A new online stockist for Shamila ~ Fine Jewelry: Max and Chloe.

I am excited to announce that some of my best selling rings and earrings from my luxe collection are now availalbe on Max and Chloe. An online jewelry portal which curates and sells jewelry from a myriad of established and emerging designers.

Happy Shopping!

xoxoS

 

One of my favourite things about January is....The Ilee Letterpress Calendar!

Each January instead of playing mental hurdles and tripping over ideas about resolutions, I find myself excited about revealing the brand new letterpress calendar for the year in my office space. After I set up the calendar, THEN I think about the intentions and modifications I want to make - 3 months at a time! The designer of this lovely gem is Ja Teuber, dear friend and foodie partner in crime. I first met Ja in 2003 when planning for the FAM show since then we have traveled around the country doing shows and gone off on adventures in Thailand - that will be another blog post. Boy, was that a trip!

You can buy this popular and most sought after calendar at her Etsy shop and at fine gift boutiques and stationers around the USA. Ja's sense of whimsy, use of color, pattern and clever details are incomparable! Each page is laboriously printed using a century old letterpress, at times utilizing other techniques such as screen printing or adding gold foil to the embossed pages. Each month is a surprise of hand-painted details and motifs that tell stories. If you ask her why she used flying fish for March 2012 for example, I am sure she will have a story for you :-)

Ilee letterpress calendar 2012

Happy 2012 everyone!

xoxoS

These Tangerine beauties make me Tango - Pantone's colour for 2012

Orange to me is a happy, spritzy and a bold color. I thought it would be fun to feature some of my favourite things in this bright, spirited and confident shade of orange. I think the color is best suited when utilized in an eye catching accessory to offset a monochromatic attire. Shamila Fine Jewelry - Striking Tangerine hued carnelian coin checkerboard earrings!

Carnelian is one of my favourite gemstones. In the smallest of doses it makes a huge statement. I wear my Carnelian checkerboard earrings when I need to give my palette of grey, blacks, cements and charcoal outfits a little something-something.

mumbai-accessories-cover-for-ipad-by-stephanie-johnson-at-cambria-cove

I travel a lot. Which means over the years, I have amassed quite the set of travel accessories and cosmetic cases. Stephanie Johnson's Mumbai Collection is the line of travel pouches and cosmetic cases I seem to covet the most. My friends at Essenza gifted me with a coral Mumbai jewelry case for my birthday last year and then I got matching Ipad cases in Coral, Eggplant and a pouch in Buff. The amount of compliments I get on these cases is countless and I know you will love them too!

Emilio Pucci Python Skin Clutch from Net-A-Porter

For those of you who know me, I simply love snakeskin. I am currently coveting this gorgeous Emilio Pucci Python Clutch. What a stunning colour to pair with a nude or an eggshell sheath or even something unique like a mother-of-pearl tone.

ASOS STORM Point Court Shoe

This is a perfect kitten heel so loving the silhouette and the pointy toe! Happy Trails!  Over on Pininterest, I have a Tangerine Tango board that you can take a peek at and see the rest of my favourite items in this spunky color!

xoxoS

Scottish High Tea and Shamila ~ Fine Jewelry Trunkshow: Saturday Dec 17th, 2011

My friend Leslie is a gourmand extraordinaire. She also has discerning taste and an equally smart loft space to host my upcoming event this Saturday.  I heard that ancient tea recipes were consulted, fine Scottish lemon curd pastries were sourced and vintage tea sets will be pulled from their cases and of course I will be there with both my jewelry collections, Chimera and Lokum Luxe. We would appreciate an RSVP so as to brew the pots and pots of tasty teas for your drinking pleasure :-). Come by say hi, sip some tea and get some last minute jewels for your lovelies! {lovely gift wrap is included}

See you on Saturday!

Scottish High Tea

xoxoS

8th Annual Fatto A Mano Show in Laurelhurst

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Last Saturday, was the 8th annual Fatto A Mano Show {Italian, for hand-made}, or the FAM show as it is lovingly known by the designers and attendees who make it such a firecracker of an event. Each year the event exceeds the previous year's success and it is the venue to shop for locally made quality gifts in Seattle, year in and year out.Image For those of you who missed it - here is the line up of designers who showcased this year and since they are all Seattle based, you can still connect with them for all your last minute holiday gifts.

I had a few minutes to snap some images at the event; please view the slide show!

xoxoS

[slideshow]

      

A new stockist for Shamila ~ Fine Jewelry, Manika on Maiden Lane in San Francisco, CA

Last October was spent in the Bay area on several back to back trips. Being in the Bay area, is really one of my favourite places to be in the US. Incredible weather (for the most part), gorgeous landscapes and vistas, inspiring shopping and cuisine but most importantly the general buzz and vibe in the City and in the environs. Love it.

I will be featured at Manika Jewelry on Maiden Lane. Maiden Lane is a gorgeous, pedestrian only street just blocks from some of my latest and treasured haunts in the City: The Ritz Carlton, Cafe De La Press and all the incredible boutiques on Grant Ave. I fell in love with the quaintness of Maiden Lane over a decade ago and since then have fantasized with the idea of showing my work there, so it is really quite a treat to be featured at Manika!

Manika will carry pieces from my Luxe collection such as the Harem Stacking Rings, Cosmic Cocktail Stacking Rings, Bold Honeycomb Facet Earrings and Diamond Talisman Necklaces. They even have a pair of the gorgeous Green Onyx and diamond earrings which were featured on the red carpet at the Emmys.

If you are in the Bay area, I encourage you to check out Manika and to delight in their well curated collection of fine designer jewelry.

 

A new Vancouver, BC retailer: Tartooful for Shamila ~ Fine Jewelry

So happy to announce that I have a new retailer in Vancouver, BC - Tartooful - a lovely gallery space to find one-of-a-kind gifts creatively curated by the owner Cathy Church. Tartooful is located in North Vancouver, in the Edgemont Village: 3183 Edgemont Boulevard. Cathy selects pieces for her gallery based on the stories and inspiration behind each item. So you can imagine that this is a great collaboration since everything in my collection is inspired by a special moment or tale. Tartooful will carry of one-of-a-kind pieces from the Chimera line so if you are in the Vancouver area and are seeking a local place to get your Shamila bling on, do visit her!

Cathy, took some great photos of the pieces she selected as well as wrote this super blog post. Please do check it out! I am so looking forward to working with her!

xoxoS

Rose cut labradorite briolette necklace. Image credit: TartoofulRose cut labradorite briolette necklace. Image credit: Tartooful

Shamila ~ Fine Jewelry makes its first Emmy debut!

So excited to report that some of the jewels from my Lokum Luxe Collection were on the red carpet this last Sunday at the 63rd Annual Emmy's. The lovely Suzanne Marques - an Emmy award-winning lifestyle and entertainment reporter based out LA wore the gorgeous Green Onyx with gold and diamond signature lale (tulip) motifs. She also accented her nude hued Grecian gown with my Kova Rutile Topaz Stacking Rings and Citrine Minaret Stacking Ring in Gold. I loved that she had so much fun with the colors and even had an emerald-green pedicure to go with the earrings. What fun! Shamila Green Onyx and Diamond earrings, Suzanne Marques, Emmy Jewelry

Enroute to the Emmys

Suzanne was so sweet to tweet me and let me know that Padma Lakshmi loved the earrings. You can read all about the fabulous Suzanne's Emmy look and check out the video of her interviewing celebrities on the red carpet on her blog: La Woman. You can also follow Suzanne on Twitter at @suzmarques and check out her website: at www.SuzanneMarques.com and read all about her!

xoxoS

Sleeves are sexy and what a fairy tale wedding it was.

With no access to TV early this morning, I had to rely on twitter feeds at 4am to give me the goods. And even at that hour, I could not help but be so excited for Kate. The Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress was perfect.  Oddly enough when I wrote the post yesterday, the dress that I was originally going to feature was this beautiful lace vision by Valentino, I love how sexy sleeves can be. So there you go. I guess I was on the right track? Valentino Metis Lace Dress

I love the dress Catherine designed for herself, even though it's not quintessentially McQueen. But hey, that is what custom couture is all about and it fits the new Duchess and the occasion just perfectly.  As a designer and someone who appreciates details and techniques, I have been very interested in the actual lace that was created for the dress. Some interesting and intriguing facts about it can be found here and the full details on the wedding dress and all the other key dresses here.  Additionally, I loved Pippa's dress, the cowl neck and sheath are my absolute favorite silhouettes.  I just wish I was tall and statuesque as the Middleton sisters! And then there was the head gear! However, I will not get into the hat discussion but: there were hats and then there were EPIC hats!  So here is my two pence on the the Royal Wedding; I finally caught the bug and the fever after all!

Congratulations Prince William and Duchess Catherine Middleton {Image credit: Nymag.com}

xoS

Royal Wedding fever has finally struck!

It's mere hours until the Royal Wedding.  I have to say I am getting excited. The burning question in everyone's mind and including mine is if Sarah Burton will be designer de choix after all. If so, how befitting of a tribute to Alexander McQueen. Since the dress is top secret, I thought to share some princess worthy items I found sleuthing around the web and in honor of Kate Middleton's engagement ring colors - sapphire and diamonds I thought to do a mini round-up to match. Let me know what you think in the comments box. peek-a-boo, something blue

I love how the dress accentuates the waist and cinches it like a wasp. Teeny at the waist and then full at the bottom only to reveal all that blue pattern. It's perfection for the right height. At 5'2, I doubt I could carry such a dress gracefully but it's a clothing wonder.

Stuart Weitzman and Le Vian evening shoes

Stuart Weitzman: Diamonds and Tanzanite Heels {Image Credit: Luxury Magazine}

Now onto the shoes. I was searching for some super duper expensive shoes on-line for a twitter friend. When I happened upon these. I have to say being Tanzanian, I have got a thing for Tanzanites more so than sapphires. These Stuart Weitzman show-stopping sparklers are serious foot candy priced at $2 million. They remind me of a cocktail. The ingredients of this sparkling delight include: shimmery silver leather, 185 carats of Tanzanite and 28 carats of diamonds with a pear pendant elegantly cascading around the ankle. Drool away! {Ooh, and on a side note: One day I will have to show you the whopping, natural, deep corn-flower blue Tanzanite that mom gave me. It was designed by my dad just for her almost 30 years ago. Romantic, na? Seriously, every time I wear that ring when I am off meeting with my gem suppliers; I think they are plotting a mini-heist of the ring.  It's that beautiful. More on this soon.}

Blue Topaz and Diamond Infinity Cocktail Ring

Now onto jewels. If you have bejeweled feet and a paperweight of an engagement ring. I reckon it would be a wise idea to keep the rest of the accessorizing to a minimum. However, if you are a Princess-to-be I doubt that there too many silly rules as to how much jewels to wear or not to wear. I mean with the crown jewels being at your disposal and all. Since I am a bit practical about things such as where and when to wear your cocktail engagement ring and this is advice I often impart with my clients. I'd say if you are princess and do not want to wear your mega expensive and sentimental (hello? Diana) ring everywhere as you traipse the globe, these dazzlers are would do just fine as well and it sure would tell us you are a practical princess!

Being a night owl extraordinaire I have no worries of being up to watch the nuptials. I barely watch any telly so this will be a worthwhile excursion, albeit at the wee hours of the morning. It sure will be a heck of a wedding, so Cheers to Kate and Wills!

And by the way, all this talk of the wedding has had me really missing London. More on my adventures there coming up soon.

XoS

Preparing for a Mother's Day Trunk Show

I love my collaborations with Theo Chocolate. Not only do I love the company's philosophy and their darn-ly delicious chili and sea salt caramels - I have to say I am a big fan of co-founder Deb Music. Not only is she a general super woman both in business and otherwise, I am so happy to call her a dear friend. On May 7th, I will be showing a collection of decadent jewels that pair oh-so-finely with all the yummy chocolates that mom will want for sure. How nice to gift her with a little sparkly inedible keepsake too. So for Mom's day I will create some specially exquisite rose quartz in a honeycomb facet as well as layering necklaces with interesting pearls (I cannot keep the Keishi pearl necklaces in stock!) and an array of all sorts of delectable gems. I hope to see you there and bring Mom as well! Me thinks that the pairing of "Silky smooth caramel infused with the soothing essence of rose petals and enlivened with the sweet and peppery kick of fresh ginger" and "hand-cut rose quartz in a modern honeycomb facet accented with 14k gold ear-wires" makes a merry match for mama's inner Maharani!

xoS

Honey Comb Facet Rose Quartz in 14K gold - Shamila Fine Distinctive Jewelry