Handmade by us, for you.

Hello Everyone- We hope January is treating you well & you are staying warm, our studio is very close to the water in Tribeca and we are fairly sure it is at least 10 degrees colder! As you know all of our styles are completely handmade right here in the Tribeca studio. Wendy has worked alongside this team of 9 talented Tibetan women for many years, (three Tsering's, Sang Mo, Lobsang, Tenzin, Renzin, Tomo & Yeshi). Our wonderful production team sits together each day around a big table loaded with materials and create every single one of our pieces, it really is a sight to behold. This work as you can imagine requires incredible attention to detail and at the end of each day after the ladies leave there is a row of eyeglasses on top of each work area....this week we thought we'd show you exactly how something which seems fairly simple is made, below is the turquoise hoop, a staple for us and a great seller online and with our dear wholesale clients! here is Lobsang our head jeweler making the style!




First of all, Lobsang takes a wire hoop which Tsering has made by hand previously.....


Then she threads turquoise beads onto softer wire which will be wrapped around and around the hoop frame....the speed at which she does this is alarming & so fascinating!

Each bead has wire wrapped between it for perfect spacing and extra durability!



....and before you know it we have a beautiful pair of hoops all ready to go....there's really nothing better than seeing the materials laid out on the table & watching the ladies create orders, being handmade seems all the better when it is made by such skilled women right in front of your very eyes!


Sequins! We love them! They seem to be making a definite comeback, the great thing is that they are not only relegated to evening wear, along with the rhinestone, sequins can now be a daytime piece too!




We have included two fabulous sequin necklaces into our recent Spring Summer 2010 collection, on the right below below is a dusky pink & chocolate plated layered chain with sparkly sequin rose-tie, the second is chunky turquoise & gold chain with a deep blue sequin ribbon, gorgeous! (Email retail@wendyminkjewelry.com for details).....





There is still time to enter lucky3 at Checkout to receive the amazing Lucky magazine opportunity on our website (and in our NYC boutique!), enter it to see the deal...it's a good one! Plus these styles online may be changing very soon so get them while you can, we have new styles coming later this month.
We hope you will consider purchasing our Birdcages online in support of the Red Cross Haiti Earthquake fund, this devastating event has touched everyone here and Wendy would love to forward a check as soon as possible, plus you get some cute earrings for such a great cause!

Enjoy this coming long weekend and stay in touch, feel free to leave comments below!

WMJ TEAM

Lucky 2010!

Please add comments below for what you would love to see online in the new year!

Welcome to a new decade! fairly amazing that it is 2010, wasn't it just the millenium....? We have ushered in what we hope to be a fabulous year with brand new windows & we have turned a little Japanese! The windows are gorgeous; smatterings of snow, bamboo shoots, a beautiful celadon kimono, pebbles and a pair of sweet wooden slippers....of course nestled among the props are some jewels to die for! On one side (shown above) we have a snowy white layered bib from the 1950's & to the right a tangle of tasseled gold chains from the 1960's and 1970's, layer them up for a very current look....for any of these boutique pieces please email our store ladies on: wendyminkstore@gmail.com, or you could call on 212 260 5298, they can assist with price-points, dimensions and any queries related.






Above we have some wonderful vintage rhinestone pieces, these styles have become fairly everyday pieces thanks to a huge amount of Winter press which paired casual everyday clothes with flashy rhinestone jewelry, pop a pin on your work sweater or layer a sparkly bib with a longer chain, you'll get comments all day long on your retro fabulous look! We love to see which great pin Wendy will feature on her vintage coat collection, a pin can make an outfit plus provide a very handy clasp for a troublesome cardigan.....our favorite above is the circular pink pin, it's a wonderful bright color and large enough to get noticed on the darkest coat! below and to the left of the pin we have a fabulous Napier gold cuff begging to be worn, it even has it's original tiny tag....




Here's some more vintage baubles that will cast you back to an era where gloves were a staple and a choker was a given! This gold cluster of fine gold leaves is our favorite from this case, it's such a current piece that you might find re-made these days by many a designer, but here it is in an original & bright gold form, simply gorgeous. if color is more your thing the quadruple layered pink & red style on the right might be just what the jewelry doctor ordered.



Of course we also have a store full of wonderful styles from the recent collections! there's an extensive range of hammered hoops, some above here including the large 'Kissing Bird' pair on the left which are brand new & beautiful! many different shapes and sizes...and price-points too! We will shortly be bringing you some new hoops shapes and colors online when we change our groups around for the new year, this week we are having any new jewels shot so the changes should occur within the next 2 weeks, be sure to check back and we would very much appreciate your comments below on what you would like to see online this January!



http://www.luckymag.com/sites/cityguides/new_york_city/2010/01/local_breaks

Well we know that many of you are also loyal readers of Lucky magazine, their website currently has a great WMJ opportunity so check out this link above to see what is happening, it's a great deal!

We hope you enjoy the beginning of this (freezing!) month, please note your comments below of what you'd like to see on the site, we welcome your suggestions and love to hear from you!
Happy New Year!!!

What's your fave?

Rose Quartz & Rhudilated Clusters

Turquoise & Ruby Clusters

Hello & a continued happy holiday season to you!

We hope you are pleasantly stuffed full of great food after the past break and are now looking forward to toasting in the new year later this week...what a year 09 was! We had some highs & lows just like everybody else this past 12 months but are very glad to still be providing fabulous handmade jewelry to all our wholesale & retail customers.
Seeing as it is the end of the year we would love to hear your comments on styles we currently have online or have had in the past. In January we will be switching our 'current' group around & adding some new unseen styles for the new year. We would LOVE to hear which styles you loved the most e.g hoops, chains, under $100, chunky beads etc....under this blog you can write comments so please feel free, it will help us provide you with jewelry you really want to see in the new year!


Please also feel free to write about which media you find most useful when making a purchase, for e.g is it Twitter you love to check in with? maybe you like to see what is happening in the store via the blog? maybe you would like a larger range of bridal pieces online? So, helpful comments gratefully received below, plus of course we'd just love some fun stories about WMJ gifts you maybe gave over the holidays or jewelry you received from a loved one!


Here are some styles for this last week of '09 that you may not have seen before, above and below. If any of these styles are of interest please feel free to drop us a line at retail@wendyminkjewelry.com & we'll provide you with details.


Onyx & Agate Triple Drops

Nugget & Turquoise Ovals


Gold Flower Fan Bib


Vintage Crystal & Agate Drops


We hope you have a wonderful New Year, if you are a Lucky magazine subscriber look out for a WMJ deal in the new issue! Do drop us a line if any of the styles appeal in this week's blog & please feel free to note down some of the favorites from the site you have enjoyed this year, then we can bring you more in 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holiday wishes!

Hello!
This morning was looking up considerably when Wendy came in with this gorgeous little tree & some delicious cookies from Billy's bakery, thanks Wendy! So here we are marching towards Christmas and hopefully a little time off for you all! This week we thought we would put some things out there in the cyber universe that we would very much like to give & receive, some are practical & some not so much...but hey we can dream right?


First up here we have Gena's wish, she would like to receive some time away in snowy mountains where there is absolute silence, she did not however specify if she would be with any company? Sounds cosy though. In return Gena would like to give everyone a big old Christmas cheer....




Next up we have Deborah's choices....she would love to receive Dr Hauschka's signature treatment (David are you reading this?) and in return she would love to give her hubby David a collection of Robert Altman movies, now on the left here we have a picture of Mr Altman, he seems to be touching Lindsay Lohan on the leg, from his wheelchair....
He sure made great moves, we mean movies.
Wonder if Lindsay will be around when she's 81?










Brookes our store gal is up next, she would love to give this cute little guy to a friend (who wouldn't!) & she would love to receive season tickets to the Opera, sounds just grand to us, what do season tickets to the Opera go for anyway?

Kelly our fabulous store manager would love to give & receive peace to all, now that is one selfless wish! makes us all feel a bit bad for wanting stuff in the shops....can we wish for peace and new boots?









Cerena our resident mexican mama would love to give her family cordless mics, Patron tequila and santa hats for their annual holiday karaoke singalong, boy we would love to be at THAT family Christmas....in return she would very much like a vacation to Mexico with her grandparents, sweet!


Here's Erin's dream gift, she would love one of these E Class Mercedes, they drive themselves! Now that could be a good thing seeing as Erin's nickname around these parts is Erin Winehouse....in return for this fabulous car (don't hold your breath dear) Erin would like to give Amy & her roommate new eyes, which sure is a lovely thing to wish for!



Amy would love to give her sister and mother plane tickets to visit her in NYC, oh come on a 24 hour flight is nothing when New York is at the other end!....and if she could receive those new eyes from Erin then all her dreams would pretty much have come true.




Don't these two look happy! That's because they are in a romantic spa for two...which is exactly what Susan would like to receive this holiday, great choice, please pose for photos exactly like this, not sure who will take them though...after the spa Susan would like to give all her friends some great reading material (and believe us those choices are always great!) & plenty of wonderful food, we hope it's those homemade tarts and granola....








Lastly & most importantly we have Wendy's choices!
She does love a great olive oil and this year she would love to receive a whole batch so she can cook those fab pasta dishes all year long....and her wish this year is that she could take her whole staff to India for a 10 day trip! wow would we love this wish to come true, the amount of food consumed on this trip would surely be outrageous....thanks Wendy, we may hold you to that wish once this sloth-like economy takes a significant turn...




So that's about it from us...on a company-wide note we hope to have our John back next week, best wishes John & rest up. Happy shopping to everyone for the last week & we hope you receive some of your wishes...and we hope you are able to give some too!

Happy Holidays!

Tale of a Sale

Good quotes from last night's sale:

"I'm a good friend of Wendy's"

"Am I too big for this necklace?"

" Would you wear this if you were a massage therapist in Seattle?"

"It's for my sister, we are sooooooo different"

"I always thought I suited gold, that woman just told me I should wear silver"


"I came out to get a sandwich, now I'm here"

"I didn't get my mother anything, she just had her kitchen re-done so I'll get her pots"


"here's my cell phone number, call me if you don't get that necklace, I'll be
in a restaurant around the corner & come back for it"


"That Australian girl said it was $50"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR BROOKES!
(she's behind all these people)

We are smack in the middle of sale time & it is BUSY! Ladies came out in droves yesterday for holiday gift deals, and boy did they find 'em! We have some great pieces, we got a little cleaned out yesterday, trays were over-flowing but we pulled together this morning & we have a bunch of great pieces to put out Friday & Saturday! Things were certainly a little crazy, lots of our fave regulars & bunches of new shoppers brought to us by some of the very fortunate press this sale received, luckily this economy meant magazines were wanting to feature all the fun sample sales around the city right now.....



Our windows right now are heartbreakingly gorgeous, it's like a Victorian boudoir with flimsy lace, crystal lamps, vintage rhinestone jewelry, dried flowers.....ohhhh la la we love!!! The block on Orchard is firing right now on all cylinders, there are so many cute spots to shop, on the right of us we have the simply fabulous Pilgrim, see their fun window below! They have some great gifts including signature candles, handmade clothing, bits & bobs....so worth a peek, as is the equally lovely James Coviello & By Robert James also our neighbors.



The sale got a little engrossing for some people, as ladies checked out pieces were returned to the tables so it meant having another look in case someone had hidden something! This meant that the poor men in tow got a little bored, these two below are clearly suffering....


Ok we might have to dash & get these things ready for the shoppers today, thanks for all the lovely web shoppers this week too, we haven't forgotten about you, we will add a few great samples for you next week! Remember that the mail system gets a little crazy at his time of year, if you are buying gifts online we highly suggest you choose UPS right now as we are finding USPS can take a wee while longer than expected, we also can't give you an estimated delivery time as accurately as we can with UPS, 3rd day is just $14 & worth every penny to get it there in time....have a great weekend everyone & hope you can make it to the sale if you are here in the city!


WMJ

How does it look?

So this week we thought we'd take a few shots of some web styles to show how they appear on, we know when buying gifts it can be very hard to choose, which size, color etc....here's some of styles that may be perfect gifts, or just right for you. Above is the vintage bead bracelet, light, simple and easy to wear....plus it's a little chunkier on than expected!




Here's the Black Cinebar Drops, already popular & a little bit of a no-brainer gift...black & gold are always pretty fabulous together, as you can see earring is quite chunky but not to the point of being a chandelier...just a pretty dangle!






This piece is just GREAT! Crystal Gunmetal Chain, layered into a bib style piece, the crystals used in this piece are vintage, it's statement without being totally overwhelming & looks pretty wonderful with a little black dress! or a t-shirt...or a tank...or a bright shirt....




This earring is begging to be re-named Texas Turquoise, maybe because it's big, fabulous, bright & well....turquoise! Great diamond shape, shot for the fabulous Martha Stewart Weddings website and very popular with our wholesale clients across the country. We have this in coral & lapis also...



Light & simple again, a Hesonite Hoop for everyday wear, hesonite is a beautiful tonal stone with hues of brown, beige, ivory & even some clear pieces, this is also featured in green onyx online so check them both out, if a friend is the au naturale type then this may be a great gift....




This Ornate Hoop has been flying out our studio & boutique doors, both a popular online & store style, statement hoop with a touch of ethnic but also a nice shiny gold finish....it's quite a good size but not a huge weight, if you love a hoop then this will get you some attention....




It's a chain, it's a tassel, there are beads...all in one. This Pendant is one very cool customer, or rather it requires one of our cool customers! Super long to dangle with your other chains or you can double it up....it's a little Holiday & a little vintage-inspired.




And the grand finale for today! beautiful Bandit Agate Bib, gunmetal links, column-shaped bandit agate beads with green onyx teardrops, detailed and gorgeous...not much else to say, spice up any outfit with this one....

We hope this has helped a little with a few of our popular styles, if you would like to see how something appears just email us at: retail@wendyminkjewelry.com, we are not models as such but we will definitely do our best to show you how your piece may look on a real live person!
We leave you this week with two sweet pics of one very funny man, Maurice, amusing Wendy with his litany of jokes. Maurice used to write comedy sketches for a famous comedian (name has escaped us temporarily!), turns out this comedian was Wendy's father's favorite!...Maurice made the vintage fair a few weeks ago just that little bit more entertaining, you sure make us smile.