Look Book Beach Photo Shoot

After shooting the pix for my last look book I decided I really wanted to do some photos on the beach because .... hellloooo .... I do live in one of the most beautiful places ever!  Once again, I hit up Hollie and Emily to lend their lovely selves to me.  I went into production mode -- wanting to do the pix with the etched stuff I've been focusing on lately.  After a little over a month, photo day rolled around.  

It's been a really dry "rainy season" here -- but about 2 weeks ago, Mother Nature decided to finally start being a bit normal and bless us with Costa Rica's tropical afternoon storms -- which should have started in May.  Hey, better late than never!  This means gorgeous, hot, sunny days up until about 2 p.m. when dark, rumbling clouds roar through dumping major amounts of water and shaking the ground with thunder.  

So of course as we started to get ready, one of these huge storms appeared on the horizon.  It looked like midnight moving in and I started to seriously doubt if a sunset session was going to be possible.  That would have sucked because my southern belle Hollie was scheduled to leave the next day and not be able to return until after the New Year.  Blah.  

The sky opened up and the ground shook -- setting off car alarms. 

With fingers crossed, we continued prepping....

 

But then the storm passed almost as quickly as it appeared and we ended up with great weather and a soft, moody sunset.  

Even though we only had about an hour and a half of light left after the storm passed, we got some really great shots!

I love hanging out with these girls.  They're crazy in the best way and they never fail to make me laugh. 

So lucky to have such lovely friends to rock my stuff!!

Finding Inspiration - Etched Jewelry

The one downside to living in Costa Rica is that it's near impossible to get supplies here.  I have to order everything on-line, then have it sent to someone coming to visit or going back Stateside for a visit.  In other words, I have supply mules.  Shopping on-line is convenient, sure, but what I miss about living in LA is going downtown and just browsing beads and chain.  Going to the leather shops, engulfed in that leather smell, digging through boxes of scraps and feeling it in my hand prior to purchasing.  I miss going to the Fairfax flea market and thrift shops and finding random bits of jewelry that inspire me to disassemble them and create something new.  I miss heading to Santa Monica and spending hours in Ritual Adornment, looking at every single solitary thing and subsequently overspending because I wasn't able to pick just a few things!  

Basically, I miss being inspired by things I come across. 

I guess I've been feeling a little creatively stagnant lately.  Of course I love every little piece I make.  I don't mean to imply otherwise.  However, I'm learning that being the sole producer responsible with keeping my boutique stocked, if I'm not careful, I can fall into a creative rut that could end up feeling more like a job than art.  I wanted to try something totally new. 

But, again, since it's difficult to get supplies here, I had to be creative about being creative.  I love henna and mehndi tattoos and find myself doodling these sort of designs a lot.  Not as intricate, but lots of paisley type designs, dots and spirals.  I've done a few sheet metal bracelets with these designs using an engraver, but I was never 100% satisfied with the outcome -- I wanted something that looked "cleaner".  

I wanted to do chemical metal etching, but after digging around on-line to find out what I'd need, I was a bit discouraged because there was no way I could get the specific chemical solutions needed here, nor would anyone be able to bring them to me because of their toxicity.  Luckily, after a bit more digging around on-line, I found an alternative way to etch using chemicals that I can easily locate at the hardware store here.  Yiippeeee.!!

Needless to say, I've been experimenting with it for about a month now.  I feel like a kid with a new toy.  I love to work with sheet metal and so now this new addition just opened up a whole new world of possibilities and new ideas.  

That's exactly what I needed!  

Cows on the beach

Taking a lil' beach stroll with my doggie Lola, and encountered a group of cows...doing the same.  Lola was like "what the...??"

From here to there....

Just about 40 minutes outside of town and the landscape changes to beautiful farmland and countryside.

El Sabor de Guanacaste Festival

Last Friday, July 25, my girl Lydia and I attended a local art festival named El Sabor de Guanacaste (The Flavor of Guanacaste) in Flamingo Beach.  Guanacaste is the province of Costa Rica that I live in and July 25 is Guanacaste Day, celebrating the independence of the zone from Nicaragua - making it a part of Costa Rica in 1824. 

We've attended a handful of fairs in Flamingo over the past few years, but honestly, they've always been a little disappointing.  There was always very little foot traffic or community/tourist interest.   So when we heard about this one, initially we were kinda' on the fence as to whether or not we wanted to close our shops for the day and head over there.  In the past, it just hasn't been worth it.  However, after a few conversations with one of the organizers, Raquel (who we would soon discover was on her "A" game), we decided that the event seemed like it would be well promoted and attended.  We really liked the fact that there would be live music and that there were a decent amount of confirmed artists.  

The space that the artists were in was a covered patio with lots of natural light and fresh air.  (Although it was like a 100000 degrees that day so even the breezy air felt like you were standing in front of an open oven!)  The day started with a parade with kids from the local schools, some dressed up in traditional clothing, others marching in a band that pounded out a beat that made even the least rhythmic person want to move.  

Right after the parade, people started milling around and soon after, the bands started to perform.  There was a good turnout -- lots of locals and tourists, which is always a nice mix.

The Lovely Ms. Lydia 

My table

Traditional Chorotega/Guaitil Pottery from Jesus and Susan 

Paintings by Jose Jackson

I love photography.  It's one of my favorite art forms, so I really enjoyed the photography by photographer Royden Alvaro.  His photographs tell stories of life in Guanacaste.  Fiestas, bull riding, borrachos (drunks) dancing in the street, really capturing the moment.  You gotta check out his website and see his photos from Costa Rica, Cuba and the rest of his portfolio.

Of course, I have to include at least one photo of a dog!! :)

A staple of culinary culture here in Guanacaste is corn tortillas so of course there were ladies making them from scratch and cooking them over a wood fire.  If you've never had tortillas fresh off the griddle, you've missed out on one of life's finest pleasures.

The music was awesome.  A great mix of electronic, traditional, rock and reggae bands.  Tamarindo's own Glass Eye performed.   These guys rock.

One of the big things of this festival was the different workshops available for the kids to participate in.  Lydia hostessed a painting class and I hostessed a beading class.  It's always fun to see what the kids come up with when left to their own creative devices.

My Beading Class

Lyd's painting class.

What kid doesn't like drawing on the cement with chalk. Heck, I still like to draw on the cement!!

In the late afternoon, a traditional dance troupe named Colpachi performed.  Being from the States, one thing I really love here is seeing young people enjoying their rich heritage.  In the States, we just don't have any thing traditional like folk dancing, so seeing "kids" immersed in their traditions that have been handed down over and over, is something that I always love to watch.

The festival lasted until much later, but we left for home and cold showers (!!!) around 5ish.  I think I speak for us both that we were glad that we went.  It was fun, productive, entertaining, and best of all we got to spend the day together.  Awwwww.

Look Book Photo Shoot

In May I completed my 6th year in the shop (yippeeee!!).  I've been wanting to put together a Look Book -- pairing up my jewels along with some great clothing.   It's been a long time since I actually did a photo shoot (other than Etsy listings).  The last one was in Downtown LA in mid-2008....

I love DTLA!!  All the graffitti walls and murals.  I love it.

It's amazing to think how much my life has changed in just a few years.  I've gone from living downtown in one of the biggest cities in the world, to living in a super small beach town in Central America.  In that last round of pictures, I never would have imagined that I'd be where I am now with the shop and all the great opportunities that have come along with it.  

I started thinking about what I'd like to photograph and how.  Over the past 3 or so years, my jewelry line has kinda' morphed into two distinct looks and lines.  I have the big chunky pieces that were what started my jewelry line.

But in addition to that, I've been working with a lot of sheet metal, creating cuffs, and geometric necklaces, earrings and rings.  Lots of layering and mixing metals.  

I decided that the first (of more to come) photos would be of the sheet metal jewelry because for the past few months, that's been where I've felt most inspired.  Plus, it seems to reflect more of the style that I'm wearing these days.

I hit up my friend Hollie, a beautiful graphic and clothing designer who visits Costa Rica with enough frequency that it's difficult not to consider her a part time resident.  I ran a few ideas by her and asked if she might be interested in being my model on her next trip here.  I don't even know that she heard what I wanted to do - I'm pretty sure all she heard was "come to Costa Rica" and lickey-split she was booking her ticket.  Don't gotta' twist her arm to come here!!

She showed up with two suitcases full of great clothing that went p-e-r-f-e-c-t with what I wanted to photograph.  God I love that girl!  It was awesome to see the clothing come together with the jewelry exactly how I had envisioned.  I couldn't have picked a better wardrobe even if I had gone out and purchased it myself.

We got super duper lucky because she ended up house sitting for a friend who was nice enough to allow us to use his space for the pics.  Lots of white walls and natural light.  Also an awesome Keith Herring mural that the talented Ms. Hollie painted on one of her prior trips.  ((sigh))....this girl.  

We rang up our friend Emily who arrived with her usual spunky attitude and the show began.  Total we took about 500 pictures over the next 3.5 hours. 

The ladies worked it, we laughed, goofed off and the on-site doggie guard, Rai, flirted and supervised.  I think he liked seeing all the half naked ladies running around.  Boys!!!    

After reviewing the pics and now slowly going through them and editing, I gotta' say, they turned out better than I ever could have hoped for.  These chicas did a great job!  I'm slowly going through them, posting them on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook.

But here's a peek at a few of my faves....

Ms. Emily

Ms. Hollie looking like a doll.

I mean really Rai!!

I'll be continuing to post over the coming weeks.  Also, in August Hollie will be back again (like I said -- frequent visitor!) and we hope to do another round - beach front.  

Instagram

When I worked in an office and was in front of the computer 24/7, I feel that I was a lot more tech savvy than I am these days.  I was definitely quicker to jump on the band wagon with new programs, gadgets and social media.  

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of Facebook.  I have a page for my jewelry and shop, but I don't have a personal page at all.  I can see all the benefits of staying in touch with people and getting a bird's eye view of what they're up to, but I have gripes with FB as a company.  But, over the years what I've quickly learned is that if you're not using FB to keep up with everyone, you may as well be invisible. Since moving to Costa Rica 6+ years ago, I've lost touch with many a person.  Booo-hoo.

After some urging from a few friends, I decided to start using Instagram.  I'm happy to report, that I really like it!  I know, I know, I'm like crawling out of a cave in the dark ages!!  ((Shrugging)) -- what can I say?

It's really nudged me to document the creation process of what I make, something I haven't really done.  Until lately, I've only photographed the finished product.  It's fun for me see in photos the progression of a piece - and even more fun to share that process.

A sheet metal earring production in process.

It's inspired me to open up the doors of my studio space.

Painting the spiral background on my shop wall.

Manchita, the best shop assistant ever.

It's also been fun to give a glimpse at what life is like living here in Costa Rica.

Bull Ring at a local fiesta

Cow crossing.

Anyhow, I'm slowly catchin' up to everyone else.  Better late than never!