Project 11- The Custom Made Collection: Part 1 (of 2)

(If you haven’t yet, just CLICK on the “PLAY” button above, to watch the video!)

A few weeks ago I learned that I had been chosen as one of the top fashion designers to represent Philadelphia for an upcoming visit of  Senior members of the Fashion Press from New York City that were visiting Philly representing the TOP 11 fashion and travel magazines in the US.

To say that I was happy is an understatement. BIG hearfelt thanks go to  GPTMC, but even more-so SKAI BLUE MEDIA for the honor of inviting VeruDesigns to be one of Philly’s best designers.  Skai Blue Media is one of the most successful local PR agencies that works directly with many of the “giants” in the fashion industry helping them (among many things) identify amazing new designers.  Some of you may recall that I had a beautiful photo-shoot with the President and Founder of Skai Blue Media, the beautiful and amazing Rakia Reynolds.

When it came time to sowcase VeruDesigns’ works, rather than providing an existing collection, I took on the challenge of creating 11 custom necklaces, in 11 days (that is all the time I had!) for each of the Senior Representatives of the 11 Magazines, that I would give away for them to keep.  When I realized that the number “11” kept coming up as part of this project, I took it as a WONDERFUL “sign” and instantly knew that this was about to be a very special project.

You see, there is a “story” behind the number ELEVEN (11) in my private life. Maybe I’ll tell you more about its significance one day, but it is no coincidence that I have used this wonderful number before as a means of sharing the love (do you remember my post about “11 reasons to be excited now“?!).   So, when all these “11’s” started to line-up, I KNEW I had to do this!!!

To find inspiration, the first thing I did was to buy the latest EDITION of each of the 11 magazines.

I had NEVER created this many necklaces in such a short time. As you know, some of my necklaces can normally take several days to finish, so I knew that I had to come up with a “common” design for all of them, but at the same time figure out a way to keep each piece very much unique and individual and be consistent with VeruDesigns’ “one-of-a-kind” characteristic.

I ended up picking a specific “page” in each magazine, a specific outfit/model that would serve as the MAIN inspiration for each necklace.

The next 11 days were a continuous time where I don’t recall when one day ended, and the next one started.  It was a mix of continuous exhilaration,  FUN, dispersed across intense 16 hours-work days, every day, for 11 days.

I don’t recall having this much fun and feeling this ALIGNED with my Soul.   I know this sounds ridiculous, but I promise this is how it felt.

At the same time I was trying to figure out how each necklace would be “finished” (laces, grommets,  bead-separator’s, etc).  I spent several hours looking for the “perfect beads” that would serve as “separators” between the 3 “shard-beads” of each necklace.

Interestingly, after looking at beads for hours (including visiting two local bead-stores), I realized I would have to make them myself.   I wasn’t thrilled about this realization, but after it was all said and done I was SOOOO happy that I made this decision.   The necklaces looked FABULOUS!

All the while, packaging was also very much in my mind.  As some of you know, my packaging is also a CUSTOM aspect of each jewelry piece that my clients buy.

With limited time, I knew I had to be creative, and after several late-night hours looking for inspiration I came up with a simple packaging design that would still be very much CUSTOM made by me, but with a simpler yet modern look.

The idea of the “mini” CATALOG seemed pretty obvious to me.  I wanted to make sure that whoever was going to see and wear these necklaces would understand WHY and HOW it came to be, and get a chance to see the full collection (of the remaining necklaces) as well.   So, I made sure to begin taking pictures and video from the very beginning, and spent later many hours designing and creating each of the unique 11 mini-catalogs, each made of 5 pages in all!

The end result was the sweetest reward of them all.

Seeing the necklaces completely finished and laid-out, made it all worth it 🙂

It’s funny how despite the fact that these necklaces are clearly part of the same collection, each piece allowed me to play with completely different colors, textures, methods, and ways of finishing the piece.

They key about choosing “leather laces” (instead of choosing metal chains or other kinds of laces/strings), was my attempt at trying to keep the focus on the shards (beads) and have the laces ENHANCE its look, while adding a modern feel to them.   Another advantage I realized right away, is that the beautiful, long laces allow you to wear the necklace as a “pendant” (long) or a true necklace (short), and adjust its length based on your unique height, neck and chest.

Am I happy with the result? ABSOLUTELY!

As of 2 days ago, I can disclose that I received feedback stating that each representative of the Fashion Press absolutely LOOOOOOVED their necklace!

If you wonder what this means, the answer is something that I hope to disclose to you in a few months (YAY!!). We are in the early stages of very exciting conversations 🙂

I hope you’re enjoying today’s display too!

Don’t miss PART 2 of this post, where I finally share with you images of the ACTUAL INDIVIDUAL NECKLACES, as well as much more detailed information in the form of images and video.

Thanks so much for visiting today! If you enjoyed this post, PLEASE “LIKE” it on facebook, share it with your loved ones, and come back next week!

I would LOVE to read your thoughts and opinions as well.  Did you enjoy today’s post? Was it too long? Too many pictures? To few? Did you enjoy the video? It’s VERY important to me that you’re getting the enjoyment that I’m intending to give you every Tuesday in this small way, and I would so appreciate it if you could let me know what you think.

HAPPY TUESDAY! And as always, MUCH love to you,

– Veruschka