Decorating Trend: Embellish Everyday Objects with Precious Stones

We're seeing the strong trend in everyday objects to guild the lily by adding a jewelry element. Today's design must be both beautiful and functional. Take a spatula, for instance. We could have a boring, traditional stick of wood with a white rubber spreading tip affixed to the end, or we could add color and interesting materials like bamboo or steel or resin to really make the object pop and distinguish it from the ordinary.

UK artist Damien Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull, 2007, helped start the trend

Enter the jewelry effect. We're seeing precious and semi-precious stones added to art, like Damien Hirst's diamond skull (above), and everyday objects to greatly increase both their bling and price tag. Click on each photograph for more info on the be-jeweled items.

Vertu: diamond-covered model is costliest cell phone in the world

The Natural Sapphire Company: $700,000 for its white gold and sapphire-encrusted iPad caseIndia's Nano Car: the cheapest car in the world has a gold, silver, semi-precious stone edition

HYLA Vacuum: $21,900 model boasting 32,000 Swarovski crystals

Dussault jeans: $10,000 denims boast gold, diamond, ruby wallet chains

Explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Estonian Jeweler Breaks Fashion Rules with "Head Jewelry"

Klimt02 is a website that provides an international forum for contemporary jewelry in a creative space that offers knowledge, information, debates, and exchanges - all within the artistic realm of jewelry. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Kilmt02 inspires everyone interested in the selection, quality, art, technology, and creation of art jewelry. Sheffield School has kindly been given permission to share Estonian jewelery designer's fanciful, fashion-forward "head jewelry."

Tanel Veenre: Head Jewelry 2011, Plastic
 

Click to read more ...

Jewelry Cool Tool Anouncement!

Fabulous, useful and free! 

Staying abreast of the new advances in technology has become a full time job, but we at Sheffield are here to help!

We've just discovered a free App called Etsy Text that is perfect for those selling their hand-crafted wares on the ever-booming Etsy marketplace.  This app notifies sellers via their smartphone or tablet when an item from their shop sells. Not bad!  

Seeing as Etsy has become such a huge marketplace in the e-commerce realm it's more important than ever to keep one's customers happy.  So, Etsy Text, we are definitely a fan! Thanks for making it all a bit easier!

Have a favorite smartphone or tablet app that helps you with your craft that you can't live without?  Share the wealth and let us know by leaving a comment!

...In the meantime, happy beading!

Interested in making some of your own smashing jewelry? As a jewelry design instructor at the Sheffield School in New York, I encourage you to take the matter of making into your own hands! Check out the newly launched Jewelry Design Course offered at the Sheffield School. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any other school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

5 Most Expensive Diamond Jewelry Pieces Sold at Auction

If you had a million dollars, would you spend it on a single piece of jewelry? That's a fair question, as manyfine jewelry creations have sold at auction for far a heftier price tag. Consider the following items of record-breaking jewelry and precious stones (click on each image for more information) - and let us know your favorites. Also, what's the most you'd pay for jewelry (other than perhaps wedding jewelry)?

Expensive Jewelry #1: The Graff Pink step-cut diamond sold for $46.2 million

Expensive Jewelry #2: The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond sold for $24.3 million

Expensive Jewelry #3: The Perfect Pink diamond sold for $23.2 million

Expensive Jewelry #4: Bulgari two-stone diamond ring sold for $15.7 million

Expensive Jewelry #5: Wallis Simpson's Panther bracelet sold for $12.4 million

JEWELRY BONUS

Click here to read all about The Importance of Play.

As the lead curriculum developer at Sheffield School, I'm fascinated with jewelry as an art form. If you're interested in learning more about jewelry design, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Question of the Week: Do You Run Your Own Business?

Welcome to this week’s installment of the Sheffield Says Question of the Week. Each week we’ll ask readers a question pertinent to being creative, earning a living, do-it-yourself projects, and much, much more. We’re excited to hear what you have to say!

Last week’s question was, what Sheffield School field of study are you most interested in?

This week, we want to know whether or not you run your own business. There are many people who are interested in Interior Design, Jewelry Design, and Wedding Planning for personal reasons and hobbies, but we know there are also many of you out there with a goal of starting a business in one of these fields. And we want to know, who is already there.

Share your answer below, and don’t be afraid to use the comments to tell us why you’re interested in that field!

Are you currently running your own business?
	Yes, full time
	Yes, part time
	Not yet
	I don't plan on running a business
pollcode.com free polls

Catch you next week. Same time, same place.