Never Say Never!

We warmly welcome Deka to our circle of unique boutiques who feature our wonderful jewelry. Honestly, I never would have thought to contact a sports store to feature our collection, but Deka is no ordinary sports store. I like to call it Sports Couture. Take a look, and be sure to find out more at www.dekaatlanta.com

All I had to do was look up at the swanky chandeliers which really set the tone for these unique and upscale boutiques. And it's not just the chandeliers that are swanky!

The clothes are amazing, far from your pedestrian yoga pants and athletic shoes. And to think I was expecting to show Jim, the owner, our funky rubber bracelets. No, he went for chunky rings, and diamond necklaces and bracelets.

Like our fabulous new Nanda bracelets with diamond studded connectors in ruby, labradorite and sapphire.

You can also find at Deka a great selection of our 24 karat gold plated chunky rings, perfect for the girl on the go. Be sure to visit Deka when you are in Atlanta or Chicago, and tell them we sent you!

For more information about The Montage Collection, visit www.myrnahalpern.com

Shhhhh........Listen.........Pre Fall Buzz

Just received an e-mail from Neiman's with their launch for pre-fall fashion. I loved it all, but my four favorite trends were as follows: Violet Femmes, Black and White, Leather, and Animal Prints. To purchase any of the clothing below visit www.neimanmarcus.com.

This stunning sheath by Jason Wu exemplifies the trend they refer to as Violet Femmes. A variety of shades of violet and plum play a prominent role in the pre-fall collections.

Our answer for the perfect accessory for this gorgeous dress in vibrant violet is our 48 inch Dwayne necklace. Fabricated of gunmetal, amethyst, garnet, gray pearls and chocolate brown shells, it is coming soon to Oak Hall, Memphis, Tennessee. Visit www.oakhall.com.

 Donna Karan can definitely pull off the ultimate in black and white! Her cocoon blouse with signature drapey black pencil skirt is a great example of unpretentious luxury.

We think that our Areli necklace with handwoven medallion will definitely rock this ensemble! Love the feminine loopy feel to complement the sophisticated, yet girlie vibe by Donna Karan. Now available at City Woods, Highland Park, Illinois, www.citywoods.com

The next pre-fall prediction from Neiman's is leather, still a stronghold in wardrobe building. Who better to exemplify this trend than the Italian master, Brunello Cucinelli! Love the subtlety in the color combination of navy, brown and taupe.

The only accessories you would need with Cucinelli's leather outfit above is an armful of our killer leather bracelets embellished with handwoven beading. Our Murphy bracelets are available in 8 different color combos at Frances Heffernan, Winnetka, Illinois, www.francesheffernan.com

Always a classic, animal prints are back, or maybe they never left. Lanvin's answer to this trend is this not so classic, drop dead gorgeous silk number. Meow!

Fight fire with fire, as the old adage goes. And these necklaces are quite literally from our collection named Fire! Either of our Katherine pendants with suede fringe would add an extra jolt of drama to this Lanvin silk stunner. Both color combos are coming soon to Kittie Kyle, Memphis, Tennessee,

www.kittiekyle.com

For more information about The Montage Collection, visit our website www.myrnahalpern.com and be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheMontageCollection

Form and Fashion

So many people ask me where I get my ideas for my jewelry designs, and I usually answer, "Everywhere!" Traveling is always a great stimulus and the photos below are from a recent trip to Berlin. If, like me, you are driven by a passion to design, you are stimulated by both form and fashion in some of the least expected ways!

So what did I see in this manhole cover from the middle of a busy Berlin thoroughfare? Well, I love the combination of colors and textures. It's a great monochromatic color scheme. I also love the worn patina which I can try to imitate the next time I am oxidizing metals to get an antique finish.

This table is from the room where the Potsdam Conference took place after World War II. The pattern is another source of inspiration. I love the symmetry and the combination of different woods sparks all kinds of ideas!

And what about this very cool chandelier from our hotel lobby? Well, of course, I'm figuring how this translates into an amazing pair of earrings!

So much for the influences of Form. Now onto Fashion. Net-a-porter.com was the source for these striking models portraying the oh so popular boho chic look that has been reinvented from the 70's into today's modern designs. I am really into this emerald green, Pantone's color of the year. My autumn/winter line is teaming with it!

                          LOVE her ring. (Yes, I do have these in my line at www.myrnahalpern.com.)

Would definitely love to channel this model's vibe in my jewelry! I am really into the colors, textures and patterns going on here. Who knows what this might cause me to do! Stay tuned to find out!

Vienna Sparkles in Many Ways

Looks like I wasn't the only one loving the Saturday Naschmarkt in Vienna. I was selective and only bought a few necklaces to repurpose along with some really cool little vintage medals that were awarded for climbing mountains or visiting tourist spots in Austria. I am planning to create something really funky with these medals. More about that in a future post.

Of course the best selection of all things sparkly was at the Swarovski store in the center of Vienna. Several floors of gorgeous Swarovski crystal creations dazzled onlookers, a great tourist attraction to be sure.

These were some of my personal favorites from Swarovski. Yes, you do need to be invited to some grand ball in order to wear these!

Moving on from the Swarovski store I met a beautiful mother and daughter team from Vienna selling gorgeous vintage jewelry at an antiques show inside a shopping mall. I loved meeting Gitta Landgraf-Hausmann and her daughter. What a delightful duo! Gitta is an artist and you can see her work at www.artforsale.at

Everyone deserves a little distraction now and then, and here is mine. When you visit Vienna you MUST go to the coffee shop at the Hotel Secher. It is truly the best in decor, elegance, service, and people watching. Of course their Sacher tortes are to die for and the Cafe Melange is true perfection. Yes, it is worth the splurge.

One final  distraction worth noting is this stunning Viennese coed from the Univeristy of Vienna posing here in her native dress while attending the largest open air wine and beer tasting I have ever seen! Actually we just stumbled upon this event as our hotel was close by the campus. Not only do the citizens of Vienna know how to create great food, music and gorgeous jewelry, they also definitely know how to party!

Czech This Out!

Just returned from Eastern Europe. First stop was the gorgeous city of Prague in the Czech Republic. Favorite shopping street... Parizska.  Favorite store there... Fendi. Beautiful space, fabulous clothing, impressive handbags, and great service. This store is a must see. I caught this faceless mannequin relaxing in the corner.... loved everything she was wearing.

Probably the coolest handbag in the store was this three dimensional baguette with lots of sparkle. And the color scheme really intrigued me. More about that later.

I tried hard to find a hip Czech woman meandering through the City Center, but to no avail. The best portrayal of Czech fashion was this poster in the railway station! Love the way she layers those necklaces.

Call me crazy, but the colors of the tile work at the Cafe Imperial served as great inspiration for me for my Spring 2014 collection. I would translate this into a combination of citrine with white moonstone and aquamarine accents. Now you see why I was attracted to that Fendi baguette.

My final inspiration was this magnificent stained glass window. As you can see, I was drawn to this color scheme again and kept thinking about how the pattern reminded me of antique filigrees.  Who knows how I might interpret this into some really cool piece of jewelry one day. That's the great thing about travel. It plants seeds in your thoughts that take root and blossom when you least expect it.

My Treasure Hunt

These street smart ladies in the photos above were featured on the ever so popular jewelry blog, Adorn London. The talented photographer Hannan captured these fashion fabulous women on the streets of New York.

  

I'm about to embark on a vast scavenger/treasure hunt.  I will be visiting Eastern Europe finding new resources to create more exciting and unique designs for my 2014 jewelry collections.  I will be searching the streets of Prague, Vienna and Berlin for inspiration and looking for some equally dazzling examples of stunning street fashion to photograph.

 My first stop is Prague, well known for their gorgeous garnets. Rough cut garnets like the ones pictured here really capture my attention. I will definitely be on the look out for them.

Next stop is Vienna and all things Swarovski. I will be filling you in on all those wonderful sparkling stones and what is trending in the world of Swarovski crystals.

Because I love to mix the old with the new, I can't wait to visit the Saturday Naschmarkt in Vienna where a real treasure hunt will ensue as I scour the market for antique trinkets to add interest to my designs.

And the final stop will be Berlin, home of one of my favorite designers, Hugo Boss. (Definitely bringing my Boss olive cotton military jacket.) Stay tuned to see the variety of artifacts I uncover on my thousands of miles long hunt.

Hard Day's Night

I just returned from a business trip to beautiful Chicago (my home town.) I was showing my fall collection to several stores along the Chicago North Shore.

Dragging my little silver "wagon" filled with jewels off the airplane, I couldn't help but think about some wise words I once heard from an elderly gentleman I knew. "Sell what's in your wagon," he would say. And, yes, I was trying to do just that.

After a very quick and most unglamorous lunch, my first stop was Frances Heffernan in Winnetka who has featured The Montage Collection since last year. Allyson, Jamie and the rest of the very professional staff there know their customers well. They are very good at finding something unique to introduce to their discerning ladies, and they zeroed in on our gorgeous leather bracelets wrapped in hand woven beads. Perfect for Mother's Day, they thought. If you stop by in a few weeks, you will see for yourself.

Dinner that night was with friends at L. Woods in Lincolnwood. I enjoyed Lake Superior white fish, a favorite of mine since my childhood. The next day I had an appointment at Vibrato in Glenview.  Meeting with Janice, the owner, is always a pleasure. She has a great eye for detail and likes to offer unusual, artistic pieces to the ladies of The North Shore at her stores in Glenview and Wilmette. She selected some "immediates" from our spring/summer collection and carefully vetted our fall collection choosing some gorgeous new necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. So far I was batting a thousand! I then decided that I needed to find a new store in a different area that might be a perfect fit.

That brings me to the last day of my trip and to City Woods in downtown Highland Park, an upscale artisan shop specializing in works by American artisans. Diana carries gorgeous handcrafted wood, metal, fiber and jewelry all handmade in the USA. Bingo! She loved the line and you will get to see her selections which are set to arrive just in time for Mother's Day. Now it was time for a little R and R.

The plans for my final evening in The Windy City were to go to a theater in the round in Lincolnshire to see a group of "Beatles" known as The Cavern Beat. They were fantastic.

It was a hectic few days and a hard day's night, but I definitely followed sage advice and sold what was in my wagon!