fall collection '09 is here

the fall collection of beauties are now available in my etsy shop!

please take a look!

a lovely evening in chester

i think we that attended would all agree that last friday's 'come home to chester' event, in our lovely little downtown village, was a smashing success!
the fall evening was the perfect temperature to take a stroll
and see all of the wonderful, local art and enjoy some delicious treats!

thanks to everyone who stopped by to see my work on display of the front porch of the new and beautiful Al Malpa gallery- it was the first time i got to show downtown and it was terrific!
i met so many fun and interesting people and it was really neat to see loads of folks, all over town, wearing my little leiva buttons!
hope to see you all again at the next one!
happy first day of fall!
*

haystack!

haystsack is all about the stairs!

for the past six months I had been looking forward to taking a jewelry class at Haystack this summer... and it was worth every minute of that wait!!

for five full days at the end of august my classmates and i were wowed, baffled, highly entertained and completely surprised every day by another of Andy Cooperman's super-ingenious ideas for how to capture an object in metal!
Andy is an outstanding craftsman and jeweler from Seattle, WA who came east for an exhilarating (if not a bit exhausting) week this summer to teach us his super-cool techniques in on of the most beautiful places i have ever been lucky enough to spend some days in summertime, deer isle, maine.
happily for all of us, our class got along swimmingly and we all (to my mind) created something new, unexpected, and fun with the bevy of skills we learned in those short days.
as for me, my head is still swimming, full of all the possibilities he offered us to creatively capture just about anything we want in our beloved medium, metal.

thanks so much to Andy and all of my class members for a truly fantastic week!
it was totally worth the price of admission! ; )

the deck and dining hall and the view from the bottom of the stairs


this is not a great photo of a great ring i made- homage to andy
i'm so excited about spin setting!!!
click here to see my entire haystack album on flickr!

summer sale!

sale!

check out leiva's etsy shop
for a great summer sale!

from august 10th through the 25th,
find
50 % off selected necklaces
and free shipping throughout the shop until september 1st!

it's the perfect opportunity to add some sizzle to your summer style!

the fall line is on it's way
and these limited-edition necklaces
will no longer be available,
so pick up one of these lovelies while you can!

*

july = summer vacation

it's august and now it's
back to work!
it's time to get the ideas made into reality-
the fall line is on it's way!

as it turned out,
i didn't get much work done in the studio last month
and chalked it up to summer vacation...

it wasn't really, though,
because i was pouring my energy into the kitchen for my latest cooking project!
here is what i have been creating out of the studio...

this summer i'm chef mandy at the marina bar at saybrook point inn.
i make wonderful goodies every weekend from fresh, local and organic ingredients.
it's another way of creating beautiful things- these from flour, eggs, sugar and fruit instead of silver, gold and stones- different but the same!
yum!

15th year high school reunion!

 

This past weekend my husband and I got to see some of my favorite, old friends 

back at Loomis Chaffee where we celebrated my 15th year reunion!

 I was also included in the Alumni Artist Exhibit and got a chance to show off 

my latest work!

It was a great time and I recieved many lovely compliments from former classmates- 

and I got to wear a necklace and earrings set that I just finished and am crazy about! 

(I still haven't decided if I'll post it in my Etsy shop... I'm not sure I can let go of it!)

 

the new necklace and earrings set that I love- 

AZ turquoise and tourmalated quartz beads 

on a funky sterling chain I made that can be worn at any length/style you want!

working through the rain!!

hello to all on another rainy spring day in new england-

a perfect day to get to work!!!

since we very recently got a new, super-duper-fantastic, goldendoodle puppy, 

sunny days have been largely been given to excursions and adventures with him 

(how fun is a new puppy!)- instead of to the studio,

 like all of my days were a couple months ago...

but these rainy days, albeit such a drag, 

are making my husband's veggie garden grow like crazy, 

our lawn an amazing shade of green 

and 

gets me working in the studio!!!

the newest work for spring/summer '09 is now available in the leiva etsy shop 

and there is much more to come!

keep checking back here,

become a fan on facebook,

receive the levia mailer

subscribe to the leiva blog and my etsy shop feeds 

and always know what's new and happening in the studio!

here's to a rainy, work-filled spring! 

(just joking!- kinda!!)

   

montana agate slice necklace. one-of-a-kind and fabulous!

  

this is wallee- he's amazing!

artist lunch at river tavern!

 

i've been invited to participate in the 

local chester artist series at river tavern!

come to river tavern in chester, ct 

on saturday, june 6th 

to see my newest collection for spring and summer

and enjoy an amazing three course lunch!

 beautiful handmade jewelry 

and outstanding handmade food- 

what a perfect combination!

make your reservation at 860.526.9417

i  hope to see you there!

almost mother's day!

mother's may be celebrated in just a week- 

but it's not too late to order your mom a beautiful 

necklace and earrings set from leiva!

found in my etsy shop,

the sets are 15% off and ship 2 day air for FREE!!!

(in the USA, through thursday may, 7th)

it's a great deal for you 

and even better for your mom-

who will love her beautiful, handmade, leiva jewelry!!

here's to mom!!!

mother's day!

mother's day is may 10th- don't forget!

from now until then i'm offering

15% off beautiful necklace and earring sets 

that you'll find in my Etsy shop! 

so easy, so pretty-

and such a perfect way to celebrate and give thanks to your awesome mom!!