Suetables has moved to www.suetables.com/blog.

Go to my new blog and click on my RSS feed to follow me.

I hope you will move over with me and continue to follow my blog.

I have lots of news, contests and designs brewing...

Cheers,

Sue

www.suetables.com

Have a heart

Have a heart: I have never been a big fan of classic, 'perfect' hearts. But I do love what they represent. Who doesn't?! And just as I love the perfect imperfection of hand stamping, I do love shapes that are a bit off centre. So, in honour of Victoria - our lovely Nova Scotia rep who has great taste and a lot of heart - Suetables will have an off-center heart called 'Victoria' (similar to the one above) for $14. It fits one initial and it the perfect add-on to love letters or your charm necklace. Watch for it this summer. Breaking The Girl by kaseyrenee featuring Diane Von Furstenberg bags

Finding a way to get paid doing what I love:

Planting seeds: I don't know anything for sure...but I do know that, in business, you have to plant seeds. You have to dream...and 'dream big' as I have hand stamped on my latest Stevie bangle. Aside from loving what I do, I have two good reasons pictured above (that I have to serve dinner to shortly) that inspire me. So, here is what I sent to Oprah last week. It is sitting in the editorial department in New York as I write. Here's hoping someone reads it.

Dear Oprah,

Upon your advice, I am finding a way to get paid doing what I love.

I love your approach to life and live my life according to a similar belief system. A friend recently joked that I have made a whole business out of that philosophy. Five years ago, I began a hobby which has become my full-time job.

I have an online hand-stamping jewelry business in Canada and the US. I personalize each piece of sterling silver one letter and one number at a time. It is simple. Catering to those who choose to express their authenticity and personal expression through fashion, each Suetables is hand stamped ensuring each piece is unique and reflects something about the wearer.

Oprah - I hope you will check out www.suetables.com and look at the two necklaces I made for you -- one locket that expresses your love of your dogs (yes, your six pups are in there) and one that reflects something about how you live your life and help others live theirs.

You once reminded me in your magazine to “live my truth”. Now, I am giving you a circle of life reminding you to LIVE YOUR TRUTH. You do it so well every day. You help others do it daily too.

My dream is for my jewelry to be featured in your magazine. And so, upon the “Oprah credence” that I know and love, I am writing my own script.

I hope you will feature these meaningful sterling-silver pieces in your magazine.

With great admiration and respect always,

Sue Henderson

www.suetables.com

Keep it simple

Keep it simple: You will see in my jewelry line, that my eye is always drawn to the simplicity of shapes. (I've considered calling myself a jewelry stylist as a result...but I digress...). In Spain last summer, we hiked up, at daybreak, to a palace and fortress complex in Granada. It’s called the Alhambra. The Islamic architecture is complex and stunning but sometimes you find beauty in simplicity. And you find your favourite view from an unexpected place.

Winning jewelry

Just because it is nice to win:

Win a personalized Kathryn love letter necklace.

See Morgan's blog for details.

http://www.monpetitamourblog.com/

Those who did not win, can get a 10% discount at

www.suetables.com when they enter

the promo code 'petitamour' at check out.

Offer ends May 29.

(Congratulations to Jennifer who won and gave the prize

to her mother who recently lost a child. Our heart goes out to this family and we are happy that

Jennifer's mom has love letters that represent her family.)

Perfection mass produced

Perfection is mass produced: "Don't you have any other fancier fonts?" a client recently asked me as I was about to stamp her kids names on a pendant. "Can you make the letters perfectly lined up on that pendant?" another client asked me at show. I get great joy in pleasing clients. I wanted to say yes on both counts but, the truth is, I love hand-stamping's hand-made/uneven quality. It is done, by hand, one letter and number at a time. It looks easy...it is not (ask all those who have insisted they can do it too. Just look at the pile of ruined silver accumulated over five years). I love the old fashioned typewriter look. I love that it's old but timeless. I love it's imperfection. Perfection, to me, is mass produced. It would be easier to get an engraving machine (yes, I admit that I have looked into it) and be done with the discussion. But, hand stamping each piece, with all it's imperfections, reminds us that some things were meant to be simple, unique and not mass produced. Personalized jewelry is meant to be just that -- personal, hand made with the words WE select.

What I really want to say is, "No, I don't have fancy fonts...no, the letters cannot be perfectly lined up. I suggest you go see a professional engraver -- you will find endless mass produced looks and fonts exactly like everyone else has."

Peace, baby

Simple Pleasures by sourcat featuring Jessica Simpson shoes

Simple Pleasures by sourcat featuring Jessica Simpson shoes

Items in this set:
Juicy Couture Top Boheme Flowers, 160 EUR
Kaito Leather Jacket, 295 GBP
Superfine City high-waisted jeans, $1
Hilary Rhoda SI Swimsuit Collection - 2009 - Sports Illustrated - SI...
Jessica Simpson 'Adreana' Sandal, $59

Peace, baby: I love the fashion possibilities on this blog. I am a bit of a BOHO hippie at heart. I watched my Mom is the seventies wear a long purple patterned dress to her dinner parties. She wore a long chunky silver chain that had a glass attached to it. At parties, she poured white wine into glass around her neck and would sip 'out of her necklace.' I was about 10 and thought she was so cool. So, this fall, I am going to add a hippie PEACE symbol charm to my collection -- in celebration of BOHO HIPPIE and my cool seventies mum. Next stop - a glass necklace on a long chain? Anyone?

Silver City

Silver city: I was in Reston, Virginia (outside Washington) and found myself, reluctantly, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I was surprised and impressed by the incredible design, colour and beauty of the air crafts. I love the Clipper Flying Cloud. It is big, silver, shinny ... just like a beautiful piece of jewelry. While this was an war aircraft (painted olive and grey during the war), Howard Hughes had a similar plane to this for pleasure and entertaining the ladies. Now, I would have been one happy passenger.

Rookie Blue

Canadian actress Missy Peregrym poses for photographers, wearing her Suetables' Jenn tag, during the MIPTV on Monday, April 12, 2010 in Cannes, southern France. The actors were in Cannes to promote the new TV series 'Rookie Blue' (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau). The show premieres on Global and ABC June 24.

Lots of charm(s)

Lots of charm(s): Unlike most of the male population, I buy the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition to look at the jewelry. It is stunning - layered, small and simple. Here is just one sample (that looks much like our sterling silver Linton charm and also like the 14K gold Ann Luxe Love letters). The shorter chain is 18" and the longer one is 24". Now, I can help with the tiny jewels but not the rest...

Mother knows best

Mother knows best: I love white - white flowers, white walls, white linens. But, truly, we all need a touch of colour. My mother always told me that a touch of red in a room was like putting on lipstick - it finishes your look! I just bought a red umbrella for my outdoor patio (from Canadian Tire) and it looks great. Now, I am dreaming about colour for my jewelry line. Stay tuned...

In Lima, Peru I searched for beautiful jewelry design in the high-end shops of the city. In the end, I stumbled across my favorite one on a street corner in Cuzco in the mountains. I gave him a Megan circle that said LIVE YOUR TRUTH and he made me a beautiful beaded black cord that I wore on my hike to Machu Picchu.

What is old is new again

Vintage keys: I have been collecting and making jewelry with vintage keys long before Tiffany's ad campaigns. The Markham key, is sold at http://www.suetables.com/neckpen1.html, is actually an old key to the shed of my beloved and long lost cottage, Markham Lodge, in the Laurentiens in Quebec. It was a mistake to sell the lodge, an old hunting and fishing cabin overlooking a small fresh-water lake. It carried so many happy childhood memories of family and friends. I comfort myself with photos, memories, a tree I planted to remember my father and this old key I had cast in sterling silver.

Finders & seekers

Finders & seekers: Our friend, Zoe, in Chester, Nova Scotia reminds me how nature can inspire jewelry design. And how kids are the best seekers.

Spread good cheer

My love of vintage: Before I started Suetables (www.suetables.com), I hunted for vintage spoons and butter knives. I learned, painstakingly with much ruin, to hand stamp these uneven surfaces. They made personal and unique gifts. And they inspired me to design and hand stamp my own shapes.