bespoke leather bag

One of my dearest girl friends asked for a special bag. Made to order for her specifically, from the grey color of the softest deer skin leather split to the finishing touches of a wild turkey feather and a Tibetan wolf tooth. A one-of-a-kind bag for a one-of-a-kind gal!

fit for Queensland

This lovely cotton number has been a part of my mothers vintage dress collection for many decades.  I am thrilled to finally see it find a new home. In Queensland, Australia no less. I am always so excited to ship items from my special collection overseas. I know it's only stuff but I like it and to know it will begin a new journey so far away intrigues me, maybe because the cities, towns and communities themselves fascinate me.  How incredible it would be if I was the one traveling overseas and think about all the things you have experienced in your favorite summertime dress. If only clothes could talk to whisper all it has seen...

Transactions like this leave me inspired to rummage through my vintage collection, to snap some great pictures and get to uploading more to my shop to see what other new journeys may unfold.

shed = office

Just a peek at a little project we worked on Sunday. I love a good productive Sunday when you get things done. This is another one of those things that I have been inspired to do for a few months but finally got around to. Though we only just begun, phase 1 if you will, it serves a rather necessary function but jumping into it was like opening a can of worms if ya know what I mean.

When not on a job site, at a meeting or in his wood shop working with heavy duty machines you will sometimes find my hubby at our rather small kitchen table making business calls, doing research or designing plans for a new project.  But we have this ideal space that can rather easily be converted into a home office while sharing space with tools/wood/seasonal & holiday garb/potential project supplies/etc/etc. Led by a narrow red brick walk you will find a little house like structure in our backyard that until days ago was filled with a disorganized collection of keep and don't keep. Again we have only just begun with this but we are off to a good start and our little shed house now functions as a home office while it awaits phase 2. A quiet space to work from home when that space is needed.

feelings at Judaculla Rock

You know that feeling when you can't get what you want or do what you want because someone (or something) said no.  I believe this picture sums that feeling up quite perfectly. Don't you? As we get older we learn how to withhold these raw emotions but it's safe to say that when I can't do or get what I want what I feel on the inside looks a lot like this. (insert smirk here)

Here we were visiting Judaculla Rock, the most extensive petroglyph site in North Carolina. It's a large rock with worn pecks and scratches that were used to tell a story maybe during a ceremony or ritual many many decades ago.  The land is family land but they have entrusted it to the state to make sure it is preserved as best as possible. They have a nice path and a railed viewing platform to protect the rock from being climbed on of course. Well our little boy jumped over the decks railing and climbed onto the rock, not listening to us ask him to stop. My hubby had to jump the little wooden railings to put a stop to his rebellion. He is a real wanderer true to his Sagittarian birth rite.  Above is his dispirited walk back to the van.  Poor little fella I know but we need to respect the fact that some rules are for following.

bring me to water

A flowing mountain stream in February. What a pleasure it was to awaken to the brisk morning air kissing my barely open eyes. Only to begin the day with a warm fire on the river's bank. All was quiet, near ghostly. The sound of the crystal clear water rushing over the rocks, as if man had placed each one of them there particularly. Cold like ice to the touch. Refreshing in so many ways.
Ahh....
Thank you.
Mother nature's water ways are so special to me and these are some of the oldest in the world. I am thankful we have finally met. Of course the blue ridge in the horizon adds a beautiful backdrop to its story.

treasures from Cherokee

Buffalo teeth, wild Turkey feathers, an Elk hide, photos of ancient traditions and a ceremonial drum.  I am excited to begin creating some beautiful pieces inspired by our journey.  The land of North Carolina is some of the oldest in our country and there are many signs of the life lived by the Natives many many moons ago still evident there today. This drum, handmade by a Cherokee tribesman, has a wonderful deep sound, a beautiful resonance that I can literally feel in my heart. Nearly tear jerking. Just after taking these pictures I stood on the rivers edge and beat my new drum connecting me to the Appalachian Mountains above and the Ocunaluftee River below. That land is sacred.

Not pictured // I also picked up some leather lacing, artificial sinew and an assortment of bone feathers from a lovely local store on the banks of the river called Medicine Man Crafts. 

Among my many treasures I have also brought home the priceless souvenir of inspiration and a refreshed spirit that only travel, new experiences and adventure can offer.  Those crystal clear rushing mountain rivers have a special affect on me.

hello from the road

This is what our Mardi Gras looked like this year. 

Still on our journey but here's a few pics from my phone of our first day in the Great Smokey Mountains.  The weather has mostly been mild and beautiful. We are really enjoying our experience. All of us.

Kaya hiked a steep trail down to the flowing river with her papa and came back to say "thank you daddy that was a memorable experience I will remember that forever." Moments like that...Priceless!

And we found snow. Not very much of it but it was snow.

a winter road trip

We are on the road. We left town last night for a winter road trip. Mardi Gras has come to town and this year my family of four is hitting the road (a new yearly tradition maybe). We are looking forward to maybe finding a little bit of snow along our way.  We are going to see the sights of the Great Smokey Mountains with a quick stop to visit Graceland and the Rock-n-Roll Museum as well as some famous sights in Nashville the home of country music.  I traveled to Tennessee when I was a young girl but I hardly remember the trip and I have yet to visit beautiful North Carolina. We don't have a lot of time and we don't have any real plans other than our basic route. While driving through the mountains we plan to visit Gatlinburg, Asheville, the Cherokee Reservation and Gorges State Park. Before heading to Atlanta then to Dauphin Isle as one of our last stops. A big loop around.  It will be a lot of driving and a lot of quality family time while seeing a lot of new sights and experiencing our country, our land. All in 9 days.

Traveling with a three year old boy who is bubbling with energy should be interesting. Our daughter is not new to road trips, she travels amazingly, she's been doing it since she was 9 months old. I have been hesitant to travel with our little guy basically since day one because he gets so antsy.  Well, we are about to find out...

I am excited to pick up many beautiful treasures inspired by Appalachia, by the folklore of the surrounding areas, the land and our trip that I can come home to create with. And maybe a pair of boots.

turquoise & bone... mix it up

Tooth & Turquoise. That's what I'm wearing right now...

I like the idea of mixing up the ear charms. I am wearing the Tibetan Wolf tooth hoop with the old Turquoise.  I like that it funks things up a bit.  You can pretty much do that with all my hoop earring designs.

Find this pair of hoops with both pairs of charms for a variety of 3 different looks in my shop.

wild & elegant

I find there to be something elegantly beautiful about these Tibetan Wolf teeth hoop earrings. The teeth are small and lightweight. To me they celebrate life and the beauty of natures' creatures. We always hope that these creatures have lost their life naturally. If it happened to be by the farmer protecting his flock/herd/lively-hood, though it's sad I understand the challenge these predators are known to create in the name of their survival.  At least we can put these to good use. Native Tribes have used teeth and bone to create tools and adornments in order to not waste any part of the animal. I believe that by using these organic pieces in my beautiful creations the primal nature of these wild animals could live on as a representation of the power of nature and the primal power within each one of us.

These lovely copper hoop earrings hang about 3" from your ear to the tip. I am liking the beauty of the mixed metals of copper and brass, both should not tarnish. Of course the teeth are cleaned and sealed. I have said a prayer for the creature for which these came and I even shed a tear for him/her.

Wild + Tribal + Natural + Bohemian + Elegant + Chic

Now available HERE.

copper + gold leaf

An organic form copper teardrop with great tribal like texture has flakes of gold leaf sealed onto the surface for eclectic, exotic, warm toned statement earrings. Now available in my shop.

vintage + handmade

Vintage + Handmade that's what I'm all about and this is a perfect example of mixing vintage pieces with handmade creations. In this look the cropped dolman sleeve top is sewn and hand-dyed in my studio, the necklace is made with stones I have collected that I wrapped with heavy gauge wire and hung from a great, beautiful vintage chain, the skirt is a wonderful red vintage slip with ruffle detail.  I made the dreamcatchers hanging about using vintage doilies and recycled metal circles from old crab nets used many moons ago somewhere here in bayou country. The blankets and afghans are either handmade or vintage or both.

A perfect representation of bayou bohemian.
Jewels + Metals, Leather + Stone, Cloth + Dye, Remnants + Relics.

i love hoop earrings

I hand make these lovely hoops from 20g non-tarnish copper wire. They are lightweight an easy to wear. They are my favorite earrings to wear and make right now. I find a nice hoop to have a real tribal, feminine feel to them. Don't ya think?

These will be available tomorrow, Saturday Feb 2, at our trunk show at Hemline Lafayette. If you are in the area we would love to see your smiling faces. I will be there from 2p-4p sharing my steps to making a dreamcatcher.

Also available in my online shop.