Ruby Lane's Creative Hands Newsletter for October 2008

In This Issue

• Happy Halloween from Ruby Lane!
  
• ARTISAN SPOTLIGHT: Sarit Wolfus
  
• SHOP SPOTLIGHT: Artistic Crystal Jewelry
  
• WELCOME: Merkaba Jewelry Design
  
• Ruby Lane October Jewelry Artisan SHOP SAMPLER
  
• OCTOBER GEM and BEAD SHOWS
  
• Share Creative Hands With A Friend
  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM RUBY LANE!

Click here to see a special Halloween video message from Ruby Lane, or go to:

http://www.rubylane.com/search/event/,halloween



Silver-toned Scare-dy Cats Floradora Charm Bracelet

ARTISAN SPOTLIGHT: SARIT WOLFUS

My basic belief is that we all have freedom of will and the freedom to choose to fulfill our wills. That is why after more than 20 years in a successful career as a performing musician I turned to fulfill my dream of jewelry making, and that is why about a year ago I added 'coaching for life' to the things I do. Today, I share my time harmoniously between the three arts/professions. I coach people to discover their true wills and how to choose to fulfill it, I create a diverse and wide range of jewelry designs, letting others discover their own personal self in a piece, and I play the trumpet.

Before dedicating myself to jewelry design, I enjoyed a fulfilling career as a professional musician performing with Israeli orchestras, chamber ensembles, theatre productions, and other exciting venues. I began my musical career serving with the Israel army band, graduated from the Academy of Music at the Tel-Aviv University and then became a member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra, playing the trumpet.

The same love of creating art for the enjoyment of others that illuminated my career as a musician also sparked the discovery of my ability to design and create unique jewelry. Intensive study under an Israeli goldsmith provided me with the skills I needed to start to focus solely on developing my expressive jewelry design techniques.

In my creations, I try to bring you – my audience – my rich internal world as well as insight into my basic principles and beliefs. Unlimited freedom and endless imagination are perhaps the main ingredients of my work as well as my strong belief in our freedom to choose. This is the main reason why I offer a diverse and wide range of jewelry designs, to enable each one of you to find something of yourself – something inline with your own personal taste or something you have a fondness for that touches your heart like a particular shape, color, material...

All my jewelry designs are unique handmade creations, crafted from silver, gold, and gemstones. My work has been presented in jewelry galleries and stores worldwide. Some of the designs are one-of-a-kind pieces, created as an individual piece, guarantied never to be repeated. The rest are created in limited editions.

Sarit of Sarit Wolfus Designs

SHOP SPOTLIGHT: ARTISTIC CRYSTAL JEWELRY

I have always been fascinated with artisan jewelry, not just for the beauty of it, but also for the incredible amount of thought, detail and preparation that goes into making a one-of-a-kind and truly unique piece.

I began making jewelry as a hobby, but after receiving rave reviews about my jewelry from family and friends, I decided to turn my hobby into a business. In June 2007, I decided to showcase my jewelry exclusively on Ruby Lane. I'm just thrilled and honored to be here among some very talented artists. Ruby Lane has a reputation for high quality and spectacular service and that's a perfect match for my business.

I use a variety of materials in my jewelry, including the well-known and spectacular Swarovski Austrian crystals - both crystals and crystal pearls. The wide range of colors and brilliance of these faceted crystals is amazing and the luster of the crystal pearls cannot be matched!

I also use sterling silver, Balinese silver, Hill Tribe silver, Pewter (sterling silver over lead-free pewter) semi-precious gemstones, Czech Fire Polish beads, freshwater (cultured) pearls, dazzling beads and unique pendants from around the world.

One of my newest lines of jewelry includes Vintaj Natural Brass products. These products are not only fabulous to work with, but they are naturally lead and nickel free! Dedicated to preserving the environment, Vintaj elements are hand embellished with natural oils to create a rich luster in every piece. No chemicals are added - 100% natural, gotta love that!

Many of my customers have asked me to design jewelry for a special occasion and I'm happy to fulfill their requests. If you are looking for that stunning one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry, send me an email with your ideas. I would love to create that unique piece of jewelry for you.

Thank you for looking through my shop Artistic Crystal Jewelry by Renee Francois

WELCOME: MERKABA JEWELRY DESIGN

My name is Jennifer and I am a mother, wife, jewelry designer, and all of the above!

Since I was a young girl living in New England I have been a nature lover. Whether bird watching with my aunt, collecting pinecones for my mother's wreaths, or finding interesting seashells at the beach, I have loved the outdoors.

Finally, I have found the perfect way to combine my love of nature and my love of designing. Now living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I enjoy creating my nature-inspired one-of-a-kind jewelry in my home studio.

I use only the finest materials in my work. Quality semi-precious gemstones, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, artisan lampwork glass, sterling silver, and more.

I am a self-representing artist specializing in jewelry design and a member of SRAJD. My SRAJD member number is 0465.

My quality boutique pieces are both affordable and perfect for everyday wear. Whether for work or play, my jewelry is designed for everyday women. Women who like wearing pretty baubles even when they haven't taken a shower, fixed their hair, or put on any make-up! Because each day is special, you deserve to feel like a queen even if all you did today was walk to the mailbox.

As a stay-at-home mom, I am pretty much describing myself! But, as a rule, I never leave the house without jewelry :) And jewelry makes me feel awesome even on *those* days. Ladies, you know all about *those* days!

Jennifer Crook of Merkaba Jewelry Design

SHARE CREATIVE HANDS WITH A FRIEND

Did you enjoy this issue of Creative Hands? Do you know others who would enjoy receiving it? We invite you to forward this issue on to others. Happy reading!