panamaniac

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please excuse my total absence from the blogosphere over the last couple of weeks.  like always i'm armed with a good excuse and like always it's travel.  i've been back on the road, the sky, and the seas in search of more beautiful baubles. 
this time the hunt has taken me to central america where my first stop has been panama.  i didn't really know what to expect from panama but turns out it's way more than just a useful canal.  we started off in panama city where the old and the new coexist albeit warily with one another.  it's really crazy to look out over the skyline and see the skyscrapers looming over the casco viejo.  from there it was onto santa catalina for some lazing in the sun and sand because all work and no play would make me dull and who wants that?  from there it was back to work and on to boquete in search of guaymi handicrafts.  the guaymi tribe is native to panama and my god are they good with the beads.  they pretty much invented putting a bib on it with their amazing chaquira necklaces.  on our bus ride through the chiriqui province we passed hundreds of roadside stalls selling the most gorgeous chaquira necklaces and beaded pendants and i spent most of it hyperventilating over how beautiful everything was.  in chiriqui we based ourselves in the highlands of boquete where the weather is perfect, the living is easy, and the hiking is only moderately strenuous.  from there it was onto bocas del toro to see panama's other coast and to do a bit of island hopping.  i'm taking more than a little bit of liberty with the term island hopping considering that you can take a $3 water taxi between all of the islands but feel free to imagine me on a yacht or something.  bocas was amazing and it has to be one of the most budget friendly caribbean islands.  same food, same beach, and same music as i learned while sharing a water taxi with the famous calypso joe. 
thanks for the memories panama, and by memories i mean jewelry.  but when do i not mean that?  and i swear i haven't forgotten, as promised lookbook photos are on their way in an upcoming post!  but in the meantime scope out these photos of my adventures in panama and stay tuned for more central americana!

an example of the artisan roadside stand.  this should explain my hyperventilation.  photo credit joe duvall.

low tide in santa catalina.

real classy boquete.

views from the moderately strenuous hike.

in my head these were going to be amazing photos of me clicking my heels but i turned out looking like a demented lumberjack michael jackson.  you live you learn.

miniature panamian guard dog.

more than a little skeptical of this "bridge".

my caribbean dream house bocas del toro edition.

wizard beach at isla bastimientos.  pure magic.

at the end of america

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so i totally got distracted by all the beautiful, shiny things from nyfw and i left you with a total cliffhanger as to the status of my roadtrip!  did i ever make it to the grand canyon?  did i fall in?  assuming the answer to the aforementioned is no, then did i make it to california?  why was i even going to california?  well allow me to allay your fears and answer all of your questions. 
 after new mexico, the grand canyon was indeed in the cards for me and it was EPIC!  it's one of things that you can see a thousand times in pictures and still not be totally prepared for it like the taj mahal or machu picchu.  but unlike those your mind can't totally comprehend what you're seeing.  or maybe that's just my mind?  nature blows me away in a way that feats of humanity just can't.  like great job human race, you built some shit but look at what nature can do!  ghosty came along for the ride and to be honest she didn't really seem quite as impressed by the whole thing.

feeling small and/or reliving my near death experience from the previous photo.

ghosty, america's bravest dog.

after the grand canyon it was back in the car and westward ho.  we crossed our last state line and made it into los angeles right as the sun was setting over in-n-out so the whole thing felt very hollywood.  my 2 months in california were spent between venice, big sur, and palm springs aka no complaints here!  venice is more than likely one of the best places on earth.  there's beach, there's sun, and you're never more than 2 minutes away from a juice.  plus abbot kinney is lined with amazing boutiques so there's jewelry to suit every taste.  all the ingredients for my personal shangri-la.  big sur marked my first ever camping trip and it's definitely something i want to be doing more of in the future.  i kind of get the feeling that camping is always better when there are hot springs, purple sand beaches, and coconut lemongrass sencha tea stalls within close proximity.  but what do i know!

we're the troop from beverly hills!

big sur.

horsing around in big sur.

so that answers the wheres and hows of it all but now on to the very exciting why!  i came to california to shoot the lookbook for the very soon to be launched first collection for far and wild jewelry!  we shot in the mojave desert in palm springs and you wanna talk about feats of nature, joshua tree is mind blowing.  but you'll see for yourself in an upcoming entry in which i finally deliver the fruits of my labor, my first lookbook to you!  and it looks like i've done it again and left you with another cliffhanger.  so to keep you sated til then, here's a petite preview of the far and wild joshua tree experience!

joshua tree.

bejeweling our model, the amazing irina.

irina laughs in the face of danger.

plenty more where this came from...stay tuned!

new york fashion week gems

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so fashion week has come and gone in new york and has now set it sights on europe, but in its wake i've been left with lots to lust over in the jewelry department and tons of inspiration for now until spring.  aside from the street style, which is always sure to get any accessories lover's juices flowing, there were several designers who presented some serious noteworthy collections. 

first up, the sisters snyder presented an as always amazing collection for dannijo.  the collection was entitled "peaceful warriors and trippy hippies" and it definitely delivered on both fronts.  with this collection they pretty much proved their staying power as the go to designers for statement jewelry and that they can do some seriously amazing takes on the fembot.  as a lover of anything huge and tribal inspired this collection really spoke to me and is definitely going to be infiltrating my style in the coming months.

from dannijo tumblr.

from dannijo tumblr.

from you mag.

the peter beard images that started it all.  from you mag.

next up we have the always inspiring jennifer fisher.  if you've ever read the man repeller or even just lusted after her amazing gold pieces (those gypsy finger rings anyone?) then you're familiar with jennifer fisher's jewelry.  she's the master of amazing stackable bracelets and rings that you pretty much need to buy in bulk.  my love of silver and gold comes in waves.  in high school and college i was all gold all the time, then i graduated into a sort of silver or bust phase.  recently i've been feeling a resurgence in my love of gold (a sort of gold rush if you will) so this collection could not have found me at a better time, or a worse time if you ask my wallet.

from gotham.

from gotham.

from gotham.

from gotham.

next up fenton and from gold to dayglo.  i love whatever dana lorenz does be it for fenton or fallon and this collection does not disappoint.  i love how she uses super bright colors and lots of them and the lion pendants are really just icing on the cake.  this collection looks like instant happiness, how could you not feel amazing wearing any of these pieces?  i really can't wait to pile these puppies on after a long, cold season of winter blacks and greys.

from style.com

from moda operandi

from twitter.

from moda operandi.

from moda operandi.

next up we have jene despain who made her first ever presentation this past nyfw.  her new collection is called "queens of noise" and it is incredible and exactly the sort of classic pieces every jewelry collection needs.  she beautifully mixes structural shapes with bright crystals that take the best parts of pamela love's and dannijo's past collections and melds them into a grungy meets girly, uptown meets downtown perfection.  i've already figured out about a thousand ways to work these pieces into my current jewelry collection, which in my mind speaks to a great collection.  you better believe these are on my must list for spring!

from bourbon and gloss.

from bourbon and gloss.

from bourbon and gloss.

from socially superlative.

and last but not least we have the one and only anna dello russo who debuted her accessories collaboration with h&m.  it's bold, it's gold, it's gaudy, it's everything you could hope for from her!  i'm an absolute sucker for any animal jewelry and she really nailed it with those snake bracelets and that to die for alligator necklace.  i didn't think that i could love adr any more if i tried but then she went and made the most amazing music video ever to promote her new collection.  she truly is the queen of over the top glamour and her collection perfectly captures that spirit.  what's not to love?   

from h&m.

from h&m.

from h&m.

from h&m.

from h&m.