Got Yule?

Two white squiggle ornaments by Will Squig Design.

Just a little Christmas eye candy for some yuletide cheer. Whether you adorn your home with scented garlands of pagan pine, kitschy pink tinsel trees, or yards of colorful LED lights, decoration makes this time of year feel extra cozy and special. Forget about hanging stockings by the chimney with care, or baking cute cookies, I prefer to decorate!

Above, are some of my favorite ornaments, collected over the years. Many are vintage, but some are brand new. This season, I purchased two beautiful hand painted ornaments with an allover white squiggle pattern from Will Squig Design, who was selling wonderful Christmas ornaments at Artist & Fleas in Williamsburg, reminiscent in feeling of vintage Keith Haring grafitti inspired patterns. You can also check out his affordable pop-art on Etsy.

Cool Things Made By Nice People

From the creators of the Hester Street Fair comes The Big Social Holiday Market, opening just in time for the last minute Christmas dash! I be there with my jewelry, in a big way, pulling out all the stops, and showcasing an amazing collection of colorful holiday jewels you won't find anywhere else! Enjoy the artisanal crafted foods and refreshments, Hester Street Fair has become known for, while shopping in a curated gallery space filled with over 40 vendors.

The Big Social Holiday Market

December 17 - 23

11am - 8pm

Openhouse Gallery, 201 Mulberry Street, NYC

Meet Your Maker

Join us this weekend, at The (Makers) Market in Brooklyn, for unique holiday shopping and refreshments, in a charming rustic environment. I'll be bringing tons of my sterling silver jewelry, including vintage and unusual semi-precious stone designs, and Matt will be showing his Handmade On Peconic Bay collection of modern vintage prints and cute holiday cards, so stop by and meet your maker!

The (Makers) Market
December 11 - 12
11am - 5pm
The Old American Can Factory
232 3rd Street, Brooklyn
Map it

Christmas Balls

From the Cynthia Rybakoff archives, here's an understated holiday look from 1989. I'm not going to exaggerate the time and effort that went into gluing each Swarovski crystal and vintage bugle bead, one piece at a time, with tweezers and delicate fingertips, to this 3 tiered neck piece with a zillion sparkling baubles. If made today, the piece would retail for about $18,000.

The necklace was part of a collection designed for the Fall/Winter Isaac Mizrahi runway show, and included a braided suede wrist wrap, that doubled as a necklace. The versatility of this piece is nicely demonstrated in this not at all provocative ad for Harvey Nichols.

Take A Chance On Me

Once and a while you fall quite madly in love. With a new fashion and design collection you've stumbled upon. It happened so suddenly, I was simply smitten by Chance. What could be better than entire women's collection dedicated to the pattern I love most in life, stripes?

And the Chance Essentials. Don't get me started on this curated collection of year round nautical and beachy items. My picks are the 2-Stripe Stocking Cap for right now, Vintage Vera Scarves (so necessary for boating), The denim Skipper Sun Hat, a Cotton Knot Necklace, and can't live without sweet Turtle Necklace!

Don't miss the cool extras, like a clever illustrated time line of French sailor stripes and the célébrités who wore them (so very well).

Images courtesy of Chance.

Glittering Conscience

Wade Watson of Ruff&Cut, Danny Bitran of Nahui Ollin, Kate Harrison of The Green Bride Guide and Nina Valenti of NatureVsFuture are popping up a shop in SoHo...

Join them on Thursday, Dec 2nd, from 6-11pm, for the grand opening of Glittering Conscience! Enjoy an evening of drinks, hors d’oeurves, music, and mingling with other eco-conscious minded enthusiasts, while shopping green for the holidays with a variety of earth-friendly products, including green process photographic prints and scarves, and recycled paper note cards by Handmade On Peconic Bay.

A percentage of proceeds will go to funding a well in Tanzania, a place where clean drinking water is much needed.

Thank you for taking an interest in sustainability!

(¯`*·. glittering conscience…

…socially responsible luxury.·*´¯)

Serious Moonlight

Moonlight Necklace by Cynthia Rybakoff

Each holiday season I donate a special piece of jewelry for the silent auction at the Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest, an invitational ski event which pairs former Olympic ski legends with television and film celebrities for a weekend of skiing, live music and fundraising for the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance, which supports and empowers Waterkeeper member organizations to protect communities, ecosystems and water quality.

This year I created The Moonlight Necklace, with a variety of unusual black semi-precious stones, which shimmer with golden highlights. Three rows of freeform black moonstone nuggets form a bib, suspended from a strand of oxidixed sterling silver wire wrapped black tourmaline slices, obsidian and black spinel marquise briolettes, and faceted pyrite rondels.

Waterkeeper Alliance is among the world’s fastest growing environmental organizations, with nearly 200 local Waterkeepers patrolling rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents. For more information about this vital organization, founded in 1999 by environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., visit their website, and like them on Facebook.

Meet The Designer

There's a brand new feature on IndieShop.com worth taking note of! Did you ever wonder about how independent designers got their start, get their inspiration, or how they make their unique products? Now you can get an intimate glimpse into the mind of the artisan, with "Meet The Designer" video clips, located on the product pages of each designer's store on IndieShop.com.

Here I am, above, discussing how I got my start as a jewelry designer, and my first big break, before becoming a corporate jewelry designer for brands such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and what inspires me now that I've decided to be an "indie" designer once again.

Here's my husband Matt Shapoff, whose Handmade On Peconic Bay collection of modern vintage photographic prints is also available on IndieShop, revealing the secrets of how he creates his cyanotypes prints, totes and scarves, plus the mysterious significance of the year 1895!

Videos courtesy of IndieShop.com.

Pink For The Holidays

Artists are going pink for the holidays, at the One Of A Kind Show and Sale NY. Many of the artists attending the show, including Handmade On Peconic Bay, have come together to donate their time and talents and create exclusive items for a silent auction, to be held at the Susan G. Komen GO PINK FOR THE HOLIDAYS booth at this years event. 100% of the proceeds from this auction will go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer education, research and prevention. We've donated a special edition of our best selling HMPB Happy Holidays cards in signature shades of pink! Read more about the event and the items to be auctioned off in ReadyMade magazine.

And if you haven't already received your complimentary tickets to the show, get them here (a $30 value)! Matt and I look forward to meeting you at the show, Nov 18- 21st in booth A13.

Buy Extraordinary!

On November 18-21, be our guest at the One of a Kind Show NY, a curated fine arts & crafts show, now in it's second year in NYC. Get your complimentary tickets here.




Give the gift of art. Handmade On Peconic Bay will be showing a unique selection of modern vintage cyanotype and Van Dyke brown photographic prints in frames made from recycled wood, plus an amazing array of photographic printed textiles, including silk scarves and totes.

Choose from a fabulous assortment of hand printed blank notecards, perfect for the holidays and beyond!

Handmade On Peconic Bay
invites you to the One of a Kind Show and Sale NY

Nov 18-21
7 West 34th Streeet @ Fifth Avenue
(across from the Empire State Building)
booth A13

Click here for complimentary tickets to the show.

Death In Venice {In Style}

Some inspiration for all you little fashion creatures of the night, skull jewelry by the venerable luxury Venetian jewelry house, Codognato! Famously known for their intricately rendered vanitas themed jewels, skulls have become the trademark motif of the house. The subject of vanitas or "vanities" was popularized by 16th century Dutch painters, who meant the skulls to represent the vanity of living.

A cautionary tale for the viewer about the transient nature of wealth and pleasures of the flesh, the skull and and other symbolic objects, such as snuffed out candles, dead flowers and rotting fruit, were meant to remind us of the certainty of death.

Images courtesy of Elle, Quintessentially, NotesPrecieuses, Paula Stenberg.

Nice Ice Baby!

Sweet as sugar, with none of the calories! My new Sugar Cube Necklace is a unique holiday gift, at a great price. Created with hammered rock crystal and sterling silver, the surface texture of the crystal cube resembles a tasty hunk of rock candy. Yum. While you're at it, soothe that sugar rush, with a Crystal Calm Bracelet, or earrings, and the natural healing energy of pure rock crystal.

Cynthia Rybakoff sterling silver and rock crystal Sugar Cube Necklace, $28.00, Crystal Calm Bracelet, $68.00, and Crystal Calm Earrings, $18.00, available at CynthiaRybakoff and Supermarket.

Treasures & Pleasures

The name Treasures & Pleasures is well suited to describe George Yzquierdo’s fabulous curated collection of vintage and antique jewelry. Besides supplying what appears to be most of New York with pretty baubles each week, George happens to be extremely knowledgeable as to the provenance of his wares. A definite must when buying vintage! You can find him chatting with customers streaming through his booth each weekend at The Hester Street Fair. Be sure to check out his website, for even more glorious fashion finds.

Gorgeous photomontages courtesy of Rafael Medrano.

Table Talk

What does your coffee table say about you? Modern coffee tables are more than just accent pieces for your living space. They are the focal point in a seating arrangement, so it's wise to consider all your needs before taking the plunge!

Are you an uber modern sophisticated type? My father was, which is why he purchased the Knoll Platner table back in the late 60's. Growing up, I was both in awe and somewhat horrified by my father's taste in furnishings. Particularly, the pink-red-orange geometric jacquard couch, and hideous cork and glass bead curtain that separated our living room from the dining room.

Are you confident in your mix of color? I prefer to keep things neutral, yet I can't help but love the laser cut birds taking flight across the Orange 22 Botanist Flight cocktail table. The bright pop of color reminds me of a NYC couple that decorated a deceptively traditional looking East Hampton summer cottage, with orange modular shelving, parson tables and Hellerware dishes. Ah, the 70's.

Do you demand form with function? In our apartment, the coffee table is a work horse. We chose a minimalist glass and steel table table, with a bottom shelf and casters, so we could re-arrange our space instantaneously. We eat on it, pile books and magazines, and use it for our design work. I love the functionality and mod Scandinavian bent wood design of the Function Works Tre table. And it's perfect for small spaces, where the furniture needs to multitask.

Post sponsored by All Coffee Tables.com.

Sicaria In The City

Last week I had a surprise visit from Khushbu Sikaria, of the sicaria, at Madison Square Market, where I was promoting my holiday collection for IndieShop.com. Khushbu, who is also the founder of sicaria.com, a luxury fashion e-tailer launching soon, was visiting designers in NYC + enjoying herself in the Big Apple! She suggested a video presentation of my holiday collection might be fun for her blog, so I did my best not to sound too silly.

Video courtesy of the sicaria.

Boo!

Meet Numbskull Van Dyke Brown No. 256, a modern vintage photographic print by Matt Shapoff for Handmade On Peconic Bay. A proponent of sustainable design, Matt uses solar radiation to expose his Van Dyke brown prints outdoors, while the sun is shining. Combining a 19th century photographic printing process with 21st century digital design, each print is a unique exposure, with a brush mark signature of the photochemistry applied to 100% cotton rag fine art paper.

Numbskull is a perfectly creepy yet memorable hostess gift for that Halloween bash you're attending. He's also ready for framing in something dusty, dark and old, for that year round Gothic touch!

Image courtesy of Supermarket.

Dead White

Move over Martha. Here's a spooky chic take on DYI Halloween decorating tips, from the talented and crafty new team at Sweet Paul. In their second issue I found winter white knitted skulls, white washed pumpkins, and vintage glass bottles labeled with icky contents and white coral stoppers, cool enough to display as year round curiosities. Take their advice and don't follow the rules this year. A white Halloween looks pretty sweet to me! Read on for more DIY white Halloween projects here.

Images courtesy of Sweet Paul Magazine.

Cavalry Couture

Ralph Lauren called out the cavalry for Spring 2011. Was someone watching old re-runs of F Troop? Of course, Ralph is in his comfort zone when channeling the Wild West, but nobody does it better.

This season's menswear heavy theme had a distinct military flair, with great accessories like shoulder slung carpet bags, over sized longhorn belt buckles, feminine beaded earrings, and two-tone metallic silver motorcycle boots. Also notable were the luxurious details like crafty lace, and plenty of fringe.

My fave look could be a modern day Annie Hall, in sharp white trousers with suspenders, a bowler hat and owl rim glasses. La-di-da. La-dee-da.

Images courtesy of The Spirit of the Old West, Style.com.

Suite Seduction

Bask in the staid luxury of these oil paintings by artist Page Laughlin, whose lovely interiors are not quite what they seem. Veiled in seduction, the contents of her paintings most reveal one's innermost desires for glamour, and the sheer excess of rooms resplendent with expensive taste.

For years, Ms. Laughlin has been studying the fantasies presented to readers of high-end shelter magazines, such as Architectual Digest. Basing her paintings on photographs of stately interiors from these commercial publications, she presents the viewer with a dappled brush stroke fantasy of materialist beauty.

Images courtesy of Page Laughlin.

Silver Foxes

Silver has never looked more distinguished, than it does on dapper dressers this fall. Kristen McMenamy and Roger Sterling have it right, in tailored elegance. With sterling silver recently hitting a two and a half year record high, at over $20 an ounce, the warm gray metal is more precious than ever and deserves your studious attention. Polished silver adornments, such as Tiffany's timeless classics, are what to wear with menswear looks for fall, and letting your hair go gray.

Images courtesy of Vogue, Tiffany, and TV Guide.