the hood - image of the day from delfi.ee 

mikko's collection - there's a ring in there somewhere, image from delfi.ee 

mikko's collection - my jewelry, image from delfi.ee 

erki moeshow poster, design by nio dio 

Blowin' Up

i left home this morning thinking that the show is over, now i can rest for a bit before moving on. i was so wrong.

today i met with merle a representitive of a small gallery space in old town. apparently they are having difficulty finding enough artists to fill the space even though the estonian government is subsidizing the rental fees for the year. a friend told me about this and suggested i contact her. having just finished the show, i would love to exhibit the jewelry and hood along side mikko's collection in a setting that allows the audience to view the work up close. during our meeting i pitched my ideas and merle agreed that the collection and jewelry would work well in the space. so in less than half an hour i had secured the gallery for three weeks in january.

there's certainly enough time for this to work. the clothing and jewelry are made. now we just need to design and print cards, advertise, dress the space, secure people to watch the gallery during open hours..... i think there's enough time. we are also thinking of hanging large prints from the photo shoot around the gallery. wow. how just one meeting, one conversation can effect your work, your life. i'm going to be very busy.

we're also getting some wonderful press. today there was a back cover spread in eesti paevaleht of images from erki moeshow. one of mikko's models is featured and now i can say that those brown dots around her neck and on her finger are mine! then in sl ohtuleht there is a center, two page spread on the show with an image of mikko with all four of the models taken back stage. so great. and mikko told me to check out delfi.ee an estonian online publication that has an image of the day column. today the image just happened to be mikko's model wearing the hood. how can this be real?

me and anna at the show 

the grand finale 

mikko's collection 

dirt pearl necklace (it was wrapped twice and falling down the model's back) and ring 

the hood 

erki moeshow

what a relief! the fashion show, erki moeshow, is over!

these past five weeks have been such a blessing. being a part of this show was such a great opportunity to jump start my work here in estonia and give me some helpful insight into the contemporary scene. i collaborated with mikko seppa, an estonian/finnish designer, who needed a wearable structure (which we refer to as "the hood") for one of his models. this piece really pushed my jeweler comfort zone by forcing me to work much larger than i normally do, but in a way that would be light (aesthetically - to compliment the fashion and physically - to be comfortably worn). we began with mikko's initial sketches, modified the design slightly according to material/functional restraints, and then i got to work. thankfully, i was able to meet the needs of the designer, the piece, and my own aesthetics without much compromise.

mikko was also kind enough to invite me to make more work, time permitting, for the other three models. so, with his collection in mind i created a series of two necklaces and three rings. mikko's collection was entitled fallen nature with a color scheme that included rich browns, hints of red, and golden tones. previously i had been working with deconstructing solid materials, such as concrete, and re-assembling the parts to make a new material suitable for jewelry. the series of jewelry i created for the show utilized this process. i began with fresh soil, forming spheres with the help of a binding agent. i then graded/measured and drilled the dry "pearls." for the necklaces i wanted to maintain the appearance of a traditional strand of pearls, with knots between each one, while adding a hint of color and a contemporary feel. the rings are quite large, measuring 35 to 50mm. in order to highlight the texture and incorporate the golden tones from mikko's collection, i applied gold leaf to two of the rings.

the pictures that accompany this post were taken during the show and therefore do not specifically highlight my jewelry. saturday afternoon before the show mikko organized a photo shoot of the collection and my work in order to take advantage of full hair and makeup that was completed that morning. again, what a great opportunity. to have professional photographs of my work within the appropriate context on gorgeous models is more than i could ask for. as soon as i receive the images from the shoot i'll be sure to post them!

the week leading up to the show was hectic. i helped mikko affix several hunderad viscous threads to the hood on thanksgiving day in between basting the turkey! saturday morning was a rush of bringing everything to the school for the photo shoot, attending hair and makeup, dressing the models for the shoot, packing up everything to be taken to the show, getting ready.... and all on tape. mikko's friend from finland is a film student who, for his senior thesis, created a documentary based on mikko's collection and the days leading up to the show. which meant that through all the chaos, he was there capturing it on film.

the show itself was spectacular. 28 designers were represented from kunstiakadeemia (the art academy), estonia, finland, denmark, and sweden. the theater was filled to capacity, camera crews for print as well as television were present, a dj, a live band, pole dancers during intermission..... in all, a very exciting evening. the best part? nothing went horribly wrong. worst case scenarios had been flashing through my mind all week. the hood falls apart on stage, the pearls crumble, the models trip, you name it i was dreaming about it. but no, it was simply wonderful.

a thanksgiving feast! 

what's thanksgiving without a feather-headdress? don't forget the leopard print trim.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

well, it's official. my first ever thanksgiving as hostess went off so well i can hardly believe it. at first i didn't even think i would be able to find turkey (kalkun in estonian). at several grocery stores all i could find was small chickens! i was almost resigned to the fact that this thanksgiving would be turkey-free when i found, at a small market near my home, turkey! they had small birds, the size of my head, not suitable for a large dinner party. but they had large, actually extremely large, turkey legs. they weighed in at about 5 pounds each! so i purchased three as i was expecting about 10 for dinner. i planned to cook the turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin-cheese cake, and apple pie. each guest was asked to bring a side dish and whatever they would like to drink, traditional thanksgiving dishes were suggested but not mandatory, so there was plenty of food for everyone and more than enough wine. i spent wednesday preparing the desserts and cranberry sauce. somehow by thursday my guest list had expanded to 14! thankfully everyone left with a full stomach and i even managed to have a fridge filled with leftovers! one of my new friends, adam, is vegan so there was some creative cooking so that he would have something to eat. i wasn't sure how the vegan stuffing would turn out but it tasted just as good as my moms! i think the addition of estonian black bread really made the difference. but my favorite had to be the pumpkin-cheese cake with ginger bread crust, got the recipe off the internet then switched ginger bread for graham crackers. mainly because it's impossible to find graham crackers in estonia but it turned out so well i think i'll have to make it this way again and again. one guest even brought feather head-dresses for us to wear, not very politically correct, but very fun. well, hope all of your thanksgiving celebrations were just as wonderful. so true that it's not really about the proper menu or fine china (we had paper plates and plastic wine glasses) but about the people you choose to spend this day with. i am so thankful that just a few months into my grant i have managed to find people that i could be happy to share this holiday with. so thankful.

robert van winkle aka vanilla ice....

hey all! just a quick update: i saw vanilla ice in concert last week.... very strange to be seeing him in estonia but very fun in a nostalgic, kitschy kind of way, but his new hard core style was a little much for me.

something very unexpected happened to me the other day. i put some change in a soda machine and nothing happened, nothing came out and my change wouldn't come back. i was with my friend elina who decided to call the customer service center. something i would never do, what's the point? but she got them on the line and they asked where we were, what kind of soda we were trying to get, and what our contact information was. within half an hour, a customer service representative was at the school handing me a coke, on a saturday! that would never happen in the states.

Tartu

we met up friday morning at the bus station and caught the next express bus to tartu. the ride is about two and a half hours and costs only 70eek ($5) each way. when we arrived in tartu we headed straight for our hotel which was a ten minute walk outside the city center. in such a short distance we were already in the suburbs, wooden houses all around. for 700eek ($54) a night we had a room with three single beds, our own bathroom, and use of a community kitchen. a great deal and worth the short trek to and from the center. after dropping our things off, we headed right back to town to begin exploring. first stop was the information center in raekoja plats (the town hall square). there we picked up a copy of "in your pocket - tartu," a helpful city guide that outlines points of interest, restaurants, night life, etc..

right on the square is the leaning house which was built in 1790. part of the foundation was set on the old city wall while the other was constructed upon wooden piles. not a very good idea. the building was in danger of falling down until polish engineers stabilized the foundation during the soviet period.

after a day of sightseeing and a visit to the estonian national museum, that includes a room filled with national costumes and jewelry over the centuries organized by region, we had an early dinner at a popular russian restaurant then headed to illegaard jazz club for a drink. unfortunately there wouldn't be a live performance that evening so we mapped out a few plans for saturday then headed back to the hotel. though tired from the day we were unwilling to return to our room before 9pm. so we went right next door to a popular pub named olle tare which from the outside looks like a giant beer stein. there would be live music so we paid a small cover, grabbed the last stools in the house, and waited for the show. we soon realized that olle tare is popular but with a much older crowd, the same went for the music, so we were in bed by 11.

saturday began with a visit to the local indoor market. we weren't there to shop but to simply experience the sounds and smells. next we were off to st. anthony's court, home to tartu's craft guild. visitors walk from studio to studio, there are 22 workshops in all, and are able to purchase hand-made items directly from the artists. such a nice change from the souvenir shops in tallinn! a few christmas presents were purchased then we had lunch at a crepe restaurant yum! and ran into a friend from tallinn! one great thing about living in such a small country.

a large portion of our sightseeing consisted of churches. st. john's is the oldest dating back to the 14th century. my favorite was the russian orthodox church of st. george the conqueror built in 1870. we opened the door and saw eight elderly women sweeping the floors with hand brooms, polishing, and dusting. the interior was covered with icons and sacramental objects but there were no pews. anna explained that people come and worship individually, visiting the icons, praying, and lighting candles. the women let us stare in wonder for a few moments then quietly shut the door.

our last stop before dark was the university of tartu museum which is housed inside a five story reconstructed cathedral apse while the rest of the original structure remains a shell. a 10eek ticket granted us entrance into the museum, filled with paintings and university memorabilia, and the towers which offered a nice view of the city but after seeing the sign below we were a bit apprehensive to stick around for too long.

after taking a nap back at the hotel, we were ready to experience a night on the town. we started with dinner then checked out a few pubs around the old town. while tartu is a university town, you don't really see very many students in the pubs but out in the streets just hanging around. i wonder if they'll still be doing that in a few months. our last stop of the night was ironically called club tallinn, it is said to be the hottest night club in estonia. cosmopolitan magazine just came out in estonian so the club was hosting cosmo night. magazines littered the tables, cosmos were complimentary at the bar, images from the magazine were projected on the walls, and there was a live band for a portion of the evening.

sunday morning check out at noon then right to the bus station for the trip home. we had a great time but the experience helped us appreciate all that tallinn has to offer by way of restaurants, clubs, and social interaction.

bus ride 

raekoja plats - town hall square 

leaning house 

church of st. george the conqueror 

interior of st. peter's church 

tartu university museum 

at least they warned us 

it's been a while since i posted... i've been working for the past few weeks on a wearable structure that will be part of a fashion show at the end of the month. this piece is the result of a collaboration with a fashion designer here in tallinn. i'll also be making some jewelry for the show of my own design. so exciting but very time consuming! i'll be able to post images of the work after the show along with more complete descriptions of the work.

otherwise i've been busy helping the newest fulbright arrival, andrew, get settled in. it didn't start out well though, i arrived at the airport last week two hours late! i had confused the time and andrew had left the airport with no way for me to contact him. being the resourceful guy that he is, he checked into his hotel, then went straight to the mall to acquire an estonian cell phone/number and called me up a few hours later. crisis diverted! he's putting the rest of us to shame having already moved into his apartment, filed for his residency permit, begun classes, and set up a bank account.

i'll be heading off to tartu, estonia's second largest city with a population just over 100,000, this weekend with andrew and anna whose an intern at the us embassy. the university of tartu is the oldest and largest university in estonia, it was founded in 1632! it's also known as the city of "good thoughts" and is considered by some to be more relaxed, intellectual, cultured..... than tallinn, which might be attributed to the estimate that 40% of tartu's population are either students or professors. sounds like it'll be fun. i'll be sure to give you the update next week along with pictures! until then.