Paradux Designs

New retail outlet in Farmington, Maine

2009-08-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Marni just visited some friends in Maine, where she used to live for many years and her art is well known, One of her friends owns a store called Calico Patch in Farmington, and is going to start carrying WaterGems!

Check out the details on the new store:

Calico Patch
174 BroadwayFarmington, ME 04938-5911
Phone:
(207) 778-4950
Website: Calicopatch.com

More Quality Control

2009-08-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

According to my QC expert (my wonderful Dad), he "microwaved some of your water gem pieces in a glass of water for 3 minutes then let it sit. Basically no apparent effect. Also tried to burn another piece, and although it ignited when exposed to a flame when the flame was removed it simply smoldered. Would conclude that the parts are reasonably water resistant, and although combustible not inflammable in any way that would be a significant safety hazard. "

Cool, huh?

Save the Date - Saturday October 3, 2009

2009-08-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just got great news. We got juried ito the 2009 Art on the Avenue show. Space #E150.

Art on the Avenue is a multi-cultural arts festival celebrating diversity through the arts in the Potomac West area in Alexandria, Virginia. Over 300 vendors and 40,000 visitors attend. I've been doing this show for over 10 years, and its always a lot of fun - a little more eclectic and unique that your typical arts festival - always tons of kids and dogs - great food from local restaurants - as much street festival as art show.

Check out all the details about the show at http://www.artontheavenue.org/ .

Quality Control

2009-08-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

I should have known. Went up to Connecticut last week to see my Dad, and he asked the same question many of you have asked....how durable are these WaterGems anyway? I explained my process, and that I thought they were water-resistant. But, I reminded him that they were still pieces of paper - albiet lovely ones that are painstakingly varnished multiple times - and that dumping them in a glass of water wasn't wise.

So, of course that's what my Dad did. Dunked them in a glass of water. Then he tried to light them on fire. He said (and I agree) that I needed to know the limits of my product - and that it is moderately durable. He volunteered to be my quality control tester and I gratefully accepted! I left him with a bunch of rejected pieces, and told him to give it his best shot.

The first results are in....and it turns out that dunking them in a glass of water DOES NOT destroy the WaterGems. It makes them flexible for a while, but when they dry out they are as good as new. Yeah!

He also tried to light them on fire - and after 3-4 seconds the piece did start to slowly burn. But he was able to blow the fire out easily. So, the good news is that they don't spontaneously light when near a flame, but I still don't recommend dangling a bracelet over the tea light candle in the middle of your table during a romantic dinner.

Next Dad plans to boil and microwave them. I'll keep you posted.

1st International Customer!

2009-08-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just had my first international customer - a friend of Marni's from New Zealand who was visiting here in the States. Pretty amazing to think of my jewelry being worn halfway around the world...

WaterGems now available in stores in Connecticutt and New York

2009-07-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to Connecticutt to visit family and friends. While there, I visited a couple of local shops and am pleased to say that WaterGems are now for sale in shops in Deep River and Essex, Connecticutt and a shop in New City, New York.

Essex, CT - Scensibles www.scensibles.com
Deep River, CT - KariAnn Price Designs www.kariannprice.com
New City, NY - "The Things I Love" www.thethingsIlove.com

I left home with over 3 dozen pieces of jewelry, and didn't even have one pair of earrings to wear on the way home. Wow. And I have orders for over a dozen more. All of a sudden I am so busy.....a wonderful problem to have....

Wonderful new lime green starts - part 1

2009-07-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I'm on a lime green kick right now. Feels like lazy days of summer, and going barefoot in freshly cut grass. My friend, famous water color artist Marni Lawson, did some wonderful new starts in all shades of green - especially lime - and I'm itching to start using them.

Thought it might be interesting to show what the watercolor paintings look like BEFORE they get cut up into little pieces...and then what the jewelry looks like afterwards. So this is the first part....the front and back of some watercolor starts. It will be a collaboration - Marni's art on the front and mine (you'll immediately know which is which) on the back.

Stay tuned for part 2................

New designs for summer sparkle

2009-07-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Just finished a couple more pieces of jewelry - some new sparkly designs and new shapes - circles! Was inspired by summertime shapes, and some new watercolors in pinks and purples...

Where do WaterGems come from???

2009-06-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Many folks have asked me what exactly are these WaterGems™ and where do they come from? Well, they are simply (and I think elegantly) little pieces of art - watercolor paintings - some call them "starts" that are done by myself, my watercolor teacher and friend extraordinaire Marni Lawson (see http://www.marnilawsonwatercolors.com/ for her marvelous work), and by other friends who we do watercolor art with. The inspiration and design for these pieces can come from anything, its frequently a painting that we didn't like so much in design, but that had great colors on the paper. So why not turn it into something truly unique?

Below are some of us painting in the barn that I use as a studio,

and Marni doing a quick watercolor sketch of the back yard from the open barn doors.

And finally, here are two of the pieces that came out of that season, courtesy of Robin's wonderful blue/green starts....

Welcome

2009-06-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog. I'm just getting started on a new line of jewelry, and wanted someplace to talk about it and show pictures, so here I am.

Paradux Designs specializes in hand-crafted art glass and jewelry. I love light and color and creating unique designs using lamp-worked beads and semi-precious stones. Paradux Designs has been in business for almost 12 years; I started in a small space above St. Elmo's coffee shop in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, VA. Now everything is made in my studio in an old barn on my property outside of Leesburg, Virginia.

To see more products, or learn more about me, visit http://www.paradux.net/