By Star Sosa
Every once in a while I get a customer in whose gold jewelry is making black marks on their skin or clothing. Often they are concerned that this is due to faulty manufacturing or underkarating. However this is usually not the case. The most common reason is metallic abrasion, caused by makeup on the skin or clothing. Cosmetics often contain compounds that are harder than the jewelry itself, which wear or rub off very tiny particles. Very finely divided metal always appears black rather than metallic, so it looks like jet-black dust. When this dust comes into contact with skin or clothing, it sticks, forming a black smudge.
To prevent this, try switching cosmetics. It also helps to remove rings and other jewelry while applying your makup and to clean skin areas in contact with jewelry with soap and water before putting your jewelry back on.
Another cause is actual corrosion of the metals. Gold itself does not corrode, but its primary base-metal alloys of silver or copper with do so. When you perspire, fats and fatty acids released can cause corrosion of 14k gold, especially when exposed to warmth and air. This problem may be worse in coastal areas (like Wilmington) where chlorides combine with perspiration to form a corrosive element that discolors skin.
You can mitigate this by removing your jewelry often and using an absorbent powder, free of abrasives, on skin that comes into contact with jewelry.
So in summary: remove your jewelry before using soaps, cleansers, makeup, etc. and clean your jewelry frequently. This should resolve the problem and even better, your jewelry will look its best.
One more thing, consider switching up to higher karat gold, 18k or better which would significantly reduce the problem. Or even better, Platinum or Palladium, which will solve the problem completely.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Costume Jewelry VS. Fine Jewelry
By Nicole Wilkinson
There was a question posted in a fashion blog that I responded to and thought I would share.
I have no idea about jewelry..what should I buy??
Jewelry is something you should invest in. I can tell you, that after being in a sorority, living in Manhattan and following regular trends, I find myself every 2 years going through my jewelry drawer saying, what was I thinking??? I just gave about 30 pieces away to my 4 year old niece for dress up. As you get in your late 20's you realize all of this costume stuff really is junk. It breaks, tarnishes, goes out of style...what a waste of money! Imagine if you had bought 1 or 2 classic pieces. They never go out of style. My adivce is buy what you can afford, but save for it. Jewelry is meant to be a splurge. What fun is it to throw down 10k for a diamond incrusted necklace? Sure it would be nice, but jewelry is meant to be special. This year, treat yourself for your birthday to a nice piece. Save $20 a month, or whatever your budget will allow. Then you will really feel like a princess when you get your piece of jewelry. You will feel like you worked hard for it and you DESERVE it! Good luck and enjoy!
There was a question posted in a fashion blog that I responded to and thought I would share.
I have no idea about jewelry..what should I buy??
Jewelry is something you should invest in. I can tell you, that after being in a sorority, living in Manhattan and following regular trends, I find myself every 2 years going through my jewelry drawer saying, what was I thinking??? I just gave about 30 pieces away to my 4 year old niece for dress up. As you get in your late 20's you realize all of this costume stuff really is junk. It breaks, tarnishes, goes out of style...what a waste of money! Imagine if you had bought 1 or 2 classic pieces. They never go out of style. My adivce is buy what you can afford, but save for it. Jewelry is meant to be a splurge. What fun is it to throw down 10k for a diamond incrusted necklace? Sure it would be nice, but jewelry is meant to be special. This year, treat yourself for your birthday to a nice piece. Save $20 a month, or whatever your budget will allow. Then you will really feel like a princess when you get your piece of jewelry. You will feel like you worked hard for it and you DESERVE it! Good luck and enjoy!
Spectrum Art & Jewelry 2008 Niche Award Nominee
Spectrum Art & Jewelry has been nominated for the 2008 Niche Top Retailer Award. This is an honor to be nominated. Thank you to those of you who helped in the nominating process. We will keep you posted on the outcome.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Artist Interview: Anne Boysen
By Nicole Wilkinson
Painter, Anne Boysen works in the former parlor of her historic stone home outside of Philadelphia. The room is cluttered with works in progress, hundreds of paints, photographs, art supplies, and more. Outside, there is an elaborate and loosely styled garden and inside the large rooms and high ceilings of her home barley contain her large format paintings. Each canvas shouts with color, motion, texture, and life. Her abstracted floral paintings give the impression of specific flowers and arrangements but more than anything, they convey her emotion. That emotion is exuberance, excitement and joy. Inspired by nature and music, Anne appears to dance with her large canvases, interacting with them the way she might interact with a partner. The end result is more than the sum of the subject and interpreter, it draws in the observer as well and makes you love to live in her world.
"I have a very rewarding life as an artist. It is the most important job in the world. For over 25 years, painting has been my life, my work, my joy. I am grateful for the gift that has been bestowed upon me."
Anne has been a part of the Spectrum team for eight years. We love having her artwork on our walls because they brighten our day every time we look at them. Come see for yourself and experience the "Art of Exuberance" that is Anne Boysen.Boysen.
Spectrum Art and Jewelry will be hosting a unique event to benefit Anne Boysen who is battling ovarian cancer and needs our help. Please join us Thursday, March 20th, from 6:30-8:30pm for an evening with food, drinks, live music, and art sale. Local Wilmington artists have generously donated their original artworks. Spectrum will also be donating a selection of art, craft & jewelry for sale. Items will be priced from $20-300 so everyone can afford to buy! Door prizes as well. $5 ticket at the door.
The Clubhouse of The Reserve Apartments at Mayfaire
1411 Parkview Circle, by the Pool
Everyone is welcome, Open to the Public
For more info, call us at 256-2323
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
East Meets West - Coast Scenes & Mountain Furniture at Spectrum Art & Jewelry
Here's an article from Encore Magazine about an upcoming event at our gallery:
It’s been proven time and again that opposites attract. The definition of “complementary” is two different things coming together in a way to flatter one another. Whether we are looking at adverse sides of the color wheel (purple and yellow), combining parts of the food pyramid (steak and potatoes) or exploring opposite sides of our great state (mountains and beaches), mixing it up is always a good way to bring out the best in something.
“I cannot remember the last time I used just one color of wood in one of my pieces,” Ronno Cooke, a woodworking furniture designer from western North Carolina, says. “The contrasts are so appealing to me.”
Cooke has been working with wood and construction since he was 15 when he helped his father build a house. “A few years ago, I took a job building log cabins,” Cooke remembers. “It was custom work, so we had to cut the logs to fit.” After being introduced to custom woodworking, Cooke began working with a custom cabinet-maker. “James [my boss] had a real passion for wood: grains, stains, finishes, species. [His] passion was contagious.”
While working on a custom master bathroom for Shania Twain in the Caribbean, Cooke began to bring scraps of wood home from work. “This was prime wood—cherry, pine—and it was all going to just be thrown away. So I started making tables.”
Cooke’s pieces are mostly tables, carved and designed with the wood colors in mind. Keeping the natural stains front and center, he chooses not to use artificial stains. He also uses enviromentally-friendly rubs and finishes. What makes his furniture special is the organic nature that each piece possesses.
“I don’t use veneers,” Cooke says. “I also don’t use nails or screws. I mostly use dowels to put the tables together. These methods have been used for thousands of years, mostly because they are so fundamental and sound.”
He also looks for curled, inflamed woods that are naturally figured and curved so that he can utilize the direction of the grain. “You actually get movement as your eye goes across the piece. I think it is such a cool anomaly that with such a solid, immoveable object, you can get movement—in the grain. That is so appealing to me.”
Today, Cooke has made quite a name for himself with his color-contrasting wood pieces. Having been featured in his first national magazine this year, Cooke has been keeping busy with his custom orders and being one of an exclusive group of designers chosen to decorate the interior of a model home in Asheville.
“They gave me the dining room table, the living room coffee table and a bench for the garden,” he says proudly. “Being selected for that project really made me feel like I was doing something right. This is what I need to be doing.”
The natural woods and rich mountain influence of Cooke’s Asheville designs may seem to have nothing in common with the coastal scenes of the Port City and its beaches. However, Wilmington painter Phil Meade shares Cooke’s passion for color contrast.
“I’m very aware of colors,” Meade claims. “I love how they complement each other. I like to find patterns in grays, lights and darks.”
Meade is recently retired from a 40-year career in graphic design and art. Today, he paints full-time at home. His portfolio is filled with beach-themed paintings, mostly with a bright pastel pallette. He finds inspiration in buildings, sand dunes and rocks, pouring a special morning light onto his subjects with his signature pink-and-blue sunrises.
“I really find something special in morning light,” he says. “I appreciate the shadows and the way the light is dappled across the landscape. It almost glows.”
Somehow, these two completely different artists end up complementing each other, just like the colors in their works. When combined with the soft morning-light beach scenes of Phil Meade’s paintings, Cooke’s tables look stronger, more dignified and more powerful. The organic twists and curves of the grain mesh with the grain of the beach sand, bringing out the sunny tones in the pine.
As for Meade’s work, the romance of his color pallette is enhanced by the severity of the wood furniture. Two such polar ends of the art world actually strengthen each other when displayed together, brought together by each of these brilliant artists’ love of contrast.
This week Wilmington art patrons will get a chance to see both collections when Spectrum Art & Jewelry hosts their monthly Open House and Wine Tasting featuring an opportunity to meet Phil Meade and Ronno Cooke.
Nancy Noel May, galley manager, says that Cooke will be taking appointments for custom orders while he's in town. “Friday and Saturday, Mr. Cooke will be meeting with potential customers about commissioning custom furniture designs. His pieces are gorgeous and the craftsmanship is outstanding.” Appointments are still available. Contact the gallery to book yours.
East Meets West
Coastal Scenes Party with Mountain Furniture at
Spectrum Art & Jewelry This Friday
It’s been proven time and again that opposites attract. The definition of “complementary” is two different things coming together in a way to flatter one another. Whether we are looking at adverse sides of the color wheel (purple and yellow), combining parts of the food pyramid (steak and potatoes) or exploring opposite sides of our great state (mountains and beaches), mixing it up is always a good way to bring out the best in something.
“I cannot remember the last time I used just one color of wood in one of my pieces,” Ronno Cooke, a woodworking furniture designer from western North Carolina, says. “The contrasts are so appealing to me.”
Cooke has been working with wood and construction since he was 15 when he helped his father build a house. “A few years ago, I took a job building log cabins,” Cooke remembers. “It was custom work, so we had to cut the logs to fit.” After being introduced to custom woodworking, Cooke began working with a custom cabinet-maker. “James [my boss] had a real passion for wood: grains, stains, finishes, species. [His] passion was contagious.”
While working on a custom master bathroom for Shania Twain in the Caribbean, Cooke began to bring scraps of wood home from work. “This was prime wood—cherry, pine—and it was all going to just be thrown away. So I started making tables.”
Cooke’s pieces are mostly tables, carved and designed with the wood colors in mind. Keeping the natural stains front and center, he chooses not to use artificial stains. He also uses enviromentally-friendly rubs and finishes. What makes his furniture special is the organic nature that each piece possesses.
“I don’t use veneers,” Cooke says. “I also don’t use nails or screws. I mostly use dowels to put the tables together. These methods have been used for thousands of years, mostly because they are so fundamental and sound.”
He also looks for curled, inflamed woods that are naturally figured and curved so that he can utilize the direction of the grain. “You actually get movement as your eye goes across the piece. I think it is such a cool anomaly that with such a solid, immoveable object, you can get movement—in the grain. That is so appealing to me.”
Today, Cooke has made quite a name for himself with his color-contrasting wood pieces. Having been featured in his first national magazine this year, Cooke has been keeping busy with his custom orders and being one of an exclusive group of designers chosen to decorate the interior of a model home in Asheville.
“They gave me the dining room table, the living room coffee table and a bench for the garden,” he says proudly. “Being selected for that project really made me feel like I was doing something right. This is what I need to be doing.”
The natural woods and rich mountain influence of Cooke’s Asheville designs may seem to have nothing in common with the coastal scenes of the Port City and its beaches. However, Wilmington painter Phil Meade shares Cooke’s passion for color contrast.
“I’m very aware of colors,” Meade claims. “I love how they complement each other. I like to find patterns in grays, lights and darks.”
Meade is recently retired from a 40-year career in graphic design and art. Today, he paints full-time at home. His portfolio is filled with beach-themed paintings, mostly with a bright pastel pallette. He finds inspiration in buildings, sand dunes and rocks, pouring a special morning light onto his subjects with his signature pink-and-blue sunrises.
“I really find something special in morning light,” he says. “I appreciate the shadows and the way the light is dappled across the landscape. It almost glows.”
Somehow, these two completely different artists end up complementing each other, just like the colors in their works. When combined with the soft morning-light beach scenes of Phil Meade’s paintings, Cooke’s tables look stronger, more dignified and more powerful. The organic twists and curves of the grain mesh with the grain of the beach sand, bringing out the sunny tones in the pine.
As for Meade’s work, the romance of his color pallette is enhanced by the severity of the wood furniture. Two such polar ends of the art world actually strengthen each other when displayed together, brought together by each of these brilliant artists’ love of contrast.
This week Wilmington art patrons will get a chance to see both collections when Spectrum Art & Jewelry hosts their monthly Open House and Wine Tasting featuring an opportunity to meet Phil Meade and Ronno Cooke.
Nancy Noel May, galley manager, says that Cooke will be taking appointments for custom orders while he's in town. “Friday and Saturday, Mr. Cooke will be meeting with potential customers about commissioning custom furniture designs. His pieces are gorgeous and the craftsmanship is outstanding.” Appointments are still available. Contact the gallery to book yours.
The “meet and greet” will feature wine supplied by Wine Styles in Landfall Center and will be held on Friday, March 14th from 6pm - 8pm. Spectrum Art & Jewelry is located in The Forum at 1125-H Military Cutoff Road. Visit http://www.spectrumartandjewelry.com/ or call 910-256-2323 for more information.
The Business Coach by Star Sosa
The Business Coach – or how I succeeded in business while having a great time!
After twenty years of self employment, I’d like to say I’m responsible for all my successes but that wouldn’t entirely be the truth. Many of you who have your own businesses will agree that there are times where you wonder when the rest of the world is going to recognize that you don’t know what you’re doing! We all have our crises of confidence and most of us to a good job of faking it.
I didn’t set out to be self employed and I didn’t study business in college. However, here I am and I’m finding that the typing and clerical and bookkeeping training I had have served me much better in the long-run that all the English lit and political science classes I took in college. With that in mind, I will say this, my biggest success, prior to now, was simply surviving in business for over twenty years, so I guess I’ve been doing something right.
One of the best decisions I’ve made was to hire an Action Business Coach. I met Reggie Shropshire at a Chamber of Commerce seminar he hosted about two years ago. After agreeing to a free introductory coaching session, I impulsively decided to hire him to mentor me on a regular basis. It was a large commitment both of money and time. However, it has paid off better than any other investment I can think of and continues to be worth every penny.
Reggie provided me with systems and techniques I never considered before. He introduced me to a great business community of local people who support and help me through my day to day issues and kept me accountable on many levels to continue to develop, grow and produce. That said, my business is better than ever. I have a great new location, more customers, clearer and more effective systems, a wonderful new staff and a community of peers. Most of all, I love what I do, I look forward to coming to work in the morning and so do the people I work with, even though we may be working harder than we ever had. Possibilities exist now, that I never considered. Like having a successful gallery and jewelry store and not having to work every day in it.
If you’d like to learn more about Reggie and Action Coaching click on this link to see his promotional video. It was produced by another member of the Action Community, Lifestage Videography. They did an outstanding job and I really enjoyed being able to participate. You’ll see me and several members of Reggie’s coaching clientele, speaking about the specific benefits of working with him. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like more information, 910-256-2323.
Click on the link below to go to Life Stage Videography. Scroll down to see the Business Coach Video.
http://www.blog.lifestagevideography.com/
After twenty years of self employment, I’d like to say I’m responsible for all my successes but that wouldn’t entirely be the truth. Many of you who have your own businesses will agree that there are times where you wonder when the rest of the world is going to recognize that you don’t know what you’re doing! We all have our crises of confidence and most of us to a good job of faking it.
I didn’t set out to be self employed and I didn’t study business in college. However, here I am and I’m finding that the typing and clerical and bookkeeping training I had have served me much better in the long-run that all the English lit and political science classes I took in college. With that in mind, I will say this, my biggest success, prior to now, was simply surviving in business for over twenty years, so I guess I’ve been doing something right.
One of the best decisions I’ve made was to hire an Action Business Coach. I met Reggie Shropshire at a Chamber of Commerce seminar he hosted about two years ago. After agreeing to a free introductory coaching session, I impulsively decided to hire him to mentor me on a regular basis. It was a large commitment both of money and time. However, it has paid off better than any other investment I can think of and continues to be worth every penny.
Reggie provided me with systems and techniques I never considered before. He introduced me to a great business community of local people who support and help me through my day to day issues and kept me accountable on many levels to continue to develop, grow and produce. That said, my business is better than ever. I have a great new location, more customers, clearer and more effective systems, a wonderful new staff and a community of peers. Most of all, I love what I do, I look forward to coming to work in the morning and so do the people I work with, even though we may be working harder than we ever had. Possibilities exist now, that I never considered. Like having a successful gallery and jewelry store and not having to work every day in it.
If you’d like to learn more about Reggie and Action Coaching click on this link to see his promotional video. It was produced by another member of the Action Community, Lifestage Videography. They did an outstanding job and I really enjoyed being able to participate. You’ll see me and several members of Reggie’s coaching clientele, speaking about the specific benefits of working with him. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like more information, 910-256-2323.
Click on the link below to go to Life Stage Videography. Scroll down to see the Business Coach Video.
http://www.blog.lifestagevideography.com/
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
In the News!
By Nicole Wilkinson
Eric McRay's artwork was featured in the February 2008, Every Day with Rachel Ray Magazine. His whimsical coffee and pie series is uber popular and flying off the walls! This is a new style of work for Eric. Fun and graphic, these images are sure to please all ages! He was also the featured story on WRAL TV News in Raleigh/Durham. We are very excited for Eric's success and happy he has been with us for over 8 years. Click HERE to see more of his work.
We are very excited about the recent article published on Star Sosa, gallery owner, in the Greater Wilmington Buisness Journal. Her keen business sense and captivating life stories share the birth of a blooming Wilmington business. Kudos to Star on the success of Spectrum! To see Star's custom designs, Click HERE.
Mauri Pioppo was recently the cover story and featured jewelry designer in Jewelers of America Magazine. Focusing on environmentally friendly jewelry, eastern philosophies, and yoga inspired techniques, Mauri brings a conscious to personalized adorment. To see more of Mauri's work, click HERE.
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