JEWELRY: bright braided+old beads

Armfuls bright braided leather/colorful old African bead bracelets

+ dark winter clothes

= a vacation on your wrists

HOLIDAYS 2010 NYC

A fun thing the NYC transit authority does every year during the holidays is to run some historic bus and subway trains on their regular bus routes. These historic vehicles are usually on view at their museum in Brooklyn Heights. I spotted this bus running on the M42 line yesterday on 42nd street. See the official press release and scheduled lines below from the MTA. Look for these historic "rides" if you plan to visit NYC during the holidays!!!!

FROM THE MTA WEBSITE/http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=152

Just in time for the holidays, NYC Transit is also running buses and subway cars from its historic fleet. Bus customers will once again have the opportunity to ride buses from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and this year, the nostalgia fleet will operate along routes in all five boroughs. Vintage buses will operate along the B1 and B65 in Brooklyn; S61 in Staten Island; Q13 and Q46 in Queens; M34 and M42 in Manhattan and the Bx7 and Bx30 in the Bronx.

Subway customers may also take a ride back in time between Queens and Lower Manhattan along the M line through the holiday season. The "Nostalgia Train" is made up of subway cars in service from 1932 until 1977. Ceiling fans, padded seats and incandescent light bulbs were state-of-the-art when these cars were first placed in service.

Many New Yorkers bear fond memories of the trains, which served the lettered lines throughout the system. However, with the cars having been out of service for more than 30 years, many New Yorkers have never experienced the charm of wicker seats and ceiling fans. The holiday "Nostalgia Train" will operate on Sundays only, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., from November 28th to December 26th.

TRUNK SHOW 12/11+16 suite 303/chelsea hotel

My holiday trunk show will be at the my friend April Barton's salon, suite303/CHELSEA HOTEL. I will be there 2 different dates, 12/11 and 12/16 from 1-6:30pm both days. If you have never been to the historic hotel, stop by and check out what Patti Smith is writing about in her fantastic book JUST KIDS!!!!
222 w 23rd st btw 7+8th 212-633-1011.

NEW STORE - Great Barrington, Mass

My friend Dabney has finally opened her new home/pet/accessories/ kids/ book/housewares/pottery/jewelry(mine)/stationery shop in Great Barrington just in time for the holidays. The location of the shop is on route 7, right near Guido's and is the front part of the Germaine shop, if you are familiar with the area.
DABNEY MACAVOY HOME 413-644-8868 635 S. Main Street Great Barrington

JEWELRY: antique glass beads

The colors, size and raw finish of these antique beads are amazing. A string of these are a perfect complement against the darkness of winter. The beads look completely modern when worn with chunky sweaters but still retain an organic sensibility due to the roughness and aged finish of each bead. Please contact www.tamtran.com for purchasing information.

TRAVEL: Galerie Maeght

There are many small museums scattered all around the Cote D'Azur. Matisse, Leger, Chagall and Picasso are a few of the artists who spent time in the area. Most of these little museums are housed in unique buildings that were either the artist's studio or home or have some special significance to the artist. Our favorite was the Galerie Maeght in St Paul de Vence, commsioned by Aime Maeght, a Parisian art dealer, to house his own collection and to show work by his artist friends such as Miro and Calder. The site specific building overlooking the Mediterranean was designed by the architect Josep Lluis Sert, a friend of Joan Miro who recommended the Spanish architect to M. Maeght. http://www.maeght.com

RED the movie

Exciting news, Helen Mirren and Mary Louise Parker both wearing necklaces that I had designed/fabricated specifically for their characters on the official poster for the film RED.

TRAVEL: Cote D'Azur

Last week I travelled with my family to the Cote D'Azur in France. It's been a good ten years since I was last here. This is an image of the old port in Nice. In France, things change but at a much slower pace than in NYC. We visited villages high above the Mediterranean, people-watched from cafe terraces in St.Tropez and Monaco, and of course ate incredible food.

FLEA FINDS

A small painting I picked up from the FT GREENE FLEA MARKET from arthouse. A little "Hopper-esque" rendition of the old Domino sugar factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

JEWELRY: large hand forged cuff

In the winter, I like to wear large pieces of jewelry to offset all the chunky layers that I'm wearing so a large cuff always stand out. This one has an unusual pear shaped stone, raw pyrite in slate, that I found at a gem show. I buy stones based on color and intuition unlike traditional jewelers who value the rarity and preciousness of gemstones. I love going to stone shows and just poking around, I'm just drawn to certain stones intuitively and instantly imagine it as some incredible finished piece. Therefore each stone is hand selected and never bought in bulk since I rarely make multiple pieces. Wear this over long skinny sleeves!!!

JEWELRY: vintage african beads

Re-strung vintage African beads+Jussara Lee white shirt with handcut ruffles. Beads available at info@tamtranjewelry.com and shirt available at www.jussaralee.com.

STUFF: boots

I can't wait to wear my new olive green shearling clog boots from Sven's this fall!!!! I spent the whole last snowy winter in NYC wearing the black short pair from NO6/Sven's. Great looking and functional!!!

STUFF: bags

This gorgeous slouchy reversible tote bag is part of the new Tiffany's handbag collection designed by my friends, Richard Lambertson and John Truex. Tiffany's hosted a fabulous cocktail for the launch of their handbags boutique last week at the flagship in NYC. Beautiful leathers...gorgeous colors...clever details from the jewelry archive.....very nice!!!!

JEWELRY: scrimshaw pendants

I love ancient artisanal techniques and love to explore/study different ways to apply and incorporate these techniques in my work. I appreciate the rawness and naivete in these older techniques and the whole process of experimenting with different ways to make these oft forgotten skills relevant today is a continual obsession for me.
I discovered this scrimshaw artist's work in Bar Harbor, Maine and commissioned him to scrimshaw these designs for pendants. The simplest way to describe scrimshaw is that it is a little bit like tattooing, where the artist deposits many drops of ink to create a larger image. Scrimshaw is an ancient marine art that sailors used to practice during their long voyages at sea using whale bones or horn. I use a fossilized coral as the base material, this is not an endangered product and is readily available in the Pacific Northwest. These pendants are reversible to an oxidized blackened silver with a drop of 24k gold, prices start at $295 with different chain options available, please email for more information, info@tamtranjewelry.com

FILM: red opening 10/15/10

My super cool friend Susan Lyall gave me this from the upcoming feature film RED. Collaborating with Susan has been an amazing experience since the needs are so varied and it's fun to collaborate and come up with something visual for a character that only exists on paper. I think we work well together since we both have a mutual respect and admire each other's work and experience. This summer, I was in the audience when Susan was honored and recognized for her body of work as a costume designer by the WOMEN IN FILM organization, the award was presented to her by none other than Jodie Foster.

STUFF: bags

I bought this great bag from SEABAGS in Portland Maine 3 years ago. It's a great small workshop on a pier with a tiny retail space in front. Everything is made out of recycled sails and they use local labor to make the bags. Beware of knockoffs, each seabag is unique and has hand finished rope handles. Support a great business model, an authentic recycled product made locally. www.seabags.com.

NEW WORK: moonstone bib necklace + fleece sweatshirt

moonstone + dark patinated silver bib necklace + grey fleece sweatshirt (this one by T alexander wang)
I usually carry some fun jewelry to accessorize my outfits since I like to go out straight from my studio. An interesting piece of jewelry/scarf/etc will instantly add sparkle to a tee shirt/sweatshirt/sweater.
This bib necklace is available with different gemstones(turquoise/
labradorites/quartz) and in oxidized silver and gold vermeil, please email me for more images and availability. Why save any beautiful accessory for a "special occasion"??? Many of my clients that have purchased this piece and wear it everyday with their "work outfits". If you love it, wear it as much as possible and style your looks around it!!!! www.tamtranjewelry.com

STUFF: eyeglasses

Today we have so many options to consume more stuff, I try to make my $$$ count and buy with a purpose/conscience/good intentions. Recently I stopped by and tried on frames at the brand new showroom of Warby Parker near Union Square NYC.
www.warbyparker.com/exceptionaly cool frames/suitable for every man/woman of all ages/try-ons virtually on their site/affordable/
every pair sold = a pair donated to charity.

recycled colorful rubber bracelets from Mali

wear all or share with friends,
http://madewithloveinbrazil.com/africa/spreadthelovetoafrica.html

string things

Available at Claudja Bicahlo/Mark Wilson's sweet new boutique Lazypoint in Amagansett. Wear one or wear them layered. Aquamarines, southwest turquoise, and pearls.