Lately, from San Francisco all the way back home in Boston --from my summer traveling days-- I have been getting some serious finger attention and it has been mostly directed at my double stone paired rings.

Turquoise ring paired with porcelain

My custom turquoise ring with a small, paired, stone-set porcelain piece is just a bit more feminine and unique than the larger statement ring pieces I'm making. It's easier to stack since the turquoise stone and porcelain are small, but also has that striking color that gets it some friendly stranger attention. That, or it's all the wild hand-gesturing and wine holding I do when traveling and going out to eat with my husband, Chester. Much like a magician, I clearly use my hands to distract and awe.

18th Wedding Anniversary Gifting

When it comes to finding the right 18th Wedding Anniversary gift (or 9th anniversary if you're in the UK!) I definitely love picking something uniquely special to the lass that will be wearing it. Definitely porcelain, because you're most likely celebrating your porcelain anniversary!

If looking for porcelain jewelry but don't want to fuss with re-sizing and worrying about fit, I always love to recommend the heritage studs. They are heirloom quality pieces that can be worn all the time and even passed down to the next generation. They are quite classic and worry free. It's kind of like when I get a baby shower gift for a good friend: I always go for that one special thing that will most certainly be used, and never given unless you're really close to the person. It's time tested and always relevant. It's nipple cream if you must know and I hear it's awesome and is the cure to making all people happy.

Setting Stones and the Strength of Designing for Wear

I'm also so excited to be making some rutilated quartz + porcelain rings in the studio this week. They will be in full 14k gold glory, so naturally, I'm pretty jazzed (hand... jazz hands) about it.

I have both gemcut rutilated quartz stones and the rounded, cabochon style stones and of course they're going to get paired up with some porcelain because one of the stones needs to be freakishly strong and it's going to be my stone. If you're new to porcelain jewelry, porcelain is similar in strength to sapphires, but I can't speak for other new makers of porcelain and their recipes or firing schedules for their porcelain. I'm a product tester and former rock-carver. MOHs scale of hardness is a big factor in my jewelry designs and it's one of the things I love about designing with porcelain and using my architectural design background. Even though it has been nearly a decade since I was in architecture, the design for use mentality never leaves you.