Archive for March, 2006
Local woman brings feral attitude to performance and jewelry
Ferndale/Berkley Mirror, MI
Rio Scafone wants women to unleash their feral sides.
The Royal Oak-based performer has designed her own line of Feral Apparel jewelry and items, but she’s selling more than products. She’s selling a philosophy.
Scafone comes from a performing family (her uncle is rockabilly pioneer Jack Scott) and splits her time between acting, modeling, designing and recording music.
She created Feral Apparel last year while in “The Smell of the Kill,” a three-woman play.
“The character I was playing went from doormat housewife to independent soul,” Scafone said. “The director told me the character was becoming feral, her feral qualities were coming out.”
Scafone’s creativity kicked into gear, and she designed choker necklaces embellished with Swarovski crystals to show off her feral, feline side.
Cast members wore the necklaces when greeting the audience.
“People saw them and would love them,” Scafone said. “It became an ongoing analogy on the set to become very feral. It became a symbol for how we would like to live our lives.”
She set up a Web site (feralgirl.com) to sell her designs and received orders from across the United States and Canada.
Stores in Los Angeles and Royal Oak now carry her designs, and her jewelry could appear on TV soon.
Ted Moreno, a producer and long-time friend of Scafone’s, offered her a role on “The Inner Circle,” a TV show he is working on that mixes vampires and politics. She mentioned her jewelry line and he liked the designs so much he asked her to make a custom choker for the show.
“Since it is a gothic TV show, I thought her jewelry would be perfect for some character on there,” Moreno said. “She came out with a great design.”
Although Scafone has made a living in metro Detroit, she said if the show takes off, she’ll spilt her time between California and Michigan.
Much of her work has been commercials, promoting everything from dentists to Michigan travel to lawyer Sam Bernstein.
Her other work varies from local independent films to modeling for nationwide billboards. She once appeared on two billboards in Times Square at the same time.
She’s also creating a local TV show to spotlight local artists and women in business, an idea that’s an outgrowth of her feral philosophy of women coming into their own.
“It’s a movement,” she said. “It’s a revolution.”
March 31st, 2006
Art to Wear offers jewelry, handbags, pottery, etc.
Northwest Herald
CRYSTAL LAKE – Residents can buy jewelry, pottery and other original works from more than a dozen area artists Friday at an event to help benefit a local animal shelter.
“They’re all one-of-a-kind things that you can’t find in a department store,” said Mary Telfer Holden, who helped to organize another Art to Wear benefit after its successful debut last year.
Admission is free to the event, which lasts from 3 to 10 p.m. at Dole Mansion’s Lakeside Center, 401 Country Club Road, Crystal Lake. The show also will feature a coffee bar and the band This is This will play live music 8 to 10 p.m.
Holden said 20 artists from McHenry County and around Chicago will sell items ranging from felted handbags and scarves to decorative pottery and glassware. Part of the proceeds will benefit Pets in Need, a no-kill animal shelter.
The show offers something to people of all ages, Holden said, and prices range from a few dollars for original notecards to several hundred dollars for fine jewelry.
“It is really for a good cause,” Holden said. “It really helps the community.”
March 31st, 2006
BWWMH Auxiliary to hold jewelry sale
The Thomasville Times, AL
The $5 Jewelry Sale returns to Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital’s classroom April 6 and 7 just in time to fill your Easter baskets. Sponsored by the BWWMH Auxiliary, the event has become one of their most popular fundraisers as shoppers take advantage of the incredible $5 price for costume jewelry of all types.
Everything from rings to necklaces will be on sale during the event when shopping hours will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
For more information, contact any member of the Auxiliary or call 287-2626.
March 31st, 2006
Photos fade, but DNA jewelry is forever
Japanese company offers people a unique way to remember loved ones
MSNBC
TOKYO - People hoping to remember deceased loved ones with something more permanent than a lock of hair or faded photo can now have a piece of their DNA saved in a pendant.
Eiwa Industry Co. recently began selling pendants for preserving genetic mementos of the dead.
The company, which mainly manufactures decorative metal fixtures for houses, entered the DNA pendant business last August with a line of products for saving the DNA of bygone pets. Quickly, the company started receiving requests for pendants for human DNA, said general manager Morihito Ikai
“Bereaved parents would contact us and say, `If you can save a piece of a dog or cat’s DNA, why not some of my daughter’s?’” he said.
The human DNA pendants come in two shapes. One resembles a rounded perfume bottle. The other is shaped like a stylized human face, cut in such a way that it can fit together with a second pendant of the same shape — “for couples,” Ikai said.
Made of silver, the pendants are $428, including the cost of extracting DNA — usually from a strand of hair or piece of fingernail. The genetic material is placed in a crystal, which in turn is enclosed in the pendant.
While the perceived permanence of a DNA sample is one of the product’s attractions, Ikai said some customers also seem to be hoping to hold on to genetic material in case it becomes possible to clone human beings.
March 31st, 2006
MPCA gives guidelines for disposing of lead-containing jewelry
West Central Tribune, MNÂ
ST. PAUL
Jewelry and other products believed to contain high levels of lead should be disposed of at a household hazardous waste site, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said.
The MPCA issued this week’s advisory after a 4-year-old Minneapolis boy recently died from lead poisoning. Jarnell Brown, 4, of Minneapolis died of lead poisoning Feb. 22 after swallowing a charm from a bracelet distributed by Reebok. The charm was found to be 90 percent lead and has since been recalled.
The MPCA said concerned parents should not throw such trinkets in the trash but should take them to a household hazardous-waste site.
Since media reports of the boy’s death, parents “have been ringing the phones off the hook” at the Minnesota Department of Health and asking what products they should throw out, said John Gilkeson, an MPCA toxicity reduction expert. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also has received calls from people wondering what to do with the bracelets. Some callers were instructed to throw them out or return the products to stores.
Minnesota officials are trying to offer clearer guidance because initially, “we didn’t put together a coherent disposal message,” Gilkeson said.
The state has a program for disposing of lead weights used for fishing, but officials didn’t let people know the same procedures should be followed with children’s lead jewelry and toys, Gilkeson said.
Household lead products collected at the hazardous waste sites will be recycled into buckshot, car batteries, fishing tackle, electronic solder and circuits and other materials.
March 31st, 2006
American Girl recalls unsafe kids’ jewelry
KAREÂ - CBS 5
The Associated Press
Published March 30, 2006, 9:59 AM CST
Wisconsin-based American Girl is recalling about 180,000 pieces of children’s jewelry because they contain high levels of lead.
The jewelry was sold at American Girl Place in Chicago and New York and at the American Girl Outlet in Oshkosh, Wis., from May 1999 through February of this year.
Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause severe health problems.
The recall includes American Girl necklaces, bracelets, earrings and hair accessories for girls. The jewelry’s packaging features a red and white cardboard backing with “American Girl” and “Made in China” written on the front.
(For additional information, contact American Girl at 800-659-0164 or go to www.cpsc.gov or www.americangirl.com/recall )
March 31st, 2006
AngloGold Ashanti Announces Jewelry Design Competition Winners
IDEX Online, Israel
(March 29, ‘06, 3:05 Himja Parekh)
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Global gold miner AngloGold Ashanti recently announced the results of its gold jewelry design competition at a  show marking the grand finale of the competition. The competition was held in conjunction with the World Gold Council (WGC), Indian jeweler D’damas Gold, and Rand Refinery Limited, the world’s largest single site refinery.
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The March 24 event, based around the theme of ethno contemporary, featured a collection of 40 suites of jewelry known as the ensemble, from which four designs were selected as the winning pieces.
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The winner, Radhika Mahesh Jhalani from Mumbai, won one kilogram of gold. The second and third place winners won 250 grams and 100 grams of gold respectively. The fourth prize winner was an “audience choice award,” sponsored by D’dmas.
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Sanjeev Agarwal, MD, WGC commented, “AngloGold Ashanti AuDITIONS 05/06 marks the coming of age of Indian jewelry design talent and places it on par with the best of international design.â€
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AngloGold Ashanti is one of the world’s largest producers of gold. The company has 22 operations in 10 countries.
March 29th, 2006
Customized Jewelry With A Personal Touch
First Coast News, FL
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Finding the perfect piece of jewelry for yourself or as a gift can be difficult. Now a First Coast Trend is making it possible to buy jewelry made just for you.
Making your own jewelry is becoming very popular. But for those people who don’t have the time or don’t have the creative touch, you can have personal jewelry made at an affordable price.
Danielle Blumenberg of “db Designs” is just one First Coast Woman making the custom jewels, but her designs have a foreign flair at a good price.
“I really try to design and create affordable custom jewelry that is one of a kind,” says Danielle Blumenberg. “I want the jewelry to be as unique as each individual that will wear it.”
Blumenberg gives her bracelets and necklaces a personal touch by meeting with each person and letting them custom pick each bead and each aspect of the jewelry. She remembers one husband who took hours to pick just the right pieces. “This man must have loved his wife so incredibly much because for a necklace and earrings he spent three hours with me hand picking every single detail and component of the jewelry,” says Blumenberg.
Her business started by just making necklaces for herself but then her neighbors started asking if she could make similar pieces for them too. Blumenberg says the business just took off from there.
Blumenberg uses handmade Venetian and Murano glass imported from Italy. Each bead is handmade by wrapping a base bead with 24k white gold, yellow gold or sterling silver. Then the artist form the outer layer by wrapping the bead in brightly colored glass. “Each bead is in itself a work of art because everyone is different,” says Blumenberg.
The pieces also include a pick of Swarovski crystals, cultured pearls and sterling silver from Bali.
In addition to necklaces with venetian glass pendants, “db Designs” also features one, two and three strand bracelets made with beads of your choice.
Blumenberg also specializes in mother and grandmother bracelets. They are made with sterling silver and cultured pearls and personalized with the names of children or grandchildren. They are topped off with Swarovski crystals matching the birthstones of the kids.
Heather Stankard has bought several bracelets as gifts for family members. “These make the best gifts because they are personalized and people today love personalized gifts,” says Stankard. “I gave my niece a bracelet for christmas with her initials on it and she loved it.”
Most of Blumenberg’s customers find her prices to be affordable. The prices vary depending on the elements you choose. But most beaded necklaces cost about $60.00. For the larger venetian pendant necklaces in 24k gold most are about $50.00 and that includes an imported ribbon necklace to hold the pendant.
“My favorite consultation was with a mother and daughter for a homecoming dance,” says Blumenberg. “The young lady put on her homecoming dress and her shoes and the mom was just so excited to be able to have something made just for her daughter. A piece of jewelry she could keep forever that was heirloom quality. And the daughter was thrilled to have jewelry that no one else was going to have and it was all under a $100.00.”
Each month Blumenberg also donated a portion of her proceeds to a different charity. “Its nice to know that some of the money I am spending is going to help other people,” says Stankard.
Blumenberg runs the small business out of her home, making each piece of jewelry in her living room. “Every piece that walks out the door has my name on it,” says Blumenberg. “I want people to love it and I want them to have it forever. Everytime they look at it, I hope they say ‘wow’”.
March 29th, 2006
Pertahankan Kemilau Perhiasan
Beda Bahan, Beda Pula Jenis Perawatan
Penampilan standar pasti bisa berubah jadi anggun berkat kemilau perhiasan. Namun, kemilau itu akan pudar, jika kamu tidak memperlakukan perhiasan dengan benar. Sama seperti benda berharga lain, perhiasan juga butuh perawatan. Beda bahan, beda pula perlakuannya.
Tapi, ada tip yang bisa kamu terapkan pada semua jenis perhiasan. Agar awet, segera bersihkan perhiasan sesaat setelah selesai digunakan. Tapi hati-hati, caranya nggak sembarangan. Untuk membersihkan minyak dan kotoran lain, gunakan kain yang terbuat dari 100 persen katun. Setelah itu, rendam dalam air hangat yang dicampur sabun, selama kurang lebih sepuluh menit. Pakai sabun yang tidak mengandung deterjen ya!
Untuk menjangkau kotoran di sudut-sudut perhiasan, kamu bisa menggunakan sikat berbulu lembut. Bisa dengan sikat gigi anak-anak. Setelah semua proses tersebut selesai, keringkan kembali menggunakan kain. Kalau bisa, jangan pakai bahan berserat seperti tissue. Karena bisa menimbulkan goresan. Gosok dengan gerakan memutar hingga perhiasan benar-benar kering. Berikut, perawatan perhiasan berdasar bahan dasarnya:
” Emas dan Platinum
Emas dan Platinum bisa dibersihkan dengan cara yang sama, yaitu merendamnya dalam air sabun, lebih baik lagi jika ditambahkan beberapa tetes amonia. Minyak dan kotoran yang melekat bisa dihilangkan dengan menggosokkan kain yang sudah dilumuri dengan alkohol.
” Perak
Perak punya nilai minus, karena cenderung lebih mudah pudar. Biasanya diakibatkan karena proses oksidasi antara perak dengan oksigen dan sulfur. Makanya, menyimpan perak sedikit lebih ribet. Bungkus dengan kain yang lembut, jauhkan dari bahan-bahan karet dan kayu karena bisa memicu kepudaran. Bersihkan minimal seminggu sekali, cukup dengan air sabun dan selembar kain bersih. Untuk kotoran yang lebih bandel, bisa juga pakai cairan pembersih perak yang biasa beredar di pasaran.
” Tembaga dan Kuningan
Bahan ini tergolong perhiasan yang cukup mudah untuk dibersihkan. Menggunakan bahan-bahan dapur juga bisa kok. Bubuhkan beberapa tetes sari lemon ke dalam semangkuk air, kemudian tambahkan satu sendok garam. Setelah itu, rendam perhiasan selama satu atau dua menit. Angkat dan bilas dengan air bersih, setelah itu keringkan. Untuk mendapatkan hasil yang lebih baik, proses ini bisa diulangi dua atau tiga kali.
” Berlian
Batu yang satu ini mempunyai kecenderungan lebih mudah dihinggapi kotoran dan minyak dibanding perhiasan lainnnya. Sebelum membersihkan, rendam dengan alkohol, agar semua kotoran yang melekat mudah hilang. Setelah itu, gosok dengan sikat gigi lembut. Jangan terlalu keras karena bisa menimbulkan goresan. Kemudian, bilas dengan air hangat dan diamkan hingga kering.
” Mutiara
Bisa dibilang, mutiara adalah perhiasan paling manja. Butuh ketelitian ekstra untuk merawat bahan ini. Sebelum mengenakan mutiara, pastikan tidak ada make up yang perlu ditambahkan lagi, karena kosmetik yang terlanjur menempel sulit untuk dihilangkan. Begitu juga dengan penyimpanannya, lebih baik pisahkan mutiara dengan perhiasan-perhiasan lain. Karena permukaannya lembut, mutiara sangat mudah tergores. Lebih aman lagi, bungkus dengan kain dari bahan sutra atau satin saat menyimpannya. (pan/bs)Minggu, 26 Mar 2006/jawapos.com
STYLE STUFF
Liontin Kaca Pembesar
Bermain ala detektif sambil bergaya yuk! Jika pengin melakukannya, koleksi kalung ini. Soalnya, ada liontin berfungsi ganda sebagai kaca pembesar. Bentuknya yang terkesan vintage, bakal memperunik gaya. Apalagi, kalung ini juga dihasi bebatuan cantik. Panjang liontin ini 52 mm dan berdiameter 36 mm. Nggak ketinggalan pula rantai kalung bergaya jadul, bikin penampilan makin unik. (jaq/gothicstyle)
Jam Plus Pembuka Botol
Produsen jam tangan merek Fossil nggak cuma jago bikin jam tangan berkualitas. Tapi juga bikin jam yang multifungsi. Misalnya jam ini. Tak hanya sebagai penunjuk waktu, jam ini dilengkapi alat pembuka botol. Sayang, jam ini nggak bisa dipakai di tangan. Pasalnya, item ini didesain sebagai gantungan kunci. Dengan merogoh kocek sebesar USD 20, jam ini udah bisa kamu koleksi. (jaq/solis)
Kodok “Telan” Perhiasan
Masih ingat dengan legenda pangeran kodok? Kalau tidak, benda yang satu ini bisa sedikit mengorek ingatanmu. Tapi, kodok yang satu ini tidak bisa menjelma menjadi seorang pangeran tampan. Kodok hjiau ini bisa “menelan” perhiasan. Benar sekali. Ini adalah kotak perhiasan dengan tubuh bertabur bebatuan kuning. Begitu pula dengan mata yang bersinar merah. Hiasan mahkota dan telapak kaki berlapis emas membuat kotak perhiasan ini juga bisa jadi hiasan. (pan)
Ikat Pinggang Kaset
Kalau selama ini ikat pinggang selalu sembunyi dibalik kaos, setelah melihat item ini mungkin kamu berniat memamerkan fashion item. Pantengin baik-baik belt buckle yang satu ini. Bukan saja tidak lazim, tapi juga mendekati unik. Terbuat dari bahan plastik, bahkan daftar judul lagu, dan nama artis masih tercetak jelas ditengah-tengahnya. Mungkin benda ini bisa menumbuhkan inspirasi bagi kamu untuk membuat sesuatu yang baru. (pan/urbanoufitter)Minggu, 26 Mar 2006/jawapos.com
March 28th, 2006
Lawmakers Push To Ban Lead Jewelry
WCCO, MN
(WCCO) St. Paul Years of recalls and the death of a little boy from Minneapolis could lead to new laws in Minnesota.
Monday, a group of DFL senators and representatives announced new legislation that would fund a lead prevention program. The law would also ban almost all jewelry that contains lead.
Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL) said, “Lead remains a serious problem in our environment.”
Last month, 4-year-old Jarnell Brown of Minneapolis died after swallowing a charm off a bracelet that came free with a pair of Reebok shoes his mother purchased.
It’s the first death in Minnesota directly attributed to lead in jewelry, but the problem of lead is something the I-TEAM first exposed two years ago.
The I-TEAM tested gumball machine jewelry and later necklaces from major stores like JCPenney, Nordstroms, Sears and Target and found some pieces had as much as 73 percent lead.
Sen. John Marty (DFL) said, “The WCCO report was just incredible in showing how many pieces of jewelry had it and what the levels of it were.”
Right now, shoppers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission catch problems that lead to recalls. But Marty wants stores to take more responsibility.
“If we can pass this into law, the stores, the bigger stores immediately are going to be clamping down,” he said. “They’re going to say, ‘We’re not going to buy that.’”
Marty also said customers often aren’t aware there’s lead in jewelry because it isn’t labeled.
He said, “The public wouldn’t buy it if they knew it had lead in it.”
Since the I-TEAM uncovered dangerous levels of lead in children’s jewelry two years ago, nearly 162 million items have been recalled.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission continues to randomly test jewelry and issue recalls on jewelry with dangerous levels of lead.
However, Jarnell Brown’s death may be all the proof lawmakers need that things can change. Lab tests done on the Reebok trinket he swallowed and the one medical examiners say killed him show it was 99 percent lead. Similar trinkets had much smaller amounts.
Lawmakers said that proves jewelry makers can keep costs down using safer materials.
If this bill passes, it would go into effect as soon as this summer. Retailers who break the law could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $1,000.
March 28th, 2006
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