Thank you!

Hi friends!

I’m giving thanks for all of you this weekend with a sale.

 

Use coupon code HOLIDAY2016 to take 20% off any Ready to Ship items in my Etsy shop.

Type “Ready to Ship” into the search box under my shop banner, or look through my Ready to Ship sections on the left side of my shop to see items that qualify.

 

Sale ends at midnight on Monday, 11/28.

It’s my birthday! Let’s celebrate with a sale!

Hi friends!

Today is my birthday! Let’s celebrate with a sale!

Use coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAY2015 to take a whopping 40% off of any Ready to Ship items in my Etsy shop. There are over 75 items that qualify. Woo hoo!

Type “Ready to ship” into the search box under my shop banner, or look through my Ready to Ship sections on the left side of my shop to see items that qualify.

Sale ends at midnight on Sunday, 6/7.

You can see all of my items here.

Let’s Connect!

Are you as obsessed with Pinterest as I am? Come find me and let’s connect!

Sarah Hood Jewelry on Pinterest is here: https://www.pinterest.com/sarahhjewelry/

Click on the little red “Follow” button in the upper right to follow my pins.

See pics of my latest jewelry, plus boards of all kinds of inspiring images in categories like Adorn, Go, Collect, and Dream.

 

And are you on Instagram? Of course you are. I am too.

Sarah Hood Jewelry on Instagram is here: https://instagram.com/sarahhoodjewelry/

Follow me on IG to see studio shots, process shots, finished work and, of course, cat photos. We all know IG wouldn’t be complete without #catsofinstagram.

 

Looking forward to seeing you!

3xR 2014

Happy new year! During the dark and rainy winter days in Seattle, I find myself squirreled away at my bench in the corner of my quiet, cozy studio. It’s easy to lose track of time here, focused and buried in some project or another, but as I raise my head to look around, I realize another year has come and gone.

And another jewelry challenge has come and gone as I wrap up my last contribution to the 2014 “3xR” challenge. 3xR was started by my lovely friend and EtsyMetal teammate Ann Hartley a year ago, in January 2014. In her words, it was a chance to:

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle all the crap we have laying around on our benches and in our studios! Finish all those projects, use those stones we’ve been hoarding, take a look at that old sketchbook. Nothing is off limits here. Make as much work or as little as you choose but you need to Use What You Have.

Fun! The old notion that jewelers are hoarders is true for most of us – we love to collect stones, we save bits of old, broken projects, cut offs from scrapped jewelry, and lots and lots of “what ifs” and “ooh, shiny things!” Many of us end up with drawers and boxes full of things we’ve been collecting for years. Wouldn’t it be great to use that stuff up? So that’s what I and a small group of jewelers set out to do this year. You can see the results of our efforts here in our 3xR Flickr group.

My goal was to finish one project per week, and though I occasionally lagged behind, I did, really, truly finish 52 projects – totaling more than 80 individual pieces of jewelry – by the end of the year. I cleared out my “To Do” pile, sifted through my “Maybe?” pile, and ruthlessly culled my “WTF” pile.

It was decluttering at its finest, cleansing, renewing and continually motivating. On days when I felt tired and uninspired and had to drag myself into the studio, I could just poke through the small piles of projects awaiting my attention on my layout table and see what spoke to me. Most of my projects were simple, and a few were more involved, but the goal was not necessarily to challenge myself with technique, it was to literally clear my bench.

I posted all 52 of my projects in the 3xR Flickr group as I went along. I started with a bang by completing five gold and sapphire rings that I had had sitting half-finished on my bench for about a year (photo below). And moved on from there. You can see listings for many of the pieces here in my Etsy shop. Check out photos of all of my 52 weeks below.

Week 1:
14k yellow gold ring set with green Montana sapphire
14k white gold ring set with teal blue Montana sapphire
18k yellow gold engagement ring with blue rose cut sapphire

Week 2: 14k white gold and almandine garnet stud earrings; 14k white gold and pink tourmaline stud earrings
Week 3: 14k white gold and asscher cut sapphire ring set
Week 4: Steno Brooch

Week 5: Steno Necklace
Week 6: 14k white gold and asscher cut spinel wedding set
Week 7: Sterling silver and rose cut diamond lilac pendants

Week 8: Hammered sterling silver ring with diamond
Week 9: 18k yellow gold and rose cut blue sapphire stud earrings
Week 10: Aquamarine drop earrings and necklace

Week 11: Sterling silver necklaces with prehnite, laboradorite
Week 12: Hammered sterling ring with pink diamond
Week 13: Sterling twig ring with Montana sapphire

Week 14: Sterling twig earrings with carnelian
Week 15: Sterling circle earrings with Peruvian opal; Sterling circle earrings with moss aquamarine
Week 16: Sterling circle earrings

Week 17: Sterling circle and pearl earrings, necklace
Week 18: Botanical charm necklaces – lilac and citrine; lily, lilac and turquoise; anemone and garnet; hyacinth, lilac and aquamarine
Week 19: Aquamarine, sterling and gold fill necklace

Week 20: Sterling anemone necklace
Week 21: Sterling lilac bracelet
Week 22: Sterling twig circle bracelet

Week 23: Hewn sterling silver and 14k rose gold ring with morganite
Week 24: Sterling Crocosmia bracelet with garnet
Week 25: 14k yellow gold and rose cut pink sapphire ring

Week 26: 14k yellow gold and diamond wedding set
Week 27: 18k yellow gold and ruby wedding set
Week 28: Turquoise and gold fill necklace

Week 29: Sterling and gold fill necklace with jade and turquoise
Week 30: Grey diamond and 14k yellow gold wedding set
Week 31: Sterling twig ring with rose cut diamond and sapphire

Week 32: Sapphire cube earrings
Week 33: Sapphire cube necklaces
Week 34: Aquamarine and anemone bud necklace and earrings

Week 35: Seaweed earrings
Week 36: Rose cut diamond and 14k white gold ring
Week 37: Rose cut garnet twig ring

Week 38: Seaweed brooch
Week 39: Seaweed necklace
Week 40: Tourmalinated quartz and sterling silver twig ring

Week 41: 14k white gold bypass twig ring
Week 42: Gold druzy heart necklace and rings
Week 43: Carnelian and sterling silver rings

Week 44: Wide sterling three-topaz ring
Week 45: Green Montana sapphire engagement ring with contour wedding band
Week 46: Sterling bangle with three sapphires

Week 47: 14k white gold studs with moissanite
Week 48: 14k white gold studs with reverse-set Orissa garnets
Week 49: Beaded sterling earrings with pearl and turquoise

Week 50: Brass hex earrings with tourmalinated quartz and chalcedony
Week 51: 14k yellow gold and 14k rose gold twig hoop earrings
Week 52!!!: Sterling bangle set with amber, carnelian, peach moonstone

 

WHEW!!!! That was a lot of photos! And a lot of work. Looking back on all the pieces, I can remember the satisfaction I felt at getting each and every one of them finished, photographed and listed online. The best part? My layout tables and benches looked clean for a bit – at least, until I covered them again with To Do projects yet to come.

I think I’ll keep up the challenge in 2015. Stay tuned for updates along the way.

I wish all of you the best in this year’s challenges of your own, both planned and unexpected. May we all be able to clean our own spaces, both physical and mental, from time to time to make way for new work, new inspiration and the clarity that can only come from a thorough and clean sweep.

I’m thankful for you.

Black Friday / Small Business Saturday / Cyber Monday SALE!

I’m thankful for so many things this holiday season, not least of all the support of my friends and fans including you. To celebrate the season, I’m having a sale! Now through the end of Monday, 12/1, take 15% off of all Ready to Ship items in my Etsy shop. The best part? Because it’s all ready to ship, the jewelry will be in your hands by the end of the week. Gift shopping doesn’t get any easier.

Use code EtsyMetalSale when checking out to automatically receive 15% off.

My Etsy shop is here:
Sarah Hood Jewelry on Etsy

Thanks again, friends, and hope to see you in my shop soon.

Etsy Love

I’ve gotten some love from Etsy lately!

My Double Branch Ring was included in Etsy’s Fall 2014 Lookbook in a section called “The Naturalist.”

And my Rose Cut Sapphire Ring (see photo below) was included in Etsy’s “Our Favorite Etsy Engagement Rings” post in the Diamond Alternatives section. Sweet!

See more engagement rings, both Made to Order and Ready to Ship, in my Etsy shop.

Birthday Flash Sale!

Hi friends!

It’s my birthday today and I’m having a flash sale in my Etsy shop to celebrate.

Use coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAY2014 to take 20% off of any Ready to Ship item in my Etsy shop.

Type “Ready to ship” into the search box under my shop banner, or look through my Ready to Ship sections on the left side of my shop to see items that qualify.

Sale ends midnight on Tuesday 6/3 (that’s tomorrow!).

There’s still time to order jewelry by Christmas!

Order any Ready to Ship item in my Etsy shop by December 18th, and it will be in your hands by Christmas! (This applies to U.S. addresses only).

Check out the jewelry below for ideas on what to give (or ask for!). All pieces below are available and ready to ship.

Craft Forms 2013 opens tonight

Craft Forms 2013 opens tonight at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA. This is the 19th year of this well-known exhibition, and I am thrilled to be included. Craft Forms is an international juried exhibition of fine contemporary craft, showing both established and emerging artists working in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media crafts.

Nancy Campbell, the Executive Director of the Wayne Art Center, says:

Craft Forms has evolved into a favored showcase for the work of the nation’s most talented emerging and established artists. The Wayne Art Center is proud to be a part of this stunning exhibition which draws more than 5,000 visitors each year. We are very pleased to continue to bring such a high caliber “museum quality” exhibition of contemporary craft to the Philadelphia region.

In addition to the great exhibition itself, Wayne Art Center throws a pretty lavish Preview Party, which happens tonight from 6pm – 10pm. There will be wine, cocktails, a raffle, live music, a silent auction, and oh yes, a martini luge. Wish I could be there!

Here’s the piece of mine that is included in the show:

© 2013 Sarah Hood, Palm Tree Ring. Sterling silver, coconut shell, model tree.

There is a very cool interactive web catalog here, which includes photos of all the work and artist statement from the artists.

And if you make it to the show tonight, please send me photos!

Let’s Party!

Please join me this Friday, November 8th from 6:30 – 8:30 at the Artist Trust Awards Party at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Help me celebrate my recent grant from Artist Trust, and party with all of the many other 2013 Artist Trust grant and award recipients, including recipients of the Arts Innovator Award, Twining Humber Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award, Fellowships, Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) and Conductive Garboil Grant, as well as the 2013 Creative Catalysts.

The party will feature dance performances from Etienne Cakpo and Amy O’Neal, storytelling and drumming with Delbert Miller, animation from Anna Czoski, Stefan Gruber and Clyde Petersen and short documentary excerpts by Evan Briggs.

You can purchase tickets through Brown Paper Tickets online.

See you there!