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Happy New Year to all my wonderful customers and followers! If you're not already a subscriber, head over to Le Chien Noir Jewelry to sign up to be the first to hear about new work and specials - and get a nice discount while you're at it! I finished off the year with a big sale that helped clear out much of my inventory, so now I get to create new work to fill the gaps! This is without a doubt the best part of jewelry-making: the actual making! It's very inspiring to be able to design new pieces around my...

There are so many styles of jewelry out there, from delicate and petite to chunky and rustic, to colorful and bold. It can be confusing and overwhelming taking it all in. So how do you decide what's for you, with the massive selection available?  As with clothing and fashion, I say we should wear the jewelry that makes us feel great and most like ourselves! Often, you'll know it when you see it. But not always. So many people get stuck on "rules" about dressing your age, colors and styles you should be wearing. The reality is, it's entirely your choice! Only you know what makes...

As much as I love most of the older pieces I've created, at a certain point, I want to clear them out if they haven't sold. That helps make way for new work. At the end of the day, I don't want to have too much inventory. To that end, I've got a Sale section on my website with a good assortment of items, all of them top quality. It's a great opportunity for you to save 30% on all kinds of my handmade jewelry. You don't even need a code - the discount is applied automatically at checkout. You DO...

You might not know that I only became a full-time jewelry-maker when I was 51. At 18, I took a course and was seriously bitten by the metalsmithing bug. Then I did an apprenticeship with a local jeweler one summer. Working with metals is so addictive! I got sidetracked into journalism and ended up writing and editing for about 30 years, which worked well when my kids were young. But I'd always hoped to get back to jewelry. I finally took a refresher course when I was 50 and that was that! I started with a tiny studio in a little porch in Toronto. And more courses....

Now that travel is possible again, I thought I'd talk about what jewelry to take on your trips. My main piece of advice is to keep it simple. I like to focus on one great sterling silver statement ring, cuff or necklace and keep the rest very minimal. For instance, on my last trip to the city for a couple of nights and two events, I took a big, glowy sterling statement cuff, which would have been enough on its own. I also wore my minimalist, go-with-everything 1cm cupped disc earrings. They're interesting, with their blackened cups and shiny silver rims, but simple...