Collaboration…

When I received an e-mail last October from my amazingly talented friend, Diane Cook, asking if I wanted to participate in a collaboration with her and five other women, I sent her an immediate resounding “YES!”  So the seven of us started a journey called “With One Finding” that I’d like to share with you:

Diane’s idea was to give each of us the same starting point:  the ‘Marianne’ focal piece from Brass Bouquet:

Using this beautiful focal, Diane unleashed our creativity, and it was remarkable to see the unique designs that each of us came up with that really showcased the personality of each designer.

Here is a picture of my design:

In addition to the ‘Marianne’ focal, I also purchased three different brass chains from the Brass Bouquet.  After I decided on the structure of the necklace, I started adding (and adding, and adding, and adding) many different sizes and colors of glass pearls to the main chain, finishing the focal with another length of chain and pearls.

This design process pushed me a lot.  I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated by the caliber of the other women participating, and I wanted to make sure my design could stand up with theirs.  What I discovered was that, instead of worrying about what they were going to do and instead trusting my instincts, I was able to create a necklace that was uniquely my own.

The complete article is featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry, and I highly recommend you pick it up!  In it you will also see the stunning designs of all of the talented women:  Diane Cook, Marie Dodd, Diana Frey, Julie Pishny, Riki Schumacher and Cindy Wimmer.  Diane also has more pictures posted on her Flickr site.

Thanks so much, Diane, for including me in this fantastic collaboration!