Inspiring Stop-Animation

With the popularity of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, stop animation videos have been getting a lot more attention as of late. Enter Angela Kohler, who is responsible for the dreamy Kindle commercials.

Angela Kohler Kindalicious

To me, the commercials sell her aesthetic more than they sell the product itself, which may be part of their branding. All I know is they seem a throw back to an older, less polished technology which is more in line with reading a good book rather than curling up with a cold Kindle.
Needless to say, the videos stand alone as an example of her beautiful art work. If you have reservations about loving advertising, check out her short video "Lost Things."


Angela Kohler Lost Things

Bands have been utilizing stop animation to create videos for years, often because they can do it on a relatively small budget. Here is one of my favorites, Oren Lavie's 'Her Morning Elegance.'

Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

Now that I have you hooked, you should really watch this incredible commercial for natural gas. I will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Guaranteed.

Aardgas Commercial

Three Shows, Three Cities

With emptier wallets this year, many folks are hand-making gifts and cards. But not everyone is that crafty. So, local crafts shows are the next best thing to find affordable, well-made items imbued with hand-made goodness.

I will be doing three holiday shows this year in three different cities.
Two are happening this weekend in Minneapolis and Chicago and I will be sharing a booth with my sister, Jenny, of Orange Peel Enamel.

No-Coast Craft-o-rama, headed up by the super crafty group Crafters Local 612, will take place this Friday and Saturday at the Midtown Exchange building. Hours are Friday from 3 to 8p and Saturday from 9a-5p. The lovely Miss Allysen Hoberg will be running the booth so stop by and visit her.
Download a vendor map here. Our booth is E26.


The second is Renegade's Chicago show which will be held at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. Saturday and Sunday, it will run from 11a-7p. Plan to spend some time here as they have filled three floors wall-to-wall with crafty goodness!

Download a vendor map from here. We will be Booth 124 in Room 207.

The final show, 3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair, I will be flying to Brooklyn to participate in. With over 120 artisans, free coffee, and live demos, this is a must-visit! It is one day only so don't miss it!

Most of the shows will be giving away swag bags to the early birds so make sure to check out the details of each event to get your hands on some free goodies.

Good Things Come in Threes

Adorn Jewelry can now be found in three local shops in Minneapolis: the Walker Shop, Soo Visual Arts Center, and Patina's new Shoppe Local. All three are awesome places to pick up some holiday gifts, so go for a little drive around town and get your shopping done!
Some of my favorites I stumbled upon at Shoppe Local: Lake Calhoun topographic cards, mohawk baby hats and jars of honey with honeycomb.

And at Soo VAC, I found creepy doll buttons, Ashidashi paper and pencil socks, and matroyshka measuring cups.

Exclusive Jewelry at the Walker

If you were to walk to the Walker, as I do since I only live a few blocks away, you would notice the circles of turf that emerge from the cement walkway out front. When I first moved to Loring Park, the circles caught my eye. I felt inspired to create a piece that utilized the grass but also incorporates the flush cement. Working together with Nancy Gross of the Walker Shop, I created rings and pendants that will be carried exclusively in the shop.

Go and visit the museum to see the newest exhibit, Benches and Binoculars, and do a little holiday shopping while you are there. There are many great gifts to be founds, including
Melissa Borell's Pop-Out Jewelry, Cardboard Safari taxidermy and Tokidoki blind box Cactus Pup figures.

Moss Rings Down Under

Adorn Jewelry has gone global! While many of you lovely customers from around the world have purchased Adorn from my shop online, this is the first time that Adorn Jewelry will be available for direct sale outside of the United States.
Heaven in Earth is shop in New South Wales that specializes in garden accessories. The new addition to their shop? Garden Jewellry!

Check out some of my favorite items that they carry:
Gift Tags with Seeds Imbedded $1.50
Paper Potter Tool $31
Handblown Glass Droplet $4

Jocelyn, the shop owner, does a fabulous job of promoting all of the items that she carries, as evidenced by her impressive list of press she has received.

And already the jewelry has begun to create a little buzz down under, with the Circle moss ring being featured on Magnolia Square's blog Snippets.

Midwest Living

Yes, it has been too long. You are right. What have I been doing in all this time? Well, for one, I moved across the country. I am now back in Minneapolis, after a 7 year stopover in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. This required a lot of down-sizing since I moved from a large 2 bedroom that I shared with my sister into a tiny studio apartment just off of Loring Park. I will post pics soon of how I fit my studio into my studio.

Here are some moments of the past months to get you caught back up to speed...

Before I moved, I was part of a local feature about Etsy on Komo 4 News. From the Komo 4 page, click 'Watch the Story' to see the interview.


Many bike rides down to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market since I moved. I love my market bag from a great little find in Queen Anne called Eat Local (read: $1 Stumptown lattes my Seattlite friends!). I giggle to myself that I am carrying a 'local' bag from Seattle. All of their designs are done my Nikki McClure, a artist who can wield an X-acto knife like nobody's business.


Inspired by the brick apartment buildings I now find myself surrounded by, I am working on a new mossy brick pendant. Coming soon to my shop!

Moss Line Available for Wholesale

I finished my wholesale packaging today for the 'Living Jewelry' that will be carried in retail shops. What do you think?
I am enamored with the clear little boxes because they remind me of little terrariums encasing the "growing" moss rings and pendants. And if you know me or read my blog, you will know that I love terrariums.

Are you a shop owner interested in carrying the line? You can check out my terms and download a Line Sheet here http://adornjewelry.blogspot.com/2008/03/wholesale-and-consignment.html .