Do You Remember Puka Shell Chokers of the 70s?

The early 70s were a time of hippieness, earth mothers, earth shoes, dreads, peasant blouses, and even bell bottoms left over from the late 60s. For those who needed to be in the workplace, this look easily translated into more polished use of these elements.

I have listed a duo of genuine Puka shell vintage chokers. They are high-quality, real Puka shells and not the lower-end necklaces made with imitation shells that are so prevalent.

They are listed together as a gorgeous, mock double strand necklace and nestle together perfectly. They have screw clasps and are separate individual chokers so you will have options to wear as a single or a double.

When put together, they create a fabulous textured look in shape and color. The colors of these Puka shells are subtle shades of cream, taupe, and grey. I really love these.

Over 40 years of wonderful vintage wear, it is fun to think about where these treasured necklaces have been!

You can see them in GalleriaLindaLoft's Vintage Jewelry shop on Zibbet!

HISTORY
Puka Shell History from Wikipedia
Puka shells were beachworn pieces of cone snail shells, a kind of seashell. Puka is the Hawaiian word for "hole" and refers to the naturally occurring hole in the middle of these rounded shell fragments. Numerous inexpensive imitations are now widely sold however, the majority of which are not made from cone shells. Some beads are currently sold that are made from cone shells but the majority of these have been worked by hand with pliers from whole shells and then subjected to a little tumble finishing, instead of being formed entirely by natural processes.

The original puka shell beads were very easily made into necklaces, bracelets and anklets because they already had a natural hole which enabled them to be strung like beads.

Puka jewellery first became popular in Hawaii, though many species of cone snails, family Conidae, are found in tropical oceans worldwide.

In Hawaii, the wearing of puka shells was traditionally thought to ensure a peaceful and safe voyage, especially for sailors on a long journey, so puka shell necklaces were especially worn by those who had to travel at sea.

Intriguing Historical Jewelry: Vintage Aluminum

You can't keep us ladies from our jewelry. Neither snow, sleet, floods, nor war will stop us.

As I collect vintage jewelry for my GalleriaLindaLoft vintage jewelry shop, I seem to go in spurts of collecting interesting themes that peak my interest. First, I was avidly targeting vintage handmade items by obscure artists that were signed pieces of all materials: ceramic, enamel, beaded, and others.

Now, as I keep running across aluminum jewelry, I became intrigued with its history. Aluminum jewelry is so lightweight that you might think it is cheap plastic. It is not plastic and a good eye will unfold a delightful history of designs that are highly collectible.

I learned from my research that aluminum jewelry got its start during the WWII era. Major metals were all going to the war effort so gold, silver, and other metal jewelry was hard to find at that time. But aluminum, that glorious pliable metal, could be made into high fashion pieces.

Those pieces with a mark of "Germany" were likely created prior to WWII and predates those marked with "W. Germany" by almost a decade.

Aluminum Eloxal, (electrolytic oxidation of aluminum), aluminum jewelry, was made primarily from 1945-1965 (some sources site the dates to be 1950 to 1970). It will not tarnish or rust and the light weight afforded jewelry designers the opportunity to create large and chunky designs that would be comfortable. You will find pieces with color. Although the silver color of aluminum is what we expect, you will find pieces with a gold finish and others with colorful patterns.

Today, aluminum jewelry is sought by collectors who appreciate the beauty and history of this fascinating time in jewelry design.

Vintage Memories; Vintage Jewery

Yes, I...am...vintage. See, I am more than 20 years old. Along with being vintage comes memories - lovely memories. Some of you that follow this blog know that as a young girl, I lived in Brazil. We lived in the state of Minas Gerais (General Mines) where most of the Brazilian stones were mined. We often went rock hunting and found tourmeline and amethyst in their raw state. I loved that!!

Back at that time, Brazilian stones set in sterling were very inexpensive like our costume jewelry today. Therefore, as jewelry lovers, my mother and I had a boatload of Brazilian jewelry.

I was rooting through some drawers the other day and found this set of Brazilian "costume" jewelry set in sterling with real tumble-polished stones. Taking a new look at these as an adult brought back many fond memories of my mother wearing these pieces. These were not the star of the show, but good, daily jewelry.

She had many fine jewelry pieces with cut stones she hand selected and had settings custom made into various pieces of jewelry. I have a few pieces left, but alas, a burglary years ago left me with only few pieces - thankfully.

These pieces have tourmaline, amethyst, topaz, white agate, hematite, rust agate, pink morganite, and aqua marine. There is a three-strand necklace that is a fabulous neckline filler and the stones are set horizontally as links. I love this necklace - it is very colorful and happy!

Always the creative jewelery lover (people say I make jewelry out of anything - steak bones, Christmas ornaments...!), I utilize my jewelry tactics from college days and hook together five bracelets with the same type polished dangle stones to make a fabulous necklace! I wear it long or double it for a lush, fabulous look.

I have seen several smaller pieces on eBay with this same design, setting, and polished stones. The sellers did not know what they had and called them "agate" jewelry and indicated they were silver tone - and sold them for next to nothing. So, now you have been warned! If you see these on eBay, know that they are Brazilian, real stones, and sterling!

It is fun walking down memory lane, especially when it involves jewelry. These are not for sale, but I really wanted to share the beauty of these stones with you! For pretty usable vintage jewelry, please visit GalleriaLindaLoft's vintage jewelry shop on Zibbet!

Feeling Creative? I Have the Perfect Thing for You!

Found objects can be so cool. And when you incorporate them into your designs, you create truly unique and one-of-a-kind art!

This little lonesome guy was found in a pile of vintage jewelry in a "trash to treasure" type of store, just begging for attention. The metal is so well done - it is satin brushed and quite sturdy - not true silver but it actually looks and feels like stainless steel (but I have no clue).

The stone cabochon is translucent with an opening in the back and is a nice green - not olive but not yet grass green. It appears that it was once attached to another piece.

What do you envision as the next life for this little guy? A jewelry pendant surrounded by friendly gorgeous beads? A brooch with embellishments? You be the judge!

If you feel challenged and inspired, then march over to GalleriaLinda's bead shop on Zibbet to see the full details!

Vintage Beads Are So Inspiring

I have fallen in love with plastic beads, especially uncirculated vintage beads. The word "plastic" to me is kind of a negative word but I have found that "plastics" (acrylic and Lucite) have properties that allow for fabulous design and texture possibilities.

Pictured are yummy vintage beads made from quality acrylic and Lucite. You can find 64 varieties of colorful vintage beads in GalleriaLinda Bead's online shop on Zibbet!

Be sure to check the whole GalleriaLinda Bead shop at http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialinda for vintage beads, Czech glass beads, unusual sterling beads, large beads, wooden beads, stone beads, Vintaj, findings, and crazy found items of the creative kind (lol).

More beads are listed throughout the week. Oh gosh, I have boxes of beads to list and little time but I keep chipping away at it so keep checking back.

Here is a photo for just a peek at what is "on the bench" using these wonderful vintage beads.

I counted yesterday 12 unfinished designs that need to get finished!!

A Wonderful Find That Takes Me Back

Finding vintage and antique treasures takes us back to times gone by and oddly, this little pin brought back many warm memories of my grandmother - but in different ways than you think!

The pin is circa 40s or 50s and is adorable! It is artist-signed and handmade vintage. It can be found in GalleriaLindaLoft's Vintage Shop.

It is porcelain and reminiscent of my Grandma's fried chicken plate. My Grandmother cooked huge meals every day and friends and family would "happen by" at dinner time. Whoever showed up was treated to a fabulous meal and friendship. And, fried chicken was a staple for the crowd she fed. She had a special porcelain china platter just for her fabulous fried chicken that I still have today. That plate has memories of large family gatherings and good ole southern soul food cooking.

The pin is a lovely unusual hexagon and is slightly concave much like a little plate. It has a hand painted metallic gold rim that is a little worn here and there - just like real antique china, and with a hand painted peach and leaves that still show the brush strokes. On close inspection with a magnifying glass, I see a little crazing that is not noticeable to the eye - but crazing can add to the charm of antique porcelain as well. Grandma's fried chicken plate has crazing too!

Well, this is a little piece of antique art for your lapel with great colors that bring home the warmth of memories and days gone by. Don't miss this one - it will be a conversation piece.

I Love You So Much I Can't Let You Go

The reason I am enthused about sourcing vintage jewelry is that I get excited about the surprise element of finding that fabulous treasure in an unexpected place in an unexpected moment in time. Many of the items I procure for GalleriaLindaLoft's Vintage Shop are beautiful, useful, and I would love to own them myself. But, it is OK for me to share the love of vintage with you so I list them and hope you find them as treasured as I do!

However, I came across this set of vintage Monet earrings and bar pin that just sent me into a tizzy. They show a consistent love of wear that is so great. The patina is awesome and the frosty cabochons are fabulous. I have had them sitting on my desk for weeks and I just cannot bring myself to let them go. So, there you have it. I said it. You are mine. :-)

I look for and appreciate very modern vintage designs, post modernism and modernist design directions, Frank Lloyd Wright designs, and anything artist-hand rendered in vintage. In my shop you can find several artist-rendered handmade brooches from times past. They may not fit the "look" of an era but they are so special for that moment in time because the artist "bucked the system" so to speak to present a personal design point-of-view. I love that.

Well, more to come on vintage. In the meantime, I still make wonderful handmade jewelry that is listed in GalleriaLinda's iCraft Shop and also have GalleriaLinda's fabulous beads for your creative endeavors!

Vintage Modern

I have been on a roll with success in finding such great "modernist" designs in vintage jewelry pointing to the modernism movement of the 20th century. I will be posting several in the next few weeks - most are brooches but are lovely little works of art in themselves. Many are handmade and amazing little jewels of the past, surviving the ravages of time to bring joy to the present. What a jewel these will be for our children too!

Attached is a most recent brooch I found that came from a "grandmother" estate. The colors are very vibrant and the enamel has such depth. Gorgeous copper color! You can find this Vintage Copper Enameled Modern Art Brooch in GalleriaLindaLoft's vintage Etsy shop!

Vintage Artisan Signed Heart Zipper Brooches - Hot!

For GalleriaLindaLoft's Etsy Vintage Store, I could not believe it when I spotted these vintage handmade zipper heart brooch pins!. They are both from the same estate sale and after inspection, they appeared to be really old and really special. Likely one-of-a-kind artisan work, they both are created with the same techniques so I believe they are of the same artist. Only one is signed "Ann Potter."

Definitely handmade, both are designed with zippers as the main design element. On the larger zipper heart brooch found in GalleriaLinda's Vintage Etsy Shop, you will see the outline of the heart is a large brass zipper that is old with awesome patina. The inside of the design is made from smaller zippers carefully placed so close together that they make a textural mosaic with a hint different muted colors that represents the fabrics that the zippers are on. Very subtle color palate and design! It is all nicely finished on a wood heart back.

The smaller zipper heart brooch found in GalleriaLinda's Vintage Shop has a border of a large zipper and that large zipper is repeated within the interior of the design. The interior of the design itself is filled in with smaller zippers. All zippers are on black fabric so the pin is zipper silver and black. The backing is wood that is painted black.

Research found nothing on zipper jewelry themes of the past, so I concluded that these are individual artisan items. Today, many artists are making new jewelry out of new zippers or vintage zippers. Here, you have a real vintage piece!

These designs will complement anyone's valentine sweetie...from motorcycle gals to urban hipsters, to grunge, circling back to career gals and even Grandma would appreciate the artistic history. They would be fabulous on leather, denim, or gray flannel blazers.

FREE SHIPPING USA too.  These are just unique pieces of artistic history.

GalleriaLindaLoft Vintage in Etsy Treasury

After a year's long hiatus, I have been loading in vintage items to my GalleriaLindaLoft Etsy shop. A lot of what I offer is vintage jewelry of all kinds, but I have started listing some interesting miscellaneous items. One item caught the eye of InColdStorage, who put my item in her "Black Magic Women" treasury on Etsy. InColdStorage has a fabulous vintage Etsy shop so please visit!

For some reason, I was fooling around online, went to Craftopolis,  and arbitrarily put in GalleriaLindaLoft's shop name and I was shocked I was in a treasury! That is how it is! You just never know.

The vintage item featured fit beautifully within the treasury and was my Souvenir Rio Cigarette Pack Holder and Match Book Cover - in a gorgeous black lacquer finish trimmed in gold. Very pretty even if you don't smoke! It is from the very early 1960s.

Some of you may remember me mentioning that I lived in Brazil as a very young girl and I have several Brazilian items from that era to list like this. I sold a couple of Vintage Brazilian Street Jewelry items last year as was almost sorry to see them go, but I knew I would never wear them and enjoy them. That is what is so exciting about vintage. People who purchase vintage items really love the item and that makes me happy!

Now with the Olympics being held in Rio De Janeiro, you can have have a piece of Brazil by shopping GalleriaLindaLoft!

My thanks goes to InColdStorage for including this item in the Etsy Treasury!

Vintage Inspired from GalleriaLinda?

I don't consider myself to be a "vintage inspired" designer, but sometimes vintage elements really move me to create something beautiful. There is just "something" about vintage elements. The patina, style, detail, or workmanship can make the imagination run wild.

The bracelet you see here incorporates old vintage family buttons that are used with real hematite barrel beads. I added little metallic glass copper leaves to give it sparkle and a spiky edge. All tied together with memory wire, it makes an easy "grab and go" accessory.

The necklace is something really different and will be a conversation piece. It makes a great neckline filler for open collars and is stunning on a plain sweater. This one is for sale in GalleriaLinda's iCraft shop! I have an affection for metallic finishes, so Hematite is right up my alley. Who would think to mix contemporary 12mm hematite barrel beads and a vintage pendant in this way? And, add traditional Swarovski crystal pearls, in gray and gold, no less? I did!

Along with my handcrafted designed jewelry, I also offer great vintage jewelry in both my Artfire shop and my GalleriaLindaLoft Etsy shop. Sometimes I am torn between whether to list a vintage piece as is or rip it apart to mix it in with my designs!

The 3 Faces of GalleriaLinda - Jewery Schizophrenia?

I admit it! I might need an intervention! I started the GalleriaLinda.com business with handcrafted jewelry in mind for the focus.

It still is all about that, but my affections are jewelry-specific flaky in general. I am passionate about handmade jewelry, but I love vintage jewelry and I love handmade sterling and gem imported jewelry. The natural progression, then, would be an expansion of GalleriaLinda.com to include all the jewelry goodness that GalleriaLinda can find. And, so I did.

First came the handcrafted contemporary beaded and silver wire jewelry that I so passionately make - even from the beginning of girlhood.

Second came the vintage jewelry. As I was rooting around some old family treasures last year, I latched on to some jewelry items that were absolutely fabulous. An idea was born and I was hooked. Finding vintage, online and off, just fills my heart with excitement!

Last came the sterling and gemstone jewelry. Because of time spent in Brazil (the world's gemstone mine) as a child, I came to appreciate gemstones and sterling at an early age and never shook that affection. I remember going through my mother's jewelry box and trying on amethyst, topaz, citrine, white agate, hematite, tourmaline, and other fabulous gems, and this was way before colored stones were all the rage.

I searched for over a year to find an appropriate supplier that would meet my criteria for a jewerly gemstone and sterling product. I am so pleased with the jewelry designs, gems, and quality. And frankly, they sell in person like hotcakes. Jewelry hotcakes are always a good thing!

You will find each of these genres of jewelry in different venues and according to venue requirements for listing. But, it is all directed by my web site at GalleriaLinda.com.

Why not surround yourself with the things you love. I did!

Now I've Done it!

I have been in a "think tank." For months. Figuring out where I want to take the GalleriaLinda business.

I love designing and creating jewerly and will always do so, however, because I work full time too, I often feel rushed to just make something - anything - to have a full online shop. It is stressful.

Earlier this year, I added vintage jewery. That is fun and I LOVE that! Researching the styles of days gone by...looking at good craftsmanship....and the sparkle! I will continue to do that too. In fact, I found a little shop in Indiana that has buckets of vintage jewerly. There is nothing better than buckets of jewery, I always say.

For a year, I have been searching for some other type of jewelry to round out my product lines. Some type that I don't have to make. And, I found the most wonderful imported sterling and gemstone product around. These are handmade in India and Nepal and each design is made in limited quantity. Each shipment has designs a little different. The stones are just good, sound, foundation stones for any jewelry wardrobe. Amethyst, Malachite, Lapis, Rainbow Moonstone, Carnelian, and Coral are a few that I have on hand.

I am in love! The earrings are just the right size for work or for more formal occaisions. Right now, I have stocked earrings but will add pendants soon. I looked for quality, market-friendly designs, weight of sterling, gemstones and one more thing. I was looking for an importer who had the same values as I do, seeking quality from those who earn a fair wage.

Now I am in the middle of researching online venues for each of these new types of jewerly.

So, now my dream has come true. I feel like a real business woman with multiple, complimentary product lines. Now, I can spend creative and thoughtful time on my own designs while keeping my shops filled and anticipate that my own design journey will blossom.