Category Archives: Art and Design

Art, Art and Design, Contemporary, Jewelry, Studio

Notes from around the Web: Artist Hubert Duprat

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Duprat “Sculpture”

Straddling the line between conceptual art, sculpture, natural science, and jewelry the end result of Hubert Duprat’s work with insects are objects of great beauty.

Leonardo, an online magazine, has an article about the artist Duprat that begins:

“Since the early 1980s, artist Hubert Duprat has been utilizing insects to construct some of his “sculptures.” By removing caddis fly larvae from their natural habitat and providing them with precious materials, he prompts them to manufacture cases that resemble jewelers’ creations… This article is based on a conversation between the artist and art critic Christian Besson.”
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Antique Shows and Flea Markets, Architecture and Interior Design, Art and Design, Events, Southern California, Travel, US

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

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Modernism Week in Palm Springs is a celebration of mid-century architecture and design and features the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale, house tours, films, lectures, social events, and fund raising events that support state and local preservation organizations.   I’ll be selling at the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale in February 2015 for the first time and, to prepare, I decided to attend the inaugural “Fall Edition” in October 2014 to scope it out.  Taking place as part of the “Fall Season Kick-off”, this weekend was a mini-Modernism Week and gave me the opportunity to attend tours and other events that I won’t be able to attend in February when I’m working. read more

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Art and Design, History, Jewelry

Vintage and Antiques 101 – Definitions

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The terms “Vintage”, “Antique”, and “Estate” are frequently used describe second-hand merchandise. These terms are often used incorrectly, or with intent to deceive. Here are the definitions of these terms and a few caveats:

Antiques – Antiques are items that are 100 years old, and older. This definition is accepted in the trade, but also has important legal and financial implications.

In the United States (and some other countries) no import duty is paid on antiques so you can save a lot of money if you know that your purchases are antique. This applies to items acquired on a buying trip, vacation, or online purchase so get a receipt from the seller stating that it’s an antique or, if you buy an antique online from a foreign seller, make sure they describe it as an antique on the customs form. More information can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 19 Part 10, Section 10.53. read more

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Art and Design, History, Jewelry, Vintage Fashion and Accessories

Repairs Made Easy: Conversions of Screw-back Vintage Earrings to Posts

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Those of us who love vintage earrings are often frustrated to find that a newly-acquired pair is unbearably uncomfortable because of its screw-back or clip-back fitting.   If this were an occasional issue it wouldn’t be a big deal; however for the first three-quarters of the 20th century pierced earrings were out of fashion in many parts of the world.  For me, this time period encompasses many of my favorite styles of earrings:  long, elegant Art Deco earrings; Mexican silver hoops and enameled earrings; sculptural Modernist earrings; and dangling 60’s mod earrings.  While a jeweler can convert almost any pair of earrings to pierced, the cost runs at least $20-50 and sometimes higher.  While this is worth doing on some earrings, it can get prohibitively expensive. read more

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