Welcome to the EssieB Blog... All things Jewelry! This is the best place to see new EssieB designs, get answers to frequently asked questions and follow my adventures in the wonderful world of jewelry design. Have an idea for an EssieB post? Email Suzanne
Hand-crafted Italian glass beads come in all forms! And the colors are a designer's dream. Here are a few of my latest creations. More at EssieB Jewelry Design on Facebook. Love it? Then by all means, LIKE us once you're there!
Hey there folks! This is my first attempet at a video for my jewelry. It started out as a Slideshare presentation for my Linkedin profile and took on a life of its own! Jim Green a brilliant percussive guitarist and songwriter, aka The Wandering Endorphin, allowed me to use "Firefly" my favorite of his instumentals, as music for the video. If you have two extra minutes, DEFINITELY watch Jim play it recorded live in Chicago. (2nd video below)
Keep in mind... it's ONE guy, ONE guitar, ONE take and NO looping! WOW! Jim, you continue to blow me away!
It's so much fun to create with different materials! A similar pallette and three distinct looks.
The top piece is a necklace made with vintage Czech glass beads and sterling silver. Each leaf is its own pendant and they are strung together to create this very dramatic collar design, The midnight blue accents, in Swarovski crystal, are noticable in daylight and draw the eye immediately into the design.
The grey pearl necklace in the middle here is a wonderfully organic mix of pearl and Swarovski crystal. The glaze on the tiny iridescent crystals enhnaces the opalescence of the cornflake pearls while being very subtle in the overall design. I love playing with pearls and really enjoy the variety of treated colors available. My vendors will tell you I am very selective about the colors I choose to work with and often will pass over the pearls during multiple buying trips.They really have to jump out at me. And these did!
The final necklace is an undesrstated Tahitian grey flat-drape design. It may be worn at a standard 16"-17" length or shortened to be worn as a choker withr with or without a detatchable pendant (not shown). The piece is made with Swarovski crystal pearls and was inspired by a faux-pearl belt my maternal grandmother, Nana Kay, wore in the 70's.
This was a fun custom job. A present for a wonderful couple on their 40th wedding anniversary! Years ago... the story goes... each time she got in his car he would give her a pop top ring to wear on her finger. Now, years later, I made these 14K gold replicas for their daughters to give to their Mom & Dad on this special occasion. Would you believe we had to start with buying a pull tab off Ebay! If you are old enough, you remember when they were everywhere! This job was a pleasure!
Did you know that my maternal grandfather invented and held the patent for the ultrasonic brazing and welding technology that made these pull tabs possible. Libby's juice might have been the first to use it. I'll have to check on that!
On the left is a necklace a client purchased at a store a few years ago. It's a really difficult color to match and she had a tough time finding earrings to complement the piece. She asked me to give it a whirl. As it turned out, I had exactly TWO vintage Czech beads that matched the color EXACTLY! I was even able to bring out some of the touches of fuchsia, circles and textured gold.
The yin-yang symbol represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work. This was a wonderful custom project I designed while at Casting House and Ethan Lord Jewelers in Chicago! Those are rubies, green diamonds (treated for color) and white RBC diamonds set in 14K white gold. Each stone is bead set by hand. It took several revisions to get the stone placement random enough for the fields of color to read easily to the eye. The finished piece was stunning!
Collaboration gets love from local press in San Jose! Lisa Whalen, photog extraordinaire captured the lush, art gallery, back-room feel of the space, while Monina Wright created a "modern day geisha" look on models Sophia Niu and Inessa Ilina. The shoot took place at Sophia's restaurant Taiwan in Willow Glen. The jewelry? You guessed it... yours truly!
Weddings are so much fun and sometimes it is the understated designs that work best. I designed this set for a wedding held this past weekend in the hills above Berkeley, CA. The bride wore a beautiful ivory gown with a shirred bodice. It was cut on the bias and flowed with every turn. The dress was understated and the bride wore her hair down in large curls. It was important we add to the elegance of the picture while balancing the elements of the look.
We made slight modifications to the length of the necklace and the bride chose a variation on the earrings pictured here. She looked stunning as she walked down the aisle.
Born and raised just outside Philadelphia, I moved to Chicago after college and San Jose in 2008. I now have two decades of experience in jewelry design including countless hours of mentoring by expert artisans and ten “hands on” years in fine jewelry manufacturing. As a result I bring a wealth of knowledge about materials, craftsmanship and style to the table. Beyond jewelry, I have a passion for words and the intentional use of language. I believe we create our experience in life and am writing a book on the topic because I am curious… What else is possible? ~ Suzanne Bayles
This blog is for all of us. Selfishly, it’s a way for me to have all of my projects in one place so I can see progress over time & know your thoughts about them. As the blog grows it will provide practical info on both jewelry and the intentional use of language. Strange bedfellows perhaps. Welcome to my world!
Gratitude
I am fortunate to have the love and support of family and friends across the country; one in particular has known me since I was barely old enough to ride a tricycle in her driveway. Much love to all!
Welcome to the EssieB Blog... All things Jewelry! This is the best place to see new EssieB designs, get answers to frequently asked questions and follow my adventures in the wonderful world of jewelry design. Have an idea for an EssieB post? Email Suzanne 
