Island Cowgirl Jewelry Cool Bloggery

...my mom...

...this is my Mom. 

She was such a great beauty. Even more inside than out. People thought she was a movie star. Such a gentle soul and a giving spirit. She gave & she gave...and then gave some more. 

She never complained about the three wild children she gave birth to. She said we were "fun". I remember us being completely wild. There was lots of blood, dirt & scars. And that was on a good day.

I am who I am today because of my mom. 

Fiercely loyal. A dreamer. Sometimes optimistically delusional. Strong. Too much so at times. Insanely independent. Which drives those close to me up the wall. I never give up...even when I should. I believe in miracles, true love and all things soft & furry. 

Thanks mom. I was so incredibly lucky to have you as my mom. You are the bomb. Happy Mother's Day!

...amen...

...mom's & grads...

...ok...don't forget your Mom's out there...And here is the perfect necklace! ..."at first glance I loved you with a thousand hearts.." Our First Glance Necklace is available at www.islandcowgirl.com 

Mom's LOVE this one...

...the artist-e at work...

 

...working on the new Summer 2012 collection & the new catalog...here is some of the layout...So high tech! Oil pencils and crayons...

The way it works is that we sketch out all of the new items that we are going to put in...and then we sketch out all of the one's we think we are going to maybe put in...and then we make up samples of each.

At that point we do a first cut and figure out which one's are fabulous...and which ones didn't quite cut the mustard. Then we go through the previous year's catalog and try to figure out which designs we are going to "retire".

This process can go on for two months...if we are lucky! With many additions & subtractions! It is a fun process to see it all come together and it can also be extremely time consuming & difficult as designs we were sure were going to be the bomb...don't quite come to life.

We hope to have the new catalog ready to ship at the end of June...Stay tuned!

XOXO

~h

...anniversary love...

We began our humble store by the sea 4 years ago this month....mostly on a wing and a prayer. And boy has it grown, morphed and bloomed into something that we are extremely proud of.

And because we love you so much...check your email boxes today for a promotional coupon good for 2 days only to help us celebrate!

If you are not on our preferred customer list and would like to be, please register HERE!

We will be posting some before and after pictures of the store coming up this week....a big walk down memory lane...Gotta go dig them up!

XOXO

~h 

...rejuvena-tion...

We are coming up on our 4th year anniversary of our Flagship Store in Huntington Beach so we decided to give it a face lift....we ordered a bunch of new displays & proceeded to tear into the store one random Sunday afternoon...loaded with Starbucks (for fuel) and a toolbox (for our resident Bob the Builder).

We ordered a large vintage bakers rack which was assembled in the parking lot until we figured out it wouldn't go through the door...and then it finally found a home in the corner. Right now we have it loaded up with one of our favorite artists Papaya...and topped with my trusty, rusty flying pig. 

Next up was my vintage school book idea. Now not all of my ideas are good...and most of the time my peeps think I am crazy when I try to describe said ideas...but I am always willing to throw myself under the bus and try.

This one turned out well...we ripped apart every single jewelry case and added our custom rusted steel trays that we have been diligently rusting on the patio...and the vintage books. Thankfully it all worked together...otherwise I would be lugging home a lot of books & metal.

Whew...that was a lot of work...but so worth it...We are now ready for the summer crowds. Bring them on!

XOXO
~H 

...OOAK...also known as one-of-a-kind...

...we have launched a new section of our website called one-of-a-kind...also known in the artist's community as OOAK...

This has been great for my creative juices as I get to let my imagination run wild....without thinking about having to replicate...Often I find stones or chain or really random interesting items to incorporate into my line...however I know I cannot find enough to supply our 400 stores that we currently sell to.  Enter our OOAK...and now the rules don't apply. (Oh, how I love to say those words!) 

My current love affair is with Drusy stones...these are pretty rare and the colors are never the same. They are rough, rugged &  sparkly. What more could a girl want. I have been told they have special healing qualities. I just believe they are magical.... 

These are all available on our Island Cowgirl website or at our store in Huntington Beach, CA.

Having just returned from the once a year Tucson Gem Show...I have lots of goodies coming on up. I have one word...Turquoise!

Peace, love & Horses!

Heather 

...right brain, left brain...

The text for the left brain reads:
"I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am." 

And for the right brain:
"I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sesuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be."

Wow.

Which one are you? 

(I think we all know which one I am...I don't see things as they are...I see things as I want them to be...)

~h 

-Kudos to the Missouri Institute of Natural Science

...our store by the sea...

We are so proud of our little store by the sea...It all began almost by accident 4 years ago when I wandered by a "For Rent" sign on Main Street. And every year it just keeps getting better & better. I just returned from a round of buying trips and we have some fabulous new finds coming in everyday.

One of the wonderful things about having a store is that I get to carry all of my friends work!...How awesome is that. Each and every one of us struggles to live out our lives as an artist and yet be true to our vision...and somehow manage to run a business in the middle of it all. It is not an easy path...but one that we would not have any other way.

If you are in Huntington Beach, Californa please stop by and say howdy...and don't forget to live out loud.

Peace, love & horses....

~heather

...surrounded by love...

Valentine's day is one of our favorite days around the store...And as you can see I love to make hearts. Hearts with words, hearts without words, big hearts, little hearts...pretty much hearts of any shape...As a child my homework was always doodled with hearts. (It often got me in trouble...I don't think my science teachers truly appreciated my artistic side...)

Our windows this year are an explosion of red & rose petals...my girls did such an awesome job with them...And we hope to pass along the love...

Love is noisy. Love is messy. Love is inconvenient. Love is hard. And love is rare.

But really…when everything else falls away.
Love really is where its at.

At least for me it is.

XOXO

~heather

...bright lights, big city...

Off to NYC...the city that never sleeps...My old stomping grounds. As many of you know I went to school in New York and hence always feel at home once I get off the plane. The people are straight forward, no nonsense and terribly funny. Not only that they are incredibly genuine & generous....if it was warm & had a beach I would probably still live there.

 

 
I was here for work...but work is never without a little fun. After a hard day of walking the show...we found an amazing little cafe on 9th & 49th that rocked the brunch experience. It was called Vinyl. They had mosaic bathrooms of Elvis, Dolly Parton & Cher complete with each singers action figure. A total trip...

 

 

 Anthropologie at Rockefeller Center is not to be missed...They are borderline genius with their displays. No...they are pure genius. Nobody rocks it out like they do.

 A tie dye zip tie wall...curtain...thingy. I mean does it get anymore brilliant than this? Seriously. Blown. Away.

A rug on the wall...no on the floor...no on the wall...Oh boy, who cares. This is beautiful and I covet it.

Jen, from Quirks of Art, one of my good friends & amazing retailers, was my partner in crime during my stay in NYC...and we sure did have a grand time...to be continued...

XOXO

~h

...southern love...

Each season we pack up and set off to our tradeshows with all of our new designs in tow...one of my favorites is in Atlanta. I just love the southern charm...and the fried chicken ain't so bad either. 

I get to meet with all of my wonderful retailers and say howdy...and maybe talk about jewelry...and of course our dogs. There is always inspirational A-R-T installations around that always make me weak in the knees...this year they had an exceptionally colorful one.

Setting up the booth after a long night of travel is always tough...sometimes it takes more than one set of eyes to really see...Can you tell we were tired? I think it took us about 5 minutes to notice this...

Our new IPAD covers were a big hit with the retailers! We love them too!

All the rage were our new Cowgirl Bling Bracelets...Swarovski crystals & pearls on different colored leather wrap bracelets! So awesome...You can buy them from our boutique at Island Cowgirl.com...

We had an awesome show and cannot wait to ship out to all of our new retailers...spread the love!

XOXO

~h