Quirk: May 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Emmanuel Shuga

We just had a wonderful visit from the jewelry artist Emmanuel Shuga. Here are a few sneak peeks of the awesome beaded pieces coming soon.

And a shot of the artist himself. Magnifique!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Thumbs up!

Hey, We just want to say that we think you're great. Keep up the good work and stay awesome.

Monday, May 23, 2011

So Many New Summer Goodies!

There are so many new goodies arriving at the gallery every day! These are some of my very favorites.

The "Drop" iPod speaker. Water resistant, so it's perfect for those beach getaways. $55

The Broccoli card holder. Bright and fun to keep a little sunshine on my desk. I love it in both orange AND green. $19.50

Airlily headphones. Lightweight and sleek, these look great anywhere. Available in white or black. $30

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I love discovering artists I may not have run across by simply perusing my morning blogs. This morning one of my favorites: Size Too Small featured a beautiful collage of work by Maggie Harrsen. This just makes me want to drop everything and head for the beach. Beautiful!

view the full Maggie Harrsen Photography post via Size Too Small

BEAGLE MANIAAA!

Hello from Quirk! Julia here. and this is my first blog post EVER!

Theres nothin' better than a clean puppy dog. My beagle, Lula May, recently got a bath and she knows she smells good! Our morning ritual of sitting NEXT to each other while I drink my coffee has turned into Lula sitting on my lap and staring at me with those big beagle eyes that say, "Just pet me. You know you want to!" and it's true.

and here's another awesome beagle doing crazy tricks that Lula will never be able to do. But it's okay Lula, because you are so clean and cuddly!

That's it for now! check back for more posts by me!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sweet Spring Bling

Tons of great jewelry is being added online. Check out our shop for all of your spring & summer accessories.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Broad Appetit

We're really looking forward to this year's Broad Appetit Food Festival. If you haven't participated in the past, come enjoy tons of great food samples prepared by Richmond restaurants. We'll be open that Sunday so come by the gallery and see us!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Getting to Know: Analya Cespedes

We asked one of our new favorite Quirk Represents jewelry artists Analya Cespedes a few questions to help get to know her and her process of creating beautiful, one of a kind jewelry a little better.

Here's what she had to say:

1. What is your favorite piece of jewelry to create?
Rings. I'm always amaze by the infinite ways to dress a finger.

2. Tell us about your beautiful name and where you grew up...
I was named by my father after a singer. She wasn't really famous (or even good, I'm afraid to say) but she was a regular at Sábado Gigante, the same TV show that is now made in Miami and shown in Univision here in the US. People my age in Chile grew up watching it, back when we had three TV stations tops. I was born and raised in Santiago, a beautiful and busy city surrounded by the Andes.

3. Do you have any pets?
Yes, two very cute and spoiled cats, Cucu and Pulguita ("little flea" in Spanish. She's the world's best jumper!)
There's a photo of "Pulgui" down below.

4. What is your favorite snack?
Chocolate, always, and more recently carrots. Go figure.

5. How much do you weigh? (just kidding!!!)
Cincuenta y tres kilos, aha!

6. Tell us about your bird of the month project...
I decided that once a month I was going to look at my old sketch books and make a piece based on one of my many bird drawings. It started with a ring but I've been quite busy so the projects since then have been a bit more modest. Anyways, after I was done with the first ring (in the photo down below) I remembered that my childhood bedroom had a wallpaper with birds on it. It was kind of crazy. I was able to find a photo that shows it--sure enough, you can see some similarities with my first 'bird of the month' and with some older pieces of mine (see the bird pendant). My parents remodeled the house when I was 9, and I was devastated when I realized that wallpaper was gone for good.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Expo Artist Feature

Carla Caruso is one of the featured artists in our upcoming Wedding Expo. Carla creates beautiful, delicate wedding and engagement rings.

CARLA CARUSO was born in New York City and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in glass sculpture. After years working in glass, and making jewelry for several prominent New York designers, Carla moved to Western Massachusetts where she now lives. She founded Carla Caruso Jewelry in 2001.

Carla Caruso Jewelry is handmade in a small studio outside Northampton. Her goal is simplicity: to distill an idea to its essence and create timeless jewelry that wears beautifully.

Watch for Carla's beautiful rings available on our online shopping site and in the gallery during the Not-So-Expo Wedding Expo.

We love beautiful paper!

We can't wait for you to see the beautiful stationary from Shuford Prints. Corneila "Neil" Gregory is the genious behind this gorgeous line of invitations and personalized products. Neil recently moved to Richmond via the windy city of Chicago. We are thrilled to have her participate in the Non-Expo Wedding Expo this Saturday.

Neil has created a world of letters, invitations, announcements and stationary both playful and sophisticated. Her choice of colors and textures reintroduces customers to the tradition of expression in print; where understatement and simplicity combine to communicate boldly with the reader.

Neil started Shuford Prints from her Atlanta apartment in 2008 after graduating from The Portfolio Center. She has expanded her devoted client list to include the Governor of Georgia and the Virginia Highland’s Summerfest. A 2009 expansion included the addition of a rescued letterpress machine and relocation to Chicago, Illinois, a city with deep roots in architecture, design and innovation.

***Did we mention that we also love her mother-in-law, Richmond Designer extraordinaire, Suellen Gregory.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Gorgeous Jewels

We are really looking forward to our Non-Expo Wedding Expo event this Saturday. We will be featuring works by about a dozen of Quirk's favorite talents.

To wet your appetite, we want to introduce you to Isabelle Krupnick. Isabelle will be joining us from Virginia Beach for the event. Isabelle K. Jewelery represents the best of the best of European jewelry designs. She will have perfect gifts for bridesmaids, but also some show-stopper pieces for the bride and mother-of-the bride (and for the guest that dares to outshine either).

Sail Away with Claire Berry

Our cute artist Claire Berry recently had her work (and herself!) photographed in it's perfect beach setting. Here are a few of my favorite photos. To see the full set check out Claire's full blog post.

From Claire Berry's Blog:

Alright everyone, get excited! My personal photographer, Sara Tyer Photography and I headed to the beach to take some photos of my new 2011 Summer Nautical Collection: Sail Away. These photos would not have been possible without the assistance of the lovely Hannah and wonderful Micaela.

I've very excited to share these photos with you. For starters, Sara did an amazing job capturing the beauty of these beachy jewels and I just love the beach. So I thought, why not create pretty jewelry that reflects my love for the beach?! As most of my previous jewelry might appeal to a bride and her bridesmaids, these pieces are great to wear after that special day on your beach honeymoon!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Shelly Klein: Before + After

We couldn't be more pleased with our Main Gallery show that opens tonight. Shelly Klein has transformed the gallery with her whimsical, serene paintings. Big thanks to Curt Wozniak, Shelly's husband for these great pano installation shots!