Holiday Shipping Deadlines...

Just a quick note...the last day for guaranteed delivery on or before December 24th is this Wednesday, December 16th. Orders placed between December 17th and 21st are guaranteed delivery by the 24th only if the overnight shipping option is selected.

{pictured above: Ilsa Earrings}

Win a pair of Caviare Earrings...

Why I didn't think of sharing this with my Passementerie customers earlier I do not know, but I have partnered with Woman's Day Magazine to give away 5 pair of my signature Caviare earrings from my LAINE collection! Visit http://www.womansday.com/Giveaways/Caviare-Sterling-Silver-Earrings-Giveaway to enter to win, the giveaway ends November 24th.

Signature Tassel Collection...

At the request of customers and store buyers I am bringing back my popular signature tassel pieces for fall! The first two pieces are available now, with more to come later this week...


Sidonie Tassel Necklace - Solid 18k gold, prehnite, silvery-blue sapphire and a polished london blue topaz briolette cascade from a hand-carved prehnite cap, topped with clusters of prehnite & sapphire and a polished nugget of london blue topaz set with a single diamond. Hung from a 22" hand-wrapped chain of sapphire & 18k gold.

Length of tassel is slightly over 3"

Grace Tassel Necklace - Solid sterling silver chain and my signature silver Caviare cascade beneath a carved lemon quartz lotus blossom. Hung from an 18" sterling silver chain.

Length of the tassel is slightly over 2"

New earrings in the Bibelot Collection...

Limited edition earrings are now available in the Bibelot Collection! The first two pair are online now, check back for additional earrings to be added in the coming weeks.

You can find the entire Bibelot Collection at www.shoppassementerie.com or in our 1000 Markets shop at www.1000markets.com/users/passementerie

New Collection - Bibelot

bibelot [bib-loh]
-noun
a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity.

The Bibelot Collection is a brand new addition to Passementerie, featuring limited edition and one of a kind necklaces of wire-wrapped gemstone pendants on sterling silver chains.

The Bibelot Collection is the first of many smaller, more delicate necklaces that are budget-friendly but still feature the same high quality materials and craftsmanship of Passementerie's signature designs. The first six pieces are available online now, and many more pieces will be added in the coming weeks!

Announcing LAINE!

You may have noticed some of my designs, the Modern Heirloom & Caviare collections and some of the Signature Tendril pieces, have gone missing from Passementerie's website lately. You can now find these pieces, and some exciting new collections as well, at www.shoplaine.com!



The decision to launch this new collection, and to split my designs between Passementerie and LAINE, was made in response to the growing number of websites and designers selling imitations of Passementerie designs and infringing upon the Passementerie trademark. The cost & time associated with protecting my designs and dealing with the numerous cases of trademark infringement and the theft of designs and text from the Passementerie website and my own personal bio has become overwhelming.

Splitting my designs into two smaller collections will allow me more time to concentrate on designing new pieces, which is wonderful because my love of design is the whole reason I started this business in the first place, and this will also give me the time to start taking custom orders again!

LAINE has its own blog at lainejewelry.blogspot.com, you can also find links on that blog to follow LAINE on facebook and twitter!

New Summer Earrings...

The Kimono Earrings...the gemstone color combination in these earrings was inspired by vintage kimono fabrics. Stunning faceted black spinel briolettes (weighing approx. 40.8 carats each) have been crowned with cascading tendrils of solid 18k gold, pink tourmaline, moss aquamarine, and sapphire in shades of blue-green, orange, pink and gold. Hung from hand-fabricated solid 18k gold french wires.

New for Spring...

The Branche Earrings




Asymmetrical pieces of white branch coral have been topped with solid 18k gold and nearly 10 carats of sparkling, faceted champagne & cognac diamonds. Finished with hand-fabricated solid 18k gold french wires.

These are asymmetrical earrings, one measures 3.5" in length, the other slightly over 2.75".

A Spring Sale...

I've received requests recently from quite a few of my customers for layaway & payment plans. I know the economy is certainly hitting us all hard, so I thought it might be time for a sale...a quick Spring sale that will include items on payment plans & layaway!

To shop the sale visit www.shoppassementerie.com and use coupon code Spring20 for 20% off all jewelry, even gold & platinum, until April 15th...and if you would like a payment plan on any piece(s) at the sale price please feel free to contact me.

New Signature Tendril Earrings for Spring 2009...

The Signature Tendril design has been with my collection for many years, and remains my most popular design to this day! I will be introducing many new one of a kind tendril designs for spring, and four more new designs have been added to my website!

The Jennifer Earrings - Polished eye-clean prasiolite briolettes (weighing approx. 20 carats each) topped with lush, cascading tendrils of sterling silver, freshwater pearl & faceted moonstone.

The Bassin Earrings - Plump, polished briolettes of the finest london blue topaz (weighing 38.5 carats each) topped with lush, cascading tendrils of solid 18k gold, columbian emerald and blue-green sapphire.

The Laura Earrings (pictured) - Plump, polished lemon topaz briolettes (weighing approx. 32.5 carats each) topped with cascading tendrils of solid 18k gold, rhodolite garnet and sapphire in shades of orange and gold with a hint of pink.

The Mariye Earrings - Plump faceted onion-shaped briolettes of smoky green prasiolite (weighing approx. 40 carats each) topped with cascading tendrils of solid 18k gold, and sapphire in rich shades of blue-green, orange and gold.

New for Spring...

A new design for Spring in my signature Cascading Tendrils style, The Parisian Earrings feature faceted coins of black spinel (weighing approx. 20 carats each) have been crowned with cascading tendrils of solid sterling silver, black spinel and mystic topaz. Hung from hand-fabricated sterling silver french wires.
Created in a limited edition of 5 pair.

Wordless Wednesday...

The origins of the Modern Heirlooms collection...

I made a resolution in 2009 that my blog would be updated more frequently and that it would not only be a place for Passementerie news & sales, but more importantly, more interesting to read than it has been in the past! So to start the year off right, I have decided to write about the history of my Modern Heirlooms collection. These pieces are a signature of my collection and probably my most distinctive and recognized pieces. And most importantly, they are my absolute favorite pieces to make!



There are many women, like me, who have heirloom jewelry they cherish, but unfortunately because the piece may not fit with their personal style it is never worn and just sits in a jewelry box or drawer gathering dust. I had some pieces myself that I had inherited, a locket in particular was a favorite piece of mine, the locket belonged to my grandmother, who passed away before I was born, and was passed down to my mother, then to myself. I had always cherished that locket, but I prefer more ornate & artistic jewelry and a gold locket on a plain chain just wasn't something I would wear very often.



When I first decided to introduce solid gold pieces into my jewelry collection I needed a "sample" piece to show customers and store buyers so I could see if there was any interest. After sketching numerous designs for my first gold necklace I was unable to decide which would be the perfect sample piece, then I remembered my grandmother's antique locket. I decided to use her locket as the focal piece of a necklace in my signature style, something that could serve as the sample for my new collection of gold necklaces, and a design that would also enable me to wear my cherished heirloom locket everyday! I crafted that first Modern Heirlooms necklace in my signature style, from solid 18k gold with a long chain of clustered multi-color sapphire spaced with sparkling nuggets of blue topaz, and placed the antique 18k gold locket where I would normally have a larger focal gemstone.



The necklace, and the story behind it, were immediately a huge hit...and now, years later, I have crafted dozens of my Modern Heirloom pieces and they have become a signature of my jewelry collection! I always have a small selection of these pieces made using antique lockets and pendants I have collected over the years, but the majority have been custom orders using pieces of my customer's favorite heirloom jewelry...even one sapphire & gold bracelet, commissioned by a customer's boyfriend, that masqueraded as a normal valentine's day gift until the recipient opened the tiny locket attached to the clasp, which had been engraved "will you marry me" on the inside.

You can see some of my current Modern Heirlooms pieces here on my website: http://shoppassementerie.com/mohe.html ...and I am always available to create custom Modern Heirlooms!