Well, it has been a year .. . just catching up on things.  Took inventory on product for The Rose Sword and will be deleting and the adding during holidays. Here are some earrings that will be added!

The spring is rapidly turning into summer in the San Joaquin Valley.  Hot.  It's going to be hot.

In my mind, I keep trying to manifest that the coastal weather comes and makes it way to stay here.  I'd even learn to love fog in the morning as long as it would burn off by ten or eleven a.m.

I've shamed myself into cleaning the messy workshop.  I'll be giving that a go 15 minutes twice a day. (And if you were a betting man or woman, I'd tell you to lay bets on the other side on that one!) So far, I am admitting the errors of my ways to you, dear reader, and telling you that I am really powerless at this point to do much of anything--including clean and sort.

But the treasures I found as I was making it presentably messy to you, piqued my curiosity about what else lies beneath.  So, I am going to consider it an exploratory adventure--not a declutter.

And if I find anything superb, I will surely show you through this blog.

And what are you doing this beautiful day?  Please share!

Hello and welcome to my messy workshop/office space.  My space is messy as it is the final room I have settled into in my new home.  I still have much to locate and put away, but even in decluttering for this A+ photo shoot (during which I found that my Kodak camera was defunct!) I found trinkets and treasures.

I have an amalgam of new and harvested vintage findings, yet unopened treasures from B' Sues Boutiques and other geegaws and do dads to work with in my collage and assemblage jewelry.  The boxes on the desk are one was I arrange my supplies.  The small box on  top houses any category of item I want.  In this case I have my busted Haskell pieces which, although beyond repair can be used to become part of another newer piece of jewelry.  The box it is sitting upon, you can see open in the next photo are pieces that I have started but not yet completed.  Some of these use acrylic or Lucite while others used glass art beads,  These are pieces in progress.

Against the wall I have my ITSO.  Its many drawers allow me space for beads, sketch books and colored pencils, Gilders Paste and Alcohol inks/Acrylics and other things.  On top of that sit three leatherette cabinets with drawers in which I house my beads/findings/brass beauties (even the verdigris brass tulips B'Sue sells have a home there--I use a lot of those in my work). In the cute bird boxes I house my cameos and wire .

Black metal mesh rolly carts are stored in the closet with my work table.  I keep everything in those from glue to vintage beads to broken bits of vintage jewelry.

The other darker armoire is also used for supplies and houses all of my props for photography.  Lining the walls are bookshelves which house many books, but especially dear to me are the vintage costume jewelry books and the drawing and design book and magazine which inspire me with color and style.  I also have many books that high light the Pre Raphaelites from whom I take color palette often for my jewelry and from the Art Deco age from which I draw lines and color.

Thank you  for stopping by to see my messy workshop.  Progress not perfection.  I am hoping that it iall sorted and clean soon!

Best to all,

Mary Deis
The Rose Sword exclusively on Rubylane
For all the finest in Artisan and Vintage jewelry