Spring Sale, Vintage Medals, New Shows Added!

As spring finally takes hold, we're busy planning shows for the Summer and Fall seasons and reflecting a lot about how far we've come! The ANTIQUITY collection seems to have taken on a life of it's own. I just found some fabulous vintage Order of the Eastern Star medals to transform at a vintage shop in Northern California. These are indirectly sentimental, as my great-grandmother was a Grand Matron of a San Francisco Order of the Eastern Star in 1927. I have no idea of what significance this is, but the medals are a delightful mix of re-interpreted European heraldry infused with a invented sensibility of American historical traditions. (You can read a bit more about my San Francisco/Eastern Star roots here)

I've combined one of the triangular medals with some burgundy Swarovski Crystal. It pairs beautifully with this pair of coordinating Victorian button earrings. Elegant and versatile!

We use the vintage ribbons too - they make delightful adornments. I also found some brooch tops from the 1940s that were ripe for repurposing.

We've got lots of new shows on the calendar - check them out!

Trunk Show at Oaklandish
Saturday, April 13 2013, 12-3pm
1444 Broadway,
Oakland Ca.

Urban Air Market - Spring Show SF
May 5, 2013, 11am-6pm
Hayes Valley: Octavia Blvd. @ Hayes
San Francisco, Ca.

PG&E Spring Bazaar
May 9, 2013, 11am-4pm
66 Beale St.
San Francisco, Ca.

Marin Open Studios
May 11 & 12, 2013, 11am-6pm
19 Caletta Ave.
San Anselmo, Ca.

AND - we're having a 2-day Spring Sale! 

25% off your entire Compass Rose Design order through Sunday 3/31/13

use code SPRINGSALE at checkout for 25% savings! SHOP NOW!

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The Junk Drawer & Pocket Watch Retirement Program

We are in a brief break between summer Compass Rose Jewelry shows and I wanted to take a moment to talk about an interesting trend we observed early this year when people started donating their antiques to us. It's easier to get rid of stuff when we know it's going to a good home. We all have drawers of once-sentimental keepsakes waiting to be discovered! Earlier this year at the Edwardian Ball, a customer purchased a necklace one day and returned the next day with a box of unfinished medals – “junk in a drawer to her pure treasure to me! These civic medals have found there way into many charm bracelets and necklaces, at least one of which now lives in Paris.

Last year I connected with an older gentleman at a flea market. He was selling his lifetime collection of vintage subway and trolley tokens because his grown children were not interested. And – granted, this is a pretty niche interest, so he became terribly twinkly when I bought them and explained that I was making jewelry that people enjoyed BECAUSE it was historical and was made with things like antique trolley tokens.

 

Speaking of trolleys and cable cars - we found some San Francisco Market Street Railway AND SF Municipal Railway Co. brass uniform buttons and made some smashing tie pins and cufflinks. We're sending the tie pin pictured below to Jesse Thorn, the host of our favorite radio shows Jordan, Jesse Go!, Bullseye, and the menswear blog, Put This On.  You can read more about early San Francisco transportation from horse-drawn omnibus to cable car it in our recent blog post.

We all have junk in boxes and drawers – some of it sentimental and some of it just there through the forces of inertia.   So we’re making it official – we want your tins and boxes and drawers of unwanted doodads and curiosities!

• Old mechanical watches
• antique keys
• antique medals
• old coins
• vintage belts & belt buckles 
• vintage jewelry, charms, brooches and beads
•  pretty much anything old and historical that fits in a breadbox.  

There are a couple of ways to participate in the Junk Drawer & Pocket Watch Retirement Program : 

1. Just get rid of your junk/treasure and let us give it new life.
2. We can exchange your box of junk/treasure for a custom-made bracelet or necklace with a special piece you want to keep, but would rather wear and enjoy than have stuck in a drawer.

 

What to do:

Visit us at an upcoming event (Rivertown Revival, This Train, Tiburon Art Festival, Urban Air Market) or our join us for our summer open studio trunk show August 18 & 19 (space is limited – email us to reserve your spot). You can bring your junk/treasure and your special keepsake for us to take a look at and we can talk about designs for your special sentimental item. You can always email us a photo of your treasure/junk and we can talk about whether it makes sense to ship.

*Keep in mind - we have pretty high standard for antiques but are happy to use curiosities you have no use for when you are ready to clean out the drawers - and we're happy to help transform broken watches and other treasures into wearable keepsakes. I made this watch with broken watches from my mom, grandmother and aunties - rather than having broken watches in a drawer, I have a bracelet I wear often and enjoy. You can have one too! Check out the one currently available in our online shop.

Summer Events Calendar

Rivertown Revival
July 21 , 2012 Petaluma, Ca.

This Train, A Woodie Guthrie 100th Birthday Jubilee
July 29 , 2012 Santa Rosa, Ca. 

Live in the Bay Area? Ask about our Private Trunk Show - coming in August!

Come visit Compass Rose Design Jewelry at our summer events!

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You are awesome! Show at a 15% discount (use discount code VICTORIA15)

I left my heart in San Francisco...

History is at the center of our work at Compass Rose Design. Lately, we've had trains on the brain and have been making lots of men's accessories with Railroad date nails and antique uniform buttons dating between 1880 and 1950. A few finds relating to San Francisco railroad history have been a delight!

We've recently come across several antiques that have local historical significance. Notice the PPIE 1915 buttons in the above photo. These buttons commemorate the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exhibition - the Worlds Fair. Though the exhibition celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, the event was perhaps more about showcasing San Francisco's recovery from the 1906 earthquake.

This poster advertised the momentous event, which drew millions of visitors to San Francisco's Marina district - the Palace of Fine Arts buildings still remain, near the Exploratorium site.

Since the original buildings were made of plaster, wood and burlap for quick construction, the Palace of Fine Arts was reconstructed in the 1960s with more durable construction materials.

This SF Municipal Railway button was an incredible find! Transportation service started as early as 1860 in San Francisco with horse drawn omnibus on Howard and Third Streets in San Francisco. Other small companies were also started on Sutter Street, the Mission and North Beach, seen below.  (Photo source: San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, AAC-8187) 

 

By 1876, it was clear that the hilly terrain in San Francisco made horse-car travel difficult and unprofitable. Thus began the conversion to cable cars. In 1902, the United Railways of San Francisco took over service and by 1909, SF Municipal Railway, known as SF Muni, was founded.

We love San Francisco - and we love how much people love the places they are from. Holding these historical moments in our hands, wearing these genuine antique treasures, connects us with lives and stories of the people who came before us.  Check our Railroad collection to see if we have buttons from your town or state.

We also had a GREAT time at our local Fairfax Festival this weekend - thanks to everyone who came to visit!

 

The Railroad collection continues to be a big hit. We're happy to see more clever gents wearing awesome accessories - unique pieces with real history and sophistication.

Check our Summer Events Calendar for upcoming California shows!

Shop Online (use discount code RCRD10 for a 10% discount)

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Typewriter Key Bracelets, Residents Artist Gallery, Project Transaction

I’ve had a hectic of a week in the best possible way! I've put an initial collection up on the new Compass Rose Design Direct Store - 10% off with XMAS10 at checkout for friends and family (that's you!) I just came across a lot of typewriter keys, so I'll be making more bracelets. They have such a nice weight and sound to them!

I got invited to R.A.G. Residents Apparel Gallery at 541 Octavia St. in San Francisco. It’s a really awesome space with more than 75 Bay Area artists run by two fabulous sisters, Blakely and Page.

The space is filled with clothing, accessories and jewelry, just down the street from La Boulange Bakery.

I originally heard about R.A.G. from Jake and Holly at Project Transaction – who I met at Market SF, a small artist market at the Blue Macaw in the Mission every Saturday. (By the way, I’ll be at Market SF on December 4 and December 11). Jake and Holly make reclaimed leather cuffs, belts, restraints, harnesses and other accessories, with brands, rivets, and prints that are both edgy and sophisticated. Below is one of their handmade leather belts available at the Project Transaction Etsy Shop. They've also had some INCREDIBLE upcycled modified leather vests - re cut and outfitted with grommets that I adore.They are good folk.

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Found Object Bracelet, Pumpkins & Beer, and Gathered Thyme

I’ve done stained glass for about 8 years, but I haven’t hauled out the soldering iron since before I lived in Amsterdam. I did some really fun pieces with broken glass I found when I was about nine years old at a logging camp in the woods where I grew up near Skyline, California.

Yesterday, at Baubles and Beads in Berkeley, I started a refresher in some basic metal working skills. Unsurprisingly, my first piece is a found object bracelet. I started with an assortment of favorite objects.... My soldering iron was getting too hot, annoying since it was the one recommended - but apparently the Weller 100 with the blue handle is the best for this type of project. Volcanoarts.com has pretty good prices and awesome selection for stained glass, metalworking, and book binding!

Some of the objects you will recognize from other Compass Rose Design series, but there are some wonderful new pieces as well. I used old game pieces, rulers, postage stamps, a 1919 accounting register, wrist watch, key, escutcheon, and an optician’s lens – and I think it turned out pretty well.

Now I am eager to get to my collection of broken ceramics and stones...


The garden is definitely shifting with the seasons. The oregano and thyme I collected last week are dry and ready to put in jars for winter seasoning.

My husband, Johnny is brewing beer today, he’s making an Oktoberfest ale. There is no pumpkin involved, in fact if you want pumpkin in your beer, Van Houten Brewing probably won't be able to help you, but it’s Halloween….

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Getting ready for Indie Mart this Sunday

Come visit Compass Rose Design at Indie Mart!! Betty and I will be there will a lot of new pieces and an expanded men's collection including upcycled pocketwatch tie pins, cufflinks, and moneyclips.

Come to Indie Mart!!!
Sunday - September 19th, 2010
noon to 6pm at Thee Parkside - Portrero Hill.

Compass Rose Design on Haight St.

Yesterday was a great Sunday. I headed over to Haight St. in the afternoon and after searching for parking for almost 30 minutes (I don't miss city parking) made my way to Distractions, at 1552 Haight Street. The owner, Jimmy, had approached me at the Alamo Square Indie Mart and asked me to come in for a visit to see if we could get some Compass Rose Design treasures into his shop. Distractions, which Jimmy started in 1976, is nearing the end of its existence as a psychadelic institution and is going to be reborn as a STEAMPUNK BOUTIQUE!!!

Since while not hawking psychedelia on the weekends, Jimmy does Victorian house renovation, deconstruction and reconstruction on the side - he'll clearly have no problem with the design aesthetic. He showed me photos of a Victorian he numbered, took apart, moved and reconstructed in the Russian River area. Needless to say, impressive. After a few minutes of sentimental loitering (I got my first Grateful Dead tie dyed tapestry there when I was 16), Jimmy came in hauling a large old stained glass window, just as when I had first met him at Alamo Square - I get that he often has a window or some other unwieldy architectural gem in tow.

It was a great interaction, and even though the full Steampunk theme does not begin until January, my designs are helping blaze the trail!

Compass Rose Design at Market SF August 14th

Come visit Compass Rose Design Jewelry on Saturday, August 14th for our second SF Artist Market at the Blue Macaw -2526 Mission St in SF.
Mention my blog and you get 10% off any Compass Rose Design purchase this weekend!

Here are some of the featured sellers you can visit!
for links to the items - click here....



Compass Rose Design Jewelry will also be at Market SF September 4 and September 18

more about Market SF

visit the Compass Rose Design etsy store

Compass Rose Design at Indie Mart - August 21

Compass Rose Design Jewelry is happy to announce that our second show will be at the Alamo Square Indie Mart on Saturday, August 21, 2010. The event takes place at Alamo Square in San Francisco from 9am until 3pm. The Compass Rose Design collection was well received at the SF Artist Market, so we are feeling optimistic about seeing folks at Indie Mart.

Come visit us!!!

Alamo Square Indie Mart
Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 9am - 3pm
Alamo Square: Scott, Fulton & Hayes Street (directions)
More about Indie Mart

Don't forget to check for the latest designs at our online shop at www.compassrosedesign.etsy.com

Insect Jewelry from Compass Rose Design

Compass Rose Design insect jewelry has taken off with the gardening season! Buzzing bees, dragonflies, flowers, and wings are the theme of the spring and summer-inspired series with a steampunk neovictorian flair from Compass Rose Design Jewelry.



And yes, I am including arachnids here :)

Find Insect Jewelry at the Compass Rose Design online shop

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Steampunk Upcycled Pocket Watch Jewelry

These upcycled steampunk necklaces made with pocket watch movements, vintage style charms and crystal and glass accents have been one of Compass Rose Design Jewelry's signature styles!

These pieces have been worn by brides, travelers, fashionistas and sexy moms from the east to west coast!

Visit Compass Rose Design for more Pocket Watch necklaces!









Compass Rose Design offers steampunk necklaces and steampunk earrings from our current collection or custom ordered from available pieces!

Find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/compassrosedesign

Visit the Compass Rose Design online shop

Welcome to Compass Rose Design Jewelry

Welcome to Compass Rose Design - Antique Button Jewelry, Steampunk Jewelry, and Other Treasures!

At Compass Rose Design, I've been making wire wrap jewelry for the last ten years with vintage and found treasures. Each piece is handmade, reflecting a bit of treasure renewed into something unique and beautiful. Compass Rose Design offers an eclectic mix for casual and elegant occasions. Every creation combines Victorian or vintage buttons, pocket watch pieces, Czech glass, found objects, vintage style charms, Austrian crystal, vintage prints, and a lot of love. I enjoy thinking about the story of each button – from a corset or waistcoat or evening gown – through the ages to you – highlighted with glinting garnet, crystal and glass.

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Visit Compass Rose Design online shop