We’re excited about summer over here at Real Fruit Jewelry for a few reasons:  First, is that summer is high season for plums! We only have a short opportunity to make plum jewelry during the summer harvest.  Pluot plums are our variety of choice for jewelry making because of their beautiful blushing pink tones and the pronounced detail in their flesh:

Easy access to garden-fresh tomatoes is another highlight of summer over here….and can you imagine how thrilled we were when Etsy featured our tomato jewelry in their blog here?!?  It came as a total surprise to us. What an honor to be featured on Etsy!  Through that blog, we gained many new friends and fans.  If you are a new fan, remember that you can “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the most up-to-date announcements, sales, and promotions.

And one last reason to be happy….we have teamed up with A Little Etsy Love to giveaway a Real Fruit Jewelry necklace!! Entering is easy…..just go to http://www.etsyfix.com/2012/07/real-fruit-jewelry-feature-and-giveaway.html  and login with your Facebook or email and leave a comment on their blog about your which is your favorite fruit jewelry item.  The winner will be picked randomly on 8/7!

Meanwhile, we’ll be workin hard in the jewelry kitchen…we are working on a little something that many of you have requested so STAY TUNED!!!     :  )

Love,

Zoe

It’s been a busy and exciting season so far for Real Fruit Jewelry

We’ve had our ups and downs, and we’ve met a lot new friends and  local talent at our recent shows.

Examples of “ups”: We won the First Place Prize in Craft at the Jenkintown Festival for the Arts! And, we took Third Place for jewelry at the Riverside Festival of the Arts in Easton, PA. AND currently, Real Fruit Jewelry is a semi-finalist for the 2011 RAWards. Click here for more info on the next round of judging for RAWwards which takes place 11/17/11 in Philly!   Word has certainly been getting around about Real Fruit Jewelry…we were featured in the LA Times Blog, and we received a handful of international orders through our online Etsy shop.

Examples of “downs”:  Oh, you know the things that come with being a full time jewelry vendor and designer…getting rained on at shows, displays falling over in the wind, many of my clothes ruined with resin, and also a rather high chiropractic bill due to hours of not sitting correctly while working in the studio.  But you know what?  It’s all worth it because I have  one of the coolest jobs and  I get to meet some of the most creative folks in the area by being in the craft show circuit!

Here are some of my favorite artists that I’ve met this year:  Richelle Dourte and I sort of had a love affair with each other’s jewelry when we met at the Clover Market in Ardmore, PA.  Her favorite pieces of mine are the pendants made from carefully preserved, delicate leaves.  Below is an example  of her  nature-inspired pendants.  You can find Richelle’s work here.

At the Easton show, I had a beautiful customer named Rachel who I learned was a quirky and talented jewelry artist; she makes jewelry out of fingernail clippings and belly-button lint…..really! The nail clippings, she calls “human ivory” and she arranges with resin into mini insect shapes or skeletons.  And the belly-button lint (provided by her boyfriend) is used to make tiny teddy bears which can hang on your neck from a small capsule.  Here’s a photo of one of her bears:

You can find her other items here.  Truly orginal, and only slightly disturbing!

And so I look forward to my last few shows of the season!  We should be adding new items to the line during the next several weeks, including many fruity varieties of heart-shaped pendants, so stay tuned….

Love,

Zoe Joy

I started with a banana flower, which is the flower that grows on the banana tree. (shown below)  I had never seen a banana flower before, but I stumbled upon it in a Vietnamese grocery store in South Philly.  Apparently, you can make a nice curry with it.  It sounded and looked amazingly exotic!  I sliced the flower in cross sections, and started to dehydrate it.  But as it dried out……it turned gray and fell apart : (  Unfortunately, the banana flower didn’t yield anything that looked like jewelry…not even close!

Next, I tried butternut squash.  I just love butternut squash!  My mom has a recipe for butternut squash-pear soup that is out of this world!  And I’ve always loved the color of the inside of the squash…very warm and bright but also earthy and soothing to the eye.  I think it would make a great color for painting a kitchen.

The squash dried out well and I made some nice pendants and rings out of it.  I like the results.  Below is a photo of one of the resulting squash  gems.  During the drying process, the color of the squash turned just a bit more soft and pastel-like. This item listed here in my Etsy shop.

Experiment #3 was with with red hot chili peppers!  I bought them fresh from Iovine’s at Reading Terminal Market, and dried them whole myself.  When they came out of the dehydrator, they were gorgeous; sultry red and shaped perfectly!   The thought of these zesty things dangling from people’s ears had me so excited and energized!  But applying the resin turned out to be a challenge…  I tried again and again but the results were messy and the resin was not adhering well due to the shape and texture of the chili pepper.  I didn’t want to give up on these but after a few days of trying different things, I called it quits.  I may give chili peppers another shot using a different technique someday…that’s how bad I want chili pepper earrings, like really….I have dreams about them!

And finally, I tried a golden beet.  Golden beets are lighter in color on the outside than a red beets, and when you slice them open, they are bright yellow on the inside!  I made a set of rings and pendants out of these in no time!  I think this ring turned out great!  It reminds me of a fresh ray of sunshine.  I like how the beet’s texture has been captured as well.

Below is a golden beet pendant that I allowed to oxidize before adding the resin.  The oxidization allowed the beet to turn from a bright yellow into a more earthy tone which shows the texture better.  Which one do you like more?

So that’s my update!  More to come next week.  I’ve got some goodies in the dehydrator right now so stay tuned!

~Zoe

Tonight is “First Thursday” in Elkins Park, a new monthly celebration of Elkins Park businesses along High School Road, and Zoe, the designer of Real Fruit Jewelry will be there.  Other businesses offering events for First Thursday along this strip of businesses is Shakti Yoga, Rolings Bakery, and The Market.  Stop by the boutique from 6-9 at 7900 High School Rd tonight to meet the artists, have some light refreshments, and get your feather hair extensions from Zarah!