Tag Archives: silver

Brigitte Huet, Kandart Sterling Silver Jewelry Sale

This is a show and sale for 10 pieces of Kandart sterling silver jewelry made in Oaxaca, Mexico, by French silversmith Brigitte Huet and her husband Ivan Campant.

Bracelet, slide clasp, 7" long x 2" wide. $665 USD plus shipping + insurance

Bracelet, slide clasp, 7″ long x 2″ wide. $665 USD plus shipping + insurance

The one-of-a-kind pieces are the last remaining for sale from the Oaxaca collection.

26" pendant, $595 USD plus shipping + insurance

26″ pendant, $595 USD plus shipping + insurance

Many of them were made 15 and 20 years ago and put away as keepsakes that Brigitte and Ivan have now decided to sell. This may be your last opportunity to buy these unique collector pieces.

If you want something, please choose quickly, then contact me by email and include your mailing address with ZIP Code. I will send you a PayPal invoice for the piece plus shipping and insurance at the sale value.

Brigitte and Ivan thank you and send best wishes.

They left Oaxaca in early 2014 to return to southern France. They are living in a small village near Toulouse, creating new wax carved designs that will be made in limited editions with silver casting as soon as they are able to move to a house that will accommodate a working studio. Meanwhile, Brigitte continues to develop new ideas, most recently implemented in wood sculpture, too.

Eagle bracelet, small is 6-1/2" x 2", $550. Longer is 7-5/8" x 2", $600.

Eagle bracelet, small is 6-1/2″ x 2″, $550. Longer is 7-5/8″ x 2″, $600.

Bracelet, 6-7/8" long x 1" wide, $445.

Bracelet, 6-7/8″ long x 1″ wide, $445.

17" long necklace, 1/4-1/2" wide, $295 USD

17″ long necklace, 1/4-1/2″ wide, $295 USD16" necklace, $335  necklace, $335, 16″ long

Eagle pendant, 3-1/2"long x 1-5/8" wide, $245.

Eagle pendant, 3-1/2″long x 1-5/8″ wide, $245.

Pendant, 2-3/4" long x 1-5/8" wide, $250.

Pendant, 2-3/4″ long x 1-5/8″ wide, $275.

Lady Pendant, 3-1/4" long x 2-1/4" wide, $275.

Lady Pendant, 3-1/4″ long x 2-1/4″ wide, $300.

How to order: First send me an email.

  1. Tell me which piece you want.
  2. Tell me your mailing address with ZIP Code
  3. Tell me if you want insurance for the full value of your purchase.
  4. Order and pay by Monday, June 2: I will ship from California.
  5. Order and pay after June 2: I will ship from California after July 9.
  6. I will send you a PayPal invoice for the amount of the piece(s) and add shipping and insurance to the total.
  7. Upon payment, I will ship within one day if order received by June 2, 2015.

P.S. I have no earrings or rings from Brigitte to offer for sale at this time.

Bilbao Reunion with Brigitte Huet, Silversmith and Jeweler

Our reunion with artist, jeweler, silversmith and dear friend Brigitte S. Huet has been in the making for over a year when Barbara and I first planned to visit Spain. Brigitte and her husband Ivan returned to France in early 2014 after making Oaxaca their home and creative inspiration for over 20 years. We miss them.

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So, we made a meet-up plan for Bilbao, which is about four hours by car from the Toulouse area where they now live, to visit the Guggenheim Museum together.

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Barbara asked Brigitte to bring a trunk show of collector pieces she had created in the early years. We spent time looking at designs we had never seen before that had been tucked away in Brigitte’s treasure chest in France. They included belt buckles, deeply carved silver beads, pendents, rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

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Some of these, mostly necklaces and bracelets, are now available for sale. I have them with me and I will be posting photos and prices soon.

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We reminisced, drank good red wine, ate stinky unpasteurized cheese, walked and giggled. It was wonderful to be with Brigitte again. They have not produced jewelry since returning to France.

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There is no place where they live now to set up a casting studio. But, Brigitte has carved wax designs in preparation for what comes next and she has been carving wood, too. The creative life continues.

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Enviando besos y abrazos de Brigitte y Ivan de Francia.  Sending kisses and hugs from Brigitte and Ivan from France.

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More About Mexico City: Museums

For the past week, before returning today to North Carolina for knee replacement surgery next week, I have been in Mexico City where some of the world’s best museums are found. I added on two days on my own before we started our fifth Looking for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Art History Study Tour this year!

Highlights to share with you:

At the Franz Mayer Museum there is a special exhibition of the collection of Ruth Lechuga’s folk art collection. A physician and photographer, Ruth Lechuga left Vienna, Austria with her family at age eighteen to escape the Holocaust. Mexican people and their creativity became her passion. (Mexico received many who sought asylum when the United States closed its doors.)

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In another exhibit hall at the Franz Mayer Museum is the art of TANE, the Mexico City silver and gold jewelry and design studio. Their bench artists have been working in precious metals since 1942.

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What is not to admire? Even Oaxaca’s great artist Francisco Toledo has worked with TANE to design this extraordinary silver fish that you see above.

2014MuseumsB-83 2014MuseumsB-86          In addition to contemporary jewelry designs, TANE creates traditional hammered and woven silver pieces, like this exceptional hammered rooster chandelier, above left.  This is an extraordinary exhibition if you love the history of silver and silversmithing in Mexico. And, if you want to shop, there’s a TANE boutique at El Palacio de Hierro, Mexico City’s great department store, just a block from the Zocalo in the historic center of town. Pay attention to the Tiffany glass ceiling there, too.

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The courtyard patio of the Franz Mayer Museum offers a lovely respite for espresso, sweets and good sandwiches, plus a perfect venue for a fashion photo shoot where amazing posters of social and political commentary from around the world hang.

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We packed it in that day. Our next stop was to see the collection at the Soumaya Museum and the Jumex Museum in the wealthy Polanco district of Mexico City. These are both private museums owned by family foundations. The collections range from classical to contemporary.

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We were blown away by the extent of the Soumaya Museum’s collection of Rodin and Dali bronze sculptures, and a floor devoted to Sophia Loren in Mexico.

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Photos above show museum architecture and the office complex backdrop. This is not far from Chapultepec Park where we returned the next day to immerse ourselves in the art at the Rufino Tamayo Museum (the BEST museum store in the city, IMHO) and where we saw the temporary exhibition of Japanese-American artist Yayoi Kusama.

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Then, on to the Museum of Modern Art that houses Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas and Diego Rivera’s portrait of his second wife Lupe Marin, plus other important works. We followed this with dinner at Chef Alejandro Rios’ Guzina Oaxaca.

How do we get around Mexico City?  If I can’t get there on foot, I call UBER.  Yes, Mexico City is served by UBER and you can usually get a private, secure car and driver to come pick you up in less than ten minutes. All cars have seat belts, most drivers provide a small bottle of water as a courtesy, and there is no exchange of money and no tipping.  It’s the best!

Oaxaca Portrait Photography Workshop starts January 30.

Scheduling 2015 Looking for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Art History Study Tour. Are you interested? Send an email!

Oaxaca Filigree Gold and Silver, Antique Jewelry, Pawn Shops and Prayer for Rain

Gold filigree earrings are a favorite of traditional indigenous women in villages throughout Oaxaca, Mexico.  Mexican gold filigree jewelry, usually 10k or 12k, is gifted at life cycle events and is an important part of engagement and marriage traditions.  Antique pieces are usually more costly because of the workmanship.

Antique 10k gold filigree earrings, Oaxaca, Mexico

Antique 10k gold filigree earrings, Oaxaca, Mexico

Filigrana, the art of working gold threads or coils into intricate designs, was brought to Mexico by the Spanish after the conquest.  The Spanish learned the technique from the Moors.  Master goldsmiths taught local craftsmen and the skill became a family trade handed down through the generations. Today, there are a few master craftsmen working in gold, but because of the cost many visitors to Oaxaca choose filigree worked in sterling silver.

New silver filigree earrings by Mario Perez

New silver filigree earrings by Mario Perez

One such filigree craftsman is Mario Perez, who shares a shop with famed woodcarver Jacobo Angeles on Macedonio Alcala.  Step inside to see how silver becomes bows from which dangle gemstones and colored glass, curlicues, birds, flowers and angels.  The designs are intricate and beautifully executed. Mario makes earrings, pendants, rings, and complete necklaces.

Be careful — cuidado — if you are shopping price, beware that there are knock-offs that are imported from China.  Yes, indeedy.

One of my favorite places to explore and window shop is the Casa de Empeño Monte Piedad.  This is a bonafide government owned/regulated pawn shop located at the corner of Macedonio Alcala and Morelos, and one of the biggest.  Doors close between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.  At the corner is the Caja, the payment center.  Walk two doors down on Morelos (toward Garcia Virgil) to see the display of goodies for sale — some upwards of $10,000 USD.

Small antique 10k gold and pearl filigree earrings, Oaxaca, pawn shop

Small antique 10k gold and pearl filigree earrings, Oaxaca, pawn shop

Everything is priced by weight.  If you are lucky, you might find an antique pair of gold filigrana earrings (like I did the other day) for well under $80 USD.  One of the pearls was missing but all the parts worked beautifully.  I walked to a small family operated jewelry shop a few blocks away from the Zocalo, asked if they did repairs, and twenty minutes later my earrings were fixed — better than new!.  Materials and labor: $8 USD.

The pawn shops are filled with merchandise now.  I don’t know why.  Maybe more people are out of work, or what grandmother liked the granddaughters don’t, or the Guelaguetza tourist season was underwhelming and families need cash.  There are other priorities besides jewelry.  Many Casa de Empeños are located throughout the city, especially near in the 20 de Noviembre market. Keep your eyes open. You may not need to buy retail if you admire the old artistry.

P.S. This is the rainy season and it is dry, dry, dry.  No rain for weeks.  The corn is yellowing and some fields are dead.  Today, my next door neighbor irrigated his field.  How?  Water from a well or flowing from the mountain reservoir. The water gushed down trenches dug yesterday.  This coming season will likely bring scarcity and high prices for maize.  When food costs soar, people will sell what is not essential.   Abundance in the pawn shops. Join me in the prayer for rain.  It is painful to watch the fields shriveling and giving up their promise of food.

Shop Mexico The Artisan Sisters: Frida Kahlo Silver Earrings

Mexico is filled with Frida — the icon of South-of-the-Border Style harkens us back to a big, bold fashion statement that signals femininity, pride, and a look that says I’m worth noticing.  From floral designs embroidered on blouses to fantastic, dangling earrings that move with you, Frida knew how to wear the clothing and jewelry that symbolizes Mexican design.  Here, we have earrings that translate that antique look into contemporary fashion.

Frida Style Filagree Silver Earrings

Friday Kahlo loved her Oaxaca earrings.  Here is a selection for you to wear and enjoy or for holiday gifting!  Order today and I will ship tomorrow morning, December 18, by USPS Priority Mail.

Doves adorn these are handmade silver and filagree earrings from Oaxaca embellished with either pearls (left), coral (center), or turquoise (right).  The posts fit snugly on your ear and dangle dramatically!  From top to bottom the earrings measure 2-1/2″ and are 1-1/2″ wide at the widest part.  $125 each includes shipping and handling.  Please specify the color you want.  I can get these to you by Christmas if you order today!

SilverGarnetEarrings These are also artist-made silver earrings by Cesar Ramirez Torres from Nayarit, Mexico, adorned with garnets.   They are 2″ long from the bottom of the hook and 1″ wide.  $75, includes shipping and handling.  And, yes, I can get these to you by Christmas if you order today!