To cap off the end of the year, all of our hard work is introduced in the gift market where buyers from all over the country visit showrooms to get a first look at brand new product. This is where they can get their hands on our print catalog and stock Waxing Poetic in their retail stores.
September 15th, 2010
Two years ago when we were designing the 2009 collection, many of us needed a little extra Faith to hold on to. With a passion for sacred objects, Patti felt compelled to create a charm that held similar meaning to Milagros, which are folk charms believed to have healing properties. Read the rest of this entry »
August 18th, 2010
Waxing Poetic made its mark with iconic insignia jewelry born from classic wax seals, so it was a clear relation to design pendants that represent their contemporary counterpart. Read the rest of this entry »
June 30th, 2010
After seeing how well the new flagship store’s Frescoupage panels made for a backdrop to the jewelry, we were eager to try more things with the same imagery. In homage to books and words and poetry and ephemera, of course stationery was necessary. Plus now visitors can walk away with a piece of the boutique! I thought this assignment of creating fresco-cards was pretty cut and paste compared to wall sized interior panels but manipulating the fresco images into themes of gratitude, new beginnings, and celebrations was a challenge. Going to her roots, Patti inspired classic Italian messages; GRAZIE, BAMBINO, BUONA NATALE, AMORE, and BUONA VITA. Check out the finished cards to see how they turned out…
June 15th, 2010
Why settle for a conventional dream? Pick your unique theme and set the course…and stay on target. The Your Heart is Your Map Pendants introduced in the 2010 line hold navigational messages to wear close to your heart or in a pocket as a symbol of life’s journeys. Patti [Patti Pagliei, Waxing Poetic’s CEO and Creative Director] and I started with an entire session spent just pairing words that evoke paths and directions and markers along the way. We referenced antique coin jewelry and engraved silver. The coin pendants feature a rotating bale to reveal the special message on back. These honorable medallions can be passed along or held tight to remind us where we’ve been and to keep moving: Your Heart is Your Map.
June 9th, 2010
Letters, words, fragments and pages assemble over time. Except you don’t have to wait for the universe to align the different pieces. When combining favorite charms there is always meaning behind my choices, besides fashion. Sometimes I wear a secret joke or commentary, but usually my combos are a wish to put out and a reminder to myself to keep moving forward always. Everyone has stories, sometimes just one page to mark an occasion or a starting ground for a new Once upon a time…
May 26th, 2010
For some reason I knew and still remember the name of the pattern my mother used to decorate my room when I outgrew the nursery look: Chopsticks. It’s pretty 80’s; minty green + lavender geometric basket-weave and I had a mint green plastic stunner shade style radio to match. Chopsticks wallpaper on the bottom half of the wall with a traditional viney floral on the top half above a chair rail. I don’t remember where she used the fabric, but I found a swatch of it recently when I was purging my collection. So it’s no surprise that today I have a love of patterns, textures, contrasts, colors, paper, layers and details—and entertaining to see those elements always reflected in processes that are beyond me.
Photo credit: Chopsticks by Jay Yang with catalog page from the 2009 Waxing Poetic catalog
May 19th, 2010
We’re often asked what inspires our pieces and how the design process works, so Behind the Design will be a weekly feature here on Proof in which we’ll tell the story of how a line of Waxing Poetic jewelry came to be.
Here’s the story behind one of our favorite designs, the Shield Pendants and Shield Rings. Patti [Patti Pagliei, Waxing Poetic’s CEO and Creative Director] found a cool antique brass shield fob, filled with a cobalt looking substance. It’s very traditional and simple but with detailed floral engravings on the backside. I remember her holding it over her fingers saying, “I want to do big shield rings.” So we did! I used vintage lace renderings for the details and hand drew a series of icons for the centers of the shields, which we also related to the mini tonic charms. The butterfly is my favorite; this spring I’ve been wearing the taupe shield pendant on the long brass twisted link chain and the butterfly tonic charm with any other larger charm, on the deerskin leather necklace.