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.