summer music series

it's 72 degrees, i'm sittin' in the yard feeling a lovely breeze coming off of the ocean!

Summer's comin'! Woot!

new ...

we're trying a lot of new things over here at PI.
hand-painting denim is 1 of them.

i'll be listing a few new colorful joints today-
some wrapped in African wax fabrics,
some in denim.

all full of color and life.

above, hand-wrapped jasper ring,
denim sterling silver triangle studs
and a wrapped bracelet w/ vintage findings and chunky chain.

available today.

life is great

i am swamped.. orders and customer emails are everywhere.
how great is that?!

it's also very overwhelming.. i'm trying.

forgive me if i say your order is going out on Tuesday, but it doesn't actually get out until Thursday.

forgive me if i don't follow up when you request a custom order.

forgive me if more than 24 hours pass without a reply to your email.

you have not been forgotten :)

C.

fly sis!

my wax print Africa ring made it to fly girl today :)
that's such a wonderful way to continue
the surprise anniversary celebration my fiancee planned
for me yesterday.





Tracy sent me a photo of her rockin her custom-created nose-to-ear chain.
She knew which charms she wanted, and she knew she wanted a mix of gold and silver chains,
in addition to 3 rows of chain.

I just brought her vision to life...

Thanks T :)



and April sent me a photo of her rockin' the custom feathers I created for her SATC II party :)
she wanted the extraness of Samantha .. so I combined several different colors and gave them lots of thickness. her short hair allowed me to play with size.



ok... I have a TON of work to do... i'm not even lyin.

peace.
C.

yardage town ...

i've been getting lost in fabric stores more and more.




you like?

more to come.

holiday weekend ..

so it's my first Memorial Day in Cali in... years! i'm glad to be home, the weather is about to be LOVELY!

my homegirl from STL/PHX is coming through.
she rented a beach house.

tomfoolery will ensue ...

and please note that PI never takes a vacation.. so allow me to introduce a new ring before we get this party started...





vintage brass, on an adjustable ring.



ya'll stay safe and have a great weekend :)

keep on.

1 in a series of a few.
cowries in varying sizes
from Somalia,
a handmade sterling silver
2 finger floating ring.




comfy AND adjustable
(however upon purchase, I do require your finger sizes before creating)



an ode to a piece I saw Leviticus create.
but a sista rocks ankhs, not crosses.

so here is the PI version.

shoutout to Leviticus for their lovely art :)


this "peace" sold not 10 minutes after I listed it.
please Email me me for a custom inquiry.
i'll have a silver version posted next week.



stay fluid~
C.

SJ x PI

so I've known this was gonna happen for about 3 months.
patience is a virtue and I'm sooooo happy that it has finally happened.

nothing before its time.

SJ's site is amazing. these 2 sister put in SO much work. i'm not really sure how they do it, actually. i'd be a crazy woman having to deal with designers, magazines, stylists, photo shoots, etc.



I'll be offering exclusive items through their site. Some will no longer be available in my own boutique. So click some links, and get acquainted.

More great news to share soon ... stay tuned :)

C.

offerings...

listen while you peruse :)




one of my amazing clients suggested that I make an all black version of my "offerings" for her.
i love the results... and now I'm offering it to you, as well :)








AND one of my beautiful friends in France sent me some cowries from her collection. I recently sent her a lykke comb, and a makeda glove.

...before her order even GOT to her, I'd received these amazing gifts. They are from Somalia. I've never seen such beautiful shells.



.. and I love the keychain... especially because it's actually FROM France.. not a gift shop in NYC.
Merci Dominique! You are so thoughtful :)

Kadan

i rocked the new nose-to-ear chain last night, and snapped this shot before we painted the town red, black and green.

it got raaaaave reviews, curious stares, and compliments.. even from men!

what year is it again?

i finally understand why a lot of people hate the idea of me and my man. it's the feeling of being rejected. it's a powerful emotion that took me 4 years to figure out.

(in addition, of course, to those who see cultural issues with our union. but that's for a whooooole other blog post on a different day)

it's the very same way I used to feel when I was unfulfilled and unloved, and saw a beautiful black man with a white girl. what a disservice I did myself by not taking the time to understand why he might have chosen her; by not taking the time to think he might just love her...

most think that I'm with a white man because of something a Black man did to me. therefore just because he and are together, taking strolls down the street, people think I am "doing" something to them ... saying "look, you fucked up too many times, brotha, look what you made me do!"

why does that have to be the reason? so simple, and i'm gonna need many of you to stop and really examine your life. are you feeling rejected?

ever have someone tell you something, then you automatically get defensive and start to speak and act out of emotion? well you might have just been rejected. stop talking, stop reacting; take a deep breath, analyze what inside of you feels dissed, THEN you'll probably have nothing more to say.

i always had a good Black man in my life... still do. always will.

a man came into my life who loved me, all of my flaws, my bad habits, and wanted to take care of me and protect me from the harshness of the world. he didn't make me feel like I had to change anything. he taught me to embrace my flaws.... to see their purpose and to learn to laugh at them. to not take life so seriously.

...and why would I deny myself that? I love myself too much to allow unhappiness to rent space in my life. with all of the horrible things that happen everyday that one cannot control, when we CAN control the amount of smiles in our lives, we MUST.

one day, he and I were strolling up 125th in Harlem, and a street vendor yells to me "ya cracker lovin' bitch." it was a reality check for me. it made me realize how our union can evoke such strong feelings in people. but just as much grief we receive for our love is also how much praise we receive for following our hearts. and that is what we choose to focus on.

i'm not tryna be a fucking martyr. i just want to live my life, be happy and make the world a better place by welcoming love, fearlessly following my dreams and being passionate about ... well, everything!



...plus.. we look fly together ;)

...so in the words of the immortal Royce da 5'9" ... "FUCK ya'll."

something new...

I've always seen these around.. but I've never rocked 1... so why would I make it?

I felt no need to rush, or to analyze further. I knew if the time came for me to create one, I'd be visited by a whisper in my soul.

The whisper came in the form of a custom order for a very fly sis.

I used mixed metals and 3 charms, per her request.

The chains are vintage brass and silver.

The ear/nose hooks are sterling silver.

Would you like 1? holla!