EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE

Recently, we received a handwritten note from one of our customers, a thank you note.  This one, though, was not just a "high five" for providing her with a jewel she'd coveted.  Far more poignantly, this note filled us in on the details of a story that touches us deeply.  

Some time ago, this customer purchased a pair of my earrings for her wedding.  She wore them for many years and loved them, but also considered them gifts she held in safe keeping, for a future daughter or daughter-in-law to wear in her own wedding festivities, sometime off in the future.  That was the plan, until they were stolen in a home invasion.  

The beauty of artisanal jewelry design is our agility.  It was in that spirit, and in hopes that we could pick up the pieces of the story, that we were able to have a pair of her earrings specially made, even despite their being part of a collection in the archives.  All in a day's work?  Maybe.  Until we received this sweet note of thanks and learned that these weren't just earrings.  Having them back after such a trying time, our customer wrote, "makes her feel more herself".  

The earrings that made such a difference: White Quartz set in Rhodium over Sterling Silver.

That's the Feel Beautiful message, in real life!

We put beautiful jewels out into the world, and that's our way of connecting with you.  But it occurs to us (thanks to this amazing expression of gratitude), that we may owe you a little bit more.  So:

THANK YOU!

For Wearing the Jewels we Invest with So Much Love

For Coming When We Call, for Sharing our Occasions

and

For Voting!

Thank you!

Feel beautiful!

Elizabeth

“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” 

― Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

  

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

In the crush of time and the buzz of business, it's always easy to opt for what's easy.  That path of least resistance seems to be an increasingly popular route.  

Which is why, when so many of my favorite friends and dearest customers ask if they can  drop by my showroom, I know it's time to stop, and listen.  What is more empowering than being close to my customers?  To hear your stories and to know what you think is beautiful?

Today and tomorrow, my team and I are opening our doors for a spontaneous Sample Sale.  Looking back at photos of past events, I'm struck by how happy everyone looks, how much fun we have together! 

Won't you come see us? 

If you're not local or are just too busy, give us a call.  We are all acting as Elizabeth Showers Personal Shoppers.  Why should you miss out if you don't live in Dallas! 

Check out some of our friends and family, past and present!

I learn as much about my jewelry from you as I do from the making of it!

Here's one of the Elizabeth Showers' tribe, Karen, 8 months pregnant, with my friend Shelly, also pregnant - I think there were 4 pregnant women at the trunk show that day!

And I get to hold the babies, too!  (Meg and her son Pope)

One of our favorite mother-daughter teams (Kim and Myrna - and Kim just recently had a little baby girl)

It's fun to look back and see past designs.  Might they come back, in another guise?

One year, we offered gorgeous jewel-toned macaroons.   

There's always more, please ask! 

Love taking trunk shows on the road.

Friends from far and near, here are the ladies from Astley-Clarke in London.

I love telling my stories too!

I'm struck by Susan Sontag's words in this quote - makes me realize that if we don't reach out and grab the opportunity to connect and share with each other, the time will pass us by.  So...

"Do stuff. Be curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.”
- Susan Sontag

Feel beautiful!
Elizabeth

our sample sale is going on now!  come join us for treats and sweets at our Dallas Showroom
3131 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 1118
214-879-9944 x108 & x110

POSTCARD FROM MISSISSIPPI

“Make voyages. Attempt them. There's nothing else.”

- Tennessee Williams, Camino Real

 Some of my most special travel experiences happen organically.  They sort of evolve, just as life does.  "Hey, why don't we go..." kind of thing.  That's what took me deep into the heart of the south in July - it was to visit my boyfriend's hometown, for the first time.  

Columbus, Mississippi is the epitome of a genteel southern delta town.  Self-aware in its way - almost like it knows that if you've found your way there, you really want to be there.  There must be millions of towns like it across the US.  There are so many lives lived and stories told in these small towns - we only get to hear them if our own story intersects with theirs.  

Indeed, Columbus has a very rich story.  It was a "hospital town" during the Civil War.  Thousands of soldiers from both sides of the conflict were buried in the town's somberly named Friendship Cemetery (check out this beautiful You Tube video about Columbus' Civil War history).  

Columbus was also birthplace of playwright Tennessee Williams, who set almost all of his incredible plays to the rhythm of the fading south.  I have no doubt he is channeling his own hometown as he writes.

Tennessee Williams was born in this house in 1911

Tennessee Williams captured the human character like few others.  His respect for imperfection, and the way he draws his characters into a fight for dignity, are admirable and yet, tragic.  Think about The Glass Menagerie.  And Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  A Streetcar Named Desire.  Williams himself has been quoted as saying that leaving Columbus was a sort of goodbye to his carefree boyhood, and the point at which he began to turn inward, and write.

Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1958

Paul Newman directed Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich and Karen Allen in The Glass Menagerie in 1987

Amazing Victorian and Antebellum homes still stand, as museums and private homes, all around town - preserving and continuing Columbus' rich stories.  We visited Rosedale House whose details are incredible, both architecturally and as a still life of how life was in its day.

Rosedale House, built in 1856

A mother-of-pearl footed compote at Rosedale House

The staircase at Rosedale House

The famous stories aside.  On Independence Day 2013, Columbus Mississippi was a story of family, and getting to know some very special people as they live life in their corner of the world.  The fireworks were homegrown and quite magnificent, as was the experience.  What a privilege to be part of such a story.  

Feel Beautiful,
Elizabeth

Quite by coincidence, on our return to Dallas, Tommy found and sent me this quote from Tennessee Williams.  I posted it last week as my Friday Quote on Facebook.  Dignity: it's at the center of all of our stories.    

WHAT MAKES ME FEEL BEAUTIFUL

This week marks our first ever Feel Beautiful Week, and we've asked several dynamic fashion & design bloggers to pick their favorite pieces from my current collection, style them in their own unique way and include their thoughts about the Feel Beautiful message in their own lives.

As I've read these incredible, creative posts, I'm inspired to tell my own Feel Beautiful story.

Feel Beautiful has been our mantra for years now.  At the center of a profound shift in my business (read about that here), it is still a daily reminder for me and my entire team about how we operate as a company and live our own individual lives.  Indeed, the Feel Beautiful message is an integral part of every design I create - I think of it almost as a quiet whisper that accompanies each piece of Elizabeth Showers jewelry, urging every woman to feel beautiful, in the moment.  Not to wait until tomorrow, or for when those 5 pounds are lost.  Not this afternoon after a workout, not when our hair finally gets colored, or when we graduate, or get married, or when our husband does what we want him to do, not when our children are out of the house, not when we are retired…  

But to Feel Beautiful,  RIGHT NOW. 

My Swinging Monkey pendant is a whimsical Feel Beautiful reminder!  

The tree branch shank of my Rutilated Quartz ring evokes the Tree of Life

Here is this same ring in white moonstone

At this moment, I am sitting at my kitchen counter typing these powerful words.  Still to this day, they inspire me to keep still and feel great about myself, right now -- the birds are chirping outside, my dogs are sleeping on the kitchen floor at my feet, my air conditioner is running and cooling the house on this scorching 100 degree day in Dallas.  
It's this moment that matters.

The Feel Beautiful message is my way of giving back to the many women who have so graciously given to me.  Thank you, all of you.

Feel beautiful!

Elizabeth

Be sure to read and enjoy these Feel Beautiful posts written by some of our favorite style bloggers to help celebrate Feel Beautiful Week!

Carly, of C. Style: Jewelry from Day to Night

Albertina, of Mimosa Lane: Feel Beautiful

And stay tuned:  tomorrow, Monica will post on her Blueprint for Style

With sweet Lexi on my terrace.  Living for the moment!

HOW I LOVE A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

True Icons are not just curators of style, they're women who have made conscious choices that shape our culture for the better.  Kate Winslet is one of those Icons.  I was thrilled that my Bird's Nest ring was recently featured alongside this extraordinary actress in Today's Chicago Woman (TCW) Magazine.  Even better, it was in their 100 Women of Influence issue.  

Kate Winslet has defined her work, and her exquisite beauty, on her terms, which is  admirable in an industry that is literally "skin deep".  Think about her role as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, the single mom of 4 boys in "Finding Neverland".  And the incredible paradox of her enchanting - but totally reckless - Marianne Dashwood in "Sense and Sensibility", and the passionate and deeply scarred Hanna Schmitz in "The Reader".  Each of these characters is flinty and independent - but ultimately, so vulnerable.

Kate Winslet in "Finding Neverland" with Johnny Depp

In "Sense and Sensibility" 

and in "The Reader"

Kate Winslet has been unwavering in her advocacy for a healthy body image, and has cried out loudly for the entertainment industry to take a stand and change their devastating message: that happiness is all about how you look.  

We at Elizabeth Showers are channeling Kate Winslet as we launch our first Feel Beautiful Week.  Look for fun collaborations with several great style bloggers who will post about how they bring the Feel Beautiful message to life, in their own words and images.

Feel Beautiful! 

Elizabeth

FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE AND THE 4TH OF JULY

I love Independence Day, and the festivity that comes with our loud, collective declaration of freedom.  And yet, with each passing year, I become more aware that my independence depends completely on how well I take care of the people around me.

I have been deeply touched by working with North Texas Food Bank's Food 4 Kids program these last 3 years - it's a program that provides a backpack full of food every Friday throughout the school year for kids at risk of food insecurity or chronic hunger, all across our region.  I work beside some of the most amazing men and women, and the relationships I've built with them and the children we serve nourish me and feed my freedom. 

Making a difference in the world comes in so many forms.  I know that by exercising my independence - traveling, in yoga and meditation practice, and simply spending time with my favorite people - I am able to offer my best self to my work and community.  

Spending time with my friends and family

Alan Cohen writes in his amazing book,  A Deep Breath of Life:

Your economy is based on love:  the more love you give, the more you have.

He says, "freedom and independence is what defines us, and we must renew our commitment to work together to keep it alive and fresh among us."

My greatest freedom is being able to create whatever I desire.
What a tremendous privilege this is. 

Be strong this Independence Day.  Relish your freedom.

Feel beautiful!

Elizabeth