New in the Etsy shop

We've been having some strange weather today. Just moments ago it was torrential downpour, now it's bright and sunny.

As promised, I've finally added some new items to the shop. One of which is the aforementioned Verdant Skull brooch which turned out very nicely. It's actually available in time for my favorite holiday season: Samhain, Halloween, El Dia de los Muertos, Winter Nights, etc.

The other piece I'd been keeping to myself for a long while. One of the towns which I pass through en route to work holds a yearly carnival. From the road, I can see the tops of the striped tents and that is what inspired this design. It took a while for the whole necklace to come together as this was really the first leather/fiber/metal/bead experiment I've done, but I'm pleased with the results. Since the carnival is in town again, it felt appropriate to post it.

There are additional photos of each piece on Etsy :)

If you've been to the Phée Adornments Etsy shop recently, you may have noticed that something is missing. I'm trying to grow towards a certain aesthetic for my jewelry and leather craft which doesn't exactly mesh with the artwork I am offering at the moment (I'm also a little OCD and like things to be organized into sensible categories!), so I decided to make a separate shop for my art prints and originals. You can now find my available work at www.DesireeIsphording.etsy.com. In addition, I moved the bellydance-specific art (namely ACEOs) to my bellydance shop: www.CarrouselBellydance.etsy.com.

Verdant Skull Brooch in progress

I know, I know... I've been a very bad blogger. I apologize and hope to do better in the coming months. At the very least I'm hoping to provide more in progress photos and visual insights into my design process, so there will be some more images to enjoy. I recently joined the current decade by purchasing an iPhone (the photos it takes are much better than the ones my iPod Touch generated) so that means it will be easier to document new creations before taking the more official, polished photographs for the Etsy listings.

Case in point is a design of a Verdant Skull cameo for a new series of brooches influenced by esoteric and occult imagery.Since the brooches will be relatively small (at a certain point large brooches become too awkward to be functional brooches, in my opinion), it also gives me the opportunity to use up some scrap leather from other projects. I try to always be cognizant that leather was once part of a living being and I don't want to be wasteful. I did some preliminary sketches which were not to scale in a notebook before drafting the design, but the photo below shows the progress from a pencil sketch at the appropriate size, the pattern which I use to transfer the design to leather, and the actual design realized in leather. I recently acquired a new friend for the studio, a Razortip SK pyrography tool, and this is the first time I've combined pyrography with the leather carving I typically do. Now that I have an idea as to what it can do, the possibilities are making me a bit delirious (in a good way)!

What I'm really loving about this brooch series is the prospect of combining leather with various other media. I have some weird fondness for sewing things by hand that I'll get to indulge since I'm going to be layering the leather cameos with felt, lace, trims, etc. Some bead embroidery may also be in the forecast for these. Below you can see the progress made on assembling the actual brooch. I've layered the leather over some vintage lace which I tea-stained, striped trim, and a velvety millinery leaf. I sewed a lovely patina-ed brass key charm below the cameo and added an eyelet so I could dangle a turquoise nugget from the bottom.

I want these brooches to resemble some antique, intricate medals I have seen and I'm really pleased with how this particular one turned out. What the above photo doesn't show is that I've tried to lend a more aged look to the fabric by staining the edges with a sepia-toned ink. I attempted to take some better photos today, so hopefully it won't be long until this piece is listed on Etsy.

Although my time is still divided between a full-time job, an internship, and my various other hobbies and interests, things are slowly falling into place for me and that means I have more motivation and energy to make things.

Truth be told, I've also been holding out a bit on listing some new items until I figured out a new logo and identity for this endeavor. My work has changed so much since I first starting making jewelry several years ago, and I've outgrown my old branding. There were some items I did not want to present until I had something new to replace it. I think I've finally hammered out a design I'm pleased with although I still need to do some additional work before finalizing a new business card, etc. but I feel more comfortable posting those items.

I wanted to share the second version of my Peacock Feather cuff bracelet as an opportunity to discuss reserved listings. I had just carved and tooled the leather portion of this cuff when someone contacted me to ask about the previous version I had made. The timing worked out perfectly. I finished the cuff and listed it on reserve for her, and hopefully she's wearing it right now :)

While I'm not taking custom orders at this time, if there is an in progress piece shown here that hasn't yet been posted on Etsy which catches your eye, I'm willing to temporarily reserve it for you once it is listed for sale. Please contact me via email or Etsy conversation to discuss this option. Reserves of this kind are on a first come, first serve basis and if you do not purchase the item within the specified time period, I will remove the reserve so potentially anyone can purchase it.

Wicked Vixen · Original ACEO Painting

Inspired by antique Victorian and Edwardian erotica, this sultry seductress gazes out from the canvas, enticing the viewer to come hither. Approach her with caution though for she keeps some strange company. What appears as a collection of shapes in the background when the painting is viewed from straight on reveals itself to be a thoughtful skull with a piercing stare.

"Wicked Vixen" is an original acrylic painting on a miniature stretched canvas in ACEO format. Parts of the painting have been treated with a crackle finish to lend an aged, creepy quality to accentuate the subject matter.

ACEO is an acronym standing for Art Cards, Editions & Originals. They are small pieces of art measuring 2.5 by 3.5 inches, the same dimensions as a baseball card, and are a great format for collecting. The canvas is approximately 3/8ths of an inch deep and can be hung quickly and simply on a small nail but would look lovely in an ornate little frame in your Gothic boudoir.

This piece is signed and dated on the reverse by the artist. The copyright notice does not appear on the original piece, but the artist does retain all rights to the image even after purchase.

measurements • 2.5 x 3.5 x 0.375 inches
materials • acrylic paint & ink on canvas
price • SOLD!

Mortal Geisha · Leather Cuff Bracelet

This is the second version of this bracelet that I've created, and I'm much more pleased with the carving & tooling aspect than I was with the original. The first time around the leather was being strangely finicky (I think that I got it too wet in preparation for carving) so I was having difficulty getting details and nice crisp lines. The original version still turned out nice — better than I first anticipated — but this version I feel is a great improvement. I really wanted to highlight the carving so I left the color scheme rather simple: earth tones with a halo of red.

Mortal Geisha is a hand-crafted leather cuff bracelet inspired by my love for the Japanese tradition and by tattooing.

The design was originally slated to be part of a series of tattoo flash I was working on, but I decided that I liked it so much that I wanted to use it in a leather piece. A woman's profile superimposed with that of a skull is a common motif in American old school style tattooing (likely derived from calaveras, sugar skulls, and other Day of the Dead imagery).

My unique twist incorporates an influence from Japanese woodblock prints of geisha and courtesans of the floating world. Perhaps it represents the "Lady from Hell," the courtesan Jigokudayu who achieved enlightenment upon gazing at herself in a mirror and seeing a skeleton reflected there instead of her own youthful form. A gnarled pine tree curves around her neck, clouds swirl about her head, and a flame licks up from her collarbone. She is silhouetted by a scarlet stain.

The main portion of this cuff bracelet was hand-carved from vegetable-tanned leather and then dyed and painted. A strap of supple mocha-colored leather is affixed to one side of the pictorial panel using two gold-toned rivets and on the other with a gold-toned snap closure. The front of the carved leather portion is sealed with an acrylic coating to ensure that it stays vibrant for a long time to come, but please keep it dry to ensure its longevity. It is signed by the artist on the reverse.

measurements • bracelet is about 3.75 inches wide at its broadest point and approximately 7.5 inches around
materials • hand-carved & painted leather, gold-toned rivets and snap
price • SOLD!