it here.

Image courtesy of newcritics.com

Image courtesy of feministe.com

This color combination is to die for. Love the turquoise pillows and Joan's purple dress. Killer.

Image courtesy of Madmentvshow.com

Image courtesy of LA Times.