As March Closes, Celebrate our Wins

 

As we approach the end of Women's. History month, I am happy to share women who have been role models or inspired me. Two weeks ago I used the term Shero. Now I want to share a woman many have been inspired by.  Our vice President, Kamala Harris.  She broke the glass ceiling when she was elected.  I am happy to have a woman in the White house.   

Kamala Harris: “I may be the first woman to hold this office. But I won’t be the last.”

 

 

 

 

Panda Wear 2022 Spring line debuts this week.  Exciting and celebratory is how I describe my creation of the pieces in this group. There is a give away on social media so please spread the word.  You have a sneak peak here with this one photo. May the line show the beauty I find in Spring every year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Lives Matter

 

It has been two years since Daniel Prude tragically  lost his life in Rochester.  I invite everyone to be kind and support our sisters and brothers.   We need to teach history accurately all year.  Support families who have lost loved ones like the Prude Family.  

Say his name,  Daniel Prude. 

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 

Buy Local and Shop Small

My Shop:  My Shop

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Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
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Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

Hello Sping 2022

Welcome to Spring 2022 in my corner of the world.  We have snow in the forecast for this week and my garden is fighting with all it has to show off in spite of the forecast.  The Spring Equinox arrived Sunday morning here in Rochester, NY.  I was so happy to see it arrive.  I had a countdown this month on social media.

This is one of the crocus clusters in my backyard garden.  I am enjoying the shape of the blossoms this year. I find myself looking at this differently after dealing with the pandemic for the past two years. 

 How has you view changed?

 As you may know, I am an avid gardener.  Both flowers and vegetables.  Most of my flowers are perennials because they show off without much outside assistance.  I prefer to spend the worm months enjoying all of what outside has to offer.   

The seedlings are doing well.  Happy to say some will be planted the end of this month. My first plants in the dirt are peas and lettuce.  They are the most hardy of my vegetables.   This is 2021 Celery that wanted to see 2022. Sometimes the prior growing season continues under the snow and peaks out after the thaw.   

Black Lives Matter

I invite everyone to be kind and support our sisters and brothers.We need to teach history
accurately all year, not just in February. 

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

#blacklivesmatter 

#standup

#speakup

#listen  

We are in this together. Wear a Mask,  Stay safe,  Facts Matter, Science is REAL.

Buy Local and Shop Small

My Shop:  My Shop

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

Women's History Month 2022

My questions for you this year:

1. How will Women's history month change how you do business?
2. Who are your role models?  
3. How do you inspire others?   

Sheroes who Inspire Me 

Two women who have inspired me are Sharon Nelson and Irma McClaurin. I could attempt write short biographies about them but that would be almost impossible.  My focus is on them as Sheroes.  I met Sharon in the summer of 2018, about 3.5 years ago. It feels like I have know her for much longer.  She  has a tenacity and spirit I instantly connected with.   It is rare to meet a women and know you will be friends. My favorite program is the Candidate Training Class. 

 Sharon Nelson

 

I met Irma McClaurin in 2019.  She was co chair of Seneca Falls Revisited: Womens Equality Weekend  in Rochester in 2018.  I attended the conference but did not personal meet her until the 2019 event in Saratoga Springs.  She is a leader, visionary, and fantastic lady. Take time and read some of the incredible things she has written.  Stop, take the time, & broaden your mind.            

 Irma McClaurin

 

 

Black Lives Matter

I invite everyone to be kind and support our sisters and brothers.   We need to teach history accurately all year. 

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 

 

 

 

 

 Buy Local and Shop Small

My Shop:  My Shop

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

What is in your Earrings

 Earrings

Crystal on Surgical

What are the three main parts of an earring? 

1. Beads
2. Headpin
3. Ear post or wire

The Beads (focal component )are likely why you picked the earring they are the largest part and most colorful element of the earring.  The Headpin is the almost invisible part that holds the beads.  The ear post is what connects the earring to your ear.  Most often I use Nickel Free Surgical Steel to connect to the ear.  Why do I use it?  It is the safest metal for ear wires (most non corrosive  type of stainless steel).  

 

 Metals

 

 I believe definitions are necessary and here are a few links for metals :

Silver                   Silver defined

Copper                 Copper defined

Nickel                 Nickel defined

Gold                    Gold defined

 

Surgical with silver & pearls

Metals are one of the main components in my work.  A brief overview of metals and their uses will help you to understand why I use sterling silver wire in so many of my designs.  

Type of metals used in jewelry:  aluminum, copper, gold, nickel, silver, & stainless steel. I have not listed all metals because the list is long.  This is such a broad topic, I could easily spend days writing many pages about this.  I will keep this brief and focused. 

 

Two of the metals many people react to are Copper & Nickel.   Jewelry Safety will be a future topic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Lives Matter

 I invite everyone to be kind and support our sisters and brothers. Today is the last day of Black History Month.  We need to teach history accurately all year. 

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 

 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

#lovewins

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

My shop:  Panda Wear Website

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

Gardening as Winter Ends

Spring Countdown

 In 27 days on March 20 it will be spring.  I love the color burst of Spring. My love of this comes from my paternal Grandma.  Growing up, I helped her in her gardens.  I have fond memories of her yard in the spring bursting with colors.  I helped pull the weeds from around the roses.  While her children were growing up, she grew fruits and veggies.  She had plums, raspberries and blackberries when I was growing up. Summer flowers in Grandma's garden included: roses, zinnias, geraniums, peonies, pansies, petunias, snapdragons.  She had a second garden at the family cottage near Alexandria Bay, NY in the 1000 islands.  The flowers were in whiskey barrels at the entrance to the home.

 Backyard Visitors

Our suet feeder seems to attract a wide variety of Woodpeckers to my garden.  they enjoy the food in the winter we provide and in the warmer months they feast on the insects in the garden. It is nice to have a back yard habitat they enjoy. 

 My pond is right next to this feeder.  When it is warmer, the birds enjoy the waterfall and their bird bath at the top of it. Have you made a space that is friendly to local wildlife?  Always be kind ot others.  I was taught this by my Father and honor him by my practice of it.

 

 

 

 As I countdown to spring, the garden design is finished for the veggies.  Very happy to have a plan to grow by so I do not end up without space for a favorite vegetable.

 

As winter is winding down, my garden catalogs help me plan for the warm season.  As the designer in me is active, there as some new jewelry designs for spring, too.  Working on Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in Copper and Sterling Silver. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

#lovewins

 

 

 

 

Shop Small

Buy Local from the Artist

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community. 

 

My Family

Valentine Memories

As we are in mid February, I have love and memories of a few family members who are no longer with me.  

As many of you know, I am an avid gardener.  My Father & his Mother both have birthdays the end of the month.  They showed me strong family, love & tolerance for all. 

This picture was taken many years ago at my family cottage near Alexandria Bay, NY.  you can see my Grandmother wth her tow oldest sons here.  It looks like a very successful day fishing on the St. Lawrence river.  I remember my father taking me out on that river as a child.    

My Grandmother loved gardening and her flowers were a show of her dedication to nature.  This was obvious at her home in the NE area is the city of Rochester & the summer home her husband build in the 1000 Islands in St Lawrence county. One of my favorite flowers in her garden was the Peonies.  She had both the pink & the white flowering plants.This is the pink flowering type in my backyard garden.  When they first bloomed here my only thought when I inhaled the intoxicating aroma was of Grandma.

As I enjoy planting my seeeds, I think of my family and the fantastic gardens at Grandma & Grandpa's house.  The Blackberries & Red Raspberries were always harvested by my sister & I.  Amazing that any of the fruits made it into the house by the color of our hands from the harvest of the super juicy berries.This is the view from the dock at the summer place several years ago.  The water lilies are wild there and inspired my backyard pond.  My waterfall sound takes me back to the cottage in the 1000 islands and many summer weekends with my father when I was a child.

Black Lives Matter

I know my father would support me in standing up for others.  His family emigrated to the US and he was first generation of his family born in the US. 

The BLM group in Rochester is

Free the People ROC

Black Lives Matter in ROC

The Group in my city is Free The People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and speak up.  

#blacklivesmatter 

#standup

#speakup

#listen  

We are in this together. Wear a Mask,  Stay safe,  Facts Matter, Science is REAL.

More important this Black History Month!

Shop Small

Buy Local from the Artist

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.  

Valentine Sale Success

 

Last week, I had my 3rd online event for my business as a sale for customers.  It was a digital sale on zoom and was a success.  As with any new endeavor there were great parts I will use as a model for my next digital event.  Being new to this idea I took feedback from attendees as I have from the prior two events in December. Shown at left is one of the free gifts for those who attended.  

 Happy to have the opportunity to show what I do to people worldwide.  Thanks to the pandemic, I have been networking on zoom and met people from at least 6 different countries.  What you learn with such a diverse group is there are many universal dreams and desires.  

 

 

Black History Month

 

What an inspirational lady she is and so happy to have seen the great things she did while in the white house.  Starting for me with the way she changed the gardens there and brought back vegetables.  She is an incredible lady and doing many things including her inspiring Girls Opportunity Alliance.   Becoming

The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them.

 Girls Opportunity Alliance

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers. 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

 

My shop:  Panda Wear
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

 

 

Garden Design Week 2022

My favorite day is the 1st day digging into the dirt in my garden for the the initial pea seeds of the season. It is about 2 months away.  I am preparing for the 2022 Veggie garden, and will work on design through this week  Enjoying the pile of seed catalogs from my mailbox & the many choices.  

 

Big Change for 2022 is not having Tomatoes in the vegetable garden.   We have an issue and will
solarize to remove it in the garden.  

My garden has some outdoor residents.  This is one of them.  She eats my weeds in the lawn in the warm weather.  Her favorites are clover and dandelion leaves.  As an avid gardener, we have dealt with visitors for over 15 years.  We have a 7 foot seasonal fence around the vegetable garden to keep our veggies for the people not the outdoor guests.  as winter has set in here she is frequently uncovering some of my plants and enjoying the dead parts of them for her meals. Most are perennials which regrow from the roots every year so no permanent damage. We have a compost pile which is great for garden fertilizer every spring. 

 

 Black History Month

Maya Angelou.

 
http://mayaangeloufilm.com/
https://www.mayaangelou.com/

She was:  Shero, Poet, Leader, Activist,  and so much more. 


"I can be changed by what happens to me. 

 But I refuse to be reduced by it. "

 

 

 

Black Lives Matter 

We need to listen and be ready to stand with them.We have a local Black Lives Matter group in our city.  Free the People ROC is the group.  the FB page of the group

Free the People ROC

Black Lives Matter in ROC

The Group in my city is Free The People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and speak up. 

#blacklivesmatter

#standup

#speakup

#listen  

We are in this together. Wear a Mask,  Stay safe,  Facts Matter, Science is REAL.

 Buy Local & Shop Small

 

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!