Since I've had my baby, I haven't had much time to design new pieces.  I've been able to fill orders and reproduce existing product, but as far as carving out large chunks of time to really get into the creative zone to make new pieces, I've been lacking.  It always takes me a while to kind of "warm up" creatively and really get into that space where the ideas are flowing and piling on top of one another... and once I'm there I don't want to leave it!  I've almost forgotten how much I love that creative zone, as I've prioritized tending to the needs of my adorable new baby.  However, I've been able to get into my studio a few times lately, and I just wanted to dedicate a blog to how much I love this creative space and share with you some of my new designs.  My studio right now literally looks like a tornado ran through it, as one project will spark an idea for another, and then so on and so on, until I have several half-finished products laid out all over the room that I jump back and forth between.  Below are a few quick amateur shots of some new pieces that were all inspired by one another.  Professional photos to hit the product pages soon, but in the meantime, email me to inquire further about any of these. 

I did this one first.  I just got in these Swarovski crystals in various sizes and colors that I've been dying to use but wanted to tone them down a bit to make a piece that was more everyday.  I decided to contrast them with wood and brass chain to achieve this effect as well as create an interesting juxtaposition. I also wanted to add a pop of color, highlighting the trend of neutral with a neon hit that is so big right now.  I love how the orange and lime beads look so playful and even a bit childlike, and then you have them right up against glam oversized Swarovski crystal.  Throw in some earthy wooden links and you have a totally unique piece comprised of a bunch of different elements that I think play together very well.

This piece sparked the below necklace, which I think is my favorite of the group.  I wanted to make a bold and unique necklace that was neutral in color.  The focal piece is a gorgeous cameo that I pulled from a vintage belt of my grandmother's (you might recognize this cameo from my "Time Marches On" necklace too!)  The beautiful wooden links are bookended by stunning vintage lucite beads and punctuated by edgy little brass bullets.  I've had these vintage lucite beads forever and have been waiting for the perfect project on which to use them.  This is definitely it!  This necklace is one-of-a-kind due to the cameo pendant (the belt only had one in this particular shape), but I love it so much I think I am going to make more without the pendant and without the bullets so it's totally accessible and wearable, but still of course bold and unique!

This brings us to the final necklace of this design session.  This one to me is a beautiful sunset.  The central circle is a coral colored disc covered in cracked abalone shell. It glistens like the sun just as it's making its descent over the Pacific.  This pendant is so powerful, I didn't want to add any other adornments other than the natural deep brown wooden chain.  I wanted to keep this nature-inspired necklace clean. 

I also worked up a pair of earrings the other night... The rectangular Swarovski crystal that inspired the first necklace also informed these earrings, just in a different size and color.  I initially paired it with the orange square beads I used in the first necklace, but it just wasn't working.  I liked the contrast of the glam crystal with the funky hot orange color, but something about the combination was bugging me.  I think the shapes weren't coming together as well as I had hoped.  Anyway, I figured my handy brass bullets would make a fun juxtaposition against the crystals, and sure enough I tried it out and loved it!  These earrings turned out to be so fun and edgy.  They are something especially new for me, as they are super funky and pack a powerful punch, yet are relatively small.  I feel like most of my funky earrings achieve their boldness through their large size.  Not these babies! 

Speaking of babies..... this brings us to my greatest creation yet!  I had to put a picture of me and my baby in here.  Here were are just a few weeks ago hanging out in Santa Monica.  This one is, of course, a constant work in progress!  

 

Now that I've got your attention, I'm excited to finally share that my men's jewelry is prominently featured in a music video!  Liz Law jewelry is worn on all band members in the recently released "Holdin' Me" video by Darin Bennett and the Requiem.  Check out the video below and see more on the band at darinbennett.com.  The song is a soulful bluesy rock number.  My favorite part about it is the featured slide banjo.  Good thing I love the song, as we heard it allll day long while we filmed in the Mojave Desert.  Allow me to divulge the story of how I ended up on set.....in the Mojave Desert.....while 8 months pregnant.  

My good friend Stacey's brother-in-law is Darin of the aforementioned band.  They asked me to supply some men's jewelry for their video shoot.  They also recruited my husband, Sean, to be in the video.  The night before shooting, I reminded Sean approximately 97 times to remember to bring my jewelry.  I left post-its around the house the dude from "Memento" would be proud of.  When he left the house at quarter to 5 in the morning the day of shooting, I got out of bed myself and handed him my bag of jewelry, so as to eliminate any possibility of him forgetting it.  Smash cut to 5 hours later when I wake up to a series of missed calls and texts on my phone, one of which I was devastated to read, "I left the jewelry in my car."  After a series of dropped calls and a frantic search for Sean's spare car key, I get the directions to his parked car and also directions to the set in the middle of the desert.  I made the trek and arrived just in time to hurriedly style all the men with my jewelry right before shooting began.  See some pics below from the set.  (You might recognize my husband as the studly male model seen throughout bylizlaw.com!  ;)  It ended up being a really fun, albeit exhausting, day.  It was definitely exciting to be part of such a creative project and see the behind the scenes action.  On the way home, Sean, David (the actor playing the guy that Sean chases down at the end of the video) and I all stopped at a delicious Thai restaurant somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  The icing on the cake was that when getting out of the car, I realized my pants (one of the 2 pairs of pants my extremely preggo self could wear) had split all across the behind!  I rigged my outfit with a borrowed sweatshirt around my waist and another borrowed sweatshirt worn its intended way, rendering me a monochromatic blob.  David, meanwhile, was still in his video gear, complete with jean vest and fake bad tattoos, while Sean still sported his black dickies and military boots.  We were quite a trio, indeed.  As I sipped my tom yum soup, I pondered how deliciously random life can be, and how it's these unforeseen experiences that make it so sweet.

An impromptu "Bonnie and Clyde" shot of Sean and me.  

Sean the agent shoots at David the outlaw.  On another note, what a gorgeous backdrop! 

Lead singer Darin wears a custom Liz Law bracelet, one-of-a-kind horn necklace, and inline "Rising Sun" necklace. 

Guitarist Redbone wears a Liz Law custom bracelet and inline "Call of the Wild" necklace. 

Band members Gerrod Miskovsky and Cosmo Jones play on as the video closes with a shoot-out. 

This is no fleeting trend, as I recall seeing it on Refinery29 a while back.  Check out a few fantastically oversized vintage creatures featured on this popular fashion blog last summer.  Some of these are a bit much, but I would love to get my hands on the leopard and ram pendants to repurpose.  

I have to give a shout-out here to Grey Boutique on Sunset, which carries not only Liz Law jewelry but also some FANTASTIC rhinestone encrusted animal jewelry- my favorite being a bracelet featuring an adorable and sparkly rabbit head.

Not wanting to miss this fun trend, I've come up with some animal jewelry of my own!  Check out a few Liz Law "beastly baubles" below.    Shop the collection here