Podcasts about Bakelite

I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this episode takes a bit of a somber turn again, this time around the 30 minute mark but we do manage to spend most of it talking about the fragrances we've tested, worn, and even a few we regret. The highlight, though, is a fun grab-bag version of The Game thanks to a couple of our dear friends and fellow perfume enthusiasts who were so kind to send us samples.Danielle - @perfumeglow_danielle on InstagramChristina with Dry Down Diaries - @drydowndiaries on Instagram and SubstackLaundry detergent mentioned in this episode - Diva by Tyler Candle StoreDedicated to our sweet Melanie (2012 - 2025)(00:00) - - A Trip To Ulta (13:27) - - Things We've Tested Lately (37:22) - - More Sad Dog News (40:22) - - Scents We've Been Wearing (55:15) - - The Game Scents Mentioned in this Episode:Hot Cakes by Snif / Iconic by Paris Hilton / Ganymede by Marc-Antoine Barrois / Followed by Kerosene / Chance Eau Spendide by Chanel / White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor / Jovan Musk for Women by Jovan / Ciara by Revlon / Ethereal Wave by Liis / No 19 and No 5 by Chanel / Indigo Smoke by Arquiste / Musk by Kiehl's / Plus Plus Feminine by Diesel / L'âme Perdue, L'Astre, and Jasmin by Le Galion / Seven Veils and Eyes Closed by Byredo / L'Eau de Neroli and L'Autre by Diptyque / Neroli Oranger by Matiere Premiere / Patchouli Sauvage by Houbigant / Amber Sogara, Santal Sohar, and Orris Wakan by Amouage / Jersey by Chanel / Rimbaud by Celine / Fumabat by Couteau de Poche / Nuit de Bakelite by Naomi Goodsir / Oudh Inifni by Dusita / L'Air de Rien by Miller Harris / L'Eau d'Hiver by Frederic Malle / Le Lion by Chanel / Rose Tonnerre by Frederic Malle / Violette Hay by Marissa Zappas / Frisson D'Hiver by Serviette / Saffron Hamra and Oud Ulya by Amouage / Chypre Mousee by Oriza L Legrand / Amethyst Haze by Carolina Herrera / Bo by Liis / Side Effect by Initio / Oud Satin Mood by Maison Francis KurkdjianThe Game:Nightfall Patchouli by Carolina Herrera / Poisonoud by Dauphinette / Bramble by Herbcraft / Dark Vinyl Musk by Bohoboco / Oud Sublime by Demolished / Artifact_0001 by Museum ApothekerPlease feel free to email us at hello@fragraphilia.com - Send us questions, comments, or recommendations. We can be found on TikTok and Instagram @fragraphilia

Bex Scott welcomes guest Lulu from Lulu J Vintage, a vintage costume jewelry collector and seller, to the show to teach her all about the joys of vintage costume jewelry. Lulu started collecting when she was sixteen years old and worked at the Carol Tanenbaum Vintage Jewelry Collection through high school and university. She learned from amazing mentors about the history of jewelry and developed her own collection before starting to sell on Instagram last year. Bex finds out what jewelry Lulu loves best, her philosophy on collecting, and tips for testing authenticity. Lulu describes herself as a “very passionate collector” and her love of vintage costume jewelry shines through in her conversation with Bex. She describes some of her favorite vintage pieces and why she prefers certain styles over others. Though she says she's not a fashion historian, Lulu teaches Bex quite a lot about the history of costume jewelry and styles through the years. Bex learns about the current brooch resurgence, French designer Léa Stein, how to locate the lost mate of her solo Sherman earring, and how to test for true Bakelite. Lulu stresses that collecting should be about what someone loves, and what they're passionate about, not simply focused on what will sell or what's valuable. Join Bex and Lulu for a deep dive into vintage costume jewelry.Resources discussed in this episode:“Vintage Jewellery: Collecting and Wearing Designer Classics” by Caroline CoxKenneth J Lane vintageAvon rose broochCaroline Tanenbaum Vintage CollectionLéa Stein“Sherman Jewelry History” on VintageJewelryGirl.com“6 Ways to Identify Bakelite” by Pamela Wiggins on TheSpruceCrafts.comJoyce's ClosetBEX VintageMr. Mansfield Vintage—Contact Lulu | Lulu J VintageInstagram: @lulujvintageContact Rebecca Scott | Pyrex With Bex: Website: PyrexWithBex.comInstagram: @pyrexwithbex—TranscriptBex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast where you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat. Hey everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. And today I am very excited to introduce to you Lulu of Lulu J vintage on Instagram. Welcome, Lulu. Lulu: [00:00:43] Thanks so much for having me Bex. Bex Scott: [00:00:44] Thanks for being here. So I found you through Instagram and I instantly fell in love with all of your education on vintage costume jewelry and your amazing reels. And every time you post, I want to buy all of the jewelry that you show. So I wanted to make sure I could get you on the podcast to educate my listeners on all of the amazing jewelry. I love jewelry, I have a massive collection of just random things from over the years. I don't wear a lot of it, but I have this thing where I need to buy it and just keep it in a jewelry box and then look at it. So I'm excited to learn from you today as well. Lulu: [00:01:27] I think that's how all collecting starts. You start with coins or jewelry or just things that you love, and it starts to turn in, even your beautiful books behind you and your collection. Bex Scott: [00:01:40] Yeah, it's funny how you don't realize that you're starting a collection. And then you look at everything around you, and you have about 40 more collections than you thought you did. So can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the world of vintage costume jewelry? Lulu: [00:01:59] Absolutely. And so I am a very passionate collector of vintage costume jewelry. I've been collecting since I was 16 years old. I worked at the Carol Tannenbaum Vintage Jewelry Collection throughout high school and university, and that was the place I just fell in love with it. I was immersed in jewelry. I learned so much from amazing mentors and learned a lot about the history, and slowly just started to build my collection over time. I began selling just on Instagram last year as really a creative outlet from my full-time job and a way to get back into this industry and to meet like-minded people. Bex Scott: [00:02:46] That's awesome. What is it about vintage costume jewelry that fascinates you the most? Lulu: [00:02:51] That's a great question. I mean, I think I've always been a jewelry girl. I loved playing dress up as a kid. Go through my nana's jewelry box? Yeah, just, I've always loved fashion. There was a period through, I guess, my teens where I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer or a jewelry designer, and working at Carol's Collection, it was really that place that started my interest in costume jewelry and becoming really fascinated with it. And it was just, it's more accessible than collecting, I'd say clothing because you can keep it in a jewelry box. You don't need to have a big closet. And yeah, that's where it started. Bex Scott: [00:03:31] And you can have multiple jewelry boxes and still hide them away. You can't have multiple closets as easily. Lulu: [00:03:39] No. It's true. We live in a small apartment, and my personal collection jewelry box keeps growing because it's one of those ones that stacks on top of each other. And then the pieces to sell, I have an Ikea unit and we keep it in our little more like a storage room den. And I think my fiance is very happy that it's just jewelry and not racks of clothes. Bex Scott: [00:04:09] I love that. I can relate to you mentioning going through your grandma's jewelry, because that's what I used to do with my granny when I was little. We'd go to her house and the first thing I do is run up to her bedroom and start undoing all of her clothes and her jewelry and going through her drawers. So, I don't do that anymore, because that would be strange. But that kind of started me with my tiny jewelry collection. Most of what I have is from her, passed down, and she always says she has a few more pieces that she needs to give me as well. So it's nice. Mhm. And have you come across any interesting or surprising stories behind some of the pieces that you have? Lulu: [00:04:55] Yeah, absolutely. I think in my personal collection, a lot of the pieces I have are of sentimental value or just pieces that I absolutely love. And I just would not want to sell. But I actually recently found a piece that I just sold that looked very 50s in the style, and the woman I bought it from thought it was from the 50s. And then when I went to do a bit more research about it, it turned out to be a 90s German bracelet, and it was marked Germany on the spring clasp. And that you only find that marking if it's pre-war or post, like the fall of the Berlin Wall. So it's really interesting that this piece looked very 50s, and it actually turned out to be newer from my vintage perspective, but kind of just shows that all like fashion is very cyclical. Even with vintage jewelry, you can, designers will look into the past. And yeah, I thought that was really cool. Bex Scott: [00:05:51] That is really cool. When you're researching the jewelry, do you often find things that are really surprising or is like from your experience, do you kind of understand most of what you've found now before you do the research? Lulu: [00:06:04] That's a great question. I think I have a good base knowledge of that history, having worked at Carol's Collection for a very long time. But you're always learning as you find new pieces or like, as I just said, I thought that piece was 50s. It turned out to be a 90s piece. I'm not a fashion historian. I went to school for graphic design not fashion design in the end. So I'm no expert, but you have to always keep learning and it's nice to like, get books. And when I find a piece that I don't know, I like so many Facebook groups that you can join to learn more or help identify pieces. So yeah, always, always you constantly learn as you go. Bex Scott: [00:06:47] Nice. I went to school for graphic design as well, so that's very cool to meet another graphic designer, and I think that partially put me into collecting as well, because it's so creative and like all the colors and the research, it's kind of goes hand in hand with that creative side of your brain. Lulu: [00:07:06] Absolutely. And I even say, like making content for social media, even though it's more screen time than my day job, it's still very creative. It's like a different type of creative muscle that you're flexing and with collecting too, it's yeah, just as you said, like finding different colors or pieces that are really unique. Yeah I love it as a creative outlet. Bex Scott: [00:07:30] Mhm. So what role do you think vintage costume jewelry has played in fashion history. Lulu: [00:07:37] Yeah great question. As I said I'm not a fashion historian. So I'm going to speak more generally on this. But I do think it's played a role especially for couture designers as a way to reach different audiences. I think like Chanel had clothing, but they also had jewelry, and so that became a little bit more accessible. There's a designer, Kenneth Jay Lane, who had a couture costume collection of jewelry. But then it was like, I want to make sure that my audience is more broad and actually sold on Avon. So it's like it made it more, I think, accessible in that sense. Bex Scott: [00:08:22] Neat. I think I've heard that name before. I wouldn't know any of the pieces, but... Lulu: [00:08:28] So his pieces are in the 60s, and some of his couture pieces are these, like beautiful, like chandelier earrings, really colorful with, like, it's called, like diamante, fake diamonds all around it. And then if you ever see says KJL or Kenneth Lane, those are... Bex Scott: [00:08:47] Okay. Lulu: [00:08:47] And then his, his stuff for like, Avon is very different than that. But it's neat need to see the range of work how it, and over different time as well. Bex Scott: [00:08:59] Mhm. Mm. You brought up Avon and I'm kind of curious how do you feel about Avon Jewelry and some of the vintage. I find so much of it. Lulu: [00:09:10] That's a great question. And I actually just bought a lot of jewelry from a collector who, like, only shopped on the shopping channel, and it was all Avon and like KJL, Joan Rivers, like really fun 80s 90s like Gold Tone. And I like it. I think it really, I only buy what I like. So it to me, it doesn't matter if it's a piece really old like from, you know, like 20s or 30s to a 90s piece from Avon. Like, if you like the style and it speaks to you, I say you should buy it. Bex Scott: [00:09:47] Exactly. I keep finding that Avon Rose. You probably know which one it is. It's the gold stem with the little red top. The brooch. Every time I buy jewelry in, like, a big lot, there's about four of them in there. So I think I have a mini collection of just the Avon Rose. Do you see a resurgence in the popularity of vintage costume jewelry, and how can people kind of incorporate it into their modern wardrobes? Lulu: [00:10:15] I definitely think there is a resurgence, especially like the past year and a half of like, the year of the brooch and everyone wearing brooches. And I mean, you see that even with fine jewelry like that trend. But costume is a way that's more accessible. So you're not spending thousands of dollars on a brooch. You can spend it at a more accessible price point. And it's nice to see, like my clients range in age. So I do think it's popular just with different people and it's coming back. Bex Scott: [00:10:45] Mhm. I love it, I like that the younger generation is starting to wear more jewelry and finding fun ways to wear brooches, whether it's their grandmothers or passed down from family, or if they're just collecting it themselves. I think it's really, really fun and refreshing. Totally. Are there certain designers or brands that shaped the industry and are especially collectible today? Lulu: [00:11:11] I think that really depends on where you're from and what type of jewelry you like to collect. I collect primarily North American and few European designers, but as I said, like really, if I see something I love, it can be from anywhere, it just has to speak to me. There's many costume designers and I actually would recommend this book, it's called Vintage Jewelry Collecting and Wearing Vintage Classics by Caroline Cox. It's a nice overview of fashion history, but specifically from a jewelry perspective. And it showcases different designers throughout different decades. It's been a great resource. There's a lot of other great books out there too, but I just like that it shows that different designers. Bex Scott: [00:11:59] I think that sounds great. Lulu: [00:12:00] For myself, I really love her name is Léa, Léa Stein, and she was a French designer who made buttons, brooches and bangles all out of compressed layers of plastic. So it's really unique. Bex Scott: [00:12:16] That sounds cool. Lulu: [00:12:17] And like they created a lot of unique designs and patterns. And they're really fun brooches. They're just like, I have one umbrella. I have like a little girl. Some flowers are so fun. And I love, like, plastic jewelry. So it's definitely like she's one of the like the renowned plastic artists. And from a Canadian perspective, Sherman Jewelry is definitely the most collectible. He really used amazing like high quality rhinestones, particularly those aurora borealis stones, and it's really sought after. There's a huge community out there of Sherman collectors. Bex Scott: [00:12:56] I think that's one of the Facebook groups that I'm a part of, and it's always fascinating to see how many different Sherman pieces there were and how some were signed and some weren't. So it's hard to tell if you have one or you don't, and... Lulu: [00:13:11] Totally. And it's neat to see too, that like, there's so many different variations of his jewelry, but then there are some styles that I keep seeing, like, I actually just bought a brooch, it's one of the pinwheel brooches. And I feel like now every time I'm on that Facebook group, that style always pops up. And it's like nice to see. I love when I find other collectors who have similar pieces to you because it's so rare because there's the quantity of the jewelry is a lot smaller back then. So, it's really unique. Bex Scott: [00:13:48] That's fun. I have a couple, I have two sets of Sherman earrings, and then I have a bundle that I bought at an auction, and it came with only one lone Sherman earring. And it's the prettiest earring I've ever seen. And it's just gonna sit there alone forever. Lulu: [00:14:06] You could take it to a jeweler and, like, put it on a necklace or something. You want to do-- Bex Scott: [00:14:11] -- That's a good idea-- Lulu: [00:14:12] -- something with it? Bex Scott: [00:14:13] Yeah. I was thinking they should have kind of like a dating app, but for lost jewelry, where you swipe to find the missing pair of your earring. Lulu: [00:14:24] I will find it for you. I actually think I follow one Instagram that's like to find people's pairs. Like she just has single earrings. She might be based in the US, but I'll follow up with them for you. Bex Scott: [00:14:37] That's amazing. I love that. Yeah. So what would you say are some of the key differences between costume jewelry from different decades. You know, there's so much of it. But even 1920s versus 1960s or now, what would you say are some of the key differences? Lulu: [00:14:55] Yeah, that's a great question. I think the big differences are the materials that are used and as well as like how it mirrored fashion trends at the time. So as I said, I love 60s plastic. And there's so much plastic jewelry that's very like mod and colorful and like really reflective of that style. And so it really just depends on the decade and that example that I said like something that looked 50s but actually was 90s. You just need to do a bit more research on. Bex Scott: [00:15:31] Yeah. What would you say about quality. Do you think it's gotten better? Has it gotten worse? Is it kind of the same? Lulu: [00:15:39] Yeah, that's a great question. I don't collect as much contemporary costume and I've just been a vintage collector for so long. But I will say it's amazing the quality of vintage jewelry, that there are pieces that can last hundreds of years. Yeah, I have a necklace that was one of the first pieces of costume jewelry that I ever got. And this is like beautiful, Czech glass necklace. It's cherry red. I wear it all the time. It's so fun. And it's like 100 years old now. It's from the 20s and yeah, it's still in amazing shape. So the fact that it really stands the test of time is quite amazing. No obviously on everything, but a lot of pieces and especially those designer pieces, if you are following and collecting specific people. Bex Scott: [00:16:33] It's kind of fun to think we collect vintage jewelry now, what is it going to be like 100 years from now? Will the jewelry that we're making now still be around, or will it be all broken and degraded? Lulu: [00:16:47] Totally. I mean, there's so much I've seen online, even from a fashion perspective of, like going to thrift stores and a lot of it being fast fashion clothing. And it's not the quality that it was in the past. And so really high quality vintage pieces are harder to come by. Bex Scott: [00:17:09] Have to hold on to them when you find them. Lulu: [00:17:11] Definitely. Bex Scott: [00:17:13] Are there specific gemstones or materials commonly used in vintage jewelry that we don't see as often today? Lulu: [00:17:20] Yes. So this is a great question. And I immediately thought of Bakelite. I don't... Bex Scott: [00:17:26] Yeah. Lulu: [00:17:27] It's one of my favorite things to collect, as I've said many times, I'm a huge plastic collector. So Bakelite, 60s plastic, all of it I just love. And you really don't see Bakelite anymore because it's a type of plastic that had formaldehyde in it. And that wasn't, pretty much stopped using that after the 40s. And so it's very rare, hard to come by and really collectible. Bex Scott: [00:17:55] I think I have a Bakelite bracelet and, let me know if this is true, but somebody said that you can warm it up and it has a smell, and that's how you know, if it's Bakelite. Lulu: [00:18:05] So you have to like, you warm it up either, and like, I usually just like use my thumb on the Bakelite and just rub it a little and then it will smell like formaldehyde and, you know, it's Bakelite. So it's also like the, I don't know how to describe it other than the, like, softness of the plastic. It's a lot softer than other types of plastic. So it has a different feel as well. Bex Scott: [00:18:34] I'm going to go and smell all my bracelets now. So what advice do you have for someone who wants to start collecting vintage costume jewelry? Lulu: [00:18:49] Yeah. I think they should just collect what they love. Everyone should do their research and learn about the history if they want to collect specific designers. But I think by collecting what you love, you just, you're more passionate about it and you enjoy the pieces more. And it's not about, it's not always about a resale value. It's about how you enjoy the pieces as well. Bex Scott: [00:19:14] I like that, that's, I feel like can be applied to so many different things where especially with things like Pyrex, you collect what you like and there's people on groups who post and say is this a good price for it or should I get it? Should I leave it? And I always like the responses that are, well, if you like it, then nothing, nobody else's opinion should really matter. Just collect it because you want it in your home and you want to use it. And that's all that really matters. Lulu: [00:19:41] Exactly. And like Pyrex especially, it's something that you'll use often like we have like the butterfly set that was my fiance's grandparents and I just love them. Bex Scott: [00:19:57] That's so special. Lulu: [00:19:57] I, we use them every day. And so it's like a reminder of something of them, but also just that it's nice to have in your house. Bex Scott: [00:20:07] Yeah, I love that. And for people who have vintage costume jewelry, is there a good way to store the pieces to keep them in good condition? Lulu: [00:20:16] So I would suggest laying them flat when you can. I learned the very hard way not to keep a necklace on one of those, like necklace trees for a long time. It was this beautiful, like, beaded hand strung necklace. I went to put it on and it just completely broke. Bex Scott: [00:20:35] Oh, no. I never even thought of that. Maybe, does it make it weak? From sitting on the tree? Lulu: [00:20:42] The weight of it, of the beads. And because they were glass beads and like the thread over time, like it could wear. And so lay flat, not don't bend things harder if you have limited space, but just treat it as any other jewelry if you want it to last. You want to take good care of it. Bex Scott: [00:21:03] Yeah. What's the best way to clean the jewelry? Lulu: [00:21:06] That's a good question. I find for like, anything with like, sterling or like gold tone, you can get these like, polishing cloths. So I find that better than, like a sterling and... Bex Scott: [00:21:22] Like an actual paste or a cleaner or something. Yeah. Lulu: [00:21:25] I personally find it a lot better. It's hard with dust, so like you could use those cloths as well just to dust things, dust things off. But if you lay things flat and like in jewelry boxes, that's the best way to store and keep things clean because they're not out in areas collecting a lot of dust. Bex Scott: [00:21:45] That sounds good. I need to do some rearranging and shifting of how I have things stored now. Lulu: [00:21:52] It's okay. I mean, I do have a few things that are on top of each other, but. Bex Scott: [00:21:57] Yeah. Lulu: [00:21:57] It's best if you can. So you can give the piece some space. Bex Scott: [00:22:02] That sounds great. And where can people find you online to give you a follow? And where can they shop for your jewelry? Lulu: [00:22:09] Absolutely. So online I'm just on Instagram. It's at Lulu J vintage. You'll see my content as well as you can always send me a message if there's anything particular that you're looking for, because I only post a few of the pieces that I have either online or in store. And if you're in Calgary, I am at two local shops, so I'm at Joyce's Closet Boutique, which is in Kensington, and I'm at BEX Vintage and Mr. Mansfield's Vintage in the Beltline. They're really awesome mid-century furniture shop. Bex Scott: [00:22:46] Very cool. I've been meaning to go to all of those places. And just so everybody knows, the BEX Vintage has nothing to do with me. We are two separate people. Just in case. Just the same name. Awesome. Well, thank you so much Lulu for being on the podcast. I learned a ton today, and I can't wait to go and organize my jewelry and keep collecting. Lulu: [00:23:10] Thank you so much Bex, this is really great and nice to chat jewelry with you. Bex Scott: [00:23:16] Yeah. Everybody go and give Lulu a follow on Instagram. 

Hey, look at us, showing a little consistency with another episode at our regular interval. We've been smelling away, adding a few top-level wants and sentimental favorites to our collection, and lots to say about our first swap experience. We also discuss a few new releases, some exciting news from Italy, and a couple of trips down memory, sensory lane. Oh, and The Game, of course.Bakelite heirless biopic referenced in this episode - Savage Grace(00:00) - - Intro and Swap Recap (08:31) - - Random Bits of News and Releases (20:30) - - Early Reports from Esxence (26:18) - - Additions to Our Collections (37:43) - - Scents We've Been Wearing (47:55) - - The Game Scents Mentioned in this Episode:Green, M/Mink, and Unnamed by Byredo / Kyoto by Diptyque / Oudh Infini by Dusita / Whore by Marissa Zappas / Tolu by Ormonde Jayne / Gris Charnel by BDK Parfums / Verdades by Maison d'Etto / L'homme by YSL / Himitsu Violets by Régime des Fleurs / Spiky Muse by Ex Nihilo / Pulp by Byredo / Cosmic Cowboy by Perfumehead / Eau Folle by Le Galion / Incense Rori by Amouage / Cuir Velours by Naomi Goodsir / Tonka Latte by Dusita / Doliphor by Marlou / Les Cahier Secrets by Jouissance / Corpalium by Marlou / Velvet Iris by Essential Parfums / Reve d'Ossian by Oriza L Legrand / Fille En Aiguilles by Serge Lutens / Musc Tonkin by Parfum d'Empire / El and Ella by Arquiste / Baudelaire and Accord Oud by Byredo / Incense Kyoto by Comme des Garçons / Daim Blond and Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens / L'Astre by Le Galion / Nuit de Bakelite by Naomi Goodsir / Absinth by Nasomatto / Bois d'Encens by Giorgio Armani / Flaming Creature by Marissa Zappas / Belle Ame by Les Abstraits / Poivre Samarcande by Hermes / Dutura Noir and L'Air de Rien by Miller Harris / Monsieur, Musc Ravageur and Uncut Gem by Frederic Malle / Santal Majascule by Serge Lutens / Olympic Amber by Olympic Orchids  The GamePogostemon by Fiele Fragrances / Des Cendre by Les Abstraits / Le Cedre by Miller Harris / Bangla Yasaman by Isabelle Larignon / Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens / Gothic One by Loree Rodkin

**Discussion begins at 5:00**Plastic was invented in the early 20th century, with the first synthetic plastic being created in 1907 by Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland. He developed Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, which was a revolutionary material due to its ability to resist heat and electrical conductivity. Bakelite was initially used in electrical insulators, radios, and automotive parts.  Since that time, plastics have changed the world.  They are widely used in medical devices, and provide safe and sterile packaging for medical supplies, as well as extend the life of food and water.   It is cheap to produce, and more lightweight than older materials.  At the end of the 21st century there were mounting concerns about the environmental impact of plastic.  As a result, the general public was instructed to recycle and the idea that their discarded plastic was being reused, caused people to embrace the use of plastics.  I, for one, had the childhood chore of separating all of the recycling every Sunday night for pick up on Monday morning.  But what if I told you that 90% of plastics aren't even being recycled and that this government project promoting recycling was all a business tool used by big oil companies to pad their pockets?  Send us a textSupport the showTheme song by INDA

Shop Talk looks at a LinkedIn post from DEI expert and consultant Dr. Lauren Tucker. She is leaving the fight for justice behind, and we find her rationale has correlation with the fight for LGBTQ acceptance too. Caught My Eye looks at a cache of not seen segments from The Thunderbirds 1960's TV series. Also, the Boy Scouts are selling off property and artwork to pay for over 84,000 sexual abuse claims. Norman Rockwell and J. C. Leyendecker works are among the items up for auction. Leo Baekeland, the inventor Bakelite and Father of the Plastics Industry, is our Business Birthday.We're all business. Except when we're not.Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrCSpotify: spoti.fi/2pC19B1iHeart Radio: bit.ly/4aza5LWYouTube Music: bit.ly/43T8Y81Pandora: pdora.co/2pEfctjYouTube: bit.ly/1spAF5aAlso follow Tim and John on:Facebook: www.facebook.com/focusgroupradio

Suzanne's Virtual Assistant ServiceJoin my online school for eBay sellers here. Use coupon code 2022FREETRIAL$ for a limited free trial.Set up a consulting session Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.comEmail your comments, feedback, and constructive criticism to me at Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.comGet your BOLO Books in my eBay Store here. Join my private Facebook group here.Find me on YouTube here.Visit my website here.Happy Selling!Support the show

Women in Chemical's interviews Kimberly Goodwin, Account Manager, Bakelite, for Woman of the Week 07/22/2024.

This episode explores the history of plastic, highlighting key milestones from Parkesine and Bakelite to present-day sustainability efforts. It delves into the widespread impact of plastic on various industries and discusses the ongoing challenges of balancing plastic's benefits with environmental concerns.

Episode Notes Kim, H. K., & Nam June Paik Art Center. (2008). Nam June Paik. Nam June Paik Art Center. https://njpac-en.ggcf.kr/exhibition/nam-june-paik/ Electronic Arts Intermix. (n.d.). Nam June Paik: Bakelite Robot. Electronic Arts Intermix. https://www.eai.org/titles/bakelite-robot Tate. (n.d.). Nam June Paik: Bakelite Robot (2002) – Artwork details. Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/paik-bakelite-robot-t12764 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. (n.d.). Nam June Paik: Bakelite Robot (2002) – Exhibition Overview. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/nam-june-paik Nam June Paik Estate. (n.d.). Bakelite Robot. Nam June Paik Estate. http://www.paikstudios.com/pages/bakelite-robot The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). Nam June Paik. The Museum of Modern Art. https://www.moma.org/artists/4471 Harvard Art Museums. (n.d.). Paik, Nam June. Harvard Art Museums. https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/person/28226?person=28226 Centre Pompidou. (n.d.). Nam June Paik. Centre Pompidou. https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/ressources/personne/c8Gyjk MoMA PS1. (n.d.). Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot. MoMA PS1. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/4099 Smithsonian American Art Museum. (n.d.). Paik, Nam June. Smithsonian American Art Museum. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/nam-june-paik-3737 Find out more at https://three-minute-modernist.pinecast.co

In this episode of the Ducks Unlimited podcast, host Katie Burke interviews guest Rick Milligan, a call and decoy collector. Rick shares his passion for collecting and discusses those who served as mentors to him in the field. They also talk about an upcoming exhibition in the museum and delve into Rick's introduction to the outdoors and hunting. Tune in to hear Rick's journey as an outdoorsman and call collector.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

The commercial success of Bakelite extended beyond its utility as its distinctive appearance, became a hallmark of the Art Deco era and added another layer to Bakelite's rapid and widespread ...

On this day in 1909 Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite to the American Chemical Society. Having already earned a fortune selling his photographic patent to Kodak, the Belgian-born chemist had opened his own lab in Yonkers, experimenting with formaldehyde and phenol. The resulting material, which he called Bakelite, could be used in everything from toys to automobiles, and was marketed as ‘The Material of 1,000 Uses!' In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the explosive billiard balls of the post-ivory era; explain why plastic was a game-changer for the costume jewelry market; and reveal how the material played a surprising role in one of the great art crimes of the 20th century…  Further Reading: • The Story of Bakelite, the First Synthetic Plastic (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/story-of-synthetic-plastic-1991672 • ‘How plastic became a victim of its own success' (BBC, 2017): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41188462 • ‘How Bakelite Changed the World' (How Stuff Works, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnEtfdthmG0&t=13s Love the show? Join

Join my online school for eBay sellers here. Use coupon code 2022FREETRIAL$ for a limited free trial.Email your comments, feedback, and constructive criticism to me at Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.comGet your BOLO Books in my eBay Store here. Book a consulting session here.Join my private Facebook group here.Find me on YouTube here.Visit my website here.Happy Selling!Support the show

Back with a regular episode of random perfume thoughts and ramblings, a quick run-down on travel scents, and a handful of wishes for our holiday wishlists. Oh, and Jane tries to go lighter with her morning fragrances choices as opposed to her usual routine of bombing out the house with Amber Kiso and Oud Palao.All that and a lighter, friendly version of The Game... (00:00) - - Opening (14:50) - - Holiday Want Lists (27:46) - - Scents of the Week (38:42) - - The Game Fragrances mentioned in this episode:Ouranon by Aesop / Amber Kiso by DS & Durga / Eau d'Hadrien, Bois d'Hadrien, Le Chevrefeuill, and La Violette by Goutal Paris / Eau Papier, Olene, Eau Rose by Diptyque / Sunday Cologne by Byredo / Colonia by Acqua di Parma / Symphonique and Altar Candle by Byredo / Sellier and M/Mink by Byredo / Poudrextase by Marlou Paris / Rotano Candle by Maison d'Etto / Bo Candle by LIIS / Babycat by YSL / Oud Satin Mood and Gentle Fluidity Gold by Maison Francis Kurkdjian / Coromandel by Chanel / Melt my Heart and Lost In Flowers by Strangelove NYC / Salome, Anubis, Bengal Rouge, and Dryad by Papillon Artisan Perfumes / L'Eau d'Hiver, Une Rose, Heaven Can Wait, and Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle / Eau Capitale by Diptyque / En Passant by Frederic Malle / Fracas by Robert Piguet / Violet Here, Narcotico, and Odor 93 by Meo Fusciuni / Le Lion and Boy Chanel by Chanel / Bois d'Encens by Giorgio Armani / 212 by Carolina Herrera / Wonderwood by Comme des Garçon / Animalique, Oud Immortel, Inflorescence, and Rouge Chaotique by Byredo / Gloam by Aesop / Pura Lux by Chapel Factory / Copala by Xinú / Nuit de Bakelite, Iris Cendre, Corpus Equus, and Or du Serail by Naomi Goodsir / Sycamore by Chanel / Arbole, Arcadia, and Shangri La by Hiram Green / Eau de Minthé and Eau Rihla by DiptyqueThe Game:Médie by Maison Trudon / Himatsu by Regime des Fleurs / Cuir Velours by Naomi Goodsir / Vetyverso by Laboratorio Olfattivo / Dia Woman by Amouage / Eau Nabati by DiptyquePlease feel free to email us at hello@fragraphilia.com - Send us questions, comments, or recommendations. We can be found on TikTok and Instagram @fragraphilia

What you'll learn in this episode:   Why it's harder to find quality vintage and modern costume jewelry today than in years past How Rosie secured a spot as an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow  What Rosie looks for in the pieces she collects, wears and sells in her shop Where the term “costume jewelry” came from and its history Why Rosie is one of the only people in America who will repair costume jewelry   About Rosie Sayyah Rosie Sayyah has been selling and repairing vintage and estate jewelry from her shop, Rhinestone Rosie, in Seattle since 1984. In the early 1980s, Rosie felt her family tradition of dealing in antiques calling to her. Upon leaving her corporate career in television, she decided to open a jewelry store that not only had unique, exciting items for sale, but also where she could restore greatness to jewelry that had fallen into disrepair. Teaching herself about vintage costume and estate jewelry culture and repair through books, hobby shops, and hands-on experience, Rosie has become a national expert in the field. In the late 1990s, she began appearing regularly on “Antiques Roadshow” on PBS TV and continues today as one of their expert appraisers.   Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com   Additional resources: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter Transcript: Rosalie Sayyah, aka Rhinestone Rosie, first got jewelry lovers' attention as an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. But she has earned her customers' loyalty for her ability to repair vintage costume jewelry and perfectly match missing rhinestones when no one else can. She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about why so few jewelers will repair costume jewelry; what she looks for in the pieces she buys; and how to start a costume jewelry collection of your own. Read the episode transcript here.   Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the first part of a two-part episode. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it's released later this week.   Today, I'm talking with Rhinestone Rosie. You may already be familiar with Rosie. She has her own retail outlet in Seattle, and she does a strong mail order business. You may be familiar with her by seeing her on Antiques Roadshow giving the price of vintage jewelry to people who want to know.    All I know is that whenever I have a piece and I can't find the stone that's the right size, or I know it would be impossible to find the right kind, the color of the stone, or I know it's out of production—maybe it's a really old piece—I turn to her. She hasn't let me down yet. Many of her stones are out of stock elsewhere, but somehow she manages to find them. We'll hear all about her business today. Welcome to the program.   Rosie: Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. I love to talk about jewelry.   Sharon: I'm so glad you're here. How did you choose the name Rhinestone Rosie?   Rosie: It was kind of a joke. I was an English minor in college, and alliteration is something that's very memorable. I was dealing with my sister over the mail. She was sending me pieces and I would sell them. Just as a joke, I signed a check Rhinestone Rosie and it stuck.    Sharon: So, from the get-go, from day one, the name of your business was Rhinestone Rosie.   Rosie: That's right. That's correct.   Sharon: Does Rhinestone Rosie refer to any kind of costume jewelry stones or just rhinestones?   Rosie: Oh no, we deal with all kinds of jewelry. Beads and metals and pearls, all materials, and actually all ages. We do a lot of repairs. In our shop, our inventory goes from, I would say, the 1870s through present day.   Sharon: I know you have some pretty old vintage pieces, but I don't know how old the antique line goes. A hundred years?   Rosie: Exactly.   Sharon: When did you first become attracted to rhinestones?   Rosie: It's hard to say. My parents had a secondhand business, and they repaired things and sold them. This was in Orlando, Florida. I helped my mom reupholster furniture, and sometimes in the old furniture, we would find a piece of jewelry and she would give it to me. It wasn't always rhinestones. I collected rocks when I was a kid, and they always had cut glass in the store. They had a secondhand store, and I just loved that cut glass. I've always liked shiny things, so that must have been what led me to this.   Sharon: And that includes all the shiny costume jewelry.   Rosie: Exactly, yes. And I like to work with my hands. I've been doing that since I was a little girl. So, working with things, that was just a natural offshoot.   Sharon: How did you get into the repair aspect of it? From your parents?   Rosie: No, actually after I had my baby, Lucia, I had a friend who had a vintage store in Seattle, and I would help her. I would bring home clothing and patterns and do mending on clothes, and she always had broken jewelry. I asked her one day, “Do you ever fix this?” She goes, “Oh, nobody really does. I do it once in a while.” So, I did some research and found out that nobody really repaired this jewelry. I thought, “Hmm, this is something I can do,” and I went to the local hobby shop, the guys that did model cars and model airplanes. They told me what lead solders to use, what glues to use, what paints to use. They were very helpful. They told me all kinds of stuff. I'm self-taught, so there it is. I bought a bunch of books and read the books. I learned how to knot in between beads and practiced through trial and error. I had to go through a lot of stuff.   Sharon: But you did this all yourself. As you were saying, there aren't that many other places that do it.   Rosie: No, I don't think there's a full business anywhere that does it. A lot of dealers will do some of their own. A lot of my contemporaries who did similar things have all either passed on or decided to go a different route. I think I've got a monopoly on it.   Sharon: I don't know anybody else who does it or has a store like yours, but I didn't want to say it without knowing for sure.   Rosie: I think you're right.   Sharon: That's why I'm surprised you're not in New York.   Rosie: Oh, no, we left Florida in 1973. We got as far across the country as we could. We wanted a big city, which Seattle is, and water and a temperate climate. We ended up settling here.    Sharon: It sounds like you made the right choice, but in terms of jewelry and being surrounded by jewelry, I think of New York first, Chicago maybe.   Rosie: I know. A lot of my contemporaries on the Road Show are from back East. I am an anomaly for sure, but it is what it is. That's what I do and I do it well, if I might say.   Sharon: I know in my jewelry cabinet, I have a pile of things and say, “Oh, that should go to Rhinestone Rosie's because I know she can fix it. There's nobody else that does that.” Until I found you, there were pieces I would toss or, like you're saying, give away or just say, “I can't do anything with it.”   Rosie: Exactly, I remember. You did come into my shop. It was a pleasure to meet you in person one time. We did close for about three months during the pandemic. Now we're only open three days a week in the brick-and-mortar store, although our online is still going on. I have people coming in almost daily with their pile of stuff that's been saved for two or three years. They're finally in the shop to get fixed.   Sharon: That's interesting. I noticed that you're only open a few days a week, which seemed to be fewer than before.   Rosie: Yes.   Sharon: What percentage of your business is mail order?   Rosie: I would say mail order and repair—because we do local repair. Of course, people walk in, and then people mail us things from all over the world. I think it's about a 50/50 split, for online sales and for walk-in sales and repair.   Sharon: Wow! I have a friend who was a little hesitant about sending something that was precious to them. It wasn't a precious item, but it was precious to them. I did it. I didn't have any compunction. She did it, too. Where do you source the stuff you have, your vintage pieces? Where do you get them?   Rosie: People just bring it into the store. Sometimes, I'll go to a yard sale or something and pick a piece, but mostly it's people that are downsizing or someone just passed. The family has chosen the pieces they want. Sometimes there's even a note in the collection, “Take this to Rhinestone Rosie.” It's kept me going, and I don't have to go out and beat the bushes.   Sharon: That's great. Have you found it's harder to get things in or harder to find things because costume jewelry—   Rosie: Oh yeah, the good stuff. I know there were a lot of manufacturers at the time, but I'd say the high-end pieces are in collectors' hands, and they go from one collector to another collector. They're not normally available in the market. Every once in a while, you will see that someone found something in a box of junk or something. What was so fun on the Road Show is uncovering something like that, but most of the time, it's hard. It's hard to find the good stuff, so you've got to change your focus. Right now, it's more modernist and clean lines, big, chunky necklaces. It's different than it was in, say, the 20s, 30s and 40s. Some people change.   Sharon: Do you think that costume jewelry has become more popular over the years or right now?   Rosie: People need to learn about the vintage pieces because there are lots of ones like dress clips or fur clips. They have a different way of attaching to the fabric, shall we say, but today a lot of stuff is coming out of China and Korea. There are very, very good contemporary artists making costume jewelry.   Sharon: With eBay and all the online sources, do you think it's harder to find? People know what they have, let's say.   Rosie: I don't think they know what they have, but I think there's a lot of the lower-end stuff. You could buy costume jewelry in a dime store. You could buy it in a pharmacy. You could buy it in a department store. You could buy it at a jewelry story. Jewelry stores and department stores usually sold the best quality. A lot of people bought the lower-end pieces because they were cheap, 10¢, 25¢, sometimes $1. I've seen more of that and less of the higher-end pieces.   Sharon: The audience can't see this, but maybe you'll send a picture. You have a beautiful Juliana necklace on. Do you think people know if they have a piece of jewelry on, I shouldn't bring that to you, I should try and sell it elsewhere?   Rosie: It's funny because they say, “I didn't think you wanted that big, ugly stuff. It's too gaudy,” and I'm like, “I want that. I want big, bold and ugly.” This is what people don't understand, especially in the plastics. It's very hard to find good Bakelite and celluloid and other plastics these days because people just toss them. But if they have something like the necklace I have on, I think it would give them pause, and they would bring something like that to me and I would be glad.   Sharon: As the market changes, like you mentioned, if it's cleaner lines or contemporary, do you change with it?   Rosie: Oh sure. Part of my job, Sharon, is educating people on what they have, how to wear it, where it came from, when it was made, what the materials are. I'll have someone come in. Let's say they're going to a wedding and they want a pair of earrings, and they think rhinestones can only be that clear, diamond-looking thing. When they walk in the shop, they realize it can be red, green, blue, purple with an iridescent coating like the necklace I have on, and they go out with a green pair of earrings instead of the clear ones. My job is not only educating people on what they have, but how to wear it, how to take care of it and, yes, it can be fixed. Don't let your high-end jeweler tell you that it can't be fixed. Just keep looking and you'll find me.   Sharon: That's really true. I have found that a lot of high-end jewelers tell me they can't do anything, and somebody who's more an engineering type feels they can do something with it. They can fix it.   Rosie: Exactly, yeah. I spend a lot of time re-repairing things that someone else did. “My father soldered it or my husband,” or “I used this kind of glue.” A lot of our repairs are removing the glue and old solder and getting it down to a basic where I can rebuild it back.   Sharon: Is it you or does somebody else work with you on repairs?   Rosie: Me and my daughter, we both do it in the shop. We don't send it out. We don't work with gold, and we don't do silver solder. We do lead solder. But yeah, these hands, that's what they do.   Sharon: Did you approach Antiques Roadshow or did they find you?   Rosie: It's funny. In 1997, they did the first launch of the program, and Seattle was one of the test cities. Some of my mentors who do fine antique jewelry said, “Rosie, you should have been there. We had so much costume jewelry come in and we didn't know what to tell people.” Long story short, my background is in television. I used to be a producer. I made commercials, and I knew the producer was the one to call.    So, I called WGBH, a guy named Peter, and I said, “Hey, my name is Rhinestone Rosie,” and there was a beat. I said, “I'm not a stripper. I can walk and talk at the same time. I'm fairly presentable on camera and I know about costume jewelry.” He said, “Yes, we would love to have you.” So, in 1998 in Portland, Oregon, it was my first show. I don't think I taped. I was a little bit afraid. I've always been behind the camera, not in front of the camera, but I got over that pretty quick. Yeah, I did call him up and I said, “You need me.” I did it for 20 years.   Sharon: That's sort of connected to this question. I didn't know how to phrase it, but it seems to me that a lot of stylists would come in and say, “I'm doing a 40s show. What do I need?” Does that ever happen, that you have a stylist come in?   Rosie: It happened a lot more before the pandemic. Whether things changed in that industry, I don't know, but yes, we had a lot of stylists or a magazine shoot. If they were doing a shoot, they would come in and pick out pieces. We used to rent our pieces, but we don't do that anymore because people just wouldn't return them. But yes, we get stylists. We would get theater seamstresses, the designers, the costume makers for theaters. We didn't get a lot of movie people in, but maybe this'll help. We can help them if they need us.   Sharon: Is it hard to decide what color or what kind of jewelry somebody should have?    Rosie: What I do is ask them about their lifestyle and what they want the piece for. I look at them. I see how they're dressed, how their hair is cut, and I can pretty well sus out if they're an edgy person or they're a modest person, kind of timid. We have tiny, little earrings, big, bold, down-to-the-shoulder dusters, and you can usually tell by talking to someone. Someone who's got nose piercings and whole-body tattoos, they're not going to go for something real mild.    You can pick up on their body language. That's helped me a lot, plus I encourage people to bring in outfits and put them on. It's like the Barbie doll thing, just dress them and put jewelry on. They can try it on, and if the necklace is too short, we can adjust things. We can change earrings. Most of our earrings are clip-on or screw-back. We can change them to pierced if they want. We do that with our jewelry, or we can do it with your jewelry.   Sharon: What's your return policy if they decide they want to take it home and try it?   Rosie: They get a store credit.   Sharon: A few of the pieces don't work. Maybe it's your daughter who told me that something wouldn't work. I can't even tell the stone apart from the original stones. How do you decide that? How do you decide if it's going to work? Can you tell us about some of the pieces that haven't worked, where you've had to come back to somebody and say, “I can't find anything”?   Rosie: Some of the older stones, I would say pre-1910 to the late 1800s, a lot of those stones, I can't find. I've taken stones out of pieces. I try very hard. If the piece comes in and the stone I'm matching is slightly discolored, I'm not going to put a brand new, shiny stone in its place. I will try to find in my pile of stones one that is slightly discolored. I try very hard to match it.   But, yeah, there are times when we just can't fix a clasp or it's in a place that's too thick for us to solder or the thread is so weak and the restringing cost is prohibitive. We do understand sentimental value. We try to let people know that we appreciate what they have and we understand. It doesn't matter to us if it cost 25¢. If it's important to you, it's important to us. So, if we honestly can't fix it, we tell them, “No, we can't fix it. We can't help you.”   Sharon: How did you get your inventory? You have quite an inventory of stones that you can put in pieces.   Rosie: 40 years. I do have a source for new stones. Sometimes I'll even go to Etsy and try to find something, but I've taken a lot of stones out of pieces. There have also been people through the years—like there was a lady who made earrings that sold in Nordstrom. Her name was Nellie, and she called me up and said, “I'm going out of business. Would you consider buying some of my stones?” That kind of thing. Jewelry stores have back inventory. When they close, I love to go in and dig around in their storerooms.   But I can't buy stones that are unfoiled. I don't do a lot of that because if you glue an unfoiled stone in, the foil is what makes a rhinestone shine. It's like a little mirror. So, if it has no foil on it, I can't really use it. A lot of stones out there have no foil backing, and I can't use those. But most of time, it's just here and there. People hear about me, or they have a hobby or they know somebody who's fixed their own jewelry and they're wanting to sell. I'll look and see what they have, and I'll pick and choose what I might use.   Sharon: Did you have any reservations about opening this kind of store in Seattle?   Rosie: No. I had it all over the kitchen table, and my husband said, “Hey, you'd better start a business because this has taken over our house.” I had no idea how to do it, but all I needed was the license. I shared space. Actually, right next door to where my shop is now, I was in the front of her store. I just had a desk and some jewelry behind me.    Now, this is a really good story. Again, my background is television, but I also have a degree in advertising and public relations. So, I printed up business cards and marched into I. Magnin and Frederick & Nelson and the major boutiques in downtown Seattle. I said, “This is what I do. I can help you,” and I walked out of every place with something to repair. That gave me street cred, so I could say, “I repair jewelry for I. Magnin or Nordstrom.”    I've never been afraid of talking about my abilities to do what we do and that we do it well, and I've always been true and honest and open to my customers. I learned that from my parents. That's how they ran their business. I started with very little cash. I didn't get any loans. It was a bootstrap business, and it's grown to what it is. I'm very proud of it.   Sharon: As I was putting these questions together, I kept asking myself, “What are you doing in Seattle?”   Rosie: Why in Seattle? I just ended up where I was.    Sharon: It's a nice place, but I wouldn't think of it as the first place I'd open anything.   Rosie: We're busy enough. There's a lot of money in Seattle and there are a lot of people. They might dress in Gore-Tex or flannel or whatever, but they like a little bit of bling. The thing is it belonged to grandma or Aunt Masie or somebody, so it's sentimental. It's not always something they're going to wear all the time. I don't wear jewelry all the time, but it's something you look at and hold and treasure. I wanted to preserve that for people.   Sharon: You don't wear jewelry all the time. That's interesting. I don't have jewelry on today. A lot of times I realize I don't have any jewelry on. People used to say, “Well, you're the kind of person who wouldn't go out without earrings.” Do you stop and put on a vintage piece?   Rosie: Well, I'm not an earring girl. I wear rings, watches, necklaces and brooches. Usually, I only wear them when I'm in the shop or if I'm giving a talk, a lecture. I do a lot of lecturing for groups about the history and culture of rhinestones. Sometimes I'll even dress totally vintage, the shoes, the hat, the dress, the jewelry, usually from the 40s. That's what my era seems to be. This is a 50s, 60s necklace I have on. Of course, when I did the Roadshow, I always wore jewelry and people loved it. I would get so many emails, “I love your jewelry. That's cool.”    Sharon: I always say something. If he's watching the show, “Oh, it's Rhinestone Rosie.” I can see why the jewelry gets attention.   Rosie: Oh, yeah.   Sharon: Do you collect anything?    Rosie: I didn't start as a collector. I started as a merchant, so my collection is just based on what I learned about. Since I did so much lecturing, I liked to have a piece of almost every major name that I could show to people. I do have that type of a collection. For some reason, I collect vintage watches. I have maybe 50 watches. It's insane.    As far as jewelry, I think my whole collection is very modest because I purge occasionally. I find if I'm not wearing it, I will take it to the shop. We'll sell it, and people get excited when they find out it is something I have worn and loved. I don't mind doing it. I'm not afraid to separate myself from some major pieces. Right now, I'm more into the clean, modernist lines, a lot of metals. Mexican 40s jewelry I really like to wear. Usually my clothes are very simple, one color, and then the jewelry is the standout part of it.   Sharon: Do you think that older Mexican jewelry is included in modernist?   Rosie: In what?   Sharon: In modernist?    Rosie: Oh yes, they were influenced by it greatly. In the 40s and 50s, some of that jewelry is –   Sharon: It is beautiful.   Rosie: Yeah, I would say it's definitely influenced by a modernist approach, yes. It shows in the Pre-Columbian and the Spanish people that came over, but that's what makes it intriguing. Look at Georg Jensen. You can have that flow, that feel in the 40s Mexican pieces. I have seen new designers make pieces that take my breath away. They're crazy, like things that wrap around your neck and stand out, nothing I could possibly wear, but I certainly appreciate.    I don't know what we would call today's costume jewelry. This term came about because Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, they made costumes. Their clothing was costume, and they said, “It needs something.” So, the jewelry that went with it, the term costume jewelry came from that happening.   Sharon: That's interesting. What if they had made it out of real pearls and real gold?   Rosie: Chanel combined both. She wasn't afraid to wear costume and fine jewelry at the same time. As matter of fact, the word rhinestone—the best costume or stones came out of Europe, near the Rhine River. The first piece of rhinestone was a water-washed piece of crystal that came from the Rhine River. So, the name rhinestone has become ubiquitous, like Kleenex or anything like that. It is actually from a piece of crystal from the Rhine River, because the best stuff still does come out of Europe.   Sharon: That's interesting.   Rosie: They make the very best. Certain brands or names in costume jewelry use these incredible stones. You just can't find them anymore. They don't make them anymore.   Sharon: We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out.

Join my online school for eBay sellers here. Use coupon code 2022FREETRIAL$ for a limited free trial.Support this podcast and get a shout out on a future episode!https://www.buzzsprout.com/1742523/supportEmail your comments, feedback, and constructive criticism to me at Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.comGet your BOLO Books in my eBay Store here. Book a consulting session here.Join my private Facebook group here.Find me on YouTube here.Visit my website here.Happy Selling!25 Minutes of Unfinished Business, hosted by Alex BrayshawThe reason I've created Unfinished Business is because I'm passionate about business...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Amiga, Let's TalkConversations about women issues, primarily in relationships and in business. On the...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

Bakelite was discovered in 1907. Nylon was discovered in 1935, polyethylene in 1936, Kevlar in 1966. All of these discoveries were revolutionary and had years of work put into their discovery. Each major discovery is years apart. Maybe scientists took a trial-and-error approach, trying new ideas until they worked. Maybe some materials were discovered by accident. What if discovering new polymers was possible in just a few minutes?    In today's episode, we discuss AI-assisted polymer discovery with Dr. Rishi Gurnani, Technology Development Lead at Matmerize. Check out the links below to see how to use Matmerize's AI tool, PolymRize. Specifically, we discuss:   

Dutch painter Han van Meegeren has often been described as a dapper man, with, quote, “a small, birdlike frame constantly aflutter, and irreverent sense of humor.” His life story is anything but small. It's not just about art; it's about deception, fortune, Bakelite, and … Nazis. And, it has an unexpected twist at the end. Welcome to a new season of forgery and forgers, here on Criminalia. Executive Producers: Maria Trimarchi and Holly FreyProducer & Editor: Casby BiasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What you'll learn in this episode:   How art history and jewelry history interact How Jan's experience as a historian helped her write her first book, and what she learned from self-publishing Why sweetheart jewelry became popular during World War II, and why few people today know what it is How Jan draws on her theater background to connect with and educate museum goers How museum education and jewelry history developed into their own fields   About Jan Krulick-Belin   Jan Krulick-Belin, a museum and art consultant and art and jewelry historian, has more than forty years of experience at such institutions as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Denver Art Museum, Beaumont (Texas) Art Museum, and Smithsonian Institution. Retired as director of education at the Phoenix Art Museum, she still works with museums, art organizations, and private collectors and served as guest curator at the Sylvia Plotkin Judaica Museum, Phoenix.   Additional Resources  Facebook: www.facebook.com/JanKrulick Website: www.jankrulick.com Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/jankrulickbelin Twitter: @JanKrulickBooks   Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com    Transcript As an art and jewelry historian and museum educator, Jan Krulick-Belin was uniquely qualified to follow the surprising journey she went on to write her first book, “Love, Bill: Finding my Father Through Letters from World War II.” Bringing together her knowledge of World War II-era culture and  her research skills, writing the book was a labor of love. She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about her tips for self-publishing; what sweetheart jewelry is and why it became so popular during World War II; and what it was like to be at the forefront of the museum education field. Read the episode transcript here.    Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the first part of a two-part episode. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it's released later this week.    One of the eternal questions is whether one has to be a jewelry historian to appreciate the background of jewelry. Do you have to be a jeweler to appreciate jewelry? My guest, Jan Krulick-Belin, can answer all our questions. She is an independent museum educator and a jewelry historian. She is also the author of a book called “Love, Bill: Finding my Father Through Letters from World War II.” She most likely would not have been able to diligently research or write the book without being a historian. Being a historian was important to her becoming a museum educator, jewelry historian and an author. She'll weave the pieces for us together in today's jewelry journey. Jan, welcome to the podcast.   Jan: Thanks, Sharon. It's great to be with you again.   Sharon: I'm glad you could make it this time. I know you've been traveling all over the world. Every year, you go somewhere exotic and wonderful.   Jan: We try.   Sharon: I know you came back from the Netherlands for the Vermeer exhibit.   Jan: The Johannes Vermeer exhibition, which was a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit that was amazing to have been able to bring together. I think it was 28 of the 36 or 37 known or attributed works by Johannes Vermeer. There will never be anything like it again, so I was happy to go. I'm also very fascinated by Dutch painting and have actually lectured on jewelry in Dutch paintings.   Sharon: Were you able to learn anything this time around?   Jan: I had the opportunity, as I said, to see a lot of his paintings together in one place, side by side, and I had the luxury to really look at them longer than most other opportunities. I think the way they did the exhibition, they encouraged looking. There was no audio guide. You weren't allowed to go through on a tour. There was very little labeling. It was all about looking carefully. To me, looking is part of learning.   Sharon: As a jewelry historian and an art historian, which one was more important in this exhibit?   Jan: Probably the art historian part of it comes first because I think the focus of the exhibition was to understand this artist's work, what made it different than other work at the same time period during the Dutch Golden Age. What was his focus? His interest in light? His interest in painting about love and relationships and religion or nonreligion? His interest in optics? All of those things came into play in understanding his work. I think the art history brain was working a little harder than the jewelry history brain.   Sharon: Do you think of art history as your vocation or your avocation, and jewelry history as an avocation?   Jan: That's a good one. I'm trained academically as an art historian and a museum educator. That is what I spent most of my professional career doing. Jewelry history, as a field, came a little bit later, almost towards the end of my formal work in the museum setting. It was something I've always been interested in and attracted to. My mother loved jewelry. As a little girl, I can always remember diving into her jewelry drawers when she wasn't paying attention. The attraction to jewelry has always been there.   In the last few years, working my last job as education direction at the Phoenix Art Museum, the museum did fundraisers every year which involved an art and antique show. That's where I met some important people in the jewelry business who had booths there. In conversation with them, they told me about a program that was run every summer back east called Jewelry Camp. I think Sharon could smile because that's where we first met. I decided that when I stopped working full-time, I would take the opportunity and attend. That was the beginning of diving into this offshoot of art history.    It's all related. Art history involves not only paintings and sculptures, but the decorative arts. Jewelry is one of those decorative art forms, and I think they go hand-in-hand. It was an avocation at first, but now I'm lecturing in both, so I guess it's now become a vocation. It's gone around full circle.    Sharon: Do you think that once you write a book on jewelry and jewelry history, it will become more of a vocation?   Jan: Oh gosh, that's a good question. The book you mentioned, my first and only book, had absolutely nothing to do with either one of these two things. People kept saying, “What's your next book?” and I thought, “Oh, God.” It was such a process getting one book out that I thought, “That's it,” but I have been playing around with an idea. I've been doing research towards it. I'm not sure yet if I'll ever bring it to fruition, but it does relate to art history and jewelry history, so it's more in my wheelhouse. It's more of an art historical, jewelry historical fiction. We'll see how it turns out. It is based on an actual diamond that existed and disappeared shortly before World War II, when it was stolen in Paris. I'm playing with the idea. Maybe finally I can bring in all the things I've done professionally and for fun into my writing.   Sharon: That's a fascinating book. I can't wait to read it. It sounds like an interesting subject. You talked about the fact that you couldn't have written the first book you wrote, “Love Bill.” You went through all your father's—who you never met, who died when you were six.   Jan: Six, yes.   Sharon: How did being a historian play into that?   Jan: Number one, for the audience members who aren't familiar with the book, being a historian and understanding basic research skills and diving into primary source documents and that type of thing was necessary. It never started out as a book. I joke about it when I speak to groups; I'm kind of an accidental author.    My dad did die when I was only six years old. A year or so before my mother passed, she mentioned that she had saved all the love letters he had written her from World War II and that she had been saving them for me. That was an interesting occurrence in and of itself because my mom hardly ever talked about my father growing up. I don't know if it was grief or if she didn't want to get into it. As I wandered down this lengthy path of family and family secrets, there were things she did not want me to find out about. Obviously, had I read all the letters in her presence before she passed, the questions and answers that she didn't want to talk about probably would have had to come out. She gave me the letters when we were moving her into assisted living, and she made me promise I wouldn't read them until after she was gone. It took about another five years for me to gather up the courage and the emotional want to sift through the letters.    It really started out as a journey of understanding who my father was. The more I got into it, my interest in visiting all the places he was stationed during the war grew, as well as my interest in trying to track down a very close friend he made while he was stationed in Morocco in North Africa at the very beginning of the Americans' involvement in the war. I had all these crazy ideas of, “Oh, I'm going to find this man and his family,” blah, blah, blah. As I was going on this actual journey and doing the research to try to find this person and to learn more about my father's time in the army and all of that—research, as I said—I was telling people the story. As the events were getting more and more interesting and crazy and incidental and miraculous, everybody was telling me what a great book it would be.    It's all fun when people tell you, “Oh, you should write a book. It's the easiest thing in the world to sit down and do.” In my professional career, I've done lots of writing, but not a book. I started warming to the idea. I have two nieces who are very special to me. They obviously never met their grandfather, and I decided it would be something I would do and give them a little bit of their legacy, as well as finally understanding my own legacy more. So, it did turn into a book and learning about that world and how you go about self-publishing and marketing and all of that. That was a whole new world for me. I always say now I divide my life into my author, World War II journey, and the other is my art and jewelry history world.   Sharon: You talked about something that I would have done if I had been writing this book, and that is putting it down and saying, “I can't do it. Forget it.”   Jan: I can be a wonderful procrastinator. I think there is that element in all of us. In this time period, the journey began when I stopped working full time in the museum world. I was picking up projects and doing consulting. When somebody asked me to do a project, it was much easier to say yes to that because that was familiar, and then I could push the book aside. But after a number of years of constantly pushing it aside, every time I went back to it, I noticed that I'd lose my train of thought and my voice would change, and the author's voice is so important in writing a book. So, I finally said, “O.K., that's it. I'm not going to take any new projects. I'm going to do it,” and that's what I did.    It's like anything else. It's a discipline. I literally sat down at my desk in the morning, just like I was going to work, from 8:30 or 9 in the morning until 5. I said, “O.K., if I get a page today, great. If I get 10 or 15 pages, even better.” That's what people were telling me in the author world. A lot of writers I was meeting at author groups I got involved with here in the Phoenix area, they said you just push, and it's not easy.   I do remember I had a wonderful professor in graduate school who actually was the founder of the museum education program at George Washington University, which I attended. One time I said to her, “This is hard,” when she gave a writing assignment. She goes, “Why did you ever think writing was easy?” It was like, “Boom!” It was a revelation to me. I just assumed that people who sat down and wrote books and articles and doctoral theses and all of that, they could just whip it out. It's not like that. I was able to take a deep breath and go, “O.K., that's what editors are for, so just do the best you can.” That's what I did. I just pushed through.   Sharon: I remember when we first met, we were having breakfast and you told us about the idea for the book. I thought, “Oh, yeah, when I see it, I'll believe it,” and you've written the book.   Jan: Yeah, it took a few years from the time we first met, but as I said, I just decided to do it at one point. You realize when you're up in the middle of the night and you can't shut off your brain and you have all these ideas going. It wouldn't let me go.    In a way, I feel like my dad was sitting on my shoulder. The one thing I learned about him in working on the project was that he always wanted to be a writer himself. His dream was to own a bookstore. There's this little part of me who felt like he was a part of the process. He was there guiding me. So many strange and wonderful things happened during that whole journey. I felt like he was there opening doors for me, things that were coincidental or almost miraculous, the things that would happen. I followed that path and those signposts until I finally had this finished project. It was exciting. Of all the things I've accomplished in my whole career at all levels, I think I'm proudest that I've published a book and it's done well in terms of critical review.   Sharon: I give you a lot of credit.    Jan: Thank you.   Sharon: Do you think that's related to your interest in sweetheart jewelry? First, explain what that is, then, does that have a connection?   Jan: The idea of sweetheart jewelry really started during World War I, but by World War II, it became a full-blown thing. During World War II, a lot of precious materials and metals and things like that were rationed for the war effort, things like pearls and crystals and rhinestones and diamonds. All of these things were unavailable due to the war and shortages, and there were enemy countries we couldn't trade with anymore for some of those raw materials.    So, there was a new type of jewelry. Women's clothing was rationed. Women were wearing very simple, very straight, very—shall we say—boring clothing during the war, and they felt that they needed to glam it up and jazz it up a bit. The type of jewelry that became very popular was whimsical and made with fun materials like plastics, Bakelite, wood, metals, fabrics, textiles. They were also buying and making and designing things with patriotic imagery. It was part of boosting morale in this country during the war. It was a way to lift your own spirits and look a little more glamorous or more fun in your dress. A lot of these things, because they were fairly inexpensive, were sold to raise money for the war effort. On the flip side, you could buy things here in the States, but GIs overseas were also able to pick up things that would say, “My sweetheart,” or “Mom,” those kinds for things, for the women in their lives back home.    It's a really interesting type of jewelry. This time period was short-lived in a way, but it said a lot about who we were in America during the war and how we felt and what we thought about those servicemen overseas. Some of them are really fun. Maybe a GI would buy a pin for his girlfriend, and it was a picture of a soldier with a heart that would say, “I'm taken,” just to remind men who were left behind in the States that she's got somebody overseas. There are some wonderful themes. You'll see a lot of “V for Victory” pins.    So, it was something I started learning about. My very first piece of sweetheart jewelry I found was actually by accident. I didn't know what it was. It turned out it was what I now know is called a MacArthur Heart. It was a pin that actually wound up on the cover of Life Magazine. It was a large heart with a keyhole, and it was suspended from a skeleton key. It was red Bakelite, and as I said, it wound up on a model on the cover of Life Magazine in the early 40s. They said, “General MacArthur holds the key to our future and the key to our hearts and minds.”    I found it at a flea market; I didn't know what it was. Someone at Jewelry Camp said, “Hey, that thing is really important. Do you know what it is?” I said, “A heart? I don't know.” That's what happened. So, I started looking it up, and I was fascinated by this whole area of jewelry. I have really started collecting it. Once I got involved in working on my dad's story and on the book, I was even more into all things World War II. It was like two parts of my world and my life coming together in one thing, which was an interesting occurrence. I still collect it. Each of the different branches of the armed services had their own, even including the women's armed services divisions. They each had their own type of sweetheart jewelry, and I've collected a lot. Dad was in the Army Air Corps, so I do focus a lot on Army Air Corps-related sweetheart jewelry, but other stuff as well if it is interesting or fun or something I don't have already.   Sharon: Do you find that, since most people don't know what it is, you find it at flea markets or antique stores?   Jan: All of the above. Once eBay came along, you can find a lot of things on eBay that required you to hunt in flea markets and antique malls and antique stores. A lot of people don't know what they are, so quite often if I scan a case and see one, I will educate the person who has the booth because they don't know what it is. You can find it anywhere else you'd go look for antique jewelry.    Sweetheart jewelry was also made by some of the high-end houses. Cartier is known for making a handful of very famous sweetheart jewels that they designed and sold around the war. Again, fine materials were difficult to come by, but when France was occupied by Germany, Cartier did a very subversive brooch called the Caged Bird Brooch. It is a little bird in a cage, and the colors of the stones on the bird were red, white and blue, the colors of the French flag. When France was liberated, they developed what they called the Freed Bird Brooch, which is the cage door swung open and the bird looks like it's about to come out. Tiffany made some wonderful pieces as well. Gips did a great bracelet. They also made cuffs that had gold and silver stars on them.    We know during the war and still to this day, we talk about a gold star family. During the war, you would fly a banner in your window. You would have a blue star on the banner for each service person in your family overseas or serving in the armed services. A silver star would mean somebody was wounded in action, and a gold star meant you lost somebody who was killed in action. So, Tiffany made a cuff bracelet with gold stars on it. It wasn't only the cheaper variety and costume jewelry, but that was more prevalent and much more pervasive during this time period.    Sharon: Did people know what they were buying?   Jan: Oh, yes. It was definitely a conscious decision. As I said, it was a way to support the war effort. It was a way to show the pride you had if you had a loved one in the service overseas. As I said, the GIs were able to buy this stuff. There was a lot of stuff being sold at canteens on the bases, particularly in the Pacific theater. There was a lot of mother-of-pearl jewelry that would say “Mother” on it or “Sweetheart.” There was wooden stuff or even trench art. Soldiers were making jewelry from artillery shells or whatever things they could get their hands on and sending them back home just send their love and say, “I'm here. I'm O.K. We're doing our part.” It was very common knowledge then; not so much now.   Sharon: Now, people don't know what it is.   Jan: I have a lecture on it because it is something that people are very interested in once you start telling them about it. I've had people come up to me and show me stuff they've had, that their mothers or grandmothers or aunts had and left, and they didn't know what it was. I said, “Well, that's a piece of sweetheart jewelry.” They had no idea what it was.    Sharon: That's interesting. We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out.

I love the old days where the table was laid properly... a milk jug, a sugar bowl, a butter dish, serviettes in metal rings. Who remembers the picnic hamper? Bakelite cups and plates, sandwiches and Smiths crisps. I really do miss those happy days!

In this first ever episode of Fragraphilia, the Podcast, we overcome a restless baby, powers outages and hail, and most of all, our complete lack of experience in recording and editing audio files for this podcast. Despite it all, we talk about our scents of the week, what it would take for us to blind buy something (with a nod to Les Oderants), and finally, our first attempt at "The Game" (name tbd later) where we blind test samples and give our honest thoughts and reviews.Fragrances mentioned in this episode: Nuit de Bakelite by Naomi Goodsir / Rimbaud by Celine / Nightclubbing by Celine / Eau D'Hadrien by Goutal Paris / Bois D'Hadrien by Goutal Paris / Fantôme De Maules by Stora Skuggan / Thumbsucker by Stora Skuggan / Moon Milk by Stora Skuggan / Tonkade by Laboratorio Olfattivo / Gold by Perfumer H /  Oronardo by Xinu / Misfit by Arquiste / M/Mink by Byredo / Romanza by Masque Milano / Musky Rain by Renier Perfumes / 20 MARS 2022 by Rundholz / No 2 Le Long Fond by Maison Louis Marie / Poof! by Fzotic / Au Delà Narcisse by Fzotic / Vetiverissimo by Fzotic / Indigo Smoke by Arquiste / Peau by Arquiste / Gold Immortals Extrait by Ex Nihilo / Vanille Leather by BDK Parfums / Gris Charnel by BDK Parfums / Rouge Smoking by BDK Parfums / Tubereuse Imperiale by BDK Parfums / Accra by Gallivant / Tokyo by Gallivant / Brooklyn by Gallivant / Ella by Arquiste / Philosykos by Diptyque / Queens & Monsters by Henry Rose / Uncut Gems by Frederic Malle / Geist by La Curie / Rock River Melody by Régime des Fleurs / Leather Petals by Régime des Fleurs / Himatsu by Régime des Fleurs / La-Bas by Régime des Fleurs / Al-Dukhan by Régime des Fleurs The Game:Molecule 01  + Ginger by Eccentric Molecules / Smoke by Akro / En Passant by Frederic Malle / Cyllene by La Curie / No.44  Fire & Rain by Congniscenti / Chloë Sevigny Little Flower - Régime des FleursPlease feel free to email us at hello@fragraphilia.com - Send us questions, comments, or recommendations. We can be found on TikTok and Instagram @fragraphilia

I went to Paris and now it's my *~whole personality~*. Here's a recap of everything I smelled and loved! Wish you could smell along? YOU. CAN. Sign up for JUNE SMELL CLUB, where we'll be smelling 5 of my favorite discoveries from the trip! FRAGS MENTIONED: Mathilde M. Astrée (scented plaster dove + room spray), Le Nez du Vin Master Kit, Le Nez du Vin Wine Faults, Maison Berger Paris Chardon Sauvage, Divine L'Homme Accompli, Memo Sicilian Leather, Divine L'Espirit Libre, L'Artisan Iris Gris, June Smell Club Emma in Paris sample pack, Perfumer H: Ink, Rain Cloud, Rain Wood, Suede; Miller Harris, D'Orsay: Nous Sommes Amants M.D., Vouloirs Etre Ailleurs C.G., Naomi Goodsir Iris Cendré, Nuit de Bakelite, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, Aedes Iris Nazarena, Annick Goutal: Petite Chérie, Rose Splendide; Céline Parade, YSL Trench, Mizensir Bois Iridescent, Céline Saint Germain-des-Prés, Nightclubbing, L'Artisan Abyssae, Mandarina Corsica, Serge Lutens: Bois de Violette, Chypre Rouge; BDK Rouge Smoking, BohoBoco Wet Cherry Liquor, Tom Ford Lost Cherry, Serge Lutens: Jeux de Peau, Miel de Bois; Bienaime: Vermeil, Jours Heureux, Buly 1803 Eau Triple Yuzu de Kizo, Chris Collins Citrus Grandis, Caswell Massey Orchid, Headspace: Absinthe, Tubereuse, Genievre, Myrrhe; Nobile 1942: La Stanza Delle Bambole, Il Giardino Delle Delizie; Serge Lutens La Vierge de Fer, Diptyque Benjoin Boheme, Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur, Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, Cartier Pur Magnolia, YSL: Babycat, Jumpsuit; Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver, 4711, Chanel Paris Paris, Lancome La Vie Est Belle Iris Absolu REGISTER FOR SMELL CLUB: https://tinyurl.com/n0ses SHOP THIS EPISODE: ⁠https://shopmy.us/collections/183000⁠ SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR BDK PARFUMS

Watch auctions were in full swing this past weekend in Geneva. This season, condition was at the forefront of the minds of auction houses. There was a wide selection and some significant lots that sold.Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany Blue ref. 5711 can be found here.Jaeger LeCoultre Triple Calendar with Black Dial can be found here.Patek Philippe Lighter ref. 9508 can be found here.Patek Philippe chameleon ref. 1252 can be found here.Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox Deep Sea Ref. E857 can be found here.Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 570 with black dial can be found here.Patek Philippe chronograph ref. 1463 can be found here.Audemars Piguet full calendar chronograph ref. 831 can be found here.Cartier Pebble can be found here.Breguet dive watch with Bakelite bezel can be found here.Rolex Daytona ref. 6270 can be found here.Biver unique titanium carillon minute repeating tourbillon can be found here.Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 96 can be found here.Patek Philippe rectangular shaped N 10 yellow gold watch from 1907 can be found here.You can find us on our Website, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook Check out Life on the Wrist Merch!

One of the many great things about Los Angeles is its unrivaled legacy of modern residential architecture. Students in Peyton Hall's Materials Conservation class did their case study on the John J. Buck House (1934-35) by R. M. Schindler, one of the legendary architects who defined Southern California modernism. Co-host Cindy Olnick tagged along on a site visit and talked with Peyton, students Sam Malnati and Julie Dinkin, and owner Jocelyn Gibbs. The house is in great shape but has changed over time—even Jocelyn, an architectural historian, says it's full of mysteries. Buck did an original concept, and Schindler (who often made changes during construction) redesigned it. Buck added Art Deco touches inside, so Schindler didn't want the interiors published in his lifetime. Subsequent owners also altered the house and the grounds.To unravel some of the mysteries, Peyton's students documented the Buck House down to the Bakelite doorknobs, analyzed it inside and out to identify original elements and alterations, and suggested approaches to restoring the property (if anyone ever wanted to). See the episode page for links, transcript, and a mega-slideshow of photos by Danielle Armstrong, Julius Shulman, Dr. Fritz Block, and Ray WachsmannConnect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

  What you'll learn in this episode:   How Melinda created the definitive guide to the Napier Company. What made Napier stand out from other costume jewelry manufacturers of the 20th century. Why Chinese and Russian collectors are becoming increasingly interested in American costume jewelry. How the dawn of costume jewelry changed the way we accessorize. Why the craftsmanship of vintage costume jewelry is often as good as fine jewelry. Why being part of a community can be the most rewarding part of collecting.   About Melinda Lewis   Jewelry historian Melinda Lewis spent 11 years researching the history of a single American jewelry manufacturer —The Napier Co. Determined to bring the first book about this company to the public, she interviewed over fifty former employees from around the country spanning multiple generations. Those interviewed included the great-grandson of William Rettenmeyer, the designer who started in 1891; to designers who worked for Napier from 1941 to the close of the plant; as well as executive management, including the former CEO, Ron Meoni; and traveling salesmen, whose careers were no less than 30-plus years with the company.   After publishing her book, Lewis and her husband have spent the last year curating an extraordinary collection of vintage jewelry from around the country for her customers with The Jewelry Stylist and Vintage Jewelry Collect.  Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com Additional Resources: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thenapierbook/ THE NAPIER BOOK: https://napierbook.com  FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thejewelrystylist2 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thejewelrystylist/ THE JEWELRY STYLIST: https://thejewelrystylist.com VINTAGE JEWELRY COLLECT:  https://vintagejewelrycollect.com CJCI : http://cjci.co  This forwards to https://www.costumejewelrycollectors.com/   Transcript:   Some collectors don't give costume jewelry a fair shake, but for jewelry historian Melinda Lewis, vintage costume jewelry has only brought her happiness. She spent over a decade researching The Napier Company, an influential costume jewelry manufacturer, and created a community of fellow costume lovers along the way. She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about the process of researching and writing her book, “The Napier Co.: Defining 20th Century American Costume Jewelry”; what costume jewelry is trending and where the hot markets are; and why the joy of jewelry often lies in connecting with others. Read the episode transcript here.  Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com.    Today, we are talking with Melinda Lewis, the author of the definitive work on Napier Company jewelry, “The Napier Co.: Defining 20th Century American Costume Jewelry.” She's also one of the founders of Costume Jewelry Collectors International. If you look at their website, CJCI.co, you'll be able to find all you want to know about costume jewelry. Welcome back.    Why did they start making costume jewelry? What I'm always surprised by is that everything was just as nice about it, but it wasn't a real ruby. That's all. It was a synthetic one. [Repeat from Part one]   Melinda: I think the reason why it became popular was that it allowed more people to adorn themselves. If you think about it, you had a real piece that might cost $2,000, but you could offer a lovely, finely crafted piece of jewelry for $20. It allowed the average person to feel as beautiful as the socialite that was wearing the $10,000 piece. It made things more democratic. It opened up the market to people that perhaps would not have been wearing that expensive piece of jewelry. I think that's why it made it more accessible to the masses.   Sharon: Would you say it was manufactured? Everything about it was the same except that it wasn't “real”?   Melinda: A lot of the manufacturing companies used the same manufacturing techniques as fine jewelry. Many of the people, particularly in the 1920s, had come over from Europe and had worked for the jewelry houses of Paris, so their techniques, their skill levels, were unsurpassed. They were jewelry makers. That's why some of the early pieces look just like fine jewelry, because there really wasn't a difference in the manufacturing with the stones, the setting and the design aspects. We were really fortunate, if you think of it, to have all of these fine jewelry designers and manufacturers immigrate to the U.S. and give us, as a society, the opportunity to buy jewelry that wasn't $10,000.   Sharon: Is it still true? Would you say the quality is still as good?    Melinda: I think it's line specific, but certainly jewelry today is probably not made to the same quality standards as costume jewelry was during the beginning of the 20th century. There certainly are going to be pieces, but most of the jewelry we see in department stores is not made in the same way it was made a hundred years ago. I can't really explain it. Often, it falls apart. It doesn't have the same plating. We don't use the same quality stones. I don't think the designers have a full understanding of the design aspects or design aesthetics they had a hundred years ago. It's hard for me to say it has the same quality that it did.   Sharon: Are you a flea market junkie or a swap meet junkie?    Melinda: Yes, my treat to myself is to do that on occasion, to go to an antique fair. But Covid certainly changed a lot of things in the last three years. The majority of my acquiring comes from online, but there's certainly something about spying that piece in a pile of jewelry. Someone has no idea what they have, and that's when your years of study pay off. You're able to recognize something and think, “Oh, that has value.”    Sharon: Do you still have a store online?   Melinda: I have three online stores. My husband and I have three. One is for the Napier book, and then two others are online venues for vintage jewelry. One sells Napier jewelry exclusively, and the other two sell regular costume jewelry.   Sharon: Except for this exposure to costume jewelry, I don't know that much about it. I hadn't heard about your website. I thought I knew everything about all kinds of jewelry. Tell us about your websites with jewelry.    Melinda: One is called TheJewelryStylist.com. That has higher-end costume jewelry. Vintage Jewelry Collect is my other website. That one has mid- to upper-level costume jewelry and probably a deeper array of things, from wood jewelry and Bakelite and rhinestone jewelry. My objective with The Jewelry Stylist is to have the higher-end collectables on that side. Then TheNapierBook.com is where I sell my book as well as vintage Napier jewelry.   Sharon: Do you have people—stylists I guess—who come to you because they're doing a movie or a TV show and they need something?   Melinda: I used to do that. In the early 2000s, I did a lot of work with Edward Enninful's team and had a lot of jewelry featured in Italian Vogue. I had my jewelry used for MAC cosmetics. I'm going blank on the other ads, but yes, I did do that in the early 2000s. However, it's a lot of work. It's not a paid gig; you do it for exposure. I stopped doing that probably around 2008 or 2009. It was a lot of fun and certainly exciting to see your pieces on the cover of Vogue Italia. My focus at that point was on the book, so doing that type of print work interfered with me moving forward with completing my book. So, I put it to the side.   Sharon: Did you stop everything and focus on the book? What did you do?    Melinda: I was trying to do both. We founded CJCI in 2009, so I had a lot going on. Incidentally, it's CJCI.co, not com.   Sharon: Thank you. It stands for—go ahead.   Melinda: Costume Jewelry Collectors International. We were formed to promote the study, enjoyment and promotion of costume jewelry. We started our club when we learned about the retirement of Lucille Tempestas' jewelry club. She had a jewelry club named the VFCJ. I knew there was going to be a void for people, because we really enjoyed getting together with jewelry clubs. I talked it over with my husband and decided I was going to ask my cofounder, Pamela Siegel, if she would join me on this journey of starting a new jewelry club. She said yes, and within three days, we had a website up; we had created groups on Facebook. Within three months, we had published our first magazine. In 2011, we had our first jewelry convention.   Sharon: You've had one every two or three years, like a convention or conference.   Melinda: We had one for seven years straight.   Sharon: Wow! It's a lot of work.   Melinda: It's a lot of work. Right now, our focus is on the website. We acquired a database from another website called Research In Costume Jewelry, which was a website created by Dotty Springfield. That's why people come to our website, to get information about jewelry marks. That was a very big project. We had to integrate all of the data from one website and incorporate it into ours. It was a costly and timely project, but we were able to do it. We get about 13,000 unique visitors a month to our website to look up jewelry marks.   Sharon: The marks specifically?   Melinda: Yeah.   Sharon: I did hear that you might have a cruise.   Melinda: One thing we're considering is perhaps doing a jewelry cruise next year. Pam and I will be talking about that this year to see if it's feasible. That might be in the works for 2024, but nothing's set in stone yet; we're just looking at our options.   Sharon: Nothing for 2023 this year.   Melinda: No. It was a tough decision. We had to make a financial assessment of whether or not it was viable for us, and still with Covid and the uncertainties and the contract obligations you have as an event promoter—if you don't fill it, you still have to pay the bill—we decided it was in our best interest to not have a convention this year. It was very sad choice for us, but one we needed to make.   Sharon: How did you and the businesses stay afloat during Covid? How did you manage?   Melinda: CJCI is donation based, so we were greatly affected by it and by not having conventions, which is our main source of income to try to cover the expenses of hosting a website and such. That income wasn't there. My personal businesses actually had a little bit of an uptick during Covid. That was a nice surprise, and certainly one I wasn't expecting.    Sharon: I've heard that a lot of jewelry websites or people who sold jewelry did find an uptick during that time because people were at home. What else did people have to do?   Melinda: Right, and a new buying community has opened up, like I mentioned with the Chinese market and Russian market. It's really gratifying to see other communities taking an interest in our American jewelry heritage.   Sharon: What are they looking for? Not that it's American, but that it's high-end or lower?   Melinda: High-end, and they're actually taking an interest in the history, which is fascinating and wonderful. I'm not sure that Americans in the same age group have the same interest in our history.   Sharon: I'm thinking about some of the smaller antique fairs I've been to. I don't collect costume jewelry specifically, but I've been surprised at some of the prices for high-end costume jewelry.   Melinda: It's been phenomenal. In the last two years, it has really peaked—perhaps not peaked; it has spiked.    Sharon: I'm sure it's good for you, yes. Sometimes I think, “Why didn't I start with costume jewelry?” You can buy a lot more, but it's really gotten expensive.   Melinda: Yes, it has. My advice to people is buy what you love and get the best you can afford. Grow your collection that way, but don't necessarily buy it for investment purposes. The market can be fickle, and it's generally a long game when you buy a piece. You have to have a pulse on the market. You have to know just the right time to offer it. Most people aren't following the market that closely.    Sharon: But that's something you do, follow the market for costume jewelry?   Melinda: Oh yes, every day.    Sharon: Do people come to you and ask you to appraise things?   Melinda: They do, but I don't offer that service. For one, I believe in California you have to be licensed to appraise. I give them guidance on what they can do. It's the same things I would do, like looking at closed auctions or websites that provide finished auction prices I do get that a lot, but I decline answering that question.   Sharon: I think you are correct in that you have to be licensed. Why should somebody like me, who clearly doesn't know that much about costume jewelry, why should I be interested? Why would I start turning my eye towards that as opposed to other antiques? Is it a progression? Do they go from one thing to another and end up with something else somewhere along the line?    Melinda: For me, with collecting costume jewelry, there is not only a recognition of the art form, but it's the community that is fostered during the research and the study. It's having that connection with other people who are interested in our history and the meaning behind that history. That is my biggest source of joy for collecting it. So, it is about the piece of jewelry, but it's not. It's also about the community that comes with the study of costume jewelry.    It's a wonderful time right now to become connected with others for research and collaboration and what I like to call jewelry genealogy. It really is, and that's exciting. When we learn a new detail about a piece of jewelry, there's nothing more rewarding. You get those endorphin hits. I think that's the thing I like about it. You get a surge of energy, a surge of joy. “Oh my gosh, I just discovered something new. I didn't know what that meant. Wow!” You collaborate with others and pull together your knowledge base. That's what makes it fun.   There are so many groups right now, like on Facebook, that people can join to aid them in their jewelry journey. These groups just weren't available a decade ago. It has expanded. In the last two or three years, the amount of jewelry groups for different aspects of studying it—and a lot of them specialize in one area. There are Schreiner groups. There's my page, and I have a group per se. There's the Alice Caviness group and the Hattie Carnegie group. People hone on in their interest and share their knowledge. That's the essence of what collecting is all about.    Sharon: Do you find yourself ever wanting to go astray? Do you ever see a piece of Hattie Carnegie, let's say, that you think is wonderful and buy it?   Melinda: Of course. I have a folder on my computer called “Want to Buys” for areas I want to learn more about. They are my bucket list pieces, and they're not Napier; they're other pieces. I'm like, “Oh, my gosh, I really want that piece. That is so polar opposite. I had no idea they made a line like that.” I think that's true for most collectors. The great thing about being in a group with other jewelry collectors is that you expose yourself to things beyond what you're accustomed to seeing. It makes it wonderful.   Sharon: Do you wear a piece of costume jewelry every day or every time you go out, no matter what you're wearing?    Melinda: No, unfortunately where I live, I don't think it would be appropriate to wear a piece of jewelry. When we go out to dinner, I'll put on something, but I don't wear it every day. I play with it every day. I love handling it or picking up a piece or refreshing my memory about a piece. That I do, but I don't wear it every day.   Sharon: I find myself wondering—there are communities, but if you have more of a community because you wrote the book and developed this community, do you have more than other people? How do I have community if I didn't write this book?   Melinda: The book certainly helped form my community. My book actually wouldn't have been published without my community. That's very true. When I say my community, in that sense, I mean my costume jewelry collecting community. It wasn't a Napier community. My community supported me such that we were able to raise the funds to do the printing. The Napier book would not have happened without the jewelry community supporting me. There are groups on Facebook that have been formed that specialize in specific designers. They don't necessarily have a book behind them or an author behind that group, so I'm not sure.   Sharon: What's your next book on? Are you continuing this one? Is it part two, or are you starting fresh?   Melinda: I'm not sure if there's another book in me. It takes a lot of work. There are certainly revisions I would do. I hope once we sell out of the hard copy, if I do an e-book, it will have revisions and updates. I've learned so much since we originally published. I'm on the internet every day looking at archives, looking at newspaper ads and clippings and identifying more specific years that things were made. That's a habit for me, to try to collect articles to further my understanding of Napier.   Sharon: It does sound like it takes a lot of work, a lot of time. What would you revise first, prices or the pictures? Would you say, “This was done elsewhere”?   Melinda: The latter, yes. If I had dated something, say, at the late 50s, but I found the ad that said, “No, it was 1962,” I would move it; I would put it in its proper age spot. Even though I was off by five years, I was trying to be as specific as I could. I would update some of the years for things and perhaps add more pieces or more dating I've since discovered.   Sharon: I don't know if there's any room for more pieces. You have so many. I was looking and I thought, “How did you do this?” The photos are really beautiful. They're clear and very detailed. It's very nice. Do people contact you because of the book itself?   Melinda: Yes, I do get that. When I was writing the book, I had a spreadsheet so I could keep track of everything. Everything was kept on spreadsheets, down to making comma changes and other things. I had a very extensive database so I could track where everything was to make sure it was in its proper place when I was laying out the book.   Sharon: Did your family help you? Or did they say, “Don't bother me,” or “I'm tired of hearing about it,” even though they were involved from a monetary standpoint?   Melinda: My mother helped with some of the editing. I had a number of friends helping me with the editing. My husband found the printer. We used the same printer as Condé Nast and Assouline Books. My husband went out and got the best printer we could get. In terms of the template for the book layout, he contracted with a couple of people that wrote for Consumer Reports, and they helped devise the template. From there, I worked with the template they provided to fill out the book. We had the foundation designed for us. My husband probably was my biggest support, following me all around the country. I couldn't travel without him. He was the one carrying all the equipment and what not.   Sharon: So, you would go to the collections? You would go wherever—   Melinda: Yeah, and I'd stay with the employees. They were most generous. I stayed with Henry for a week and talked Napier. We stayed with a gentleman named Bill Hurlbutt and his wife, Alice. We stayed with them for a week. We met with Napier employees on our honeymoon. I decided to go to Meriden and have a lunch date with Napier employees instead of taking a honeymoon. It was a lot of fun.   Sharon: I hope your husband had some inkling at the time when that happened. Thank you so much for being with us today. We'll look for part two. I'm sure all of us will be looking at jewelry and turning it over and trying to find the marks you've mentioned that we didn't know might be there. Thank you so much, Melinda.   Melinda: Thank you for having me, Sharon.   Sharon: We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out.   Thank you again for listening. Please leave us a rating and review so we can help others start their own jewelry journey.

Pre-Loved Podcast is a weekly vintage fashion interview show, with guests you'll want to go thrifting with! For more Pre-Loved Podcast, subscribe to our Patreon! Today's show is a collective episode about the Brooklyn Flea, which re-opens for the season this weekend (April 1-2!). Founded 15 years ago, in April 2008 by Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby, Brooklyn Flea has grown into one of New York City's top attractions, operating flea markets that feature hundreds of top vendors of furniture, vintage clothing, collectibles and antiques. First up, you'll hear from co-founder Eric Demby, and then later on in the episode, three incredible vintage dealers who have been with the flea since its early days.  We'll speak with Francois of Of Leisure who was a fashion photographer for 10 years before he started selling French and American vintage at the Brooklyn Flea in 2013. Then we'll chat with Travis, the owner of The Hood Haberdasher, who grew up between Brooklyn, Miami and Jamaica, and started his full time vintage passion about 15 years ago - bringing “statements, not staples”home to Brooklyn to the Flea. And finally we speak to Thea Grant, about the family first jewelry business she and her husband Nico started in Brooklyn, and their extensive range of vintage, antique and handmade jewelry. It was such a joy to hear from them what being a part of the Brooklyn Flea all these years has meant to them – so let's just dive right in! DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE: [2:05] Eric Demby, co-founder of the Brooklyn Flea, tells stories about taking the train to New York City, as a teengager from Connecticut, to shop vintage. [7:00] While working in local politics, Eric notices that tourists start to visit Brooklyn, but they don't know exactly where to go. [11:42] Eric's partner, Jonathan Butler - founder of Brownstoner, hosted an event called ‘Salvage Fest' in 2007, in a schoolyard in Clinton Hill. [14:28] On the vintage scene in Brooklyn in 2008. [15:58] Etsy starts-up in downtown Brooklyn, but they're focused on handmade goods – not vintage – at the time. They have a booth in the early Flea. [19:21] Opening day on April 6, 2008 [25:11] Curating the selection at the Brooklyn Flea. [32:07] What to expect when the Brooklyn Flea opens for the season, April 1-2, 2023 [35:23] Francois, of Of Leisure, shares his story with vintage fashion, including learning to sell vintage clothes working at the flea market in Paris while he's there as a student. [42:44] On turn-of-century French vintage and workwear. [54:10] Travis of Hood Haberdasher shares his story with vintage and the Flea, growing up at the Flea, and meeting his wife there! [1:11:00] Thea Grant shares the story of the antique and vintage jewelry business that she and her husband Nico started in Brooklyn. [1:22:00] Around 8 years ago, Thea & Nico saw the wholesale jewelry business changing a lot and started to rethink how they would do business direct to customers. [1:44:55] On vintage Bakelite jewelry.  EPISODE MENTIONS:  Brooklyn Flea @bkflea @ofleisure @thehoodhaberdasher @theagrantdesign Brownstoner Beacon's Closet Salvatore Ricotta featured in the NYTimes Scavengers on the Urban Savannah story in the NYTimes Front General Store Heirloom  Susan Blank - Blank Frames Devon Grimes Bill Cunningham is known for his French workwear jacket Vintage Bakelite jewelry  LET'S CONNECT:

Join us as we serve up the week at Conshy Consignment! Libby takes a shallow dive into the world of Bakelite! Visit us at https://www.ConshyConsignment.com Download the Conshy Consignment App today https://conshy-consignment.commentsold.com/ Resale Therapy Live on Thursdays! Facebook 7PM EST Instagram. 8PM EST --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conshy-consignment/support

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 757, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Ends In "Th" 1: A mass of bubbles on top of hot chocolate. froth. 2: Something enormous in size, such as the land animal mentioned in the book of Job. a behemoth. 3: A scarce supply, or a shortage of food. dearth. 4: Foam. froth. 5: This type of bomber is designed to prevent detection by radar. stealth. Round 2. Category: Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young 1: "Woodstock", the group's first hit together, was written by this onetime gal pal of Graham Nash. Joni Mitchell. 2: Stills and Young came from Buffalo Springfield, Nash from The Hollies and Crosby flew off from this group. The Byrds. 3: In 1997 Crosby, Stills and Nash performed at this university to commemorate the 27th anniv. of the shootings there. Kent State. 4: David Crosby made big news when it was revealed that he fathered this rocker and Julie Cypher's 2 children. Melissa Etheridge. 5: (Hello everybody, I'm Graham Nash) With an eye on the new millennium, our 2000 tour was dubbed this. "CSNY: 2K". Round 3. Category: Musical Terms 1: It's the kind of singing produced by an adult male in a higher than normal register. falsetto. 2: If you don't want to "mezz" around with the longer term, you can call these singers "mezzos" for short. mezzo-soprano. 3: From the old Provencal verb balar, meaning "to dance", it's a narrative poem of folk origin that is sung. ballad. 4: These Cuban gourd instruments can be made of Bakelite filled w/lead shot for a stronger sound. maracas. 5: In musical notation, this is a curved line grouping notes and indicating they're played together smoothly. a slur. Round 4. Category: File Under "T" 1: On the night of April 14-15, 1912 this ship sank in the north Atlantic. Titanic. 2: It's the name of a national monument in the Salt River Valley in Arizona, kimosabe. Tonto National Monument. 3: In 1941 Congress reset the day on which this annual holiday is observed. Thanksgiving. 4: He was sent to bring Isolde to Cornwall to marry his uncle, King Mark. Tristan. 5: It's defined as a small, shallow drum with a single head and metallic jingles in its rim. a tambourine. Round 5. Category: 1962 1: It topped the pop charts in the summer of '62:. "The Stripper" (by David Rose). 2: Rumors surfaced among Cubans in America that this premier had remarried, but they've never been confirmed. Fidel Castro. 3: Pope John XXIII opened this historic meeting in St. Peter's Basilica on October 11. the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). 4: On July 3 Charles De Gaulle proclaimed the independence of this African country. Algeria. 5: There were requiems for this author of "Requiem for a Nun" after he died July 6. William Faulkner. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/

What you'll learn in this episode: What to look for when selecting a vintage piece, and why the most important factor is how much you like it Why Schreiner jewelry has increased in value, and how to tell if something is a genuine, high-quality piece of Schreiner Why online auctions are a great way for new collectors to grow their collection of vintage jewelry How Carole started her 40,000-piece collection, and how she allows clients to explore it Which emerging and under-appreciated vintage designers you should keep your eye on About Carole Tanenbaum Carole Tanenbaum has been collecting costume jewelry for over twenty-five years resulting in an unparalleled collection of over 30,000 pieces dating from the Victorian period to today's collectibles. Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection is one of North America's premiere collection of vintage costume jewelry. Every piece in the collection has been hand-selected with an eye for design, creativity and exceptional workmanship. The collection integrates vintage costume jewelry as wearable works of art into the fashion world. As a world-renowned collector, Carole has given a number of lectures on vintage costume jewelry at museums, universities, and social clubs. The collection continues to be featured in a multitude of fashion publications, and film and television productions. Additional Resources: Website Facebook Instagram Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com Transcript: When it comes to vintage costume jewelry, few people can match Carole Tanenbaum's passion. Her 40,000-piece collection covers the history of costume jewelry from the Victorian era to the 90s, along with some emerging contemporary designers thrown in for good measure. She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about her interest in Schreiner jewelry; how she wrote her two books on costume jewelry; and what she looks for when adding to her collection. Read the episode transcript here. Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com. Today, my guest is Carole Tanenbaum speaking to us from Toronto. She and her husband have been collectors of everything, including vintage costume jewelry, for years. She herself has written two books on the subject of vintage costume jewelry. “Fabulous Fakes: A Passion for Vintage Costume Jewelry” is the first one, and the newest one is a book on Schreiner jewelry, “Schreiner: Masters of Twentieth-Century Costume Jewelry.” Each week, she holds an auction of vintage costume jewelry, and she'll tell us all about that. Welcome back. That's really interesting. It sounds like you've looked at a million and one pieces. I was under the impression that your auctions were weekly. When I say get rid of it—if you have 40,000 pieces— Carole: No, but what I do occasionally is deaccession my earlier pieces through a couple of the national and international auctions I trust. I do that because if they're sitting in my drawers and not doing anything, it's not that I lost respect for them, it's that I want other people to enjoy them. So, I would say twice a year, I have an auction at Ripley's Auction, I have an auction here at Waddington's Auction. When we were selling our toys, because we're at an age now where you have to start thinking about where these things are going, I did it at Miller and Miller in Canada, a wonderful auction house. Those are the types of auctions and that's the reason why I do them, but they're only occasional. I always post them on my different sites so the public is aware of them. Sharon: Where do you find the pieces you do buy? Just looking around and going to these places on the outskirts? Carole: First of all, we are very fortunate because people know my name. They know about me, so they have offered pieces on many occasions. I'm even buying back pieces from people who don't wear them anymore and want them passed back to me, but I would say that's just by happenstance. We love antiquing, so it doesn't matter whether we find or we don't find. It's getting much harder, as I told you, because there are fewer outlets. A lot of the small antique dealers went under and don't have places where they can show their pieces other than the net. I do think the net now is the best place to look outside of shopping for them, but if you're shopping for them, don't have high hopes, because the very high end is being bought out by savvy collectors. Sharon: I guess that's something that crossed my mind. Sometimes, like you say, the pieces can go for thousands of dollars. Have you ever overpaid, do you think? Do you just love something so much that you paid more than you thought you could at some point? Carole: I wouldn't use the word “overpaid.” I would use the word “I paid more than I expected to,” because if I want a piece, I get it. I haven't been wrong so far, but if I'm wrong, so be it. I feel it's the right way to think about it. If you can afford it and you purchased it at a higher price and you got it, that's fine, because who knows what it's going to be in the future? That was also a good lesson for me. A couple of pieces I really overdid in my purchase are worth four times the amount today than when I originally bought them. Sharon: Tell us the story about the books, then. Carole: What really started my business career was at the very beginning of the 80s, I was showing my pieces in trunk shows in hotels and for charities. I wasn't really a business, but in about 1990, I pitched my collection to Holt Renfrew in Toronto, the equivalent of Neiman Marcus. There was a wonderful director there at the time who I pitched to. He was quiet and he was thinking about it. I wanted to do a trunk show because I wanted to expose people to costume jewelry, and this gentleman said, “Carole, I'm sorry. I won't do a trunk show, but I'm going to give you a department.” They gave me a department at Holt Renfrew, and they branded me Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection. In 2006, when I really had a large following, I figured they deserved to see what I feel is the best of my collection. That's how I started “Fabulous Fakes” through Madison Press, which is no longer around. In four months' time, the book was sold out. In a year's time, the book was sold out internationally. People were starving for visuals, and it was kind of a tabletop book. It was my selection from my personal collection. I loved doing that, but I wasn't interested in doing it again. Then, I saw that I really have to educate the audience about Schreiner because nothing has ever been written about Schreiner other than a paragraph or two. Him being my favorite designer, I wanted to do a book on him, but I couldn't find anybody to do the research because he was kind of illusive. He was a very small manufacturer. But a person who was working for me as part of our outfit said to me one day, “Why don't you do a book on Schreiner?” and I said, “I've been thinking about it for years, but I don't want to do another picture book. I want to do a book where people can learn, because I want to show them what to look for with many examples.” At this point, I had about 400 pieces of Schreiner. She said, “I'll do the research. I love to do research,” and I gave her the commission. She went off to New York. She went to the public library there, and she saw a Schreiner address in the outskirts of New York. She knocked on the door of this person, and it turned out to be the grandson of Henry Schreiner and they invited her in. She's a charming woman, Eve Townsend. She's the one who did all the research for the book. She's a terrific gal. They loved her. She had repeated visits to them, the only person who was really permitted to spend time with them. She's the one that gave all the knowledge to the book “Schreiner.” Now we're completely sold out, but I just reprinted. The reprints are coming out in February. I was selling it for $125 because I was selling my personal stash, but the Chinese community, who are very active in the vintage world, were purchasing the book in China for $400. Now people will be able to buy it again for $65. I'm very proud of that because it was a small quantity that I did last time and it's another small quantity this time. Sharon: There was a large gap between the two books. Did you have it with the picture books and say, “That's it. I'm not doing another book”? Carole: I wasn't interested in doing the picture book, but I felt it was my duty to my clients whom I was educating along the way to show them what great pieces are. I had a wonderful publisher. They were terrific to work with, and they laid it out in a way that people could understand the design and comparison to others. I was very happy I did it, but I had no desire to do another one until Eve came around and said, “Carole, we're going to do the book.” That's how the Schreiner came into being. Sharon: How do you define vintage costume jewelry? Carole: The actual definition for vintage is 40 to 100 years old. Antique is from 100 to 300 years old, but in my operation, we sell from the Victorian era to the 80s and 90s. That's our cutoff. Now we're starting to show contemporary designers who I think are valid for future collecting, but that's Carole Tanenbaum Vintage's decision, to focus on that area of time. Sharon: What do you say if somebody says it's not real? I have people say to me, “It's not real. It's fake.” Carole: It's a great question. I say to them, “Yes, it is real. It's real vintage. If you handed me a $10,000 piece of gemstone and showed me a wonderful piece of vintage for $10,000, I would probably purchase the vintage because the vintage pieces have historical value to me as well.” I have always been asked that question, Sharon. It's always been sort of a bone of contention because I really had to educate people that vintage costume jewelry is one category, like apples and oranges. Gemstone is another. They both happen to be jewelry, but they're both valid in their categories. Sharon: Are there people who collect the Schreiner and another who collect the Monet? Carole: Yeah. Sharon: So, you know who. Carole: Yeah. I don't know who, but they come to me and say, “Do you have any Monets?” I love Monet. Actually, he's one of the best kept secrets on the market now because his prices haven't risen in the same way that others have. I would say, “I'll show you a tray of them,” and then my staff would photograph a tray and they would go, “Oh.” At least it introduces them to more than one. That's how we operate our business. People do come to us with very specific requests. Most of the time, we can show them examples of that. Other times, I'm not interested in the designer, and I have very few of them. We refer them to somebody else I know in the field who might have them. Sharon: I'm learning a lot here. Schreiner is a person and a company. Monet is not a person; it's a company. It's interesting that they were originally people. Carole: They were people, exactly. People with very good eyes. Sharon: That's very interesting. How did you come to be in business? Like you said, you didn't have to go into business. How did you start a business? Carole: Through Holt, that's how I started my business. I had no idea they would add me as a counter, as real estate, or that they would have me for three weeks because I said I wanted to expose people. I thought they would have me for three weeks and then be gone, but he said to me—and it's a very important thing I pride myself on—he said, “The way you are different from other people who have approached me is that you have a singular eye, and your collection is curated by that eye. I like your eye and I know your family were collectors. That's why I am taking you on.” That's a good point, because I happen to have the benefit of coming from a family of great collectors, people who have a specific eye and all the pieces they collect are from that eye, and the pieces they collect happen to be very good pieces. That's a real attribute to their inventory and their collection. Other people buy a lot of 50 pieces and go through it to see which ones are sellable. Every piece in my collection I pick personally. I have a wonderful staff and they know the collection, but I feel that my collection is known for my eye. I feel a responsibility in that sense. Sharon: That's interesting because different definitions of a good eye come to mind. I have a friend who's not a dealer, but dealers have told her she has a dealer's eye. She can spot the thing in the back of a cabinet. My father-in-law was a great collector of art. I didn't like any of it until I saw it framed, and then it was like, “Oh my God, that's wonderful!” I don't think I have an eye. That's the thing. Carole: You don't know. Are you a collector? Sharon: I'm one of those who has a lot. I wouldn't say I collect anything. Yes, I don't collect anything. Carole: You have an eye for everything you collect. If you put it together, somebody in a field that understands it would say, “There's a certain rhythm there. There's a certain continuity with what you collect.” Your clothing is of a certain area. You're either conservative or out there, and then you choose things that go with your aesthetic, whatever it is. You might not think you have an eye, but you have a very specific eye. We don't know what it is, but you might look at it that way and find out what it is. Sharon: Somebody who does collect said to me exactly what you said. If they put it all together, they can see what I liked or what I collected. You collect the Schreiner, let's say, but I don't. I don't have something like that. What happens when somebody comes to you and says, “I have a fabulous outfit. I have a great dress, but it needs something. I've looked at all the contemporary stuff and there's nothing that pleases me. What do you have?” Carole: Actually, that's a good part of my business. We do bridal. We do the bride's parents. We do women who are having an event in their family. We do movies. We do television. We're set up in our operation to meet the needs of almost anybody who asks for it. If a stylist comes in here and they're working for a 20s movie, we know exactly what to bring out to her. We do a prep for it. She comes in and goes through areas we know we have. Don't forget we have about 40,000 pieces, but we organize it in such a way that it's very easy for them to see. It's very easy for us to accommodate almost every request of ours. We love dealing personally, by the way, because it brings out the child in many people who are a little constricted. You get a sense of their personality, and you pick accordingly. It's very easy for us. We love to do that. Sharon: Do people come to you and say, “I have a fabulous “real” pin, but it's not enough. It doesn't have the wow factor”? Do you bring them something else? Carole: We show them what we feel they could like. Don't forget, Sharon, if somebody comes to us, they'll see about 20 pieces. There's always a piece they love. Nobody has ever left us without buying something because we're trained in that. My staff is trained to understand the person when they're telling them what they need. Sharon: How do people find out about your operation? I stumbled on it. I didn't realize it was so large. Carole: We've been in business for about 40 years now, but my name is out there because I've been in the field. I'm very generous to other dealers; they're very generous to me. The public knows me through the various clubs I belong to. I belong to the Sherman Club, who's a Canadian designer. I belong to the Schreiner Club and various clubs. You show pictures of what you have, so they see what I have and love it. I don't let a lot of people into the house because I don't feel safe with everything I have here, but we do a lot of business on the iPad. My staff will get a tray together, put together a professional photograph and show the person who's looking, and they'll always be able to pick something from it. Also, don't forget I've been in a lot of magazines and newspaper articles. Those public stands are very important for me. A lot of the stylists use my pieces and my story to inspire. Sharon: I think the big leap that a lot of dealers or people who sold jewelry had to make—I've heard people say, “I have to hold it. I have to see it. I have to feel the piece of jewelry to know it, to see if I want it.” Have you had that? Have you faced that? Carole: Locally people have asked if they could come down after we showed them the pieces. Generally, if we know where they're coming from, we permit them to come up and have fun, but internationally, no. I have a very large Asian clientele and they buy strictly from photos. I have a very large Russian population in Paris and Italy. I think they're savvier than the average collector, so they know exactly what they want. It's very easy to satisfy them. With the Asian community, which actually have been voracious collectors over the last five years, they're very specific with what they want. There's only a handful of designers they love, but when we get new pieces in, we know who they are. Sharon: There's a handful of pieces from designers that Asians or Russians know they want. You mentioned you also have some emerging designers. Who do you think the emerging designers are? Are they costume or are they real? Carole: Never real. I'm really not in the gemstone business. But there are emerging designers or contemporary designers that people don't know about, such as Rafael of Montreal, Vidal of Montreal, Thomas Mann, who has a charming eye and does really playful but sophisticated jewelry. Colette Harmon is another emerging artist. There are other old-timers that still have not made the money mark yet, such as Avon and Art and Fluenza and Napier, whom there's a wonderful telephone book-size book on, yet people haven't really discovered him yet. The prices are very reasonable. He was a wonderful designer of the 50s, and he's somebody who isn't really there yet. He's dead, but he deserves to be recognized. Then there are areas of collecting, like copper. Some of the great studio pieces in copper, whenever I see them, I grab them. I grab wood pieces that were designed at the same time as Bakelite. The wood pieces are really like folk art; they're wonderful. Rarely are they more than $125. I bought them for like $40. Each one of them I wouldn't trade for my three $1,000 pieces because they're really charming. So, there are areas you can start buying without worrying about. Sharon: Carole, thank you so much for being with us today. We've learned so much. I know I have learned a lot. I'm ready to go, “Oh my God, they're overlooked so much.” Carole: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, Sharon. Sharon: We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out. Thank you again for listening. Please leave us a rating and review so we can help others start their own jewelry journey.

This episode introduces us to the first attempts at "plastic materials" in the 19th century, from vulcanized rubber by Charles Goodyear and Thomas Hancock, to Alexander Parkes's "Parkesine", the first synthetic polymer. Later polymers of the Victorian era include Celluloid, rayon, photographic film and the rise of easy photography, the mostly forgotten charmer of the Art Deco word called galalith, Bakelite, and cellulose acetate--also called Celanese. Among the chemists we meet are John Hyatt, George Eastman, Louis Bernigaud, Wilhelm Krische, and Leo Baekeland, and Camille and Henri Dreyfus. But even with these developments, chemists still weren't sure what a polymer really is.Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook ...

Composition by Pat Daintith.  "I was drawn to this sound because it was made of Bakelite - one of many quietly revolutionary products synthesised in the 20th century, notable for its functional & aesthetic applications (though no obvious, distinctive aural ones). Additionally, the light switch has an obvious rhythmic, binary quality which would lend itself to music. "All sounds on the recording are based on the sound of the light switch (albeit endlessly tampered with); no additional instruments or noises were used." This is part of the Obsolete Sounds project, the world's biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct – remixed and reimagined to create a brand new form of listening. Explore the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds

Recording provided by Conserve The Sound. This is part of the Obsolete Sounds project, the world's biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct – remixed and reimagined to create a brand new form of listening. Explore the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds

What you'll learn in this episode: The surprising connection between dollhouses and jewelry Why vintage barware is so collectible  How the internet has warped some buyers' perception of antique pricing  Why you should always get a receipt when buying vintage How sellers can choose trustworthy platforms to sell their goods About Erik Yang Erik Yang is the founder of The Lush Life Antiques, which offers a selection of vintage designer jewelry, both signed and unsigned. His primary focus is on American and European costumes, Mexican silver, Native American Indian, Bakelite, modernist and contemporary designer jewelry. Each piece is carefully hand-selected for its design, quality, and construction. In his 25 years as a jewelry dealer, Erik has segued from exhibiting at shows to selling exclusively online. Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com Additional Resources: Instagram Website (currently under construction) Transcript: The most valuable thing Erik Yang has isn't his collection of vintage jewelry and antiques—it's his expertise. As founder of The Lush Life Antiques, Erik has built a reputation as a trusted dealer for his integrity and in-depth knowledge of jewelry and antiques across several periods. He joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about how to find trustworthy vintage stores and dealers; how the internet has shaped antique pricing expectations; and why you should always get a receipt. Read the episode transcript here. Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard part one, please go to TheJewelryJourney.com. Today my guest is Erik Yang, founder and owner of The Lush Life Antiques. Welcome back.   We talked a little bit about the importance of a dealer's reputation. What makes one dealer more trustworthy over another? I would rather have somebody say, “I don't know,” if I ask them, “What is this from? or “What is this made of?” as opposed to giving me some story.   Erik: Right. There are a lot of people that don't know, and there are a lot of people that use that as a disclosure: “use your opinion, “buyer beware,” but they know. A lot of people pass off their mistakes to other people that are unsuspecting. A lot of collectors give their mistakes to dealers who don't really know and say, “Here, I'm divesting. Please sell this for me at the market. I don't need this. You keep the difference.” That happens all the time. They tend to use people that don't have the knowledge base, but the collector has the knowledge base. Maybe this is getting into a little more complicated discussion, but dealing with a reputable dealer is difficult.    We had this discussion when you were here for that exhibit. I think when you're dealing with somebody who has been in business for quite a long time, is very known in the industry, is a published author, someone you can Google and they'll have multiple hits for interviews or articles or this or that, someone who is respected, I think those are the type of people you can deal with safely. I always joke that I'll buy something from somebody I know very well, when they've been in business for 30-something years, and I'll ask them, “Can I have a receipt?” There are people that do the market every month, and they don't know how to write a receipt, let alone have a receipt book with their business name and their contact information on it.    When I receive a receipt and it just says, “Necklace, $30,” with nothing on it, I can make that myself. Someone like that, who is that casual about their business, if you have an issue with something, if you buy something from them, you have no recourse aside from going up to them and saying, “I bought this necklace from you for $100 and it turns out it's not gold. I would like my money back.” Well, you don't have a proper receipt, and they're probably going to say, “I don't know. It's been too long. I can't do anything.” That's quite common. If someone has their letterhead on it, their business name, their contact information with the information of the item, they will stand by that product because not only is there a liability with it, but they tend to be a lot more established and reputable in their business. At least that's my opinion.    I'm helping with an estate right now, and they're donating some of the pieces to the local museum. I didn't know when I first looked at one of the items that it actually had the receipt of purchase. The curator asked me for assistance with this piece. I looked at the letterhead and I knew the store; I knew the owner of the store. It had a very detailed description of the item and the price that was paid. I said, “Let me contact this person and get some information for you.” I did, and they said, “We definitely sold this item, but it was sold so long ago—it's been almost 10 years—that we don't have the paperwork on it. We don't recall X, Y, Z about the piece, but we are happy for you to send it to us at our expense. We will review it. We will give you a revised receipt of information for whatever purposes you need, and we'll send it back to you.” That's reputable, and that's why that person has a very established business. It's all about reputation. I was quite impressed with how they handled that. It was much more than I thought they would do. They went out of their way more than they had to. But if somebody doesn't have any kind of brick and mortar, and they just show up at a flea market one weekend, you'd better be careful with what you're buying.   Sharon: It's interesting you say that about the receipt. I hadn't thought about the information on the receipt and the letterhead. It's not that difficult to make something like that, but most people don't go into a lot of detail it seems.   Erik: No. I have my receipt book with my business name on it, and I try to give as much information. I ask them what they want, usually; “What do you need on the receipt?” because some people do buy things for investment, but most of my clients are buying some earrings to wear for an event and they could care less who made it. That's just how it is. There are different levels of collectors. Now, if it's something like a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond bracelet, they want something a little more specific, especially if it's expensive.    By doing that, by putting that down next to your name, you have a liability. They can come back to you and say, “You sold this to me as this and it's not.” I had this recently, and I'm glad I got it on paper. I bought a brooch that they sold to me as 14-karat gold with sapphires. It looked 100% correct and it tested for 14-karat, but it wasn't 14-karat; it was just extremely heavily plated. You had to file into it a little bit to get to the core metal, but it was brass, basically, with a very heavy gold plating. They did not want to stand by their product, and it's a very well-known store locally. I said, “I have your receipt saying this,” and they said, “Well, we'll give you store credit.” I said, “Well, I bought it yesterday. The credit hasn't even gone through,” and I basically forced them to give me the money back. I wasn't happy with that, and I haven't gone back. That's a good example of someone who has a very established business that's been around for over 30 years locally that didn't stand by their product. I didn't pursue it. I could have, but I'm not the type of person to leave bad Yelp reviews. It was just an unpleasant experience. When people have asked me about that particular store, I've told them, “You better be careful.” I didn't mention specifically what the scenario was. I said, “Just be careful with them. I know you shop there. Be very careful with your purchases.” That's all you can say.   Sharon: That's interesting. I'll have to think more about it and be more aware. I do tend to buy things a little quickly without looking at all the detail.    What did you do during Covid? You operate online. You don't go to shows. How do you sell?   Erik: People ask me that all the time, and I say I sell wherever I can. I'm in transition right now for a number of reasons, but at the time Covid was happening, I think I was in three stores. I'm down to two now. I originally had five locations in Dallas. Slowly the stores have closed or I pulled out for various reasons, bad management of the stores. I never had my own brick and mortar. I always sublease spaces. During Covid, though, a lot of stores here closed completely. We also had some issues with rioting here. I won't get into politics or current events, but there was rioting happening in New York and Beverly Hills, and that's when Bergdorf Goodman and all of Rodeo Drive was covered up. They just boarded up everything. Two of my stores were in prime areas that were targets for that, so at that time, I pulled all of my merchandise. That was during Covid. I pulled all of my merchandise out of the stores by request of the store owners because they were scared for their own items; they didn't want to be worrying over possible theft of my things as well. I left costume or things that don't have an intrinsic value, but anything that was silver or anything that was meltable that could be pawned, I did take out. All of my Native American pieces ended up getting boxed up and taken out during Covid.    Still, our stores were managing on Instagram and Facebook posts. We did curbside pick-up just like the grocery stores do, but these were big stores, and they're trying to sell for everybody in the store. I'm just one vendor. So, I took everything more online, and that's where I've been stuck for the last couple of years, which is fine. I'm back in the stores. We're fine now, but Covid was very brutal for a lot of people. A lot of local stores, especially the antique stores and the vintage stores, just didn't survive for obvious reasons. It's hard to experience a lot of things. You have to try things on, and it's a little difficult to do everything online.   Sharon: Are you focusing more online? Now you have several outlets online, it seems.   Erik: I am doing online. I'm trying to be more active with Instagram. They're dragging me into the 21st century. I've always used social media for different things, but not necessarily for selling. I have pretty big displays in both of my local shops, and I'm continuing online. I'm primarily selling on eBay at the moment. I am rebuilding a website which I had before. I let it go by the wayside. I'm trying to remarket it a bit for many reasons, but primarily I have some significant collections in right now that I've been hired to liquidate, and they're almost too good to go. I hate to say it, but they're too good for eBay. They need to go on a higher venue. I'll get to it. I'm still processing all the low-end pieces from these two collections right now. So, it's going to be a while. It takes time.    Sharon: Wow! We'll keep our eyes on everything because it's hard to find you.    Erik: I know. I've joked that if I ever had a brick-and-mortar store, all the Yelp reviews would say, “Wow, he's got great stuff, but he's never open.”    Sharon: You're on eBay under what name, The Lush Life?   Erik: The Lush Life on eBay. I've been on eBay since 1999. I took a huge hiatus for a long time. I had problems with eBay very early on, and I had a temper tantrum and said, “Enough with them. I'm going to go and open my own website.” I did, and I exclusively did that for at least 10, 12 years. Then I started doing shows, and then shows died. Then I started doing shows again, and then I'm back on eBay. So, it seems like I've come full circle. Nothing's really changed. You have to change with the times. There are other options. I've looked at doing Ruby Lane and other things, but I'll figure it out.   Sharon: But you are on Instagram as @arkieboy33.   Erik: Yes.   Sharon: Do you find that you sell through Instagram? Do people call you?   Erik: I have a little bit, not much because I wasn't active with it. I know there are a lot of people doing a lot of business, and there are a lot of people that are exclusively selling on Instagram. For now, it is a valid forum, but what's next? If you think about it, Myspace wasn't that long ago. What is that? There are a lot of different venues I hear about, and I don't know what they are. I'm familiar with TikTok and all of those, but there are a lot of other things. There are all kinds of apps now as well. I know I would not mesh well with something like Poshmark or Mercari or any of those, so I'll just stick with eBay; it's been around a long time.   Sharon: It sounds like you have it mastered. You've figured it out, at least.   Erik: The thing with eBay or that particular selling forum, as well as Ruby Lane and the more established platforms, is that the market for specific things right now is in Asia, and they are able to buy through those forums. It's a little sketchy when you start having international sales and you assume the responsibility. On eBay, you can use their shipping program, so it costs more for them as the buyer, but there's less responsibility as a seller. When I've had things go missing it's been because of eBay, and I've been taken care of on my end, as has the buyer. There is a level of safety or security that I like. There's something very stressful about sending very expensive items to someone you've never met, have never spoken to on the phone. Even though you have a credit card authorization, or you've run a credit card and you've captured the funds, it can be reversed. That's a scary thing.    Sharon: Yeah, that's interesting. Erick, you've covered a lot of territory. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today.   Erik: Thank you for having me again.   Sharon: It's been great.   Thank you again for listening. Please leave us a rating and review so we can help others start their own jewelry journey.

What you'll learn in this episode: The surprising connection between dollhouses and jewelry Why vintage barware is so collectible  How the internet has warped some buyers' perception of antique pricing  Why you should always get a receipt when buying vintage How sellers can choose trustworthy platforms to sell their goods About Erik Yang Erik Yang is the founder of The Lush Life Antiques, which offers a selection of vintage designer jewelry, both signed and unsigned. His primary focus is on American and European costumes, Mexican silver, Native American Indian, Bakelite, modernist and contemporary designer jewelry. Each piece is carefully hand-selected for its design, quality, and construction. In his 25 years as a jewelry dealer, Erik has segued from exhibiting at shows to selling exclusively online. Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com Additional Resources: Instagram Website (currently under construction) Transcript: The most valuable thing Erik Yang has isn't his collection of vintage jewelry and antiques—it's his expertise. As founder of The Lush Life Antiques, Erik has built a reputation as a trusted dealer for his integrity and in-depth knowledge of jewelry and antiques across several periods. He joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about how to find trustworthy vintage stores and dealers; how the internet has shaped antique pricing expectations; and why you should always get a receipt. Read the episode transcript here.   Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is a two-part Jewelry Journey Podcast. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it comes out later this week.    Today, my guest is Erik Yang, founder and owner of The Lush Life Antiques. Erik has spent the last few decades buying and selling a range of jewelry and antiques, from antique items to modern items, some of which he has designed and commissioned himself. Over the years, he's become extremely knowledgeable and well-versed in jewelry and jewelry history.    I'm going to give you one perfect example. I recently met with Erik at the Cartier exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. Although the exhibit had opened just a couple of weeks before we were at the exhibit, it was the third time he had already been attending it. As he and I toured through the exhibit, Erik would explain how many of the Cartier items were used by women in the 20s or 30s. You know the items that you look at and go, “Who used that, and where did that fit?” or “How did that hold the cigarette or lipsticks, or what was that used for?” Erik would explain to me how they were used. I started to feel like I was with the Pied Piper, because people would gather around him to listen to his explanations and ask if they could follow him around to hear what he had to say. He definitely made many of the items come alive. Today we'll hear about his own jewelry journey. Erik, welcome to the program.   Erik: Hi, Sharon. Thanks for having me here. It's nice to be back.   Sharon: Yes, pre-Covid, a different world. Tell us about your jewelry. I know you didn't start out in jewelry. What was your original career, and how did you get into jewelry?    Erik: I minored in art history in college, but my degree was actually in zoology/biology. I worked in a laboratory for a couple of years, specifically in the biochemistry/molecular biology department at the University of Arkansas for medical sciences. At that point, I was on a pre-med route. I opted to go into the Ph.D. program where I was already working in the labs. I oversaw the labs. I did the ordering. I did a lot of the behind-the-scenes aspect, but I also had my own experiments which were involving cholesterol metabolism. I decided it was a natural progression to get my Ph.D. in that field, but the more I got into it, the more unhappy I became. I was a square peg in a round hole, basically, and I ended up quitting, much to the dismay of the dean of my department.   I had done a local flea market. I already, at the time, had a little booth where I sold some random things. I did a local flea market, and I did quite well over the weekend. I decided, “I'm going to leave this program.” My dean asked me, “What are you going to do now?” and I said, “Well, I'm going to start by selling off some excess things in the house,” and I have been doing that for 30 years now. I don't think I've made a dent, but that's how I started in the antiques business, and it was a much better fit. It was a hard fit, but like anything, if you want to be successful, it's not easy; it's a lot of work.   Sharon: It was a hard fit because all beginnings are hard.   Erik: Yes. This was a long time ago. This is about 30 years ago. Technology was different. I didn't have a computer. Nobody had smart phones at all. Researching where to go, how to know what markets to go to, where to go set up, where to sell your wares, was a hidden art. There were some older dealers that were definitely interested in younger dealers coming into the scene that thought, “Let's help him out.” At the time, I had people inviting me to stay with them in New York. They said, “Come here. You can stay with us,” because they saw somebody they saw potential in, I guess. But that was a totally different time period. Now, if you want to know what to do, you can just Google it and find things out that way. But back then, it was making phone calls in a phone booth in the middle of nowhere and trying to get ahold of a customer, describing things over the phone and hoping they trusted your knowledge or your opinion about an item you saw.   Sharon: Wow! That would be a challenge. You're knowledgeable about jewelry and antiques across many periods. What is it that interests you about jewelry in particular? What attracts your attention to different eras?   Erik: I've always had a fascination with jewelry since I was a small child. My mother had a lot of jewelry, nothing incredibly important. My mother is from Guadalajara, Mexico, and my father was from Taiwan. There was nothing significant, but there was a lot of small pieces of family jewelry. There was the jade and the Chinese pieces from one side, and my mother had a lot of Mexican silver. My great grandfather actually had a silver mine in Mexico, and there were some pieces from the family that she had which I actually still have. It was always fascinating to see those. When she would pull them out and show them to me, I knew nothing about them at the time. I do now.   One of my hobbies very early on—I did this throughout high school, and a lot of people don't know this. I used to make doll houses on special commission. I made several, and I made quite a lot of money doing it very early. It is a very expensive hobby. Building a small house is the same cost as building a real house. One of the first pieces I made I sold to the president of the National Doll Association. Keep in mind, I have no interest whatsoever in dolls. I was very interested in miniatures, things that were small. I still am. I love small things. So, it easily translated into jewelry because with jewelry, each item is a small sculpture of some sort, whatever it is. There's a lot of artistry. It's done on a microscale like the miniatures I was working in.    I've made a lot of things. I'm not a bench jeweler. I have made some things here and there, and I do understand the complexity of manufacturing and creating, but that all relates to me making a little bitty chair using human-size, giant power tools to make and cut things and work at a bench doing that. It translated into jewelry quite easily. I've toggled back and forth between the two hobbies here and there, not that the jewelry part is a hobby anymore. That was my easy understanding of the jewelry business.   Making the miniatures involved different time periods. One of the more popular styles in making houses was the Victorian style because there was a lot of gingerbread trim and all kinds of ornate things that were done to these houses. So, I was researching a lot about architecture and styles and designs of that period into the 20s. I had that knowledge base of design early on, and we're talking very early on, like 10, 11, 12. I think my first commission I did for a house was when I was 12. So, I've been doing this a long time. I didn't even have a driver's license. The ladies that I made things for used to come and pick me up and we would go pick out chandeliers. Anyway, enough of that, but that's the history of how I got involved and why. There was this early, core knowledge that I had of different styles and craftsmanship because of that small scale. Like I said, it translated very easily into jewelry and still does.   Sharon: As an aside, why is making a miniature doll house so expensive?   Erik: It's a lot of work. It takes just as much time to make something on a big scale as it does on a small scale. I just went to a miniature show, and a little miniature sterling silver tea set that was done by a silversmith was about the same price as a real one. If you were to melt it, the silver value is probably $10, but it was $2,000 for the tea set. You don't think about that, but it's a very expensive hobby.   Sharon: It seems very difficult and intricate. Yeah, how do you use the human-size tools on something so tiny?   Erik: Right.   Sharon: I'm surprised to hear you say that you have this foundation in Victorian because you don't have a lot of Victorian stuff.   Erik: Right, probably not. A few little objects here and there. I'm actually very eclectic, because I do appreciate different styles of different time periods. I definitely enjoy it. I love going to some of these home tours and seeing what was done. I love Victorian jewelry. Like I said, it was an easy transition. I understand the complexity of it or why it looked this way in jewelry, and when the aesthetic was this way. It's all very cohesive, definitely.   Sharon: What's your favorite period, would you say?   Erik: Definitely my favorite period is Art Deco. That's where I started in the antiques business, in Art Deco objects. I still love deco. I think it's such a sophisticated look. There's a clean line about it. A lot of people don't get it. It did have a big revival in the 70s and a modified version of it in the 80s. There's American Streamline, which is very sleek. That's what I like. Then there's what I call Romantic Deco, which is very flowery, ornate, a little more curves. That's more French in its aesthetic. I like it, but it's not exactly my favorite. I like things that are that are that real stark look, which was also very popular in Germany. That's my favorite style. You don't see it very much. That style was popular on the West Coast and Hollywood, and New York and Miami and Chicago as well, but not too much throughout the U.S. Every city's going to have examples of that, but that's what I like. That's my favorite.    Sharon: Do you find pieces that reflect that?   Erik: Yeah, when I started in the antiques business, the one thing I specialized in—which was sort of where my business name came from. My business name has a double entendre, because I started with barware, and all of the handles and a lot of the utilitarian objects had real colorful Bakelite as the components of it. So, I always had Bakelite jewelry within my vignettes of what I was selling. At that time, I had one little case of jewelry; that was it. Now, I could stock a store, basically.    So, I started with the Bakelite, which is definitely a very 30s, Art Deco era. There's a lot of geometric stuff that was done at the time. It was a new material, and they used it in a new fashion. There was a lot of whimsy in Bakelite as well. It was something you would see on screen. It was very popular. As you mentioned, in the Cartier exhibit, a lot of the pieces were Art Deco in their design. It's one of my favorites. I do see it, but it's not real common in my area. Really good examples of Deco jewelry tend to be in larger cities. That's where it's a little more popular because it is a very sophisticated look. I think you have to be very urban.   Sharon: And you also have to have money because the price of it keeps going up.   Erik: Right, exactly.   Sharon: So, your name, The Lush Life, is a double entendre because you started selling barware.   Erik: Yeah. A lot of people don't know that. I just kept it even though I stopped selling barware. I kept it because it alludes to luxury as well. Anyway, that's where that came from.   Sharon: I happened to go into store in New Orleans about five or six years ago, and they had a lot of vintage barware. They explained to me that it's a real collector's thing, which I didn't know at the time.    Erik: Because of prohibition in the United States, most households, if they had a cocktail shaker, it was very simple, usually something sterling silver. Liquor wasn't available. But when prohibition ended, that's when the heyday of American barware went nuts. Really inventive styles were coming out. You would see things, roosters and penguins, all kinds of animals and all kinds of interesting forms and shapes on bar accessories. Not all of them, but a lot of them had Bakelite as the components, like the swizzle sticks or the handles or the finials. It was quite common, actually.   Sharon: I didn't know that until a while back. It sounds like it would be an interesting thing to collect.    I know you do a lot of digging. You go to flea markets; you keep your eyes on garage sales, on auctions and things like that. Do you think that because of things like Antiques Roadshow, people know the value of what they have? Has it gotten harder to find the jewelry you're looking for? Do people know it?   Erik: Yes, it's definitely harder to find. I think with the smartphone technology, I see it all the time. I used to not really go to estate sales, but lately I have been, and everybody's looking up everything on their phone before they're buying it. I've never really bought that way. I'm aware of market prices. One in a while I may not know a particular maker. It's very uncommon for me to be at an estate sale looking up something. I go by a look. If I like it, if I think somebody might like it and there's room for a modest markup, I'll buy it. I don't care what it sold for on eBay, and I don't care what it sells for on any other platform. I just know what I think I can get for it.    So yes, it is harder because there is a lot more competition out there, and it's easier to find out what things are. It's at your fingertips now. I guess phones started blowing up about 15 years ago. I don't remember when the iPhone came out or when smartphones became real popular, but everybody is using that. You can look up an item online and see the same item at 20 different prices, whether it's $10 or someone has it for $650. Realistically, if you want to see what the market bears, if you have an account, you can go on WorthPoint and see what it sold for in different years on eBay. eBay does give you a good idea of where trends are. Over the years, certain things go high; certain things plummet, but it does give you a relative value. So, when someone's asking $650 for something and there's no recorded price of that ever selling, they're not going to sell it for $650. A lot of times people will offer me something and say, “Well, this person has it online for $650,” and I say, “But it's still there. It's been there for five years at that price and it's not going to sell. One just sold on eBay for $39.95.” It's become difficult because people think their things are very precious when they're actually very mundane or very common. Then people have items they think are mundane, then they look into it and find out it's extremely expensive. There's that contrast. It's either or, so it's become difficult.    A great example: I was at a store one time, and a gentleman brought in a little sterling silver baby cup. He said, “I saw this on the Roadshow, and it's worth a lot of money.” Now, this was a baby cup that was made by a company like Reed and Barton, something like that. It was sterling silver. Granted, it had some silver value, but it is a dime a dozen. Yes, they're kind of hard to find without a dent in them or engraved, but on a good day, $100. I know this for a fact because I always buy them as gifts for my friends that have children, and they don't sell for very much.    But the fact that he saw it on the Antiques Roadshow, he thought his was worth about $25,000, something like that. I said, “Are you referring to the tankard that was brought in the other day on the Roadshow?” The one that was on the Roadshow was Paul Revere. It was a tankard made by Paul Revere. I said, “They're not the same,” but he insisted they were the same because they looked the same. I said, “Well, they are different sizes, first of all.” But you can't educate when they don't want to be educated. You see that in everything. Since I focus on jewelry primarily, I see it all the time. I see variations. That story relates to everything, of every category of jewelry that I see, where they think, “Oh, I have that.” No, you don't. Yours is a copy of a famous piece, and it's a poor copy. Just because it looks the same doesn't mean it is the same.

Buy/Stream: overview.fanlink.to/OVR057-gyrofield gyrofield gives us her most ambitious project to date, Evangelion For Beginners. Imbued with a generalist and foundational approach to drum and bass, a stylistic bow-on-top was tied on the record with influences from the Japanese cultural touchstone anime Evangelion. Though flowing fluently in the canon of drum and bass, the beautifully uneasy atmosphere inspired by the mecha anime also serves as the soundtrack to a blooming love affair with dance music. This is an artist in a moment of development, while still bringing a vision like no other, and showing the world just how important they are at a timely moment for electronic music. gyrofield https://soundcloud.com/gyrofieldmusic https://twitter.com/gyrofield https://gyrofield.bandcamp.com Overview Music https://overviewmusic.co.uk https://patreon.com/overview https://facebook.com/overviewuk https://instagram.com/overviewuk https://twitter.com/overviewuk https://soundcloud.com/overviewuk

In episode 270, Kestrel welcomes Timnit Kefela, a doctoral candidate in environmental science and management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to the show. Timnit's research is focused on the sources, pathways and fates of microplastics in urban environments. “Much of the solutions that are being brought out are very consumer-forward, which I think is unfair, because a lot of them are not accessible. So you end up putting the brunt of environmental destruction on the people who have the least access to the solutions. So I think it's incredibly important to pay attention to how we can have things change from an infrastructural level to be able to tackle this problem, and not necessarily just blame it on people who cannot afford leading, you know, zero-waste or low-waste lifestyles.” -Timnit We're talking about plastic. Yup, plastic. I know, it's everywhere. Literally everywhere. It feels like we can't escape it these days. And as you probably know, our clothing is no different. Plastic is a primary fiber for today's fashion. In Changing Markets' Fossil Fashion report, they state that: “It is now estimated that synthetic fibers will grow from 69% to 73% of total fiber production globally by 2030, with polyester accounting for 85% of this.” That's a lot of clothes dripping in … oil? Cringe. Where did it all start? How did plastic become the fabric of our lives? From what I could discover, it sounds like the first fully synthetic plastic was created in the early 1900s – what we would call *Bakelite*. From there, a lot has transformed with plastics and our incessant use of it, especially since the 1950s – the dawn of synthetic fiber mass production. I don't know about you, but with all this plastic fashion, all I can think about is the excessive microfiber emissions that come with it. We hear about microplastics all the time nowadays – but do we really understand how they function? Where do they start, how do they travel, and how are they truly impacting communities? Timnit, this week's guest, is a doctoral candidate who has done extensive research examining the impact of apparel and other sources, on global microplastics pollution. Timnit shares insights from her research, and ways she believes we can be working to mitigate microplastics emissions. Quotes & links from the conversation: “Synthetic microfiber emissions to land rival those to waterbodies and are growing”, paper co-authored by Timnit “Microplastics are in our bodies.” article in National Geographic that discusses the recent research about how microplastics have been found in human blood and lungs “Fossil Fashion”, report by Changing Market that Kestrel mentions “California Adopts Nation's First Microplastics Strategy to Reduce Microplastic Pollution”, article about CA microplastic reduction strategy that Timnit mentions Timnit's website >

I have been to the moon and back, plumbed in bathrooms and more besides, and all in my sleep. I normally undertake these activities in an orderly fashion in the seconds before I wake up. These days, my adventures have become more numerous because I am no longer a spring chicken and prone to waking up a lot, which involves dreaming a lot. Just before the light came up and I woke up this morning, I had cause to telephone John. John is an upholsterer I haven't seen for more than twenty years. He hadn't changed a bit. After having patiently listened to my plea for a 65cm blue velvet cousin cover and new upholstery on an old button back nursing chair, he asked me if there was anything else I needed. I said that what I was really after was a set of casters and a gun. He seemed a bit surprised. “I thought you were practically blind.” “I used to shoot an air rifle,” I said. This was an exaggeration. As a child my brother and I had unfettered access to a lead pellet air rifle that we were pretty free with. In the interests of sibling longevity, I gave it up. “I'm thinking of taking up target shooting,” I explained. I noticed he was nodding thoughtfully on the other end of a large Bakelite phone with a long curly cord, before agreeing to supply several meters of upholstery fabric, casters and, of course, a gun. Having put in my order, I woke up and drank a pot of tea. Then I went on line and to my joy, I have discovered that there is an aspiration to make acoustic shooting for blind people a Paralympic sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzctZml7Js. The public went wild for the 2012 Paralympics. If the question is disability the answer is sport. “Gone blind. Never mind. You could become a Paralympian.” It might be a bit late in the day, but I could conceivably be on track to be a gun shooting Olympian, assuming my hearing holds up until then. If that fails I can always turn myself into a geriatric #Violet-Elizabeth Bott and “thcream and thcream, at the injustice of it, till I'm sick”. Imagine that as an Olympic sport. I am not an Olympian. I have never been in the park, let alone on the track or on the plinth. I did come third in an egg and spoon relay race in 1974, though the fact of my performance is lost to history. It might never have happened. No shield was ever engraved or presented. I've made my peace with that. Elite sports are not for everyone. It's enough to compete for a seat on the bus if you are unsure where the seat is, and you are doing it blind because it's rush hour, and a tremendous hush has descended on the #159. Come to think of it, navigating your way to work blind would be an excellent competitive sport. It would turn notions of what it is to be an Olympian on its head. Being gloriously average has its advantages. I'm free to go back to bed for a good snooze and further adventures in upholstery or space travel. If sleep were an Olympian sport I'd be the last person to get picked for my team, On the up side, there is always hope of improvement without having to stand up. No ear guards are required and it's rich in experiences from driving ice trucks to making bolognese. Being a dreamer has never left me in any doubt that being gloriously average has got its advantages. You might say it's something to aspire to.

What you'll learn in this episode: How New York City Jewelry Week supports the jewelry industry year-round Why the best way to reach potential jewelry consumers is through education, not through a hard sell How the pandemic helped Bella and other jewelry educators get their message out to more people Why Bella and her partner JB wanted New York City Jewelry Week to feel like opening a jewelry box How you can support the upcoming 2022 New York City Jewelry Week About Bella Neyman Bella Neyman is the co-founder of New York City Jewelry Week. She is also an independent curator and journalist specializing in contemporary jewelry. Most recently she was on the Curatorial Advisory Committee for 45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Since graduating with a Master's Degree in Decorative Arts and Design History from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum & Parsons, The New School for Design in 2008, she has worked for some of New York City's leading design galleries. Bella's articles have been published in The New York Times, American Craft, and the Magazine Antiques. She is also a frequent contributor to Metalsmith magazine. Bella is on the Board of Art Jewelry Forum. She resides with her family in Brooklyn.  Additional Resources: Bella's Instagram NYC Jewelry Week website NYC Jewelry Week Instagram Links for two of Bella's upcoming classes:   Studio Jewelry: From Mid-century to the Present starting Monday, March 14th!! https://education.christies.com/courses/continuing-education/short-courses/studio-jewelry-from-mid-century-to-present Jewelry Jaunts- Mondays, April 25th - May 23rd  11am-12:30pm For this class, registrants can sign-up with code 'EARLY' to receive a 10% discount.  https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eiy0iu2pe3f8ecba&oseq=&c=&ch= Transcript: Now in its fifth year, New York City Jewelry Week has changed the American jewelry landscape for good. The annual jewelry show is much more than just shopping—with workshops, educational opportunities, and showcases of every type of jewelry imaginable, there is something for every jewelry lover. NYC Jewelry Week co-founder Bella Neyman joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about what she and her partner JB Jones have in store for 2022; why they want the week to feel like opening up a jewelry box; and how you can support NYC Jewelry Week's programs. Read the episode transcript here.    Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. Here at the Jewelry Journey, we're about all things jewelry. With that in mind, I wanted to let you know about an upcoming jewelry conference, which is “Beyond Boundaries: Jewelry of the Americas.” It's sponsored by the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts, or, as it's otherwise known, ASJRA. The conference takes place virtually on Saturday and Sunday May 21 and May 22, which is around the corner. For details on the program and the speakers, go to www.jewelryconference.com. Non-members are welcome. I have to say that I attended this conference in person for several years, and it's one of my favorite conferences. It's a real treat to be able to sit in your pajamas or in comfies in your living room and listen to some extraordinary speakers. So, check it out. Register at www.jewelryconference.com. See you there.   This is a two-part Jewelry Journey Podcast. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it comes out later this week. Today, my guest is Bella Neyman, a woman who wears many hats in the world of jewelry. The primary one is as a mover and shaker among jewelry professionals. Her other hats include jewelry curator, historian, author, educator and cofounder of New York City Jewelry Week, or NYCJW as it's known. Bella joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast several years ago talking about NYCJW when it was in its infancy. Today, we'll hear more about her own jewelry journey, what's in store for NYCJW this year, and more about her background. Bella, welcome to the program.   Bella: Thank you so much, Sharon. Thank you for having me back again. It's exciting to be here. Thank you.   Sharon: You're involved in so many things, it was so difficult to write an intro.    Bella: When I hear that, it makes me think, “Wow, is she talking about me?” I don't know. I do the things I love. Sometimes I forget I do so many things.   Sharon: Did you set out to do that? Did you know that when you became a jewelry professional? I'm sort of backing into this, but did you know that you were going to be involved in so many things when you became a jewelry professional? Or did you have one specific thing in mind?   Bella: I had no idea. To be honest with you, I didn't really know that I would end up in jewelry. I went to Cooper Hewitt/Parsons for their Decorative Arts and Design master's program. I never took the jewelry course. I was interested in design and decorative arts. Getting ready to have this conversation with you, what I realized is that I didn't find jewelry; jewelry found me. I'm glad it did, obviously, because I love what I'm doing, but I did not think jewelry was going to be my focus at all, actually.   Sharon: Were you a designer? Were you artistic as a kid?   Bella: No, not at all, and I'm still not. I can sew a button. I can draw a straight line, but I'm completely not artistic. I've always loved art. I grew up around it. I was actually born in Russia—geographically, I should say I was born in Ukraine, but I'm Russian. I moved here when I was seven years old. I moved to America; I moved to New York.    My parents were always interested in the arts. My mother was a librarian at an art museum in Odessa, which is the city where I was born. I am an only kid, so my parents always took me with them to wherever they were going. My father is a collector, so I always grew up around it. When we came to this country, because my parents didn't have anyone to leave me with, I always went with them everywhere. That's how I'm raising my daughter now. She goes with me everywhere, and we try to expose her to so many different things.    So, I was always interested in the arts, but I never thought I would have a career in the arts. My parents, while they were always really encouraging, I don't think they thought I was going to end up in the arts either.    Sharon: Did they support you if you wanted, or were they more like “Be an engineer”?   Bella: Basically, yes. They were like, “You should do the thing that's going to make you money,” because we came to this country and didn't have much. I went to a public school. The college I went to is a city college. So, they really wanted me to do something that was going to make me a good living, but they also believed I should follow my heart and do what is going to make me happy.    Even when I went to college, I didn't know what I was going to do. I was thinking, “Well, maybe psychology.” That was a popular thing at the time, but I took an art history course, and I was hooked. My bachelor's was in arts administration. I knew that I wanted to remain in the arts, but I wanted to do something where I was able to approach the art world with a sense of practicality, with a sense of having some knowledge of business skills, marketing, finance, because I always knew I wasn't going to be an artist. As I said, I'm not creative. So, I wanted to approach it from a place where I could support myself and support others.   Sharon: Arts administration, that sounds intriguing. That sounds like a great foundation for what you're talking about.   Bella: Exactly, something practical. Then, of course, for my master's degree, I decided that I wanted to go into the decorative arts, not into the fine arts. Again, thinking about what I could do to contribute to this thing I'm going to be embarking on studying. I just felt like the fine arts were saturated. There aren't any work opportunities. I thought, “What am I going to contribute to this field that hasn't already been done? There are so many other voices. Why do I need to do this? Why should I pursue this?”   I always loved the decorative arts and I thought, “You know what? This seems like more of a niche, and maybe I can do something that would be more worthwhile.” I was thinking about, “O.K., can I be a curator? Can I be a writer? Can I work in a gallery? Can I work in an auction house?” Always thinking practically about how I could make a living doing this thing I love, I ended up in this master's program, which I absolutely loved. I chose it because I can work with objects. The two years that I spent there—we were at the Cooper Hewitt—were an incredible experience, but I never took a jewelry class.   As I said, jewelry found me, because when I finished my master's degree, I was incredibly fortunate to find a job right away. I started working in a decorative arts gallery called Primavera Gallery. They had just moved to Chelsea. This was 2007, so Chelsea was really developing. Audrey and Haim, who owned the gallery, had an incredible collection. At that point, it had been in business for about 30 years, and they have an incredible collection not just of furniture and glass and ceramics and metalwork spanning the 20th century, but they also had an incredible collection of jewelry. Again, 20th century was the focus. They had really important signed pieces by many prominent European makers and designers. They also had great Georgian jewelry and Victorian jewelry because Audrey was always so passionate about jewelry. It was something she really loved. So, that was the first time I got to handle jewelry and start to appreciate it and look at it as an art form.   Sharon: That's a great way to start out. Is Primavera still in business?   Bella: At this point, Audrey and Haim have retired. I think they're probably still open by appointment. They still have a collection, but they're no longer in Chelsea.   Sharon: I've never been, but I've always heard they were a fabulous gallery.   Bella: Yeah, it was a great place to work. They were one of the first to sell Art Deco. When they were starting out, a lot of the pieces were still coming out of the original homes, the families that purchased these pieces. They were collecting them in the 70s, when there was a huge revival of Art Deco. So, it was a great place to work.   Sharon: Wow! I'm always envious of people who got into the Cooper Hewitt in that program. I wish they had something out here like that. Tell us, were you hooked on jewelry from there?   Bella: Yes, absolutely, I became hooked on jewelry there. As I said, it was the first time I was able to handle it and start to appreciate it. I think Audrey's stories about the pieces in their collection sparked an interest in me. I was always thinking about what else I could be doing. It's funny, because when you're in school, you're so busy trying to keep up with the curriculum. Once you graduate, you almost feel at a loss, like, “I have all this free time on my hands.” I really wanted to start writing, and I came upon a piece in their collection that I absolutely fell in love with. It was a necklace by the jeweler Sah Oved, and I wanted to investigate who this woman was.   Sharon: I have to interrupt you—who was the piece by?   Bella: Sah Oved.   Sharon: Oh, Sah Oved, wow!   Bella: I had started keeping a blog because, as I said, this is like 2007, 2008. Blogs were quite popular. I started a blog so I could write and have something to present should I ever find myself ready to pitch an editor, because I really wanted to write.   I found this piece by Sah Oved in Audrey's collection. I wanted to know more about it, and that was the first time I wanted to explore somebody's jewelry story. Who was this woman? Why was this piece made? Why is it so different from anything I had seen? That really is what started it for me. I wrote this article. It was my first publication in a magazine, and I was hooked. I was really, really hooked and, as I said, I think jewelry found me.    Sharon: I'm curious because so much of Moshe's work, you can't tell the difference. How did you know this was Sah Oved versus Moshe?   Bella: Yeah, Sah was the jeweler. Moshe, his contribution to jewelry has been the animal rings that come on the auction scene every once in a while. Sah was really the jeweler. He was this eccentric businessman. He was a great supporter of the arts, but he didn't make that much jewelry. She was his partner. She worked with him at the Cameo Corner, which was his shop. She did a lot of repairs for him; she did custom work, but she had been interested in jewelry prior to working for him. She had her own little studio in London. So, part of the challenge was to find out who this woman was, because not much had been written about her.   Sharon: There's still not much about her.   Bella: There still isn't. I'm hoping to change that, but yes, there still isn't.   Sharon: I know you gave a talk last year to the Association for the Study of Jewelry and Related Arts, which was fabulous because nobody ever talks about them, really.   Bella: No, they don't.   Sharon: The last time I saw a piece by you, it was in an antiques magazine. You also teach. How did you start teaching? Tell us about that.   Bella: The teaching is something that is pretty recent. That's been a product of the pandemic. What happened between leaving Primavera Gallery and finding my way to where I am today is that I also discovered contemporary studio jewelry, which is how you and I know each other through Art Jewelry Forum. I was always interested in finding work and artists whose work speaks to me and sharing their stories, whether it be through writing, through lecturing, through New York City Jewelry Week, which I know we'll get to later on. That's what I've always been interested in, sharing those stories.    I teach at two institutions. I lecture at the 92nd Street Y and at Christie's. I love jewelry, so for me, it has been wonderful—especially during the pandemic, when everybody was doing everything virtually and we were glued to our computer screens—to not only my share my jewelry knowledge, but also to broaden my jewelry knowledge. I teach a wide variety of courses. For example, next week, I'm starting a class at the Y on costume jewelry. In the past, I've taught classes on women designers in the 20th century. I've done an overview of jewelry history in the 20th century. For me, it's always been about sharing my knowledge, but also broadening my own knowledge. There's so much information out there, and to be able to take that information, make it digestible for my students and to hopefully inspire them and pass on my love of jewelry to them has been really special, especially during the pandemic, when it's been hard to be out and do things that we love.   Sharon: I'm really looking forward to this class on costume jewelry because nobody talks about costume except Bakelite maybe once in a while. Tell us about it. How did you decide to do that?   Bella: Absolutely. I've taught this class covering 100 years of jewelry and this other class on women designers, and when I put my courses together, I want to make sure I present the full scope of jewelry, all different types of jewelry. As I mentioned, while I worked for Audrey and Haim and worked with these important signed pieces and fine jewelry, in my personal life, I'm much more interested in contemporary studio jewelry and jewelry made from non-precious materials. So, when I teach these classes, I make sure I include all different types of jewelry because, to be quite honest with you, I think jewelry, regardless of what it's made from, it all informs. It informs each other, whether it's fine or studio or costume. So, when I put these classes together, I always want to make sure I cover a broad span of different types of jewelry.    When I was working on the women designers course, I realized that a lot of women designers started out in costume jewelry, much more so than in fine jewelry, which has traditionally been a very male-dominated industry. But in costume jewelry there were a lot of female designers, and that sparked my interest. I've also been interested in fashion jewelry and fashion designers like Coco Chanel or Elsa Schiaparelli, who used costume jewelry historically to build their own image or to embellish their own collections. I was interested in that relationship as well, and that's how that class came about. You're right; not much has been done on costume jewelry. There are some publications, of course, but I haven't seen any classes. It was of interest to me, so I assumed it would be of interest to others.   Sharon: It's unusual, because you can find other courses on jewelry history which are great—it's refreshing, I guess is the word.   Bella: Good. I hope everyone signs up. The class starts next Thursday, February 24 at the 92nd Street Y. It's a virtual class. It's a six-week course. It's a little bit longer than my usual courses because the other thing I've enjoyed is having guest speakers join me in my classes. With everything being virtual, that's something that's easy. So, I have some fun speakers lined up as well. I'm really excited for it.   Sharon: I'm sure it's going to be great. Do you think you'll continue at the Y with jewelry classes?   Bella: Yeah, I think so. This is now my third course for them, and it's great. I love it. I enjoy meeting all the different individuals who sign up for the courses. I feel like we end up becoming friends. They're always so eager to reach out, and the class is really wonderful. They're virtual, so we can reach more students.   Then, of course, at Christie's, we've also been able to do classes. I do virtual classes at Christie's, but I have recently started doing an in-person course called Jewelry Jaunts. It's really nice to be among other jewelry lovers, to be out looking at jewelry, trying it on and picking it up, investigating.   Sharon: That sounds great. What are you teaching virtually at Christie's? I didn't know you were teaching virtually for them.   Bella: At Christie's, I teach two courses. One of them is starting in March, and that's on the history of studio jewelry. Then the second course I've taught there is on artist jewelers. All these classes inform each other, as jewelry does. I look at a lot of the classes I teach as a part one and a part two, so, if you're interested in studio jewelry, there's a little bit of an overlap. That's why I wanted to add this other class focusing on artist jewelers. The virtual studio course is going to run in March, and the class I'm teaching now, as I said, is in person. It's fun. We'll hopefully do that in the spring again.   Sharon: Wow! You're busy.   Bella: I'm busy, but at the same time, it's been such a challenging couple of years, so it's a nice way to distract yourself.   Sharon: It sounds like they're things you might not have been able to do or focus on. From my perspective, you cover everything from antique to art jewelry, but you're saying you like contemporary jewelry. I call it art jewelry. That's what you like, but you teach everything it seems. Is that what you're saying?   Bella: I love jewelry. When it comes to the things I collect or the things I covet, most of that is contemporary studio jewelry or art jewelry, absolutely, but I love all jewelry.   Sharon: I like that word, covet.    This is a two-part Jewelry Journey Podcast. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it comes out later this week.

Trek Table Episode 42 dives deep into Star Trek Discovery Season 4 Episode 9, "Rubicon".  Host Marie Reine-Velez returns after a hiatus, and is joined by regulars Alison De La Cruz, Claudia Alick, and Maia Mills Low.  The full crew welcomes special guest, Dr. Malika Jeffries-EL, Professor of Chemistry, Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Boston University, and self-proclaimed "born-again Trekkie".  Together, they discuss complicated relationships, connection, accountability, organic semi-conductors, and other topics as they relate to this particularly anxiety-provoking episode. Trek Table is a talkshow holding Trek Space for Black, Indigenous, Brown, Women of Color (Queer or otherwise) and our Allies.  We welcome Trek heads, newbies, generational Star Trek families, the sci-fi curious, and all the evolving identities surrounding Trekdom to explore, celebrate, and dive deep into Star Trek Discovery.   Trek Table is brought to you with the support of Outside In Theatre, an evolving force in equitable and transformative storytelling.  Subscribe to Outside In Theatre at: https://youtube.com/outsideintheatre.  Support Outside In Theatre at https://outsideintheatre.org IMPORTANT LINKS * Enter your email to get Trek Table updates in your Inboxhttps://www.trektable.com* Join the Trek Table Discord Community at https://discord.gg/gEWMSxMVCy* Watch full episodes of TrekTable at https://bit.ly/3w3a3rB   FOLLOW TREK TABLE * Instagram:  @TrekTable  https://www.instagram.com/trektable/* Twitter: @Trek_Table https://twitter.com/trek_table* Facebook: @trektablepodcast  https://www.facebook.com/TrekTablePodcast   SIGNAL BOOST ** KITE **     Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 1 pm Pacific Time.  Participate in a remote studio tour and performance, followed by an exclusive conversation, with the artist Kite.  Suzanne Kite, a.k.a. Kite, is an Oglála Lakȟóta performance artist, visual artist, and composer. Her performances, compositions, sculptures, and sound installations showcase the use of experimentation in new media and digital technologies that touch on issues such as nonhuman and human intelligence, the ethics of extractive technologies, and software design. Kite will take virtual attendees on a remote, roving tour and performance across three of her studio spaces in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Afterward, participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and engage in a remote conversation with the artist.    More info at https://visionsandvoices.usc.edu/   ** NOVA Beyond the Elements **Watch Trek Table Guest, Dr. Malika Jeffries-EL, break down the properties of plastic in the NOVA series, Beyond the Elements.   Learn more about the science of plastics and how Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, is made: https://bit.ly/3oSAex1   ** Women at Warp **For an act-by-act breakdown of Star Trek Discovery Season 4 Episode 9, check out Kennedy Allen's work at Women at Warp:  https://www.womenatwarp.com/discovery-recap-season-4-episode-9-rubicon/   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Do you have a recommendation for a woman of color content creator, world shaper or change maker you would like us to amplify?  If so, please reach out to us @Trektable on Instagram, @Trek_Table on Twitter, or via email at info@trektable.com.    FOLLOW OUR MUSICIANS @Quetzalmusic on Instagram   FOLLOW OUR HOSTSDr. Malika Jeffries-EL: @chemdiva (Twitter)Marie Reine Velez:  @mariezpz  (Instagram)Claudia Alick: @calling up justice  (Instagram)Alison De La Cruz : @picsbydela (Instagram) @TweetsbyDeLa (Twitter)Maiamama: @maia-splaining (Instagram) #StarTrekDiscovery #BIWOCTrek #TrekTable  

https://chtbl.com/track/118312/traffic.libsyn.com/talkinglead/akk_s4_ep2_vz58_final.mp3 This episode of the Talking Lead AK Korner is presented by Century Arms. Our topic is the Czechoslovakian vz. 58 (some times wrongly called the "CZ-58" as CZ did manufacture them) also known as the 7,62 mm samopal vzor 58 ("7.62mm submachine gun model 1958"). Joining Lefty this episode are guests: Paul Markel, Student Of The Gun; Curtis Halstrom, VSO Gun Channel; Andrew Breneman, Century Arms. Although the vz-58 externally looks very similar to the AK-47, it is it's own rifle and is nothing like the AK-47. Internally the vz-58 has a substantially different design that is based on a short-stroke gas piston. In fact, internally the vz-58 rifle has more in common with the Walther P38, Beretta 92, Brens, and Glocks than it does with an AK-47. No parts between the two rifles are interchangeable, not even the magazine. The vz-58 is smaller than the AK-47, the barrel (in non-US imported versions) is shorter and the width is narrower. The original furniture was made from a wood and Bakelite mixture known affectionately as "beaver-barf". Another feature the vz-58 has that the AK-47 does not is it's bolt hold open operation which allows the weapon to be reloaded from the top with striper clips without having to remove the magazine. Listen to the episode to get more interesting facts and opinions from the experts. "Leaducating The Unleaducated" since 2012 -Talking Lead Podcast

1WHEN REPORT CARDS were handed out at the Babbington Grammar School, some of my classmates fell into a whimpering terror, instinctively cowering and covering their vulnerable spots, as skittish and apprehensive as squirrels. Others began whooping and crowing, pounding one another on the back, and totting up their spoils. At the time it didn't occur to me to pity the first group, but I certainly envied the second, for my parents considered it a Principle of Child Rearing not to reward my accomplishments in school.     When I brought a report card home, I got small praise for even the best of grades, and almost nothing in the way of tangible rewards. My father would say, looking at the best report card in my class, or even in the whole school, “That's what I expected.” Sometimes Gumma or Guppa would slip me a dollar, or my mother would give me a hug and whisper, “I'm proud of you, Peter,” but these tokens seemed insignificant indeed beside the handsome cash prizes some of my friends collected. Some were paid for meeting certain standards, negotiated with their parents in advance, standards that were often, it seemed to me, quite low for the loot involved. Others were rewarded for showing any improvement at all; quite a few made out pretty well just for getting through six weeks without being sent to the principal's office; and still others could collect a metal dump truck or a movie pass just for compiling a decent attendance record. It didn't seem just.     However, on the extraordinary occasion when Matthew Barber and I were, after three weeks in the third grade, moved ahead to the fourth, I did get a reward: a camera, the first I had ever owned. It was small, well suited to the hands of a third-grader, but it was an unusual possession for a child in those times, a sophisticated gadget even for a fourth-grader.     The camera was made of black plastic, the kind called Bakelite. In overall shape, it was a cube, but a cube on which every edge had been smoothly rounded, as if the designer had streamlined it in case the photographer had to use it in a high wind. On each side was a vertical slide of bright metal that traveled in a channel molded into the Bakelite, so that, by moving these slides toward the top, one could separate the front and back halves of the camera to load or unload the film or to examine the interior. At its upper end, each metal slide terminated in a circular lug, through which were threaded the ends of a braided plastic strap. In the center of the back was a round window of translucent red plastic through which one could see the numbers on the paper backing of the film.     At the center of the front half was the lens, smooth and limpid, inside a crater of plastic. A short cream-colored shaft projected from a protuberance on the body. The top of the shaft was flattened to form the button that one pushed to take a picture. On the bottom of the camera was a knurled knob, also made of cream-colored plastic, that one turned to advance the film. Across the top of the camera, mounted in a channel molded into both halves of the body, was the viewfinder. When one held the camera with the viewfinder to one's eye, the forefinger of one's right hand fell quite naturally on the shutter button, and the middle finger fell quite naturally over the right half of the lens.     I loved that camera. I carried it with me everywhere for nearly a year, because holding it and looking at it reminded me that I had done something my parents regarded as extraordinarily worthy. But as much as the camera pleased me it intimidated me. A statement in the instruction booklet said, “Snapshots will capture your memories forever,” and I understood at once that the snapshots I was likely to take would capture forever memories of my childish ineptitude as a photographer, the evidence of my awkwardness and uncertainty. Clearly, the wise thing to do would be to avoid using film until I had acquired some poise, if only enough so that I wouldn't take pictures I would really regret, so I put the film in the back of my sock drawer to save until I felt confident enough to use it.     For practice, I took filmless photographs, hoping that I'd become familiar enough with the camera to be able to handle it with skill and nonchalance. I trembled whenever I brought the viewfinder to my eye and tried to frame a picture. My finger froze on the white plastic button that would capture this memory forever, or would have if there had been film in the camera. I wanted to push the button, but some small consideration would always make me hesitate.     Maybe it would be better to aim a little higher, in case I might be cutting off the top of someone's head.     If I waited just a moment, maybe Guppa would smile.     Was I too close?     Should I wait until the sun came out from behind that cloud?     Had I remembered to turn the knob after the last picture?     Maybe I should wait for another opportunity altogether.     Maybe I didn't really want to preserve this memory at all.Have you missed an episode or two or several?You can begin reading at the beginning or you can catch up by visiting the archive or consulting the index to the Topical Guide.You can listen to the episodes on the Personal History podcast. Begin at the beginning or scroll through the episodes to find what you've missed.You can ensure that you never miss a future issue by getting a free subscription. (You can help support the work by choosing a paid subscription instead.)At Apple Books you can download free eBooks of “My Mother Takes a Tumble,” “Do Clams Bite?,” “Life on the Bolotomy,” “The Static of the Spheres,” “The Fox and the Clam,” “The Girl with the White Fur Muff,” and “Take the Long Way Home,” the first seven novellas in Little Follies.You'll find an overview of the entire work in  An Introduction to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. It's a pdf document. Get full access to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy at peterleroy.substack.com/subscribe

5 Tháng 2 Là Ngày Gì? Hôm Nay Là Ngày Sinh Của Cristiano Ronaldo Và Neymar SỰ KIỆN 1936 – Phim hài Thời đại tân kỳ của Charlie Chaplin được công chiếu. 1852 – Bảo tàng Ermitazh tại Sankt-Peterburg, Nga được mở cửa cho công chúng, nay là một trong những bảo tàng lớn nhất và cổ nhất trên thế giới. 1909 – Nhà hóa học người Bỉ Leo Hendrick Baekeland tuyên bố tạo thành Bakelite, chất dẻo tổng hợp đầu tiên trên thế giới. Sinh 1992 – Neymar, cầu thủ bóng đá người Brasil hiện đang thi đấu ở vị trí tiền đạo cho câu lạc bộ Paris Saint-Germain và đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Brasil. Được biết đến với khả năng dẫn bóng, ghi bàn và chơi tốt cả hai chân, Neymar được so sánh với cựu tiền đạo Pelé của Brazil và Santos. Trên sân cỏ, anh là một trong những vận động viên thể thao nổi tiếng nhất thế giới 1987 – Trấn Thành, tên thật là Huỳnh Trấn Thành là người dẫn chương trình, diễn viên hài, diễn viên điện ảnh và nhà làm phim người Việt Nam. Anh từng đoạt giải 3 cuộc thi Người dẫn chương trình truyền hình năm 2006. Anh thể hiện sự linh hoạt, hài hước trong cách dẫn những chương trình Trấn Thành được đánh giá là một nghệ sĩ đa tài trong nhiều lĩnh vực (hài kịch, diễn viên, đạo diễn, MC, biên kịch...) 1985 – Cristiano Ronaldo, cầu thủ bóng đá người Bồ Đào Nha 1984 – Carlos Tévez, cầu thủ bóng đá người Argentina 1976 – Tony Jaa, diễn viên và võ sư người Thái Lan. Một số bộ phim mà anh đã tham gia như: Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, Tom-Yum-Goong, Ong-Bak 2, Ong-Bak 3, Fast & Furious 7 và xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Mất 664 – Huyền Trang, cao tăng Trung Quốc, một trong bốn dịch giả lớn nhất, chuyên dịch kinh sách Phạn ngữ ra tiếng Hán (s. 602) 1909 – Nguyễn Khuyến, quan viên, tác gia người Việt Nam (s. 1835) Chương trình "Hôm nay ngày gì" hiện đã có mặt trên Youtube, Facebook và Spotify: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aweektv - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AWeekTV - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6rC4CgZNV6tJpX2RIcbK0J - Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../h%C3%B4m-nay.../id1586073418 #aweektv #5thang2 #CristianoRonaldo #Neymar #TranThanh #carlostevez Các video đều thuộc quyền sở hữu của Adwell jsc (adwell.vn), mọi hành động sử dụng lại nội dung của chúng tôi đều không được phép. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aweek-tv/message

17LET ME EXPLAIN these coils that were giving Guppa so much trouble. The reason one radio can pick up signals that another cannot is that each of them is tuned to a different range of radio frequencies. The radio that Guppa was building for me would detect signals in the range of frequencies that are called “shortwave.” Now within that broad range lie narrower “bands.” The receiver would be able to receive signals in many of these bands, depending on which coil was plugged into its circuit. To change from one band to another, all I would have to do was unplug one coil and plug in another. The coils were to be wound on hollow Bakelite forms with pins projecting from their bases that could be inserted into sockets like those into which vacuum tubes were inserted.      When Guppa and I were looking through his back issues of Impractical Craftsman to decide what sort of radio we would build, we had found other, simpler radios, but Guppa had liked the notion of winding these coils by hand, and the thin, shiny wire had appealed to him as soon as he saw it in the electrical gadget store, but what had really persuaded him that this radio was just the one for us to build was the description of the work that appeared in the article: the hours of baffling precision work.Have you missed an episode or two or several?You can listen to the episodes on the Personal History podcast from the beginning or scroll through the episodes to find what you've missed.You can begin reading at the beginning or you can catch up by visiting the archive or consulting the index to the Topical Guide.At Apple Books you can download free eBooks of “My Mother Takes a Tumble,” “Do Clams Bite?,” “Life on the Bolotomy,” “The Static of the Spheres,” and “The Fox and the Clam,” the first five novellas in Little Follies.You'll find an overview of the entire work in  An Introduction to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. It's a pdf document. Get full access to The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy at peterleroy.substack.com/subscribe

Over the course of this season, we've told stories of iconic plastic objects like Tupperware and Bakelite and looked at how this material has woven itself into our culture and our bodies. We've traced how we found ourselves in the plastics age, but what comes next?To help us envision the future plastics, we invited Pete Myers to speak with us in our first ever live taping of Trace Material. Pete is the founder and chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences (which publishes the famous Environmental Health News) and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University. Pete has decades of experience in the chemistry of plastics, particularly with a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors––a term he coined in the early 90s and explored in the best selling book he co-authored called “Our Stolen Future."We know the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) and explored the myth of plastics recycling in this season of the podcast. In this episode Pete makes his argument for a new set of R's: rethink, redesign, reform. Subscribe and listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.Have you enjoyed this season? Let us know on Apple Podcasts Trace Material is a project of Parsons Healthy Materials Lab at The New School. It is hosted and produced by Ava Robinson and Burgess Brown. Our project director is Alison Mears, and our research assistant is Olivia Hamilton. Trace Material was made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our theme music is Rainbow Road by Cardioid. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Hugh Karraker & John Maher are creators of the documentary, “All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic”. It is one of several documentary features from Director John Maher (Throw it Down), that arrived on multiple digital platforms on June 29, 2021 worldwide. In partnership with Bitmax, Executive Producer Hugh Karraker is bringing his great-grandfather Leo Baekeland’s story to iTunes, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, VUDU and more to six continents. The documentary is about Leo Baekeland, a Belgian industrial chemist who forever changed the world. Baekeland was best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and, more importantly, Bakelite in 1907. He has been called "The Father of the Plastics Industry" for his invention of Bakelite, an inexpensive, nonflammable and versatile plastic, which marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry. Read more at: https://allthingsbakelite.com/Taj Adhav is the co-founder and CEO of Leasecake, a prop tech Orlando, FL-based commercial real estate operating system for location management that has transformed lease and location management for Tenants (Specifically COOs, CFOs, VPs of Real Estate), Landlords and Brokers responsible for managing multiple locations. Customers which include Starbucks, Massage Envy, Jiffy Lube among others rely on Leasecake to provide proactive notifications for all mission-critical, time-sensitive events. Leasecake recently secured $3 million in seed funding in February. Read more at: https://leasecake.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for September 12, 2021 at their Websites:Cindy Gelormini is a Benjamin Moore Color Expert, Staging Consultant and Real Estate Agent in Northern New Jersey. She works as the in-house decorator and Color Consultant for clients in their homes. As a Staging Consultant, she also helps homeowners and realtors who are selling their homes to quickly and cheaply spruce up their homes to sell, offering low budget solutions to give the home a look that will appeal to buyers. As a Decorating Consultant, she also helps new home buyers choose paint colors, decide where to hang pictures and use what they have to pull together their new home. at: http://www.thepaintdivanj.com/Matt Stranberg is a licensed registered dietitian nutritionist, board certified specialist in sports nutrition and certified strength and conditioning specialist. After his training and graduate programs, he cofounded numerous initiatives at Walden Behavioral Care, including the Walden GOALS program and numerous consultation services designed to assist athletes struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating and problematic physical activity. As a renowned consultant, Matt is known for his dedication to educating and empowering patients of all backgrounds to facilitate a full and meaningful recovery, at: https://www.mattstranbergconsulting.com/ Visit

Join Danna and Wayne for a look at flipping one of the most popular and enduring inventions of the 20th Century: Bakelite.

n 1907 a man named Leo Baekeland changed our world forever. Leo was a Belgian chemist best known for his invention of Velox Photographic Paper in 1893. In 1907 Leo was deemed "The Father of the Plastic Industry" for his invention of Bakelite, an inexpensive, nonflammable, and versatile plastic which started the modern plastic industry we know today.Now there is an amazing documentary about Leo's life and his invention Bakelite called "All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic." We have on the show today two men who brought this project to life. We have the Director of the film John Maher, and the Executive Producer of the film Hugh Karraker. Hugh is also the Great Grandson of Leo Baekeland. Together they talk about the movie, Hugh's incredible great grandfather and how he changed our lives forever with his invention of plastic.

Today's dental implants are more advanced than ever, but false teeth were not always a clean, ordered, and precise craft. In fact, the history of dentures is quite strange and dark. Today's episode covers the history of different methods, materials, and sources of dentures. Enjoy!If you have any questions, comments, or topics you'd like to see in the future, please contact us at thehistoryof365@gmail.com. Please check out our YouTube channel at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClgEDVE4OJlmjboo9IMNtUwPlease check out our Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/thehistoryofpodcast/https://www.arlingtondentalcenter.com/blog/famous-dentures/https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2012/01/31/hitler-and-his-dentist/http://www.historyofdentistry.net/dentistry-history/history-of-dentures/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33085031https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/battle-of-waterloohttps://dental.nyu.edu/aboutus/rare-book-collection/book-17.htmlhttps://www.pmma.edu.ph/history-of-pmma/https://www.britannica.com/science/polymethyl-methacrylatehttp://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Denture.htmlhttps://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/ken-tudor/2014/january/are-dental-implants-good-pets-31242

The plastics we rely so heavily on today weren't a single discovery. In fact, they weren't even all dis-covered on purpose! Tune in to find out more.

Bakelite, charcoal and sugar drinks