I will be vending at the Horse and Hound Festival tomorrow, July 10th, from 11am to 6pm.

Johnson’s Orchards
2122 Sheep Creek Road
Bedford, VA 24523

For more information, please visit http://www.bedfordwine.com/.  Hope to see you there!

Melissa Lew jewelry is now available at AsiaStore at Asia Society and Museum in New York City!

AsiaStore at Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street)
New York, NY 10021
http://www.asiastore.org/

They are the exclusive NYC carrier of Melissa Lew jewelry and are currently displaying pieces from the Transcendence and Resilience lines.  AsiaStore is rated one of the top museum shops by Zagat’s New York City Shopping Guide and offers an amazing selection of Asian inspired products.  If you happen to be in New York City, please stop by!

Resilience is my new line of eco-friendly jewelry inspired by my love of nature and the beauty of the bamboo plant. In Chinese symbolism, bamboo symbolizes longevity because of its resilience. It is durable, strong, flexible, and can endure some of the harshest conditions. Resilience is both eye-catching and shows the wearer’s dedication to the environment. Each piece is approximately 1”x2” and comes with a 24” stainless steel ball chain. Pendants are made from stainless steel and bamboo; stainless steel is 100% recyclable and bamboo is a sustainable plant. Take a peek! I will be frequently adding new designs.

I’ll be showing a lot of new work at the next Ballston A&C Market on June 12th!

Saturday, June 12th from 10am to 4pm
Welburn Square at Ballston Metro

Hope to see you there!

I have some exciting news!  Check out my featured artist page on the Fire Mountain Gems website.  My work has been featured in full page Fire Mountain Gem ads in both Jewelry Artist and Metal Clay Artist magazines.

And this was just announced:  Awakening won 3rd place (bronze in Necklace: Metal Clay) in its category!

Check out the latest article about my jewelry by Valerie Williams from Try Handmade!

http://tryhandmade.com/melissa-lew-jewelry/

I’ll be vending at Taste of Arlington tomorrow, May 16th, from noon to 5pm at Welburn Square (near Ballston Metro).  Hope to see you there – it should be a fun filled day of arts and crafts and lots of food! :)

http://ballstonarts-craftsmarket.blogspot.com/

The first Ballston A&C Market of the season is this Saturday, May 8th! In celebration of 30-Minute Earring’s release, I will be selling ALL of my bamboo pendants for HALF OFF!  Hope to see you there!

Saturday, May 8th from 10am to 4pm
Welburn Square at Ballston Metro

I have some exciting news!  I’ve been published!

My 3-in-1 Sakura sterling silver earrings have been published in 30-Minute Earrings (a Lark Publication) and is set to arrive in stores in June.  I just received my contributor’s copy today and am very excited.  It’s project number 15 in the book.

For more information, please visit http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/catalog?isbn=9781600594878.

I am constantly seeking greener alternatives as my studio grows; I primarily used bamboo, stainless steel, and recycled fine silver in my jewelry.  Bamboo is a sustainable plant and its natural color lends well to my work.  Stainless steel is 100% recyclable.  The recycled fine silver is by far my favorite medium and comes from disposed photograph development solution.

What about packaging?  Well, I use reusable tins for my smaller pieces, and recycled paper boxes or linen boxes for my larger pieces.  Linen comes from the flax plant and takes very little chemical fertilizer and MUCH less water than cotton to cultivate; once the fiber has been extracted from the plant, the rest of the plant is used to make other goods such as soap, cosmetics, inks, etc. Nothing goes to waste.

What about chemicals?  I steer away from using chemicals as much as possible.  For example, I love adding patinas to my silver work, but instead of using a chemical called Liver of Sulfur, I use a boiled egg.  It’s less stinky and less toxic.

What about my printed materials?  I use a green printer for all of my promotional materials – my business cards, my rack cards, etc.  My printer is FSC approved (they use sustainable forestry resources), uses chlorine free paper, is part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and is a waterless printer.  I also use this company to produce all of my printed graphic design requests.

So yes, I am definitely green!