JET Shine: Pam Robinson

Pam Robinson...and "friend" in Greece

Pam Robinson is the artist behind cooljewelrydesign and cooljeweryjr . A self-described eccentric/eclectic person who uses the "formula" of random chaos to create her beautiful works of wearable art.

"Emotional" Bracelet

Perhaps her eccentric personality was handed down from her beloved grandmother.

"My grandmother whose nickname is Roxie, was a real chick and full of glorious colorful stories. I remember her wearing mules with boa feathers and she held a cigarette holder with pastel cigs and GOLD filters." (Author's note: Grandma Roxie sounds really cool!)

Pam's grandmother has been a great influence on her, from her early years and throughout her life. After running away from home at age 14, it was to Roxie's house where Pam headed- her safe place. A favorite watch and some vintage oriental prints are some of her grandmother's things that hold a special place in her heart. But what Pam cherishes more than anything are her grandmother's stories and the memories of ...

"that rockin’ creative woman who had 3 husbands, pets, and was an extremely talented seamstress...I am proud to realize I have become her."

Pam has her own furbabies that are a comical group. Her two cats, or as she likes to call them her "psycho poopie kitties" create havoc around the house. And then there's Florence, her dog, whom I'm sure is completely innocent.

What does Pam do for fun? Well, she does take out the garbage on Wednesdays. But cooking, traveling, watching movies, and getting together with friends are tops on her list. A cherished item of hers is a little ceramic kitty made by a former neighbor's little girl. She also loves to collect some very wonderful things such as friends and memories.

"One photo collage of a bunch of nutty friends, ALL up to no good, resides in my office and never fails to bring about a smile."

When asked where she would like to see herself in ten years...

"I’d LOVE to be in NJ with a chauffeur and butler, but I’ll settle for here and a new car. I take each day, so long-term forecasts don’t work for me. Just more laughs, good times, traveling…so I don’t see life changing drastically. If there is a Prince Charming out there, I hope he looks like Steve Martin, is 6’4” with silver hair and considers dressing up wearing a t-shirt and shorts."

Thanks, Pam, for sharing a terrific insight into your world. Your jewelry certainly reflects the fun, free-spirit that you are!

You can find all of Pam's great designs at cooljewelrydesigns and cooljewelryjr.

JETs on the Move: Jennifer Smith-Righter at The Revere Academy of Jewelry Art

Our very own Jennifer Smith-Righter of WearableByDesign is a magnificently talented jewelry artist. Back in June, Jennifer was honored with an Honorable Mention Award in the 2010 Silver Accessories Contest in Tokyo, Japan. Her winning necklace, Equilibrio , was the only US entry to win an award out of 647 worldwide submissions in this year’s competition. The piece was held on display at the National Art Center, Tokyo from June 23 – July 5, 2010. Recently, Jenn took a course geared toward perfecting techniques for the professional jeweler. The course Jenn took was the Jewelry Technician Intensive course at the Revere Academy . It was a total of 320 hours of instruction and lab time. The classes were 8 weeks, 5 days a week, where they learned the basics of the jewelry trade. The courses were broken down into the following components with materials to learn and to practice with: Casting Fabrication 1: Beginning Fab 2: Chains & Carving Fab 3: Construction Polishing & Finishing Repair 1: Basic Repair 2: Intermediate Setting 1: Basic Setting 2: Prongs Setting 3: Beads & Pave Trade Practices The sessions were split up into morning and afternoon sessions. Students were taught mainly by Alan Revere himself as well as Vaskin Tanielian and occasional instruction in other subjects by various members of the staff. It was very cleverly crafted so that each new subject taught built directly upon the previous project and felt very natural. The largest and most time consuming project they did was a box ring. This was one of the few projects where students were able to incorporate their own design. The project was to create a box ring and to decorate it using a sheet of roughly 1 inch square 14 k gold. They were to use less than 8 hours total time spent and could incorporate any other components or processes that they felt comfortable with. You can see the entire class' finished rings here. "My box ring was not the most creative ring -- there were several who were far more creative, but I was in a very serious frame of mind and wanted to focus on doing the task at hand rather than being a clever designer. I figured I could do that when I had my solid foundation of principles to draw from (insert giggle here!). "~Jennifer Smith-Righter

"So now, I'm eager to use my newly minted skills to create designs that incorporate gold and gems in ways I was unable to accomplish before. If anyone is even considering taking this course, I cannot recommend it highly enough!"~ Jennifer Smith-Righter

Congrats Jenn on your award and on completing such a rigorous course! You are an inspiration to the whole team!

JET Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide Part 3: Vintage Jewelry

When I think of the Ghost of Christmas Past, I imagine her in the most stylish vintage bling! Here are some great ideas to turn Christmas past into Christmas "presents"! Stunning and sparkling are these Vintage Rhinestone Clip Earrings from BeadzNBling. Or if you crave something eye-catching around your neck, this Vintage Gemstone Trillium Shaped Pendant Necklace from ForetTwo should do the trick.

Soft and feminine are these Vintage Rose Quartz and Gold Earrings from DesignsbyCher.

Maybe this Vintage Gold and Black Long Chain Necklace from CoolJewelryJR.

Or, if the person on your list is looking for something more casual, this Vintage Hinged Wood Cuff Bracelet from LittleBrownBird might be just what they need.

You can find lots of fabulous vintage jewelry from the Jewlery on Etsy Team by selecting "Vintage" in the search box on Etsy and search the term JETTEAM.

JET Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide Part 2: Alternative Gifts

Although our wonderful team is centered around jewelry, our members are certainly multi-talented! Here are some great gift ideas from our team members for the person on your list who, for some unknown reason, doesn't want jewelry this year. (**cough cough** I think that last part got stuck in my throat.) BirchhillStudio, the alter-ego of OliviasGarden offers this gorgeous print titled Red Velvet Dahlia

EmotionalOasis has this super cool fused glass Pulsate Keychain

Juliaa has an alter-ego as well. Her shop Knitorama has these clever little stitch markers. They come in all different phrases, even custom. These Cake or Death stitch markers are among my favorite.

AbacusBeadCreations has lovely watches in her line. Here is her beautiful Pink Green Blue Lavender Pastel Watch .

EndlessBounty makes some wonderfully yummy lotions. This is her Cross Cage Lotion Set.

SatinDollCo has this adorable Queen of Morocco Yoga/Pilates Mat Wrap.

Search JETTEAM on Etsy to find more fabulous gift ideas from our wonderful Jewelry on Etsy Team.

Treasury Challenge: 12 Days of Christmas Part 2

Part 2 of our treasury challenge on Etsy featuring the theme "The 12 Days of Christmas" Challenge treasury by beadsme

Challenge treasury by peacesofindigo

Challenge treasury by jemsbyjbandcompany

Challenge treasury by TheBrassHussy

Challenge treasury by Dashery

Challenge treasury by DesignsbyCher

Challenge treasury by thebeadgirl

Treasury Challenge: The 12 Days of Christmas

Today, I decided to present my teammates with a challenge. Make a holiday gift guide treasury on Etsy featuring the 12 Days of Christmas. I asked that the curator use at least four teammates in the grouping and find, among our team and the rest of the Etsy community, representations of all 12 days. The 12 Days of Christmas, as the song goes, are as follows:

1 Partridge in a pear tree
2 Turtle Doves
3 French Hens
4 Calling Birds
5 Golden Rings
6 Geese A-laying
7 Swans A-swimming
8 Maids A-milking
9 Ladies Dancing
10 Lords A-leaping
11 Pipers Piping
12 Drummers Drumming


The first treasuries of the challenge are in, and I have to say, the curators did an outstanding job! I can't wait to see the rest of them!

The first is done by Maureen of mcrdesigns. You may click on the picture below to see the actual treasury and the items included. Please take the time to check out each of the fantastic items by some wonderful Etsy sellers.

Next, is a challenge treasury by Debbie of stoutdg2.

Another challenge treasury by CrystalImpressions.

Challenge treasury by AdroitJewelers.

Challenge treasury by Eleven13

Challenge Treasury by abacusbeadcreations.
Challenge treasury by capitalcitycrafts.