We are hosting a call for entries for our newest and most exciting design challenge, the Bike Lovers Design Challenge, until September 15th at midnight. Send us your jewelry, accessories, gadgets, doo-dads and gizmos that could make their way into the hearts of any cycling enthusiast or weekend cruiser.
If you have a product that is geared towards our latest challenge, check out the full contest rules and submit your designs here!
Studio tours have opened up so many new views into the lives and creative minds of our artists. In visiting with Emily Rothschild last month, I learned that her jewelry line was only the tip of the artistic iceberg. A designer who is always excited to learn, Emily constantly challenges her mind with lessons and classes, expanding her talents and perspective.
We thought her well-rounded attitude would serve well on the judging panel for the Bike Lovers Design Challenge and couldn’t wait to see inside her Fort Greene home-studio.
What are your most essential tools?
A few of my most essential tools are my camera for documenting inspiration for new work as well as completed projects, a radio for constant NPR streaming, and a pair of jeweler’s pliers which always seem to come in handy. My most loved tool is a pair of glassblowing jacks. The jacks have an excellent weight, feel, and history: it’s easy to imagine the years of hard work they endured before I owned them.
Where do you find inspiration within this space?
I find inspiration from the objects around me all of which have a story: tools I inherited from my father, a workbench from RISD, design books and culled images, a kitchen spatula from the 1940s… I find it is important to be surrounded by loved objects.
Where does down time fit into a day in the studio?
My two dogs remind me to step away and take a walk; they make me slow down and refresh. It’s often hard to remember to step back but it is necessary to see things from all angles: sometimes you need distance in order to get closer to a solution. I’m also settling into my new role as a mom and know that I will be spending as much time as possible with three-month-old Otto between projects. I’m often guilty of working too much but for him I’m willing to slow down and clear my head completely.
What was the toughest lesson you learned as a young designer starting a business?
I learned that I need to push myself beyond my comfort zone, seek advice when needed, and find solutions in a variety of ways. I enjoy working in new areas of interest and with new materials which means that I have to reach out often to others. I am lucky to have found a great community of designers who work in the same way and are just as curious. Sharing information goes both ways and is key to making it on your own – it means you’re never really alone.
What advice would you offer the you of 5 years ago?
Love what you do. And find a community of people with similar interests and goals whom you can share ideas (and gripes) with. Community is key.
How do you set goals for yourself?
I usually have a variety of projects going on at any given time which helps me to stay focused and continue moving forward. The goals I set often seem unreachable when I first set out – I’m generally completely intimidated when starting a new project and also raring to go. The only way I can make anything happen is to dive in and take risks.
How and when do you decide to celebrate a victory?
My husband reminds me to reward myself after working hard and wrapping up a project. It’s easy to run right into the next job when you work for yourself, I’m lucky to have someone to celebrate victories with – both big and small. I try hard to remind him of the same!
What quote keeps you motivated? What does that quote mean to you?
I think about something my father always said: “Why is a duck when it spins?”. I figure if I can unlock that life mystery, I can make just about anything. My father was a great source of inspiration, information, and humor and someone who had a great hunger for investigating and learning. His wide spanning interests helped to form my curiosity about people and my perspective on design.
What are some new skills you are trying to acquire to perfect your craft?
This past year I took rhino, wax carving, and quilt making classes at Third Ward, Fitzjerald Jewelry, and Pins and Needles respectively. There is always some new skill I want to acquire for a project; I love learning to work with different materials and getting lost in the process.
How do you recharge your creativity?
I recharge my creativity by working on a diverse range of projects at a variety of scales – both client-based and self-generated. I work on research-based design work with my team, Hello. We Are _____., and more product-based work on my own. This combination of experiences and opportunities makes for a well balanced and never boring workweek. I also try to remember to get out of my studio often and look around – studio visits, museums, jogs, a trip out of the city, anything that keeps me looking at and talking about design.
Where does collaboration come into play with your craft?
I’m lucky to have the support of an excellent design team as well as a strong local design community and access to any number of makers and manufacturers. I have been working as part of a team of designers (helloweare.com) for the past few years and we are excited to be growing our team and outreach this year. I find it is impossible to design alone.
Paper tassels garlands are so popular now. And rightly so – they add the perfect pop of color and whimsy to any room or party space. And they’re fairly easy to make… with a small team of crafty friends you can get through a couple yards of garland. Last week I embarked on making over one hundred paper tassels for a friend’s shower and thought it would be the perfect decor DIY to share during Baby Week!
Here are the steps I took to make my paper tassel garland:
Lay the tissue paper on a flat surface so one of the shorter sides of the rectangle is facing you. Fold the tissue paper in half lengthwise. Turn the tissue paper so the long, open edge is facing you and the folded side is on top. Fold in half twice widthwise.
Cut thin strips from the bottom, open edge to the folded edge, leaving a one inch space. I used a rotary cutter for speed but plain craft scissors will do.
Open up the paper and lay it out with the fringe out to the left and right. Comb all fringe so the paper lays flat.
Roll the paper up from one end to the other.
Now your tissue paper should look like a pom-pom or Red Fraggle’s hair. Make sure your fringe is combed while you are rolling. Once the entire piece has been rolled up the delicate fringe can break if you try to comb it.
Twist the center of the pom-pom.
As you twist, fold the pom-pom in half creating a small loop. Use glue or a clear twist-tie to secure your tassel on string or twine.
Marvel at your perfect tassel, but not for too long. Get back to work! One tassel does not a garland make!
Have you made a paper tassel garland? Tweet photos of your tissue paper masterpiece at @UncommonGoods.
Last month we hosted our second design panel event and networking happy hour, How To Make It: Building Your Personal Brand, at Rabbit Hole Studio in Brooklyn. Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl, Laura Ann Young of Areaware and UG co-founder, Thomas Epting, weighed in on the importance of building a strong personal brand and how to know what aspects of your brand should be front and center.
Melissa of Emerging Designer and Cherry of Cherry Runway were there – see what they had to say about the evening. Since you all couldn’t be there, we thought we could share some of our favorite moments with you. If you are in the NYC area and want to attend our next How To Make It event, join our Meetup group!
Where to start? Tara answers what the essential elements of branding through sharing the experience of her and her clients.
Do you know who is looking at your designs? Laura Ann described how to use analytics to discover your audience.
You have to get your ideas out there! Tara talks about how to share your brand through social media.
Things need some updating? Tara shares how to decide when it is time for a rebranding.
Get your fans in on the action. Thomas shares how UncommonGoods uses crowd-sourcing and the customer’s voice to create innovative and interactive marketing campaigns.
There was a lot of great information in between. Take a gander at the talk in its entirety!
Situated above a Brooklyn art gallery, in a space shared by artists of varying mediums, Aaron Ruff’s single room looked more like a museum at first glance than a jewelry studio. The creator of Digby & Iona and his four-legged friend, Nuki, took me in for the morning to chat about the creation of his new collection, how the price of commodities has impacted his business and how history plays a role in keeping him inspired.
What are your most essential tools?
The hammer and the foredom.
Where do you find inspiration within this space?
I’m a big collector, so the entire space is inspiration. I’m constantly rearranging and dragging in new stuff, so the space is constantly evolving.
What was the toughest lesson you learned as a young designer starting a business?
It’s embarrassing to say, but just the basics of running a legit business were the hardest skills to master. Terms like W9 or EIN still make my head spin a little.
Does down time fit into a day in the studio?
Does Pinterest count as downtime? We think so!
What advice would you offer yourself 5 years ago?
Invest in silver! This is my main material and it has gone crazy in the last 5 years. Then it was $13 an ounce and earlier this year it was almost $40. I definitely miss the days when I could cast absurdly huge pieces in silver without blinking and eye. It’s changed the way I design quite a bit, I don’t want to have to raise my prices significantly so I have to be a lot more conscious about designing lighter pieces.
How do you set goals for yourself?
I’m terrible at meeting the deadlines I set for myself, so I generally set yearly goals and hope all goes to plan.
How and when do you decide to celebrate a victory?
I’m my own toughest critic, so celebration requires a pretty massive win.
What quote keeps you motivated?
I use historical quotes in my work quite a lot, most recently, ‘Don’t give up the ship’ which is a quote from Lee Hazard Perry during the War of 1812 (also the name of the collection). It’s pretty self-explanatory; it’s my version of the ‘hang in there’ kitten poster.
How do you recharge your creativity?
Travel as much as possible.
Where does collaboration come into play with your craft?
I generally collaborate with illustrators; my drawing skills are terrible, so I really enjoy turning 2d into 3d and vice versa.
What are some new skills you are trying to acquire to perfect your craft?
I’ve just come out with an engagement band collection, so I’ve had a recent crash course on diamonds and precious gems.
Aaron will be a judge in our Jewelry Design Challenge. Call for entries ends July 12th.
Summer is finally here and we can’t wait for backyard barbecues and picnics in the park. In fact, we have been Pinning about it all winter and now want to see your summer inspiration boards!
One lucky winner Pinner will receive an UncommonGoods gift card to furnish their summer party.
Leave the link to your inspirational Backyard Party board in the comments below and/or on the original pin in our Summer Time board and you’ll be entered to win.
We’ll announce the winner on July 6. How much that person wins is up to you. For every 50 entries we see, we’ll add $50 to the grand prize, up to a total of $250. So after you share your board with us, be sure to tell your friends and family to enter too!
Follow us on Pinterest for more updates, and leave a link to your profile in the comments. We follow back!
Good luck and happy pinning. We can’t wait to see your brilliant boards!
We are so excited to be hosting How To Make It: Building Your Personal Brand, our second design forum and happy hour on Tuesday June 26.
Our first panel talked about how to get things started in making it as an independent designer but this time we invited designers and professionals who can speak to establishing your brand. This panel includes Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl, Laura Ann Young of Areaware and Terrence Kelleman of Dynomighty.
Guests will have the opportunity to share their designs and business ideas with the panel to get instant and honest feedback from the panel. And as always, there will be a happy hour after the forum talk where you can mingle with the panelists, UncommonGoods staff and other local creatives.
You can RSVP on our Eventbrite page. We hope to see you there!
Whether you are throwing a backyard dinner party or planning a wedding, centerpiece ideas are sometimes a daunting task. They are the focal point of your sit-down meal and can really bring a room together if they are styled right. Although the Agate Cheese Platters are great for serving up snack, they are also versatile and could fit into a number of decor schemes. On the bottom of each platter are three rubber bumpers which creates a nice platform. The jewel-tone platters also have a natural shiny finish so they will glow in the dim light of a party.
I was interested in seeing how the Agate Cheese Platters would work in a centerpiece design, I took them home, put my decorating hands to work and came up with three different ways to style them.
CRAFTY
Some of the cutest centerpiece ideas out there are composed of found items. Make your centerpieces personal with a craft touch. Create a small penant banner with washi tape and neon twine and string it between two tall sticks. I used wooden knitting needles but another great option are painted twigs. Personalize a mason jar by wrapping it in colored yarn or twine. Lastly, I pulled some guitar picks and a harmonica from our collection to add some personality to this table decoration.
CHIC
These eggplant platter just scream glamour to me so I wanted to see a sleeker look. I pulled out some crystal and glass candle holders that would reflect nicely when the lights get low. Around the platter, I sprinkled some white flower petals to soften the entire look. I only wish it was dark enough to test the glow of the platter in candlelight but was pleased to see the reflection of the crystal on the platter.
RUSTIC
I thought it would be an interesting contrast to add some rustic charm to the polished platters so I started with an old honey jar of white flowers tied with natural twine. I set the jar in a bed of dried moss from the craft store and scattered small twigs and stones. I was so happy with the little enchanted forest I created.