It Started with Gucci!

I have had so much fun this past month creating a stream of Style Story posts for my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds. If you don’t follow me on any of these platforms you might want to start — I’ve made it easy with all the social buttons over there in the right hand column. Click on any of them and you are whisked to that particular feed where you can follow me. Any how — I thought it would be fun to replay a few of my favorite selections here.

Inspiration: Craftsmanship, Heritage & Detail

I drive past this house a couple times a week while doing errands. Today I decided to stop for a few minutes, take a few snaps with the iPhone to share with you, and then go about my business. What I didn’t plan on was my getting lost in the glorious details in every square inch of this Queen Anne Victorian home. 

Inspiration: Sunshine (Kind of), Clouds & Shades of Gray

I was once asked where I find inspiration for my jewelry designs. My response was quick and rather concise -- “By keeping my eyes open!” It really is that simple. Not quite sure if it is the rockhound in me or just my strange way of thinking; but it seems that when I look at every day things, like the sky, I see gemstone combos. Curious to see how others think, I threw out a little test several months ago on Instagram. I posted a pix of a gorgeous blue sky with big white fluffy clouds with a caption that read “I see chalcedony and pearls. What do you see?” Most responses went something along the lines of “I see a pretty blue sky and white fluffy clouds.” Which, I guess, just goes to show that my brain works in unusual ways – I almost said weird ways; but now that would be not so nice, right?

Inspiration: Snow & Pearls

When it comes to jewelry, pearls have always been a long-standing classic, sometimes even accompanied by a bit of mystique. Walk through any legendary art museum and you’ll find portrait after portrait of intriguing women wearing pearls – necklaces, bracelets and earrings – sometimes just one pearl earring (talk about your mystique!) I have had a long time infatuation with all things pearl.

Inspiration: Freezing Fog

A few weeks back, my birthday week to be exact, I received the best gift ever. Mother Nature gave me her finest. Taking my regular route mid-morning, I headed out to Dundee to meet with my hairstylist for a cut and color and some fun girl chat. A few blocks from home everything seemed to look quite different than is usual for this time of year. I pulled my Jeep off road to get a closer look of the white bark birch trees that line the property where I had stopped. The bare branches and trunks were covered in frost; not glistening ice, but soft shimmery frost. The sky was white and soft. It was magical – I felt as if I was standing in the middle of the best snow globe ever.

Gem of an Advent Calendar

Remember the excitement of getting your Advent calendar when you were a kid? I don’t know about you; but it was hard to only open one little door a day. As an adult, I still get an advent calendar every year – even though the “goodies” inside don't seem to be all that tasty, at least not like I remember them to be all those years ago. I am a bit of a traditionalist as I still go for the inexpensive chocolate variety. This year I thought I would offer all of my jewelry gals a gem Advent calendar of sorts. How does it work?

Friendship Bracelets – All Grown Up

So much talk of macramé and friendship bracelets in fashion these days…and I am loving it. While regular followers know by now, I just need to tell all you new peeps that my jewelry roots are in macramé and beads. Yes, indeed, I started making and selling jewelry in 1967 in Southern California – height of the hippie and bohemian era. While I was what I would call a beach kid – my knotted and beaded cording designs fit the bill for all factions during the early years.

And, it’s Officially Fall!

Earlier this week I actually felt a chill in the air and as I pulled clothes from my closet for the day I automatically reached for my Donna Karan cashmere sweater. Over the years, this sweater has become the clothes equivalent of comfort food for me. There is nothing special about it really, just easy to wear, comfy, soft and over-sized – a deep charcoal gray. Last night I realized that I have had this sweater for about 17 years!

Fashion, Trend & a bit of a Throwback Thursday

“Trends are in and out in a flash; fashion comes and goes; but style always stays.” Not quite sure where I heard that and I know I have probably really made a mash of it – even so, it is a good and true comment, at least for me. With all the energy around New York Fashion Week it’s hard to avoid the buzz.

Online Shopping?

Crystal Quartz & Pearl Three-Strand Bracelet

This evening I thought it would be fun to go to the outlet stores and take a gander at a few of my favorite stores – J. Crew, Tommy Bahama, Converse and Nike. While I do live out in the boonies, for some reason long before I called this home someone had the idea to build an outlet shopping center right off the freeway here in town. And, over the years it has changed dramatically and has become quite the destination spot for people on vacation during the summer. I guess people really like to shop!

Post Fireworks Razzle Dazzle - 60% Savings!

Crystal Quartz, Pearl and Gold Vermeil Bracelet
 (styled with a coin bracelet from my personal collection)

Yes, it’s true. There’s a big celebration going on over at Tanya Lochridge Jewelry through July 14^th. In case you didn’t see the email announcing this flash of brilliance, follow the link to your invite below and you’ll immediately learn all about it. Most importantly, if you see something you want, snap it up quickly. Pieces are flying and, as you know, designs are always limited to begin with – no mass production here.

Use the code/voucher FIREWORKS60 and you’ll see 60% of your total purchase price disappear on your order of $50 or more. 60% is a big chunk of change that can stay in your Rebecca Minkoff, Anya Hindmarch, Coach or any other glorious bag du jour!

If you haven’t joined my mailing list yet, now would be the time to do it, easy to do in the upper right hand corner of this page. Why am I pointing? It’s the perfect way to make sure you are up-to-date on all of the latest in the studio.

Have fun!

Post Fireworks Razzle-Dazzle Invitation

Ring Around the Carnelian - Item of the Week

“Oh-h-h, oh-h-h, oh-h-h!” That’s what you and everyone who sees you will be saying when they get a look at this necklace. There is no way I could get a full-length shot of this 48” beauty, so I wrapped it around Lulu, the neck, so you could see most of the beads.

Is There a Formula?

Earlier this week I read a fashion blog entry that was touting what seemed to be the equivalent of the perfect mathematical formula for stacking bracelets. Being the fanatic that I am when it comes to details, I had a good chuckle over the fact that there was someone out there in the same fanatics unite club! However, I think they had a different membership than me!

“Sunshine, oh sunshine, wherefore art thou?”

I know, I know, I live in the Pacific Northwest so why am I always complaining about the lack of sunshine? I should be use to it by now, shouldn’t I? Well, let the record show I am not use to it; and, honestly, I don’t think I will ever get use to it. I’m a SoCal beach girl at heart – so sunshine and ocean breezes are my happy place!

A Mash of Our Own

No secret, I love a mash of bracelets…always have, always will. It tickles me that the world of fashion has finally embraced the look as well. These days you don’t have to look far to see your favorite fashion blogger or models in an editorial spread donning loads and loads of bracelets. While I love the look, there is one thing that I think I do a bit differently from the norm. Maybe it has to do with my fascination with rocks and gemstones and how I showcase them in my jewelry designs or maybe it has to do with my being slightly claustrophobic. (Bet you weren’t expecting that now were you?)

It's so Easy Being Green!

Green Aventurine, Prehnite & Freshwater Pearl Bracelet

Maybe it’s because it’s St. Patrick’s Day, maybe it’s because Pantone has named Emerald the color of the year for 2013 or just maybe it’s because I gaze out the studio window and I see little touches of green here and there. I am so happy to see spring…so very happy. The winters in this part of the country are really tough – at least for this born and raised SoCal girl.

Who Do You Dress For? (For Whom Do You Dress?) Grammar Aficianados Take Your Pick!



Blue Chalcedony, Eagle Eye Agate & Czech Glass

Over the weekend, I spent a big part of my time working in the studio and, totally off subject, I have the jaw bruise to prove it! In short – sometimes life of a jewelry designer is perilous! One slip of the grip and pow! So this week it's Tanya zero and pliers one if you are keeping score.

Snow, snow & snow!

All this talk of NYC and Nemo threw me back in time. A year or so before I moved out of the city there was a terrific snow storm in the city and I remember it all so well. Growing up in SoCal, snow was always so magical to me…the only time I experienced it was on trips to the mountains as a kid where we would fly down hills on sleds and toboggans  and on skiing adventures as I grew older. Living in this part of the country, while we get snow on occasion, it is nothing like that I was so lucky to experience in New York.

Seven Years & Celebrating!

Yes, it’s true. Seven years ago I sat down and posted my first blog entry. Back then it started as a way to showcase my jewelry designs since technology was slightly different in those days and on online presence was not quite yet in the cards. Fast forward, seven years, and here we are – all of this techno-stuff makes it possible for me to stay in touch with all of you – from anywhere in the world. Isn’t it amazing? Baffling, yet amazing. I love it all. Well, maybe it’s better to say (and a bit more truthfully) that at times I have a love-hate relationship with it! But most days…it’s pure love.

Seen on the Most Famous Women -- Yes, That Would Be You!

Part of me wants to shout “I don’t care what celebrity has worn what in any movie or video” – but then I know full well that saying that could come back and bite me in the butt thus quenching any spark of interest from stylists and wardrobe gurus around the world. (But, didn’t I just put it all out there? Yes, I did so I doubt that “coming to a screen near you” will be in my vernacular anytime soon!)