I've been waiting to release this new Look Book for Demimonde since last fall.   Now that the days are sunny and hot, I'm happy to share these beautiful images shot at the Oregon Coast.  Photographed by Cully Wright, styled by Julia Platt-Hepworth, hair and make-up by Kassandra Sommerville.

HAPPY FALL!

This year Demimonde celebrates its 2 year anniversary and since my birthday is this month as well, I decided to celebrate them together! On Saturday November 22nd we will throw a little party for both birthdays and be open till 7pm with a 22% off sale all day and online with the coupon code BIRTHDAY22 (feel free to share with friends outside of Portland!)

Come and check out some of the new designers added to the shop like Anna Joyce, Caravan Pacific, Acanthus Jewelry, Virginia Sin Ceramics and more.

And once again, Demimonde is ramping up for a very busy holiday in preparation for some exciting events this November and December. Save the dates for Little Boxes November 28th and 29th, and the Makery winter gift market on December on December 13th at Holocene.

I wish you a very happy fall and a Holiday Season too and I hope to see you on my birthday!

Martina Thornhill Trunk Sale

This long and beautiful summer feels like it is slowly drifting away, the daylight hours are retreating and a hint of fall is just beginning to peek around the corner.  I love the transitions of summer to fall; a time to prepare for colder weather and take advantage of the last rays of warm sun.

The shop has been given a little bit of a face lift, and to celebrate, we are hosting a trunk sale with the talented ceramic artist, Martina Thornhill. Originally from Portland, she now lives in North Carolina and we are lucky enough to have her in town for a short while to showcase her work for an evening.  I have been smitten with her designs since stumbling upon her Instagram feed last year, so I am pretty excited to host this amazing designer.

Please join us on Thursday, August 28th from 6 - 9 pm
for an opportunity to meet Martina, see her beautiful work and check out what's new at the shop.

Hope to see you there.


 

Honey Kennedy White Magic Giveaway

My dear friend Jen is having a White Magic Giveaway on her beautiful blog,  Honey Kennedy this week.  Starting today through the 14th you can find discount codes for some amazing designers and makers.  There's a 15% coupon code for the Demimonde website but you have check out the blog to get it!!

My Love Affair with Turquoise

I have had a love affair with turquoise since I was a little girl.  Growing up in Arizona, turquoise was a part of my visual landscape.  My mother used to have a thrift shop on Route 66 in Flagstaff, called Sally's Junk Emporium.   It was surrounded by Tourist shops selling shiny new silver and turquoise jewelry, and Pawn shops with the tarnished and mysterious pieces sold for cash, called "Old Pawn.   I loved to run up and down the street, visiting those shops and was spellbound by the beautiful jewelry found outside the shops, sold on blankets on the sidewalk by the Navajo women in velvet skirts, draped in turquoise and calling out to me, "Yatahey" - which means hello in Navajo.

Turquoise is one of the oldest stones ever used in jewelry and is called the Stone of Sky, Stone of Water, and Stone of Blessings.  It is a stone that protects and brings good fortune to it's wearer, is used for spiritual attunement and connection to the elements of air and water. It is a very personal, meaningful stone that takes on the characteristics of it's owner.  That may be why I cherish the pieces from mother and grandmother so much.   I feel connected to them when I wear the jewelry they have handed down to me.

When asked about what Demimonde is inspired by,  it always comes back to growing up in northern Arizona.  The San Francisco peaks and it's tall Ponderosa Pine forests surrounded by Pinon and Juniper  forest, from family road trips through the Painted Desert to the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell, to the Red Rocks of Sedona.  From visiting my Grandparents in Phoenix and the flat, cactus filled desert surrounding their home.  From living in Kachina village in Flagstaff and the Granite Dells in Prescott.  The unbelievable sunsets and big sky, desert thunderstorms, vast open spaces filled with color and light….. my heart will always, always be in Arizona.

Squash Blossom rings and bracelets

vintage turquoise

demimonde water and sky earrings 

demimonde turquoise jewelry

aether earrings

Mother's Day Trunk Sale with Stephanie Podasca

Demimonde has just added another amazing designer to the shop. Textile Artist, Stephanie Podasca. Stephanie hand dyes beautiful silk scarves and uses the shibori technique with natural indigo dye to create her beautiful pieces.  I can't get enough indigo and shibori in my life right now… I'm totally obsessed.   And if indigo is not your thing, she is also bringing her richly colored silks to the trunk sale too.  These are the perfect gift for Mom!

Trunk Sale:   Wednesday, May 7th from 6 -9 pm
Come meet Stephanie, drink some wine and shop for Mom!

I'm trying to set aside more time to post to the blog.  I'm a woman juggling a lot of hats on her own:  jewelry designer and maker, shopkeeper, shop girl, buyer, curator, social media maven, web sight management, errand girl, office girl, janitor, wife, dog mama…. just to name a few.    I do all of these with lot of love for what I do and a lot of gratitude that I get to do what I love.  Sometimes I just can't get to all of it and sometimes a few things are a little neglected for lack of time so I can have a walk with the dogs.

But I am making an effort to connect more with what I am doing by posting in way that is a little more personal.  I'll do my best to share more, though it's not a part of my nature to be so open.

so speaking of nature…

I love rocks and shells and driftwood and bits of nature that we can take home in our pocket; those found treasures that we come upon on long walks when we look down at our feet and feel more grounded and hopefully a little more connected to the earth.  At the shop I love to bring in pieces of nature that connect us with our world and it's natural mystifying beauty.  I have such a deep appreciation for all the magic of creation in our world and universe;  it's a gift that exists within our reach and I'm grateful for it all.
xo

sea fan, petrified wood, geodes, ammonites, aragonite, feather