these are a few of my favorite things...for halloween!

1. alexander mcqueen skull tapestry cushion

2. katie bartels carnelian and garnet earrings

3. FEED trick-or-treat bag

4. essie, devil's advocate

5. butter london, minger

confessions of a nail polish addict: spooky sparkle

favorite thing of the week: charley harper and todd oldham for fishs eddy

when I heard todd oldham was working with fishs eddy on a line using images from my all-time favorite artist charley harper , I was so thrilled. the first part of the collaborationlaunched this summer and has been a huge hit.

last night I attended the 25th anniversary party for fishs eddy and I was able to catch up with brett harper (charley's son), who has become a dear family friend, and todd oldham and they let me know that the second part of the collaboration, a line based on charley's bird prints is in the works! my favorite flamingo print will be used, hooray!

here are two of my favorite pieces from the current collaboration:

triangle fish sauce dish

angel fish sauce dish

caffeinated in the city

caffeine is an essential part of my everyday routine (multi strand necklaces can't be made unless paired with a cup of coffee or shot of espresso!) and I have spent a lot of time exploring coffee shops in nyc. while most days involve espresso from my beloved nespresso machine, when I venture elsewhere for caffeination I go to these gems:

1. Blue Bottle Coffee

I can never resist drip-brewed coffee. and nothing beats sipping delicious coffee against the backdrop of the high line.

2. FIKA

My neighborhood favorite. I spend many afternoons here doing work and sipping a soy latte.

3. Strumptown Coffee

a west-coast transplant, strumptown has amazing coffee. I love grabbing a cup and working at the desks in the ace hotel lobby.

4. Joe the Art of Coffee

all over nyc and always reliable. they also have drip-brew coffee.

purchasing sparkle

one of the main reasons I received a graduate gemology degree from the gemological institute of america (GIA) is because I wanted to make sure that when I purchased gemstones, I knew what I was buying, what treatments had been done to what I was buying (the majority of stones on the market have been heat treated or had some chemical used to improve their appearance), and the quality of what I was buying. these skills have been essential to my business and I have caught several vendors trying to sell me improperly identified gemstones. with this said, one of my favorite parts of my job is purchasing gemstones because of the inspiration the process produces and the amazing new stones I bring back to my studio. this past weekend I went on a major buying trip to make sure I have enough stones to carry me through until my late january buying trip in arizona.

check out the gemstones I purchased. I had so much fun playing with the different colors.

sneak peak of a necklace I'm working on using various gemstones.

new bracelet I created with quartz and spinel.

icon + sparkle sighting

I have been obsessed with georgian jewelry ever since I first saw anna wintour sporting her signature necklaces in the documentary "the september issue" (necklaces seen above). anna is always seen mixing and matching her necklaces or just wearing one. well, last night I got to see her citrine necklace in person (and of course I got to see anna!). it was a real thrill. I have long admired anna's leadership at vogue and her various projects to help boost the fashion industry (CFDA Fashion Incubator, Fashion's Night Out, etc). I was completely starstruck but managed to get a really good glance at her fabulous necklace (she was literally 3.5 feet from me and probably heard me gasp, oops!).

inside my makeup bag