SHERMAN SALES ON EBAY ARE FETCHING HIGHER & HIGHER PRICES LATELY

Have you been watching any Sherman on eBay lately? I have. I put watches on everything to see what the items will go for, and lately, they're going for higher and higher dollars. I just had a customer call this morning asking about unsigned vintage rhinestone jewelry and was explaining to him what difference a signature, like Sherman or Schreiner or Weiss can make to the value of a piece. He was amazed and said from now on he and his wife will be looking for signatures on everything. Wise idea.


But I digress. I watched that fabulous blue Sherman set shown on the right go on Ebay yesterday for $330 US ie. $345 CAD. I'm not suprised. Just look at that design. It's exquisite. And now, there's a similar one being offered on eBay by a colleague. She's had 5 offers so far but none have been accepted. She's asking $499 US but what makes hers even more desirable is again, the color: it's fuschia! It's that gorgeous piece shown
on the left, and if you click the photo, you can go straight to her page on eBay and make her an offer. This is one definitely worth buying and adding to your Sherman collection.

Now if you've got the money to afford pieces like these, then more power to you. But if you don't and you still want to collect Sherman, you might visit my site at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE where I have very reasonably priced Sherman necklaces, sets, brooches and bracelets.


In fact, I've just added the dazzling Sherman Aurora Borealis necklace shown below that rivals the others in this post for its beauty. I've called it a "waterfall" design because of the way the drop cascades down. This one shimmers with gorgeous colors of red, green, blue, olive and yellow. Except for missing the long extender that you usually get on a Sherman necklace so you can adjust it to fit all necks, this one is in beautiful condition. The Aurora Borealis coating on the stones is still excellent and the gold-plate backing shows little wear. I'm offering this beauty for the very reasonable price of only $150 US and that includes insured shipping. Click on the photo to read all the details. You'll also find it in my RUBY LANE SHOP with several other views.

Bottom line: investing in Sherman jewelry doesn't have to cost you the earth if you take time to search the net, watch items on ebay, visit flea markets and garage sales or buy from reputable, honest and reasonable sellers like myself who know we all love this stuff but we can't all afford to pay a fortune for it!

Wirework jewelry by Carina Veling

 
Interview with wirework artist Carina Veling

Carina Veling lives in a small village in the Venlo region, in the south of the Netherlands, and has been making jewelry and other art for much of her life. When she was 14 years old she began to make jewelry, and has since ventured into many materials and techniques. Some of the techniques that she has used are wire wrapping, chainmaille, beadweaving, stringing, wire crochet, netting, and polymer clay as well as many others. We have known Carina for a long time, found her jewelry adorable. and asked her for an interview. She was so kind that agreed to answer all our questions. Thank you, Carina!

1. Carina, how long have you been making jewelry?

Hard to say, when I was 14 years or so I made earrings for myself and friends of mine (I think I still have them now - I'm kidding). The earrings were made using ballpoint springs and seed beads. Furthermore, I have done different things in the creative fields, such as 3D greeting cards, pergamano greeting cards, and embroidery on greeting cards. Then I discovered embroidering with beads on greeting cards. A few years ago I discovered www.wigjig.com and I bought my first hobby jig (a green plastic thing), and I made a few necklaces, earrings and bracelets with it.

2. What or who inspires you for that?

In December 2004, I became a member of the B&B forum, my first beaders' community and I was amazed by the work of many others. My heroes at that time were MEW (Middle Earth Wire), Totemic (John Wik) and Gwen Fisher. Lately I'm more active on the Starving Artists and Jewelry Artists websites, where I have met some more my favorite artists, among them are: Zoya Gutina, Jacksmom, Kvorrie, RubyBee, etc. Of course you can also find me on a few Dutch forums where I've also got a few favorites: Blackcrow, Miranda, Ineke, Armande, and CarolinaG, to count just a few.

3. Are you a self taught jewelry maker or have you taken classes?

I have never taken any classes. I was inspired and encouraged to try what I'm doing now by the work of the other artists. In my country there have been little to no workshops or classes. Everything I wanted to learn I had to collect from the Internet. So far this has been fine; I design my jewelry trying to follow my friends' and other artists' advice, and mostly I succeed with the first tries. If not, I keep going until I am successful.


4. Have you already chosen the particular type of jewelry to make?

Well, even now, I change my preferences. Today I like stringing, tomorrow I might start making some beaded beads and so on. At this moment I have returned to chainmaille and wire wrapping.

5. What kind of techniques have you tried?

You may ask what I have not tried. Yet, I'll try to give you a short list of things that I have done: wire wrapping, chainmaille, beadweaving, stringing, wire crochet, netting, polymer clay, etc.

6. Which technique do you like best of all and why?

The best techniques I found are wire wrapping and chainmaille. I do not know why, probably because they are soothing and relaxing.

7. What are your favorite materials?

Gemstones, sterling silver, silverplated artistic wire, crystals, copper wire. I can work with whatever is available, even plastic or acrylic beads when they are nice.

8. Do you plan your work or don't you know the result in advance?

As a rule, I make a drawing or a sketch of my new project, but when I start creating a new piece sometimes it appears to be not feasible and I have to make minor adjustments. In some cases, I know in advance what I want to make, but very often it ends up completely different as what I had in my mind before, usually better. Sometimes it can happen that I just start and let the beads and wire guide me.

9. How much time does a new item take you?

I don't know, it depends on what I'm making, it can vary from 15 minutes to a few hours.


10. How do you find the themes for your creations?

I think the most I get inspired by the work and ideas of others, but I change the design so they are completely different at the end. Often, photographs in magazines or on the Internet can inspire me for my items. Sometimes I see something in a store (even in a hardware store) or I find something during cleanup that makes me think: "Yes, I could use that for my design." This is what happened the last time, when I found a box with tap rubbers, which are now included in my chainmaille necklace and earrings.

11. How would you describe your style and the signature of your jewelry?

I do not know whether I have a style, let alone a signature. I just make what comes to my head. If you have a name for that, feel free to let me know.

12. What do you like in jewelry trends?

Not much, frankly, I do not pay attention to the trends, I make what I like. The disadvantage of trends is that everyone makes jewelry of the same look and very soon it becomes boring.

13. What jewelry style is your favorite?

Romantic Goth and Victorian, but in a modern twist.

14. Jewelry of which modern artists do you like and why?

I'm not fond of modern jewelry and I don't know the names of the artists who make modern jewelry. But I do love the work of Raven Eve, mainly because of the style and because she is not afraid of using the materials she uses.

15. Do you participate in any jewelry design contests and exhibits?

Sometimes I do participate in contests, but more for fun and to see how I can be creative to compare to the other artists than to win. Exhibitions seem to be fun, unfortunately there are no opportunities in my region for that, or I have not looked for them well enough.

16. Do you sell your jewelry and where?

I've made just a few tries to sell my jewelry. I've sold my creations at a hairdressing sallon for a while, and actually I sold a couple of necklaces. My coworkers bought a few pairs of earrings and bracelets. Now I'm redesigning my website so that it would be more commercial and easier for my potential customers. The url will be the same as it is now.


17. Do your family and friends support your jewelry making passion?

My boyfriend (partner) thinks it takes too much space, but he helps me with the web design. Otherwise the things associated with my jewelry making will take much more time. My mother thinks my creations are absolutely fantastic and almost all the time when I come to see her she has my jewelry on. Even my daughter began to like and wear my jewelry!

18. What do you feel when jewelry making? Does it help you in your life?

Sometimes I'm very relaxed, and sometimes I get stressed out, but generally I enjoy the process. It still has an advantage, as long I'm busy with making jewelry I forget to snack. Disadvantage is that I forget that I have to eat or drink, and even worse, that my family would like to eat as well. It also helps me in real life, it makes my self image better and builds up my self-esteem.

19. Do you want to try something new? What do you plan for the future?

I would love to try making glass beads and/or make something with precious metal clay; I also want to try working with sheet metal. For the foreseeable future I am going to redesign my own website and do web design in collaboration with my partner. We would like to design and to develop affordable web shops, first of all, for bead hobbyists.

Thank you, Carina! We wish you best of luck and a great success!

Wirework jewelry by Carina Veling

About artist:

Carina Veling, Venlo region, the Netherlands
E-mail address: violetmoon.nl@gmail.com
Website: www.violetmoon.nl

SHERMAN JEWELLERY WITH UNIQUE STYLING

I haven't had time to post in this blog for a few days as I've been busy editing photos of new Shermans that have arrived and adding them to my Sherman website, SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE. One of these new additions is the fabulous 3-piece demi-parure shown above. If you click the photo, it will open in a new window so you can see more views. I'm really excited to show this set off for the first time as it's one of the daintiest and prettiest sets I've acquired (from an estate sale) but even more because it has a design is not as common as what I often see in Sherman jewelry ... and I'm always on the lookout for "different" Shermans.

This is the first set I've seen where the necklace sports 5 lovely rosettes as a centerpiece. And take a close look at the brooch: it's shaped like a heart. The lady who owned this set really looked after it. It's in top shape with its gorgeous aurora borealis stones that emit hues in many shades of blue, purple, pink and green. The necklace is 17" long with the usual Sherman extender that hangs down the back of your neck and lets you adjust it to how you want to wear it ie.. as a necklace or as a choker. The matching earrings are 1 1/4" long while the brooch is 1 3/4" wide across the "heart".

Remember what I've often said about Shermans and indeed, all designer vintage jewelry: if you can purchase sets, 2-piece, 3-piece etc., the jewelry is infinitely more valuable than just a necklace or just a brooch. You can pick this one up from SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE for $250US ... very reasonable for a Sherman set of this style and in this condition.

Power of Beading Contest and Charity Fundraiser

Instructions for beadwork artist Kerrie Slade's Awareness Ribbon Pins are currently available on the Beading Daily website. All money raised from the sale of the instructions through to September 30th will be donated to two international charities, The Wellness Community and the American Institute of Cancer Research.

There is also a contest running until September 12th to win one of two pins created and donated by Kerrie. The pink ribbon (breast cancer awareness) includes a 9ct gold stick pin and the teal ribbon (ovarian cancer awareness) includes a sterling silver stick pin.

Kerrie is donating her designer fee from Interweave Press to Cancer Research UK. Please see the Beading Daily website or Kerrie's blog for further details.

MULTI-COLORED SHERMAN PARURE IN HIGH DEMAND

Well, did you miss bidding on this beauty on ebay recently? I had put a watch on it and even entertained the thought of bidding. That was when it was sitting on around $200. Of course, I knew it wouldn't stop there. Sherman sets that have just 2 pieces are in demand. But when you get a Sherman set like this one, with all four pieces matching, in superb condition, and all signed, well you up the ante bigtime. Then when the set is one of the rare color combinations that everyone wants, the value goes up again. I'd read about the multi-colored Shermans being enormously popular and highly collectible but hadn't come across one ... until this one.

So I dreamed of winning it. Ha! Yeah right. The bidding was fierce. I bailed when it hit $700 and just sat back and watched. Final dollar for this set? $1636.00 US!! Well it was fun dreaming....

Next time one like this comes up for grabs, I'll try to let you know early so you can get in there and bid - if you can afford it! I can see that seller smiling from ear to ear right now :))

BLACK SHERMAN BEADS STILL VERY MUCH IN VOGUE!

Tonight I'm really excited to tell you all about one of my most recent Sherman acquisitions. It's a stunning faceted black crystal bead necklace that I've combined with a pair of japan-backed black beaded dangling earrings ... and what a set these make together!

The reason I'm so excited about this set is that it's darn hard to get a great black set of Sherman. I've been looking for one ever since I found one at an auction that was in my possession for less than a week. You can see that one HERE. It was totally awesome, so awesome that when a friend came to visit, before I knew it she'd begged to buy it. We had only just taken photos of it and I never even got them up on my site!

So I've been looking for another interestingly styled black Sherman ever since and was thrilled when I found the one in the photo above. Then I went on the scrounge for earrings to wear with it. Lady Luck must have been smiling on me because I located that fabulous pair of dangling earrings quite quickly. They were just begging to be put with my necklace LOL!

Now black beads may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there are some people who are willing to spend a big dollar on Black crystal beads by Sherman: the set on the right just sold for $510 on eBay! I couldn't believe my eyes! Maybe it was the fact that this is a "collar" or "bib" designed Sherman and not just that it was black. Regardless, that's one of the highest bids I've seen for any colored Sherman on Ebay.

I've generally found that black Shermans sell well on eBay but you don't come across them very often. That means they are scarce. Well, now you have a chance to pick up the gorgeous set in the top photo from my SHOP at RUBY LANE and guess what? It won't cost you anywhere near $510!

Please click the top photo to see more views and read more about my gorgeous Black crystal bead Sherman.

WEARING SHERMAN TO CASINO NIAGARA

Christmas Day, 2007, was a strange day in my house. Believe it or not, except for my husband and adult daughter, we had no-one to spend that very important day with. My other daughter, her partner and my grand-daughter, had all come over 2 days earlier to celebrate Christmas as they were flying to Punta Cana on Christmas eve. The daughter who was at home with us was pining for her partner, who had flown home to Australia to spend Christmas with his family. So there we were, the three of us (we have no other relatives in Canada) with nothing to do on Christmas day ... until my husband suggested we go to Casino Niagara for Christmas dinner. It seemed ridiculous at first but then, why not? So off we went!

Being Christmas Day, it was appropriate, I thought, to dress up. Since I don't frequent many places where my bigger, glitzier Shermans are suitable, I opted to wear the gorgeous smoke-toned set in the photo above. And boy did it sparkle under those casino lights! This is a superb set with swarovski smoke-grey navettes positioned between lightly coated and complimentary aurora borealis stones. The screw-on earrings aren't original to this set but they are an excellent match. The monochromatic colors in the set were the perfect compliment and contrast to the warm reds in my blouse. As I cashed in my chips later, the ladies behind the counter asked me about my jewelry and were amazed to learn that it was probably 40 - 50 years old and yet hadn't lost a bit of its luster or beauty.

And that's the beauty of superbly designed and maintained vintage Shermans. They're eye-catching and timeless and make wonderful conversation pieces. You can buy this set for only $125 at SHERMAN JEWELLERY SHOWCASE.