Eye Candy

I'm so excited for one one my bracelets to be posted to NotCouture, a digital bulletin board of visually stunning and innovative luxe fashion + design. Many thanks to the editors there who supply us with our daily fix of eye candy!

Cynthia Rybakoff sterling silver Atomic Bubble bracelet, $298 at Supermarket.

Shiny Disco Balls

clockwise from top left: Donna Karan via style.com, Cynthia Rybakoff Disco Bubble Earrings, $124 at Supermarkethq.com, Luc Gensollen chandelier

The bubble has gone oversized, sleek and shiny. The post-luxury era beckons the return of a more understated and affordable precious metal, sterling silver. Molecular clusters of silver beads have a futuristic look. The effect is sci-fi chic meets disco diva meets atomic mad scientist.

Cynthia Rybakoff sterling silver Atomic Bubble Bracelet, $298 at Supermarkethq.com

Here's a first look at my new sterling silver Bubble Collection, now available exclusively at my Supermarket shop, where it's easy to buy great design online! Bubblicious earrings, necklaces and bracelets from $14 - $298, with most pieces under $100. Check back over the next week as I add more items...

Cynthia Rybakoff sterling silver Disco Bubble Necklace, $188 at Supermarkethq.com

On The Road

Some good friends just left for Italy, which left me thinking…a European trip would be just the thing to inspire some fresh ideas. I’d rummage around curiosity shops in the Old City, snatching up kitschy souvenirs, like these cool vintage silver European travel charms. The hand painted tiny shield charms typically featured miniature scenes or heraldic motifs and date from the 1940’s though the 1970’s. I just adore the bright mix of enamel colors!

Cynthia Rybakoff single edition sterling silver and semi-precious stone vintage travel charm bracelets: from top amethyst, rose quartz, chalcedony. lapidorite, at cynthiarybakoff.com.

Buckle Up!

Bottega Veneta via style.com

My favorite look of the Fall 2009 season so far is Bottega Veneta's dusty mauve elegance. The luxurious dresses were so wonderfully understated when accessorized with just the right amount of white gold and colorless stone jewelry. One look in particular caught my eye - a lovely woven buckle cuff with pave diamond accents.

Cynthia Rybakoff Estate Collection sterling silver Edwardian hinged buckle cuff
with hand etched vine motif, $695 at CynthiaRybakoff.com

Ornate buckle motif cuffs were extremely popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, as sterling silver jewelry regained favor in the waning years of the 19th Century. The buckle symbol stood for strength and protection, making them, in a sense, the original Wonder Woman cuffs. Today these timeless cuff bangles are simply classic and chic.

Set In Stone

pink and blue mix display with Spring 2009 runway inspiration
sources: Diane von Furstenburg, Diane Von Furstenburg, Bazaar, Wonder Sources

Designing tasteful modern jewelry with semi-precious stones requires a lot of time in the market selecting a few special materials and playing with the shapes and colors until the recipe seems just right...

pink and green mix display with Spring 2009 runway inspiration
sources: Lanvin, Elle, Oscar de la Renta, Wonder Sources

Creating mouth watering, over the top visual displays of semi-precious stone, meant to inspire other jewelry designers, requires a zen like immersion into the stone itself and a marathon approach to assembling a series of vignettes representing the season's top color stories.

shades of lavender and lilac display with Spring 2009 runway inspiration
sources: Vogue, Dolce & Gabbana via Bazaar, Vera Wang, Wonder Sources

It certainly helps that I create visual displays for a top notch wholesale stone dealer, whose vast inventory of semi-precious and precious stones, sourced from the far reaches of the globe, is entirely at my disposal. The result, a virtual jewel fantasy fit for queen.

Playing Cupid

The Victorians viewed the world through a veil of romance and sentiment. Flowers, hands, anchors, knots and hearts were symbols of emotion and attachment. Cupid, or Eros, was the consummate love token. The god of erotic love and beauty, he is often depicted with wings, a bow and a quiver of arrows with which to "inspire" romantic love. Cupid’s arrow, once struck the heart, makes the victim fall in love.

Around the mid-eighteenth century, discoveries of archaeological sites in Italy and Egypt sparked an obsession for neo-classicism that widely influenced the architecture, art and design of the period, including Josiah Wedgwood's jasperware, with its distinctive raised white bas-relief depictions of Greek and Roman mythology. Cupid was a popular Wedgwood motif throughout the mid-twentieth century, when many of the pieces I collect were manufactured.

Cynthia Rybakoff’s single edition re-mixed Wedgwood Cupid cameo jewelry: vintage 14k gold filled black basalt heart pendant on 17 1/2" vintage chains, $315; 12k gold filled vintage classic blue screw back earrings, $105; 12k gold filled vintage sage green pendant with modern 24k vermeil 23" pearl chain, $275. By request at CynthiaRybakoff.com.

A little Bird Told Me

These adorable little birds, one with a blushing heart on his cheek, are a subtle reminder that love is always just around the corner! "Love Birds" blank note card is a new addition to the Handmade On Peconic Bay paper collection I design with my husband Matt Shapoff. In fact, my illustration is a portrait of Matt's budgies. With some artistic license, I've rendered them in shades of cool grey with bright geranium pink. Give someone you care about an antidote to Winter's blues.

Handmade on Peconic Bay "Love Birds" Valentine's card, $3.50 on etsy.com.