Reckless Beading: NOVEMBER BEAD ADVENTURE - CJS Sales: Crafts, Jewelry, Supplies (Vintage Warehouse) www.cjssales.com

Reckless Beading: NOVEMBER BEAD ADVENTURE: I am supposed to be packing for my classes at the Innovative Beads Expo in Fishkill, NY this weekend, but I had to tell you about part of ou…

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013

NOVEMBER BEAD ADVENTURE

I am supposed to be packing for my classes at the Innovative Beads Expo in Fishkill, NY this weekend, but I had to tell you about part of our visit with our friend Stephney Hornblow last week.

First stop was CJS Sales, where Stephney found a lovely Judith Lieber clutch bag and a few Czech beads.

Stephney digging through the plethora of boxes.


After that, we stopped for lunch and looked at the Christmas windows at Lord & Taylor.  I will take photos later--no spoilers for our annual window tour.  We had our photo taken by one of L&T's windows; yes, you read that right.  Lord & Taylor has an interactive window that takes your photo and texts you a link to it online.

The photo of us taken by the L&T window.

After that fun, we stopped at York Beads to visit (another word for shopping) with Perry Bookstein.  Imagine my surprise when Maureen Chin tapped me on the elbow!  She was visiting her family and just happened to be shopping in York, as well.

Me, Stephney, Perry, and Maureen at York Beads

Stepheny had fun shopping for beads that she can't get in England.  Having just placed a wholesale order, I didn't get much but we both walked out with some of the lovely aged stripe beads...

Aged stripe bead


...and a new dvd with 3 patterns by Kerrie Slade that use beads from York Beads.

Dvd with 3 of Kerrie Slade's fun designs

     On Wednesday, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Jewels by JAR exhibit.  If you are in NYC, run--do not walk-- to see this exhibit.  Unfortunately, you can't take photos of the jewelry and the one catalogue that you really want is $1400.  Well, it is 2 volumes.  The pieces in this exhibit are so stunning that our visit to Tiffany's on Friday was terrible disappointing in comparison.

I did take a few photos of the Met's annual Christmas tree with the baroque angels and nativity figures.  Too bad, you couldn't get any closer.

 Our bead adventure continued on the weekend when we drove up to the Corning Museum of Glass, but that story is for another day.  Now I must get back to packing.

THE TOP SECRET WAREHOUSE WHERE VENESSA ARIZAGA FINDS INSPIRATION - OPENING CEREMONY

THE TOP SECRET WAREHOUSE WHERE VENESSA ARIZAGA FINDS INSPIRATION - OPENING CEREMONY

Venessa rummaging through CJS: Crafts, Jewelry, Supplies (Vintage Warehouse)SO. AMAZING.All. Gold. Everything. Patricia digs for buried treasures 

Mon, December 9, 2013

OCA LA MODE

The Top Secret Warehouse Where Venessa Arizaga Finds Inspiration

by ALICE NEWELL-HANSON

The mission: to find inspiration pieces for VENESSA ARIZAGA's Fall/Winter 2014 collection. The destination: CJS, a wholesale vintage jewelry warehouse in New York's garment district, whose owners' only requirement for entry is that you know what the hell you're doing (and "wholesale to the trade only!").

Looking at the place, however, "open sesame" seems like a more appropriate password. Gold chains drip from the walls, glittering beads spill out of boxes stacked in heaping mounds, and in some rooms you actually have to walk over a crunchy carpet of metal trinkets, rings, and more that have spilled onto the floor. The whole place was separated into rooms, with one of the best being the metal rooms, which looked like scenes from Aladdin.

Venessa has been frequenting this bejeweled spot for around five years to find unique pieces for her collections. "It's amazing what you can find here," she said, referring to CJS's massive collection of vintage Swarovski stones (Venessa's favorite) or the bundles of plastic pieces from former West Germany. "You can find things that are a hundred years old." In addition to this wonderland of vintage, Venessa sources materials from all over the globe: the ceramic charms are custom-made for her in Mexico and Peru, while her chains come from Massachusetts. Although she does pick up bulk jewels to use in her collections, not everything will make it into production. She said of some pieces she found, "I'm not going to do anything with this but it's cool for inspiration, to see the mix of textures and the things they would produce in the 70s. Even when you don't have a direction, it's good to come here and find color, shapes, or different metals."

So what's happening in the upcoming seasons? Venessa's decided to change it up a bit: "I've done years of bright, fun colors, and I wanted to do a neutral palette. My goal is to stay strict and create a neutral-toned world, while still incorporating charms, crochet, and sewing. And it's about creating the perfect price point for gifts." Her creative director Patricia Hermogenes, a recent Parsons graduate, has a similar mindset which will help keep Venessa to her word. When asked about her aesthetic, Patricia said, "I want to make sure I design things that people can wear everyday. Simple, not over the top." An admirable goal, given how hard it is not overdose on the amazing, vintage pieces in the labyrinth of CJS stock.

Shop all Venessa Arizaga HERE.

Photos by James Parker III.

FILED UNDER: VENESSA ARIZAGA , PATRICIA HERMOGENES ,CJS , STUDIO VISIT , JAMES PARKER