New Stuff

I've been doing some experimenting with my designs lately, new colors, new shapes, and the like.  I've created some one-of-a-kind pieces in both the Maasai beading and terrarium necklace style, but have also started making some new terrarium necklaces that many folks can purchase/own.  I want to introduce the first of the new terrarium necklaces, the Yellow Miniature Garden Necklace:  I realized there was a dearth of yellow in my terrarium necklace collection, and had to address it!

I've also added a new set to Hieropice on Etsy, the Red Garnet Maasai Beaded Necklace and Earrings Set:
The holidays will be upon us before we know it, so why not make gift-giving a bit easier?!

Cheers!

Dara

Tribal

Just wanted to share a new Treasury List I put together..  I've titled it "Tribal."

And what's new is....

Everyone's out and about these days, enjoying the sunshine (which lasts about 5 minutes here in New England!), myself included; I spent last Saturday sweating it out at Assembled in Assembly Square, and so appreciate all the folks who came out to visit and shop!  I'll be back at Assembled this coming Saturday, July 27th from 11 AM to 4 PM, so if you're in the Greater Boston area, stop by!  There'll be food trucks (Bon Me and Frozen Hoagies, to name a couple!) and a live band and Hieropice in our new spiffed-up tent.  Think carnival-style bunting.

  If you haven't checked out Polyvore yet, you should.  It's a wonderful resource for fashion/style ideas; think a collection of crowd-sourced digital fashion collages.  But, with things you could actually buy.  Without mortgaging your house.  Polyvore users have been virtually-styling Hieropice jewelry in the coolest ways, and coming up with ways to wear our pieces that I'd never thought of!  You can now see some of the collections Polyvore users have put together in our Facebook album, "Hieropice Styled."  The image above is one of the many Polyvore collages featuring Hieropice.  Snap snap Polyvore.
  Citrine Yellow Maasai Beaded Earrings.  We want to make sure you can see our pieces in all their glory, even if it's only virtually!

We've also got some new photos up for Hieropice's Maasai beaded pieces, like our
  And, finally, Hieropice pieces will now be featured at Uni-T in the Natick Mall on an ongoing basis!  Two months were not enough, we just couldn't let go!  So now all of you brick-and-mortar shoppers in the Natick area can see Hieropice pieces in person, try them on....and then buy them.  Cause that last part is important.  :)  Happy days!
See you on Saturday!
Dara

New Earrings!

Just in time for Valentine's Day (or just because, if you couldn't care less about Valentine's Day), I've created a new pair of Maasai-style earrings, in vibrant red:

Black and White Maasai Beaded Necklace

    Considering the last item I introduced, Hieropice's Winter White Terrarium Necklace, and my newest item, one might think I've kicked color to the curb.  Not so!  Just embracing the absence of color, and the striking nature of sharp contrast.  Introducing Hieropice's Black and White Maasai Beaded Necklace.

    Contrast between two colors brings both to life, and enhances each.  And in fact, I think I misspoke, referring to black and white as the absence of color, when really, they are colors in their own right (thinking visually here, not light spectrum-wise).  I wear black to feel sophisticated, polished, maybe a little mysterious?  And white makes me feel regal and elegant.  The two together?  Judge for yourselves.  It's a special color relationship, for sure.  I am definitely a fan, hope you are too!

Cheers and pumpkin lattes,
Dara

Announcing a new retailer!

Hi all,

I hope everyone's Autumn is starting out on a good note.  The Gifford Shelter fundraiser was a lot of fun, it doesn't feel like work when you get to snuggle adorable kitties periodically throughout the day!  Thank you to everyone who came and made purchases, your money really does go to an amazing cause and the Gifford kitties deserve it!

  And guess what else?  You can now purchase Hieropice's jewelry at a wonderful bead/jewelry/clothing boutique in Brookline, Mass, called Abeille.  I love this store so much because, let's face it, it's purty, and have been a long-time customer, so I'm really excited that they'll be selling our wares.  The store has such a great vibe, with it's contemporary romantic decor and vibrant spectrum of color.  I have spent many an hour there sifting through baskets of seed beads and strands of semiprecious stones.  If you've never been and you're in MA, Abeille is definitely worth checking out.  It's a lovely place to pass a couple hours on a crisp Fall day.  Have I mentioned Fall is my favorite season?  Summer heat is not for me but Fall, Fall I can get behind.  Enjoy, everybody.

Happy Fall!

Dara

New Peacock Maasai Necklace, by Hieropice

    
I wanted to make a necklace to go with our Peacock Feather Maasai Beaded Earrings; something that celebrates the cooler tones in a peacock feather (deep blues and greens, hints of purple and chocolate brown).  Here she is!
Peacock Maasai African Beaded Necklace Large By by Hieropice.

Emerald and Kelly Green Maasai Beaded Earrings

New, and now on Hieropice's Etsy site!:

Controversy!

  

    So, you folks know that I primarily sell Hieropice’s wares on Etsy, a site for handmade crafts/art.  The sale of vintage goods (more than 20 years old) and supplies (for making art/craft) are also sold on Etsy.
  Periodically, the admins at Etsy will choose a shop to feature on their front page.  They’ll interview the shop’s artisans, post their photos and photos of their work, all on Etsy’s homepage, and it typically gives a massive boost to a shop’s sales.   Naturally, lots of us on Etsy would love to be featured!
  But recently, a controversy ensued over a shop Etsy chose to feature, called Ecologica Malibu, that specializes in furniture made from reclaimed wood from boats.  The impression given from the original article, which has since been modified to reflect recent disclosures, was that the Etsy shop owner, Mariana, with the help of several artisans, was designing/hand-making the furniture sold on their Etsy page in a Malibu-based shop.  But, for whatever reason, someone became suspicious about Ecologica, and investigated.  Evidence was found that the furniture was being made overseas, arriving in the US and then being sold on Etsy, all without Mariana or her shop ever taking part in the process.  The furniture was also sold in large quantities on other sites like Overstock.com, and bills of lading for Ecologica’s furniture shipments were discovered, which led other Etsy artisans to start questioning whether this qualified Ecologica as a reseller, or, a shop that re-sells mass-produced goods, which Etsy does not allow.

Ecologica Malibu Chest of Drawers

    There was a lot of back-and-forth, with Ecologica’s lawyers, and their overseas shop’s rep, and Etsy’s admins, and Etsy’s other sellers, all calling foul.  Etsy eventually did go back and edit the feature on Ecologica, stating that they qualify as a “collective,” which they do allow, though Ecologica had failed to disclose that when they were interviewed.  The parameters of a collective seem fairly narrow according to Etsy’s faq, and doesn’t explicitly allow for one person to design a product that another person will make, which is what Ecologica claims they do (Mariana designs —> shop overseas makes  —> Mariana sells).  But the parameters don’t explicitly forbid that activity either, which has really irritated some Etsy sellers.  They ask a valid question; if what Ecologica Malibu does is ok, does that mean a seller could, in theory, create a design, send it to an overseas sweatshop for manufacture, and sell the products on Etsy for a massive profit?  Without the accountability for production, how to we preserve the “handmade” aspect of Etsy?
   But the controversy also inspired other questions for me.  Where do you draw the line?  The vintage goods sold on Etsy have no “handmade” requirement, they can be, and usually are, factory-made, previously-purchased, resold goods.  Do they violate the “resell”policy?  Supplies almost always are factory-made, but are permitted for sale on Etsy.  What about them?  What qualifies as “mass-produced” goods, which Etsy doesn’t permit?  A shop with 10 people working in it, making products?  25?  I am hoping to one day, return to Tanzania, where I learned the technique/design behind Hieropice’s Maasai Beaded line, and work with local artisans to make the pieces Hieropice will sell. 

Artist in the Bagamoyo Artists’ Market

As I mentioned in a previous post, the artisans I encountered there have immense talent, but nowhere no real market for their work, as the meager revenue from tourist sales doesn’t really cut it.  I’m nowhere near being able to accomplish this goal, but, the Ecologica Malibu kerfuffle has made me think twice.  Truly successful artists often get somewhat divorced from their work, like a Dale Chihuly, whose staff create and assemble artworks under his name, or a Wolfgang Puck, who owns a slew of famous restaurants bearing his name, but rarely cooks at any of them.  I’m curious to know what you all think about this topic.  You know, when you buy a Tiffany ring, Louis Comfort Tiffany had no part in making it.  What is, and isn’t, an acceptable level of involvement of an artist in the creation of their work?  Please comment.