bloodmilk jewels

soapbox.

2012-01-28T22:55:00.000-05:00

and tomorrow blood will leave my body above the breast. . .

2012-01-27T00:56:00.001-05:00

a joan of arc mood board.

the weight.

2012-01-26T00:28:00.000-05:00

dreamy givenchy haute couture spring 2012 line.

finch face.

2012-01-25T23:48:00.000-05:00

a bit more around my studio.

rosary collection in a glorious velvet/ satin box.

large framed obituary for twins who passed 5 years apart. sad & beautiful.

neutral milk hotel records.

this bell jar is from our wedding decor and houses some of my most precious heirlooms & other important bits.

more soon.

death stare.

2012-01-24T14:43:00.001-05:00

ok so this is a bit brighter and a bit more subtly offensive than other things i post here, but i still love these quirky & colorful works by sashiko yuen. they remind me ghost world & what i had imagined high school should have been like if i hadn't gone to a christian boarding school.

what does your quiver hold ?

2012-01-23T02:02:00.000-05:00

my mouth waters over these new pieces in progress by philly artist jeremy hush, which will be for his upcoming show at loved to death's articulated gallery in march. these little previews make me long for the summer days i spent in trees, knees dirty and hair tangled on the look out for the supernatural. . . . so in a way, they make me miss home & the forests near the sea. looking forward to seeing the full body of work before it leaves for SF.

eyes of wonder.

2012-01-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

sarah louise davey opens her cabinet of strange femmes tonight at jinxed gallery in philly. i find that people either go into a frenzy over how beautiful these are, while others, also attracted, find them creepy and horrifying. either way, i'm in love. take a peek at more over at hi-fructose.

trances. serpents. 1940 forever.

2012-01-20T00:35:00.000-05:00

there is something so magnetically appealing about these images. those fits of fever. communing with an otherness that overtakes you. desperate to be healed. to be washed clean of woe and worry. to feel new again.

via.

experiments in disappearance.

2012-01-19T01:35:00.000-05:00

today is the 30th anniversary of the death of artist francesca woodman, who committed suicide the same year i was born, at age 22. i've felt a kinship with her haunting photographs since college when i discovered her on the cover of a book of equally haunting tales 'here in the world.' if you're lucky enough to live in sf or should you find yourself there soon, there is currently a large retrospective of her work at the sfmoma. thankfully it will be traveling to nyc next, where i can see her work in person, finally.

forever mine, forever yours.

2012-01-18T02:18:00.001-05:00

a peek at some bits from around my home studio:

this piece was salvaged from an emotional wreck & means so much to me. i'm not sure where it originally came from or who penned it, which only adds to its peculiar history.

i write here. i also assemble and box jewels here. i see this wall hours a day and it contains some of my favorite artworks.

around the holidays a lot of jewels went out to new homes. . . . .

being raised near the sea in long island has always made me feel connected to large bodies of water. i feel that the edge of "any" ocean is the most magical place to be, in between worlds. this smaller shell was my mothers and then mine. i can't remember not having it. the large one i picked out of the sea the first weekend my love & i spent together. i can never remember being so lucky before or after with finding such a large shell.

more of these soon.

xoxo

blindness.

2012-01-16T00:15:00.001-05:00

this is my favorite painting from esao andrews' new show 'nowhere' currently up at thinkspace gallery. i love how the bat's body is like an extra membrane or piece of velvet wrapped around her face and eyes, losing itself in her hair. i think i feel this way often, shrouded by something dangerous and heady. something that lives in the darkness. anyway, i had a chance to stop by esao's studio before he shipped the work off. take a peek at the visit over at hi-fructose here.

Bat

His awful skin
stretched out by some tradesman
is like my skin, here between my fingers,
a kind of webbing, a kind of frog.
Surely when first born my face was this tiny
and before I was born surely I could fly.
Not well, mind you, only a veil of skin
from my arms to my waist.
I flew at night, too. Not to be seen
for if I were I'd be taken down.
In August perhaps as the trees rose to the stars
I have flown from leaf to leaf in the thick dark.
If you had caught me with your flashlight
you would have seen a pink corpse with wings,
out, out, from her mother's belly, all furry
and hoarse skimming over the houses, the armies.
That's why the dogs of your house sniff me.
They know I'm something to be caught
somewhere in the cemetery hanging upside down
like a misshapen udder.

-Anne Sexton

fainting couch.

2012-01-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

via.

rest for the weary & wicked.

via.

meet me in the meadow.

2012-01-13T23:05:00.002-05:00

i'm a sucker for wes anderson. can't wait.

13.

2012-01-13T02:45:00.000-05:00

happy (?) friday the 13th !

who's getting tattooed ?

via three kings tattoo.

another life.

2012-01-13T02:42:00.001-05:00

for when i find the time:

*baby geisha

*caketrain 9

*1Q84

*steampunk! (it's edited by kelly link!)

*no one (though i have the sinking feeling it will break my heart)

have you read any of these ?

readingthinkinglistening.

2012-01-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

currently:

inspired by chelsea wolfe's songs & style. (above)

listening to the caretaker: 'an empty bliss beyond this world.' it reminds me of sleep no more.

lusting after the new digital polaroid. i witnessed it's amazing magic in person & it's terrific.

reading this. again. & waiting for this to be released next week.

headed into nyc to see this & this saturday.

you?

xo

ritual.

2012-01-10T12:53:00.001-05:00

Ritual: Charmaine Olivia from Purebred on Vimeo.

one of my favorite painters, charmaine olivia, will be showing a body of new work, 'ritual', this upcoming saturday night at shooting gallery in SF. i wish i could be there to see all of her oracles & high priestesses collected in person.... if you live in SF, I highly recommend taking the trip over to attend the opening. I had a peek at a few of them in progress when I visited her studio on our trip out west for the 'spirit board' show in november & they promise to be full of potent magic & mystery.

lunacy

2012-01-07T15:22:00.000-05:00

favorite lady pam from phantasmaphile has curated a new show at observatory, the amazing hybrid space in brooklyn where one can learn taxidermy, view strangely beautiful artworks and attend lectures on divination and the occult amongst other kindred topics. tonight is the opening 'lunation' a group show based on the moon and includes this paper cut by another favorite, chad merritt.

coven.

2012-01-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

you can almost smell the smoke pyres in the new lookbook for sisters of the black moon. especially intrigued that aside from their killer vintage, they are now selling ovate. though i've had my eye on these drapy suspenders....

feel better.

2012-01-05T01:52:00.000-05:00

i've been obsessed with looking at images of nurses from the 1930's ever since my last trip to 'sleep no more.' i had a private encounter with a very creepy, eye piercing nurse in the woods in her little tea hut. i keep meaning to write about it here, but two things hold me back. i don't want to tamper with anyone's future experience & secondly, i've decided that my newest collection of jewels will be based on my experiences there, macbeth and the 1930's. more on this very soon. in the meantime, i made an homage mix here.

gallery 309

2012-01-02T17:50:00.000-05:00

some images of jewels currently housed within gallery 309 here in philly.

loved to death

2011-12-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

i recently sent a small box of bloodmilk to SF's loved to death that are currently available to ship. a bunch of the pieces haven't been listed in the shoppe yet, including the vintage hand shaped pen nib castings and the mini pentacle necklace. there is also a one of a kind crystal point with a snake rib 'cage' holding it. if you're interested in something for a holiday gift, they can be reached for shipping rates at 415-551-1036.

crossed fingers.

2011-12-20T00:36:00.000-05:00

the above piece 'sweetheart come' by one of my favorite artists, liza corbett, is on the very top of my holiday wish list. it reminds me of lily dale & seances & of course, that weird dinner scene in my all time favorite movie/muse, beetlejuice. take a peek at some other incredibly affordable works she has over at anno domini gallery.

the white snake.

2011-12-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

this just kills me.

a merry gloom cloud.

2011-12-19T21:20:00.001-05:00

currently:

buried under bloodmilk

reading during breaks : compulsive beauty by hal foster

excited for jeremy hush's upcoming show in denver. peek

shelley.

2011-12-18T02:18:00.002-05:00

i've been truly scent obsessed since seeing 'sleep no more' last month. (i'll have more to say about my experience soon, i promise.) i've been burning the catbird candles whilst i work & i recently ordered some scents from black phoenix alchemy lab. i'm especially smitten with 'a dreary night in november' (thinking of my big 3-0) from the limited edition 'frankenstein' series.

PS i'd love to hear what your favorite bpal scents are and why. please share in the comments section ....

crossing thresholds .

2011-12-16T03:33:00.000-05:00

i'm such a fan of both alison & audrey. it's neat to see them collaborate.

season of blood.

2011-12-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

working hard on getting things done so that so many of you will be surprised this holiday !

to the bone.

2011-12-13T16:06:00.000-05:00

works by francois robert

bloody sunday.

2011-12-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

a few things:

these crystals are paintings by artist carly waito. not photographs. magical.

especially wishing there was two of me these weeks. image via frou frouuu.

currently on repeat: oneothrix point never's new album 'replica.' makes me nostalgic for 80's fantasy movies.

greatest trumps.

2011-12-11T02:49:00.000-05:00

i stopped by catbird today in all it's rushing & bustling. someone was purchasing a piece of bloodmilk as i stood in line to buy a pair of candles & a bar of absinthe chocolate. it's amazing to see bloodmilk living in a shop & aesthetically arranged with curios by someone other than myself.

in other scent related musings, the two candles i purchased ( with the wayward intentions of being gifts ) were so amazing upon my opening them at home so late from art "work" in nyc that i had to light

'tarot deck' immediately and place it with all my other glass bottled curiosities in my studio. the quirky yet enticing description notes: incense, turkish rose, laudanum (!!!) & waxy pencil shavings (!!!!!!) the smells of a quiet ritual, a ring of bones & herbs, a finger on the other side.

campfire has yet to be lit, but also has an unexpected, heady scent of fire smoke & honey.

despite my selfish coveting of them, they would make perfect gifts for the strange lady or fellow in your life. also, remember catbird has a small collection of my jewels that are ready to ship immediately in time for the holidays.

heady.

2011-12-10T02:00:00.001-05:00

today is the last day to purchase from black phoenix alchemy labs in time for the holidays. i was turned on to their bewitching scents by mlle ghoul ( & they are also mentioned on the acknowledgements page of erin's book, 'the night circus'!( also another great gift idea) ) and haven't looked back since, though i spent most of my life loyal to a certain egyptian musk oil. when i was young i read once somewhere that a lady should always wear the same scent, nail-polish color and should always drink the same cocktail. always. in this way these little rituals become potent signatures. however, scents also have the marvelous power of transporting you, completely cocooning you in the skin of a new aesthetic or experience. they can reel you into the past like a snare, conjuring memories of the murky past.

with hundreds of scents inspired by alice in wonderland, the last unicorn and shakespeare amongst others, and no way to experience/smell them in person, one must rely on the incredible names, ideas & writing when choosing a scent. for those a little gun shy, they offer small vials for testing called imp ears. while picking one from this large well of exotic and hypnotizing offerings may seem daunting, here is a list of the scents i've been dying to try :

1. limited edition: old moon

2. snake oil. a cocktail of indonesian oils and our favorite aphrodisiac: vanilla.

3. arcana. the essence of the arcane.

4. slippery poppy tincture. recommended for mediums & to strengthen the astral body !

5. vasilissa. she herself had cheeks like blood and milk and grew every day more and more beautiful.

6. iago. fated leather & musk.

7. hecate. no explanation needed.

xo.

currently shelled.

2011-12-09T00:57:00.000-05:00

*two tales away from completing 'saffron & brimstone' by elizabeth hand. (if you've read this, please let us talk about the strange 'cleopatra brimstone' ? )

*love to zana & her words on the handcrafted indie business whilst sharing an amazing studio.

* wishing for: 'a little girl dreams of taking the veil' & 'the hundred headless woman' both max ernst collage books.

* i can't stop staring at this. or this.

* i can't stop listening to this.

* i need to get back here soon. it even pervades my dreams.

* i live so close to the philly art museum. i sleep exactly one mile away from this. lately i've been feeling a near magnetic pull to go press my eye against that terrible & fascinating crack in the wall.

image via ruth marten.

tears like fangs.

2011-12-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

limited edition of 30 in black.

limited edition of 10 in grey.

limited edition of 10 in white.

designed & printed by artist paul romano, this limited edition screen print features a convergence of themes and images from my recent lookbook 'the conjurer.'

printed on black, white or grey french paper, the print measures 19 x 25. including a beautifully nuanced shimmer effect via fine mica powder, the prints appear luminous and intriguing in their well balanced design of hand drawn elements via Paul Romano, an image captured from the lookbook via Christina Brown and text directly lifted from the lookbook.

these are limited 30 in black and 10 each in white and grey and are ready to ship.

Hand signed and numbered.

Comes carefully rolled in a mailing tube, ready to be framed or carefully pinned to your wall.

also available are the original drawings that paul romano used in the lookbook design. take a peek at his site for more details.

psych-ache.

2011-12-04T01:29:00.000-05:00

angie hoffmeister.

safekeeping. part ii.

2011-12-02T02:25:00.001-05:00

monica canilao always quickens my blood.

image via stacey ransom

further coverage of her current show on hi-fructose.

secretkeepin

2011-12-01T03:46:00.001-05:00

sacred heart relic lockets in rose gold plate & gloomy gray.

coming soon.

splitting hairs.

2011-12-01T02:44:00.000-05:00

november has been the best month i've had all year & makes up for some of the grayness that happened earlier this year and this summer. i went out to sf for the spirit board show. i turned 30 and celebrated with my incredible philly friends, who surprised and honored me with amazing gifts. i released my first lookbook and launched an official site. my home studio really started coming together. i prepared for bloodmilk's first gallery show (which opens on friday for philly folks) & i've sold more pieces of bloodmilk in this past month than ever, by far.

because of this, i'm incredibly busy, trying to keep my head above the bloody, milky sea.

currently, i won't be able to have any overseas orders ready for christmas due to shipping, and most things from my shop i won't be able to have in time for stateside friends. if you are looking to purchase a gift for a friend / love in time for the holidays, please email me before doing so to check if it's possible. some things are tricker than others.

to remedy some of this: west coast people: please contact the folks at loved to death who have a large selection of my line or east coast people: check out catbird's website. they have a nice collection of pieces including a few you can only get on their site.

i wish you all a happy december and again, thank you so much for supporting me with kind words, purchases and well wishes this past november!

*image l. filimonov

daily bleed.

2011-11-30T00:34:00.002-05:00

these days:

christina has been mounting the prints for friday's show. i can't believe it's only a few days away! if anyone's interested in possibly purchasing a print, they are mounted on wood and won't be available online. please send an email my way: jlschnabel@gmail.com for those of you who've asked about purchasing a printed version of the lookbook, we are looking into options we are all happy with & will have details soon.

the best tree house i've ever seen. conjured from childhood day dreams, it's up outside of philly where my love's family lives. there are nuclear cooling stacks down to the left. very eerie.

black obsidian tombs. coming soon with rose gold & gloomy silver versions.

venus fly trap birthday gift from amber lynn.

part of my current studio landscape.

lavinia.

i recently went to see 'sleep no more' with my love for pre-birthday celebrations. more on this incredible experience soon.

joan of arc near the philly art museum and close to my home. i pass her everyday & make a wish.

the oracle will be making appearances this holiday season for some of you!

more from my studio. when i get frustrated or stuck on work, i move things around.

i netted some more three sided quartz pyramids. the first crystal tomb necklace will be available again soon.

first friday

2011-11-28T15:58:00.000-05:00

this first friday here in philly at 309 gallery in olde city located at 309 cherry street, photographer christina brown will be showing large scale images from the lookbook, 'the conjurer' along side curated cabinets of my jewels along side personal objects from my collection and objects from paul romano's & jeremy hush's home & studios. this will be the first time i've ever shown my personal collection of my jewelry in a gallery setting, meaning that some of the jewels will show the wear i've placed on them over time while others illuminate the ethereal elegance of the rose gold plating. if you live near philly i would love to see you at the opening this friday from 6-9. the show is open until january 15th of the new year.

xo.

spirit board.

2011-11-28T00:16:00.000-05:00

karyn crisis

there are still some truly incredible pieces left from 'spirit board' the group show i curated at SF's
loved to death that opened earlier this month. take a peek here for more details.

also, take a peek at this video shot by josh from creep machine of most of the work from the show.

paul romano

edith lebeau

chad merritt

jessica ward

jeremy hush

xxx

2011-11-23T19:06:00.001-05:00

'birthday'
aron weisenfeld

xxx.

xo.

company.

2011-11-22T01:08:00.001-05:00

i recently picked up the stunning new issue of bullett magazine. not only does it have a little wisp of bloodmilk in it, it also has dreamy and haunting photographs by ellen rogers & sofia ajram, & an interview with one of my favorite bands / surreal art projects, iamamiwhoami. all or mostly all of the responses are song lyrics, which makes me feel equally frustrated and intrigued by their whole presentation/ persona. take a peek at the full interview here.

a special sale & an interview

2011-11-17T13:20:00.001-05:00

recently i was asked by lovely s.e of mlle ghoul for an interview. her resulting questions put a needle to the pulse of bloodmilk & i felt inspired to really bleed. so in a way, this is kind of like the autobiography of bloodmilk. if you're inclined to read it, take a peek at it here, but be warned it's a bit of a beast. i took a few shots of my home studio which are included in the interview & are also here on my flickr. the little bee in the tiny bell jar was found in my bedroom one spring in its perfect form & is one of my favorite "found" treasures!

& lastly, tomorrow & saturday i will be having my holiday sale a little earlier than usual to try my best to ensure christmas delivery. i feel i'm markedly more busy this year than i was last, so i wanted to hold this a little more than a month before christmas / other holidays of note. thank you in advance for buying handmade and indie this holiday season !

IMPORTANT DETAILS: mostly everything in my shop will be discounted 10% already via the incredibly handy etsy on sale app for ONLYthe two days, November 18 and November 19 EASTERN STANDARD TIME. in addition to this, i will be activating a coupon for those of you who read my blog here, follow me on twitter, tumblr, etc. the special coupon code for an extra 10% off is CONJURER1111. you enter this code in at checkout where it will further discount the item before you purchase. the sale DOESN'T include collaborative pieces or any limited edition pieces, which includes anything with a crystal.

thanks so much to all of you who have sent me their kind words about my new lookbook, which you can view here on my new site. you can also download the full pdf here to view at your own pace.

LOOKBOOK

2011-11-14T13:56:00.001-05:00

'the conjurer,' bloodmilk's first fully realized lookbook has arrived. to download the full 50 pages pdf, please follow this link here. Or visit my new site: www.bloodmilkjewels.com, where you can find the link to download the pdf beneath the preview slider. this new site will, over the next few months or so, will also be a place where you can buy bloodmilk jewels, including the new pieces i will have available in the coming year.

i owe so much to the patience, love and support of the great group of friends & local philly people who honored me with their talents.

thank you all so much for spending 2 days of your summer shooting the images, lending me your wares, your advice, your home & your talents.

photography: christina brown

artwork & design: paul romano

the conjurer: jacci stallone

stylist: amber lynn

make up: jenessa cintron

clothing: ovate

wing headpiece: loved to death

leather journals: margaux kent of the black spot books

site: laurel barickman

the lore of the sea.

2011-11-13T19:52:00.000-05:00

being from long island, i often spent part of my childhood summers on fire island, a small isle that still retains a largely untouched aesthetic. the best way on and off is by ferry. we would catch tiny toads in bell jars in the tall dunes near at night and bathe in the seaweed soup of the waters. in this way, the sea has become a sort of mythic being in my psyche. when i return to it, it feels like going home.

despite all this, it's easy to forget about all the creatures that move around in the darkness below the waves so today, when i went on a studio visit in baltimore, i also had a chance to visit the grand aquarium they have there. aside from the elegant seahorses & a sleeping octopus, the jellyfish were absolutely my favorite. thin as smoke with an otherworldly aura.

shaky shooting with 8mm app for iphone.

life on earth.

2011-11-13T03:15:00.001-05:00

tonight after work i wore some neon lipstick, had a mexican coke & pumpkin pie & watched 'melancholia' in celebration of the black forest's birthday.

the movie is an intense convergence of the horrors of our inner lives and the unpredictability of the cosmos. focusing on two sisters, justine & claire, respectively played by kirsten dunst, (whose fuller figure is highly sexualized and evokes the ill fated justine from desade) and charlotte gainsborough, whose whispery voice never fails to hypnotize me.

this movie is hard to watch. it has a searing beauty, lush with a palette of nuance, touching the senses, my favorite being how 'authentic' sound was included; the scrape of a fork on a china plate, blueberries being poured from a ceramic bowl into a wooden basket, hooves on gravel, sheets being pulled down or up. i was nearly lost in focus on these sounds.

however it was the palpable emotional despair that really snagged me. there is an evilness in the sadness here, lovers are strangers and engage in odd sexual moments, parents are terribly cruel and siblings fight for a way to reconnect. all this emotional and psychological horror/beauty is tempered by the strange occurrence of a new planet in earth's obritary path, aptly named 'melancholia', a ominous yet luminous planet, quite moon-like, that threatens life on earth.

balancing the darkness of the psyche with the antiquated, atmospheric beauty of old oil paintings, the film is quite stirring, especially in the gripping final scenes. to me this is the type of film i feel is important to see, but so painful i will probably never be able to watch it again.

The Conjurer

2011-11-11T19:07:00.000-05:00

www.bloodmilkjewels.com

the absence of sleep.

2011-11-11T05:54:00.000-05:00

#01. L'enlèvement d'Europe (Ödland, Sankta Lucia) from Lorenzo Papace on Vimeo.

i can't sleep. instead, i'm enjoying the sounds and stunning imagery/ videos by french band odland's new album, sankta lucia. i think you might too.

against darkness.

2011-11-11T03:11:00.000-05:00

though there are many other things planned for today, i was inspired by angel's post about her 11/11/11 celebrations to write one of my own. when i was in boarding school, i would sneak across the hall to my friend shore's room where other friends waited in the dark for 11:11, to make a wish and have a meeting. we would talk and laugh in this darkness, sometimes quietly for fear of being caught by our dorm heads, and other times not as successfully. we would meet like this until 12:12 when we would have another wish before heading off to our own beds. i've been trying to remember what i would wish for all those years ago, and can only vaguely remember wishing for love.

more soon.

dirty 30.

2011-11-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

i'll be 30 soon & its been weighing on me. so many people tell me 30 is great, but i've still been mourning the impending loss of my turbulent, incredible 20's.

here is a quick portrait of me (last one of my 20's!) by artist lara dann. i like that though she doesn't know me personally, she caught my brooding, pensive look. and that dangerous looking claw in lieu of a hand is rad . . .

some exciting things will be revealed tomorrow all goes well, just in time for 11/11/11 !

part the sea.

2011-11-09T17:53:00.000-05:00

lately i've been obsessed with chelsea wolfe (pictured above) thanks to audra. if you haven't heard her music, i strongly recommend it.

thanks to everyone who entered my annual halloween give a way! all of your comments were so kind & inspiring. i had a great time in SF & the show was equally amazing. take a peek at some opening night photos via hi-fructose here.

the winner was randomly selected & is:

if you are she/ he, please send me an email at jlschnabel@gmail.com & happy birthday!

more chelsea wolfe:

hysteria.

2011-11-05T06:37:00.000-04:00

if bullett magazine is available to you, take a peek at the current issue for the above editorial in glossy form. the creepy editorial features a hidden bloodmilk ring. :)

xo

six feet from my baby.

2011-11-04T03:27:00.000-04:00

caitlin hackett

allyson mellberg taylor

jennybird alcantara

last year the lovely lady at loved to death asked if i would curate a show centered around ouija boards. (what a dream! ) so i asked all my favorite artists if they would participate & the resulting show 'spirit board' opens on saturday night at articulated gallery (within loved to death) i'll be there for the opening, so if you're in town i hope to see you there! in the meantime, take a peek at a more extensive preview of the show here over at hi-fructose.

midnight at the mutter museum.

2011-10-31T22:55:00.000-04:00

happy halloween!

my love & i were married three years ago today. everyday i feel lucky to have found such a talented, funny & handsome man. we were married at the mutter museum here in philly & i'll always remember how we shared our night with so many friends and family as well as all the ghosts of those long past.

as part of my annual halloween / wedding anniversary celebration, i'm decided to give one mini planchette ring or necklace or if these frighten you, a 75$ gift certificate to anything in my shop to one lucky reader. i'm so grateful to have such kind & amazing (!!!) people read these ramblings and purchase my jewels. so thank you again & again for visiting me here, wearing bloodmilk or sending me nice letters.

to enter, just leave a comment to this post. it doesn't matter what you say, as long as you leave a mark. the winner will be annouced on nov 8th!

*also, my shoppe will be closed for the week as my love & i are headed over to SF. i curated a ouija board show that opens at loved to death on saturday! i'll post more details soon.

hope all you ghouls had or are having a great night!

halloween bleed.

2011-10-31T02:02:00.000-04:00

mini planchette oracle ring & necklace (half the size of the original pieces). i've been swooning over these since they came out of cast. though they are "small" to me since i'm used to the original sized planchette pieces, they are still quite big.

'what we will be' runic divination cuff.

mini planchette ring in action. (coming soon will be earrings & a cuff)

'forget me not' snake rib earrings.

the crystal tomb. part iii. a duel of starling claws and quartz pyramid.

halloween is a special day/night for me. not only is it the only time of year that the veil between the living and the dead becomes its thinnest, it is also my wedding anniversary. this year marks three years i've been married to my true love. we'll be headed out to SF to attend the 'spirit board' exhibition, a group show i curated for articulated gallery within loved to death's boutique. & also, its only a couple of weeks until my lookbook comes out. christina brown, the photographer of the lookbook and i have been offered a show at philly's 309 gallery. i'll be showing my personal collection of pieces alongside her large prints of some of the shots from the lookbook. (there's nearly 40 total!) we are thinking of printing a few copies of the book as there is also little snips of text accompanying the potent images. here's another little sneak:

stay tuned for give a way details later in the day.

milk & blood.

2011-10-30T18:16:00.000-04:00

artist jana brike (whose odd works both repel and fascinate me) has been working on a new solo exhibition 'milk & blood' slated to open next month. i stumbled on an interview with her and was enthralled to hear her talking about what 'milk and blood' means to her as a title. the synchronicity kills me.

happy devil's night to all you mischief makers and strange girls.

xo

soundtrack.

2011-10-28T14:20:00.001-04:00

things are still flooded here but i have some news. the lookbook will be out on the 11th for 11/11/11. i will be releasing new jewels on halloween. & i'll be posting details on my annual halloween season give a way in the next couple of days.

in the meantime, i've been listening to zola jesus non-stop in the studio.

cosmic witch.

2011-10-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

sofia ajram's inspirational, witchy film photographs. even her blog is lovely.

ghoulish.

2011-10-25T21:55:00.000-04:00

gareth pugh x mac is coming out november 23rd. i'm particularly fond of the sharp, bladed lashes & deep purple / jewel toned lip. for ghouls of the future everywhere.

winter & woe.

2011-10-18T23:32:00.001-04:00

these new works by new york based sam wolfe connelly remind me of the splinter of space between autumn & winter, when the darkness quickens & i never want to leave the house. imbued with a searing melancholy, these beautiful works mine the depths of transitional despair and loss to reveal a sort of fantastical decay; crystal points grow like a fever in the overgrowth within houses and halo somber bodies.

sam is currently showing at spoke art in sf.
xo

the lonesome.

2011-10-16T23:22:00.001-04:00

while i find that ray caesar's work is often an amalgam of many different time periods and even a landscape induced only by the passing ( & perhaps surviving) of dreams & nightmares, i always think of the victorian supernatural, a time when people grouped together to preform seances whilst the women were sexually repressed beneath corset gowns and tightly coiffed hair ( though i do love this look. ) such a contradiction of thought.

here though, the supernatural and the erotic converge; ray's other worldly femmes, conjured from the mesmerizing shade of his psyche, lift their satin dresses, lie in wait and flirt with praying mantis.'

his new show ' a dangerous inclination' opens this saturday at corey helford gallery. my mouth waters at the thought.

the heart.

2011-10-16T03:51:00.003-04:00

if you've known me for any length of time, you'll know that lydia deetz is my muse & fashion reference point. all black, filmy, lacey clothing / inky hair / & a sombre attitude punctuated by a quirky curiosity for the afterlife. and of course, stripes. my eye is immediately drawn to anything anything with graphic black and white stripes. it's become an obsession over the last few years and I burn my eyeballs on the olde cartoon series (yes i have all the trading cards too) I got in a shady on-line deal. i even have a 'beetlejuice' striped lamp in my studio. . . .

this editorial by matthew shave sharply nails a lithe, adult lydia straddling worlds. even my phantom limbs are swooning.

ps. there is word of a beetlejuice remake. i'm not sure how i feel about this.

dirty 30.

2011-10-16T00:10:00.001-04:00

i'm on the cusp of turning 30. for a more light hearted thought . . . hopefully next month i'll be wearing a pair of these decadent shoes and out drinking a violet infused cocktail surrounded by family & friends.

shoes via solestruck.

endless.

2011-10-14T03:19:00.002-04:00

with titles like 'wake up snakes', 'the endless dead' and 'my feral dad and his girlfriend', painter sofia arnold has netted my heart. her dark clusterings and nearly childlike style of painting is especially inspiring....

ellen.

2011-10-12T13:45:00.001-04:00

i've been such a fan of ellen's for some time & recently interviewed her for hi-fructose. take a peek.

not quite right.

2011-10-10T16:02:00.001-04:00

things have been a bit quite here because i've been quite ill. . . . feeling a bit more human & am working on orders. . .

thanks to all of you who are waiting on a box, a note or otherwise and have been patient with me.

*image via elia mauceri

the rare unearthly space between.

2011-10-06T15:23:00.001-04:00

there is a place, a liminal space, that lives between worlds. it is veiled in ash & shadow. it exists in temperaments and trances, in fits of fever or prolonged moments of grief. i know this place well, i curl and uncurl within its shade. i feel my work is created from this locus, this strange pulse, this limitlessness, rooted in all things hidden, unspoken. & this is also how i feel about paul romano's new exhibition, 'nocturne' which opens tomorrow night at part time studios here in philly. a meditation on the murkiness between worlds.

the fog.

2011-10-04T01:55:00.002-04:00

i'm currently in a nyquil induced haze and staying away from anything that makes me lift a wrist. i lost my voice this weekend while i was away near the sea, or rather, my voice is so raspy that my love barely recognized it when i phoned him on my way home. so i give you a quirky kris chau drawing in a notebook that endearingly reminds me of roald dahl's illustrator, quentin blake.

& a jeanette winterson quote that i've been mulling over whilst working on lookbook text (which has morphed into more of an art project than an actual commercial lookbook. more on that ever so soon i promise!)

my work is rooted in silence.
it grows out of deep beds of contemplation, where words, which are living things, can form and re-form into new wholes. what is visible, the finished books, are underpinned by the fertility of uncounted hours. a writer has no use for the clock.
a writer lives in an infinity of days, time without end, ploughed under.

-jeanette winterson from 'art objects'

ps. thanks to leila for the new buttons. i've been trying to do some fall sprucing up around these parts
> > >

xo,
j

repositioning.

2011-10-01T01:10:00.001-04:00

september is always a hard month for my psychically and i'm glad to see it go. this past week has been filled with travels, crystal mining, studio cleaning, bleeding and all the other general tomfoolery that goes into maintaing an independent business run by a sensitive. hence my internet absence. but here's what i've been up to:

snaring quartz.

reading 'the brothers quay: into a metaphysical playground' at night.

visited david hochbaum's inspiring studio in nyc. (more on that soon)

added to the glorious garden of phantoms.

serious phantom quartz. this will be hard to let go of.

october is my love and i's month. we fell in love in the autumn & were married on halloween.

& lastly, super proud of my lady amanda (adelina mictlan) for releasing her lookbook:

forever eyes.

2011-09-25T22:29:00.000-04:00

i've been a fan of kelly tunstall's otherworldly femmes for quite a bit now & was recently given the opportunity to interview her for her new show 'secret state' for hi-fructose. check it out here.

the sound.

2011-09-25T02:34:00.000-04:00

i know i've posted about alison scarpulla before, but her work really speaks to me. it's haunting, visceral, still, imbued with a dark magic, a shrouded beauty. you can nearly feel a kind of tesla electricity captured within them....there is something particularly potent in these images for me as alison is also a native long islander ( the place where i believe many of these images occur).

it's a strange place, that island. i simultaneously abhor and love it, which are the exact same qualities i find myself attracted to in art, literature and objects. . . .

guest post: mlle ghoul's 'night music'

2011-09-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

Image: Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens (1922) via Obscure Hollow

Night Music

As one woman might pack away brightly-colored linen sundresses and cork espadrilles at summer’s end in favor of leather boots and hound’s-tooth trousers more suited for autumn’s chill, so do I make my own trades in anticipation of cooler weather and darker nights. However, whereas the sartorially inclined may be working on supplementing their Fall/Winter wardrobe, those with an aural inclination are busy reorganizing their music collection. Is this a strange observation? I include myself amongst this strange bunch.

When days are long and the sun is bright, I have always thought that the sound of one’s summer heart translated into a sort of music. The beat of one’s pulse at midsummer is hotter, stronger; it sings through the veins and the limbs must dance to its rhythms… and so I choose my warm-weather listening accordingly. There may or may not be some top 40-esque dance music in my songlists during this time. I will neither confirm nor deny.

But as the mornings grow chilled, and the days shorter; when the leaves turn from jade to russet to flame, and fall and die with a brittle crackle at ones feet; when the nights are impossibly dark and very possibly haunted…my blood runs at a quieter, ponderous pace. As if its pathway to my heart must gradually cool and freeze. The pulse beats a dolorous, dying drum in my ears.

Gloomy, sonorous cellos. Unearthly violins. Ghostly theremins. Awash with mournful motifs and evocative of dusk fall grey and cold, eerie midnight winds and candlelit windows to ward against the dark, the sounds of this season call to mind the following command from Bram Stoker’s aristocratic anti-hero, Count Dracula:

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make”

The following is my own suggested playlist of Night Music for the coming darkness; may it provide strange comfort and somber rhythms for autumn hearts, slowing and silent.

Click >> here << for a playlist which will be available for download only until the end of September.

The Winter Of 1539-1540, Goldmund

Darkwood, David Darling

Faun, Olafur Arnalds

It's all forgotten now, The Caretaker

We Move Lightly, Dustin O'Halloran

Organum, Max Richter

Unabi, Christen Lien

Foreshadowed, Harold Budd and Brian Eno

Bram Stoker's Dracula: Mina / Elizabeth, Wojciech Kilar

St. Petersburg, Bersarin Quartett

O ma zalosci, Jacaszek

Threshold, Adam Hurst

Marcher A L'Envers Et Detourner Le Regard. Sur Le Rebord , RQTN

Gnossienne No. 1, Goldmund & Rafael Anton Irisarri

thanks to mlle ghoul for another great guest post! you can find more from this delightful and talented lady here.

through the weeping glass.

2011-09-23T13:52:00.001-04:00

in honor of last night's screening 'through the weeping glass', a short film by the brothers quay on the mutter museum, i've decided to hold a special on the three sterling silver watch rings i have left from last spring that were inspired by the brothers quay 'in absentia' film. each watch no longer ticks / works but retains the elegant details / tiny clock works, tiny rubies / from the victorian era they were made in. these were originally priced at 135.00 and are on special for 75.00. they are already sized but can be re-sized to fit you at no extra charge. if you're interested, email me at jlschnabel@gmail.com. to view more photos, check out my flickr.

blue hairs everywhere.

2011-09-23T01:11:00.000-04:00

new winnie truong.

fresh blood:

2011-09-21T23:46:00.000-04:00

the crystal tomb ring. limited edition.

the oracle. rose gold vermeil.

the spirit guide. // lily dale.

still more supernatural jewels to come.

bloodmilk x soma magazine.

2011-09-21T20:58:00.001-04:00

the 'as above so below' lorraine snake rib cross is featured in the current issue of soma!

take a peek at the full editorial here.

opulence & melancholy.

2011-09-21T00:23:00.000-04:00

kukula's new show 'lonely opulent things' opening this weekend at corey helford gallery just kills me. this painting especially. take a peek at a few more words i wrote about her new show here over at hi-fructose.

a slight bend of the wrist.

2011-09-19T22:15:00.001-04:00

i wrote about korin in an extended essay a few issues back for hi-fructose. i very much liked her work then and remarked how light and ritual and the mental space of the mind seemed vast and thoughtful in her portraits. the doubling especially snared me. but it truly is her new work, 'voices of the lake' that touches me more deeply. these figures, half sunken and dressed in victorian- esque finery that clings to their dampened bodies in spectral waters reminds me of a baptism. coupled with her metaphysical doubles it takes on a more psychic shape to me. the emotive yet still expressions are captivating in a way that expands through the simple backgrounds. i keep looking at them again and again.

the crystal tomb.

2011-09-18T23:50:00.001-04:00

this necklace is very special to me & what i consider to be the crown jewel of all my new pieces, some listed, some yet to come. i hope it will be just as meangiful to the handful of people who might one day own its double.

requiescat

2011-09-18T03:20:00.000-04:00

you would know the secret of death.

but how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

-from 'on death': kahlil gibran.

the night circus. part i.

2011-09-17T00:55:00.001-04:00

over the summer, writer erin morgenstern sent me an advance copy of her book, the night circus. holding it in my hands that first time, i turned it over and marveled at the splendid design (when you are a writer, specifically obsessed with visuals, its amazing to see an excellent cover, so well suited to the aesthetics of the narrative.) i knew i was going to enjoy it, it held all the elements of what i love in a book; a traveling circus, a specific time in history i wish i could time travel to, and surreal magical elements that draw me in with a sharpened lure.

despite all this, the book sat at the top of my bedside book tower (there are several of these around the house, toppling over in the middle of the night, getting covered in fine silver dust....) i kept staring at it longingly in my mind while i plunged into lookbooking or new jewelling or the alchemical texts i read before bed.

i finally folded myself into it the other night and yes, i was reeled in. it has a potent power for the magically inclined. i'm only halfway through and will write another post when i'm done, but i want to tell you go buy it or borrow it. right now. let this book sit on your tongue and melt like a violet candy. i promise you will not be disappointed. i can already image a few jewels popping up in homage......

the black sea.

2011-09-16T00:36:00.000-04:00

for months after my father passed away nearly three years ago to the date, i've had re-curring dreams of meeting him at the lip of the sea in long island where i was born. it is always a night sea, the moon reflecting on the dark water in snaky silver slivers. we stand at this cusp together, our shoulders slightly grazing each other as they did that last time i saw him. he looks out into that inky abyss as i look up at him forlornly, pleadingly. even in the dream i know he is not real, that we are not really there, but the little child folded up inside me like origami wants to pull him away from that terribly beautiful edge.

something about these images by dylan shaw reminds me of these feverish, lucid dreams. so strange and sad.

moonlighting.

2011-09-15T01:20:00.000-04:00

i recently posted about being fixated on daphne guinness, especially more so after viewing the video in which she talks about being shy and how clothing/fashion is a kind of armor to her, a kind of defense mechanism. i like this idea. opening today, muse daphne has opened a collection of her couture at fit that runs through the new year & which thankfully lives, for now anyway, just a short slide down the turnpike from here in philly. i suspect i might have a similar reaction as to when i visited the mcqueen exhibit. more soon.

in the garden of un-earthly delights

2011-09-12T23:40:00.000-04:00

a preview of joe sorren's new work for his upcoming show in rome, 'in a garden, where' was just posted over at hi-fructose by ken. i'd seen some of these spectral images in bits over on joe's facebook & was amazed by how far his work has evolved after viewing the preview. i love how his work situates itself on the locus between worlds, how his art can be appreciated and understood and felt by a variety of audiences. something about them speaks to me of childhood, how when one looks back on it, remembering the good parts in particular, they often appear muddy yet bright, the sharp lines smudged away like lipstick. in the same vein, i often think the afterlife could have this kind of blurred focus too.

soundtrack.

2011-09-10T01:12:00.000-04:00

i wasn't too sure on lykke li's new album until i saw this video. heartbreaking.

shed.

2011-09-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

allyson mellberg taylor

olly moss

mon petit fantome

elsa mora

there is a sort of subtle violence that goes into the making of paper cuts that i find fascinating. a shedding of excess to reveal a gem within the paper. instead of wielding a paintbrush or pencil, these artists use scissors and blades to create these stunning works, some bordering on nightmarish fantasy, others quirky & strange.

dark wings dark words

2011-09-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

liza

hush

a perfect pairing of artists, jeremy hush & liza corbett, are showing together at loved to death's articulated gallery. each dreamscape contains an individual cosmos with a well developed fantastical visual language, with liza's focusing on the supernatural elements she began developing in her last show whilst hush's work features the ball point pen drawings / watercolors he is becoming known for. i'd like to slip into either world and meander for a while amongst the bones and birds and snakes.

feeling gloomy.

2011-09-07T02:24:00.002-04:00

it's not often i post cartoons up here, but 'spirited away' has become for me, one of those things i do when trying to trick myself out of feeling blue. if you haven't seen it, it's incredibly well made, both in its written bits and its production. i find that the cusp of childhood//adulthood is a space i like to go when looking to escape from the ailments of real life, and this movie does a fine job pluming the emotional depths of this kind of transitory, liminal space. its also got a terrific supernatural element and strange, quirky characters that i like best.

watching this movie tonight made me think of what i would want as a wish ( thought this line of thought isn't necessarily derived from the plot of the movie) and if i were granted one, it would be to abjure complicated, negative, guilty, destructive feelings. i wouldn’t be rash about this, i would give these dark feelings a fair go before abjuring them, but i genuinely believed that if i had this power, i would be a better person. now, if only there were fairy godmothers or no faces handing out wishes like fruit from a tree or bath tokens.

xo,
jess.

leak

2011-09-06T00:37:00.000-04:00

there's been a leak of some lookbook images over at haute macabre. the images have all been edited beautifully, now its been passed on to be laid out. . . . hopefully it will debut this month, but for now, take a peek here for a preview.

petite spirits.

2011-09-04T02:33:00.001-04:00

i've made a planchette wax in half the size! look out for it in new designs upcoming / including a cuff and earrings as well as olde designs : a ring & necklace. . . for those who like to make a more subtle statement.

daily bleed:

2011-09-02T00:20:00.000-04:00

beetlejuice leggings !

the first planchette ring ever made.

diy chalkboards at christina brown's house.

stack of kris chau paintings . . . ( i recently visited her studio for hi-fructose. see it here)

nearly always in zana leather.

late summer / fall reading list.

cocktails in jelly jars and notes in hot pink . . .

only a small peek at my mass of jewel molds.

my daily stack of 'forget me not' snake rib bone cuffs. thinking about making it all joined into one piece.

i'm still obsessed with instagram. it's been fun documenting my daily goings on . . . as i technically don't have a "real" job, instead shuffling between cities and studios for either the magazine or jewels . . . no day is the same. it's also been interesting to spy on other artists, so many of my favorites use it too and it's intriguing to see what their daily lives are like . . . if you're on there, find me: username: bloodmilk

additions to the lunar series. . . .

2011-08-31T01:57:00.001-04:00

a ring, a rosary and two necklaces illuminating my love and obsession for the moon, especially in her sharpened crescent shape. a fresh bleed in the shoppe.

more to come.

risen from the dark/ musky dream . . .

2011-08-30T00:09:00.000-04:00

i recently interviewed sf art star & stunning beauty charmaine olivia for the hi-fructose blog about dreams, california & having multiple eye.... take a peek here if you're so inclined.

witch baby: lux xzymhr.

2011-08-27T21:58:00.000-04:00

been recently inspired by these drawings by la based artist lux xzymhr. i need to get back to my easel.

lady irene.

2011-08-27T19:50:00.001-04:00

holed up here in philly with flashlights and books. . . the odd thing about the imminent threat of natural disasters is that before it truly hits (like now) it almost feels like an odd vacation. the pause button has been pressed. for now i'm catching up on some art writing since my computer was a slug last week and working on finishing all the bloodmilk product shots in anticipation of the lookbook/ website. stay tuned on my fb page for special / sneaks tomorrow and during the week . . . that is if the power doesn't go out! i hope all you east coasters are prepared and stay safe.

the conjurer.

2011-08-25T18:26:00.002-04:00

i spent most of today pre-huurricane with christina brown, watching her work and viewing choices of edited photos for the upcoming lookbook. its shaping up to be exactly what i had conjured in my mind & beyond. for now, here's a little bleed....featuring 'the temple' ring, a gloriously large pyramid of snowflake obsidian held in with four perfect sterling sparrow claws....that will be available online in black stone variations and exclusively in different stones at loved to death in sf.

so much more coming within the weeks upcoming. . .

abberrant necropolis.

2011-08-25T18:20:00.000-04:00

ellen rogers recently sent me her lovely new book, 'abberrant necropolis' featuring a collection of her wondrous works. it, like the rest of her photographs, is a strange, ethereal feast. i've kept in my bedside tower of most important books to thumb through before sleep....

dark wings, dark words

2011-08-21T15:14:00.000-04:00

paul romano's 'sin eater' for the 7 deadly sins show opening this friday 6pm-11pm here in philly at the aktion gallery.

farewell

2011-08-21T00:48:00.000-04:00

ladies ouija board by liz mamont.

yes please.

xo.