An Unexpected Challenge 2017

An Unexpected 2017

This is a difficult time for me, but really want to share a little with you, as I am not going to be my usual happy, jewelry girl self for a bit. I was diagnosed with breast cancer about 2 months ago and my life has been spinning and going up and down in a surreal world. I had surgery and am headed to chemo and I haven't been able to work in my studio for weeks. A piece of me is missing that so much--it's my love and passion that I get to ultimately share with everyone. My lovely friends and family have been supporting me so lovingly and I am so grateful and thankful for them. I'm struggling, but am moving forward every day and know all will be ok.

I created some beautiful work this winter and spring and have been updating my website with the new work and will continue to share the beautiful pieces I've made. Please check back often. www.christinepetersjewelry.com
If you're interested in learning more about my current story, click here: https://www.youcaring.com/christinepeters-860084

My amazing galleries and shops are continuing to show and sell my work. Please stop by Casual Interiors in Boothbay Harbor--Carol has a large selection of beautiful work available and is kindly taking no commission during my journey! We are hoping to have a trunk show in August if all goes well. Will keep you posted.

Rock Paper Scissors in Wiscasset--We are having a jewelry party on Tuesday, July 18, from 6:00-7:30pm. Hope you will come and see the work in person. Erika is so kind doing this for me, and also is taking no commission during the sale.

CRAFT on Elm in Rockland, Center for Maine Craft in Gardiner, Maine Mineral Museum in Bethel, The Good Supply in Pemaquid and In Tandem Gallery, Bakersville, NC.

Will keep you updated if I can participate in the few shows I have booked for later in the summer. I will be writing my blog on the website and you can see updates about jewelry and health during this adventure there.

Thank you for your encouragement and support for me and my jewelry!
Best,
Christine

Thank You!

I've been wanting to write for so long and every time I go to do it, I get overwhelmed with so much I want to say and share. And instead, I write nothing! So I decided to write something to get started and where better to start then to say thank you!

Thank you to my clients and friends and family--some of you who fit into all those categories--for your continued support, encouragement, and enthusiasm. I appreciate each and every one of you! I thought I'd share a couple of photos.

A very cold selfie in Sunset on Deer Isle while visiting my dear friend and client Rosa.

This is the lovely hand of Cynthia who was a pleasure to create this ring for.

The beautiful wrist of Gladys who fell in love with this cuff bracelet and celebrated her retirement with it.

My oldest and dearest friend Angela. We finally got to visit during a between show trip to Massachusetts.

There are so many more people to celebrate and I will continue to do random posts doing just that! Off to Hartford, CT today for my next show. Time to get moving!

New Year's Eve 2015...so much to look forward to in 2016!

Sunset walk on the last day of 2015. Thank you for being a part of it--it's been a pretty amazing year! I've been supporting myself through my jewelry full time for over a year! I am so proud and thankful and grateful! Looking forward to creating beautiful new pieces and sharing them with you. Here's to a wonderful new year full of ‪#‎happiness‬, ‪#‎goodhealth‬, ‪#‎peace‬, ‪#‎passion‬, ‪#‎creativity‬, ‪#‎balance‬, and ‪#‎love‬. So much to look forward to!

Time...September Ends

So it's the last day of September and I really thought (and hoped) that I would be writing regularly here on the blog. But...obviously I haven't!!! I swear I try to fit it all in--designing, creating, making, photographing, web updates, social media, shows, etc--but there still are not enough hours in the day for me to get it all done.

I've created some beautiful jewelry this year, both for inventory and on commission, and will try (note the try) to show you some of them over the next few weeks. However, I am leaving for back to back shows next week, so I will try to post before then.

For now a recent photo of some new things from this weekend.

Reticulated silver bauble rings with amethyst, rhodolite garnet, and oxidized with 18k yellow gold. Reticulated silver cuff bracelets wave with 5 peridot gemstones and oxidized with large moonstone.

Summer Craft Shows Come and Gone

It's July 27! Yes, summer is flying! I've been traveling all over, showing and selling my jewelry,  including a show I participated in in Chicago. Over the week leading in to the 4th, I drove all by myself out to Glencoe, IL, to exhibit and sell at the Chicago Botanic Gardens Art Festival. It was a great experience! Not only did I prove to myself I could do it, but my work was received so positively, I was somewhat overwhelmed. I also had the honor of receiving an outstanding achievement award for my botanical inspired work!

The weather was spectacular and the gardens breathtaking. Lots of new botanic inspired designs are racing through my mind and hopefully coming out on the bench soon! Lots more to come!

Jewelry Craft Show Travel

It's April 23...where has the time gone?! I know I say that every time I sit down to write, but really!! For the last 10 days, I've been on the road traveling for shows. I finished up my first show in Gaithersburg, MD and am staying with my sister in Massachusetts before I'm off to Hartford, CT for this weekend. I'm geared up and ready with lots of new jewelry.

I worked on a new booth set up for MD with added panels to match my tablecloths and lighten up the booth:

I love the way the panels brighten the booth and give it a whole new continuity of color. In CT I have a corner booth, so I've had to adjust the layout and I think it's going to be great. Here's what it looks like before the jewelry placement:

Looking forward to show opening Friday night. If you're near Hartford, CT, come on by the XL Center for the American Fine Craft Festival benefiting the Wadsworth Atheneum.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

Here it is Sunday morning and I'm sipping coffee and watching some snow fall. I'm also editing photographs and adding new jewelry to the website. This is one of the more challenging business tasks for me. I would much rather go upstairs to the studio and create then to sit down at a computer. But here I am and I'm embracing it!

There are so many new designs I am excited about, including lots of new ever-blooming flowers and effervescent reticulated jewelry. What do you think about those titles for the two styles I create? I'm playing around with words to generally categorize the themes. Ever-blooming really encapsulates any flower or leaf pieces. Effervescent is a fun word that evokes the natural bubbly look I have with the reticulated texture, but is it too difficult to say? to spell? Would love to hear your thoughts. 

I'll leave you today with a few photos of the newest pieces.

Sterling silver hydrangea flower studs with salt water baroque pearl drop earrings.

Large silver bauble ring with mint green tourmaline rose cut stone.

Winter Marches On - January's Work

Here we are--it's February 8th! And it's still snowing! After a successful, but extended trip to Virginia, I returned home to Maine on Tuesday to four feet of snow and extreme exhaustion. While I catch up, here's the jewelry I created during January. I'm quite pleased with the work--new ideas and designs are flowing and I'm trying to keep my hands as busy as I can.

Flowers, shiny and oxidized, that are sculptural and three dimensional have really peeked my creativity. Layers and textures and patinas all enhance the final designs.

New reticulated jewelry has also sparked and the response from clients and friends has been overwhelmingly positive. If you can believe 8 pieces from this photograph sold at the show! I've been working daily to keep the creative momentum flowing. So excited to see what's next!

Thank You!

A great big thank you to everyone who came to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Chantilly, VA! What a positive experience--meeting new artists and being welcomed by a new show. Looking forward to the next one in Oaks, PA in March.

At Mother Nature's Mercy

I'm preparing for the upcoming Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Chantilly, VA, which involves a lot of driving--from Maine--to and from the show. And Mother Nature has decided it's time for snow storms, blizzards, and highly destructive winds...oh great! Yesterday started it with a coastal storm--not bad, but getting us ready for FEET of snow on Tuesday. Yes, FEET, and I'm supposed to leave early morning on Wednesday. Well, if there's one thing I'm trying to learn (especially after last year) is that plans change, life changes, and one must roll with it.

If it weren't so beautiful here, I couldn't handle winter!!!

Leaping into a new year

Hard to believe it's 2015! But boy am I ready for it! I'm leaping and believing (hoping) the net will appear. So much is new—it’s what this year is all about—new beginnings, new perspectives, new experiences. This is definitely a new place for me--putting fear and worry aside and believing in myself--and my jewelry. Good things will happen. Just have to remember that worry is a waste of time and life is too short to be afraid to live. 

With the New Year, I’m going to start writing regularly on the blog. I’ve missed the connection, showing new pieces and processes. I hope you will follow my journey.

Always up for a challenge, I continue to apply to new venues and hope that I will have some success. It’s not easy to get the jewelry out in front of a new audience, but I’m very lucky to have been accepted into a new group of shows this spring—Sugarloaf Craft Festivals—and the first one is in Chantilly, Virginia on the last weekend of January. So, with this surprisingly early show, I’m dedicated to creating an inspired body of new work to lead me down a new road. Lots of new things are coming this way. Just watch and see!