You want to start wearing funkier, chunkier, more fabulously hip statement jewelry, but you're afraid you're going to scare your friends. One customer told me that wearing bolder statement jewelry was on her bucket list. I have met three women in May that told me this was a goal of theirs and together we made that goal a reality. Each customer chose a different starter piece.  Each one expressed themselves uniquely.  And all three look and feel bolder and more confident.

When I design collections, I always try to include at least one piece that is a "gateway" piece. It's for the person who says, "Boy, I'm usually most comfortable with a small circle on a chain, something very unobtrusive, but I'd really like to try wearing something a little bit more bold, a little bigger statement." And so there's always going to be one piece available that would be an easy transition. It will be bolder than your circle on a chain, but not so bold as to make you feel uncomfortable or scare your friends. Here is an example of the "gateway" piece from the "Made from Recycled Records" collection. 

I had a conversation at another show where the customer was afraid. She loved some of the pieces that she was trying on, but thought, "Oh my gosh, if I wear that, people are going to be like, who do you think you are? What are you trying to do?" Sometimes, once you say the fear you are feeling, it kills it. She realized she didn't care what others thought.  She wanted to go bolder and knew this piece, from the "Black Jewelry" Collection looked great and made the statement she was going for.

The third customer, we went through several pieces. She in fact started by looking at some of the smaller scale pieces in my collections and then I said, "Hey, just for fun, let's just try on some of these more bold pieces. Let's just see what you think. Let's see how you feel, and then we can always go back to the original piece you were attracted to, and that'll be a big enough transition." After we did that, she said, "I'll never go back. There's no way I'm buying that small piece. I want to go big or go home." And she bought a piece that looked similar to this one from the "One of a Kind" collection.

These are all the ways that you can comfortably make that transition into more funky, more chunky, more fabulously hip statement, jewelry. You can dip your toe in with a piece like this from the Pearl Jewelry Collection Or you can go big or go home with a dramatic piece of statement jewelry. Remember that when you love what you're wearing, it will show.

Hello, Bobbi Kahn-ers. It's Barb Mason, the creative energy behind Bobbi Kahn Design Jewelry, where everything is funky, chunky and fabulously hip.

I was attending a business lunch and I getting dressed. I had a little bit of a dilemma. I thought about fashion do's and don'ts because they weighed in on my decision about how to accessorize. I knew I would be wearing a beautiful pale blue sweater and I knew I wanted to wear these freshwater pearls which I can wear either clasp in back, in the sort of traditional way, or I can put it clasp front in a little bit more of a funky contemporary way.

I knew I wanted to wear these peacock freshwater pearls because they bring out the blue in the pearl and in the sweater. I'm wearing white pants. I thought, oh, it's not Memorial Day which is an old school way of thinking. Another guide date is Easter but I'm Jewish so Easter isn't really my benchmark. Then I realized that really I wear white whenever the sun shines. In the middle of winter I wear white pants. I really think that using a date "rule" for white is a convention to be ignored. I will admit, I don't wear linen unless it's hot. Any color linen, white, any color. I think linen is really a summer fabric, just like I think wool is a winter fabric.

One convention I still follow is coordinating my shoes and my belt.  I was putting on a silver belt and decided that silver shoes were going to be the choice. I'm not going to switch and add a silver purse because who has time to do that? I don't think there's anything wrong with it either. I'm just lazy. I love it when all three: shoes, belt and purse coordinate.

Another fashion question that comes up a lot is whether we should match our necklace, bracelet and earrings or if matchy matchy is a no-no. And I can only tell you that my general opinion about any of this stuff is, nothing is wrong or right if it A: pleases you and B: you feel great in it. I'm really for you doing whatever you want but matching is not my personal preference. I love things that coordinate and so you would find something that kind of goes with it but isn't an exact match. I almost always just wear diamond studs. I'm not a earring changer. I'm not one to match, but I understand that when you're time pressed, which so many of you are out there, that matching it all is just a time saver. It's just one less thing to think about. It's like, when I wear this necklace, I always wear this outfit, these earrings, this bracelet. Boom, you're done. You look great and feel great.

I'm not really a fashion rule follower beyond the fact that when you put yourself together, as long as you feel great, that means you present yourself great and it's super fun. I coordinate my belt and my shoes maybe and that's about it and the rest is all about feeling wonderful.

Keep it funky, chunky and fabulously hip at bobbikahndesign.com

I will admit to having a point of view about what statement earrings you “should” wear with my funky, chunky, fabulously hip statement necklaces. And so do you. We are both right!

Many bobbi kahn-ers will only buy a statement necklace if I also have a matching or coordinating bracelet and earrings. One of my long time collectors is a very successful professional and has little time to pull her wardrobe together before getting on the train to the office or a plane to a client meeting. She keeps her pieces in the bobbi kahn signature brown organza bag that comes with her purchase and can grab and go with her set of jewelry and the outfit that coordinates. For her, buying a coordinated set is a time saver. It can be daunting to pick out your outfit and then have to make at least five more decisions - necklace, earrings, bracelet, shoes and some of you even coordinate your handbag. Since I don’t always design sets, I custom create the set for her with each piece she buys. 

When you ask me what earrings go with the necklace you are buying, I share my point of view. I think small, understated earrings look best with a large statement necklace. Do you have a pair of diamond studs? That’s what I wear everyday. It could be that I am just too lazy to change my earrings. If the outfit I’m wearing has a neckline that doesn’t make a necklace dazzle, I put on a bold pair of earrings and bracelet. If all your accessories are big and bold, I think it minimizes the impact of the one piece you are showing off. Now consider Iris Apfel. She has made herself distinctive for wearing so many pieces of statement jewelry that she is a walking gallery. Just goes to show you that whatever you love, and makes you feel fabulous, works.

DO NOT click on this link and look at my earring gallery. Its a total mess. I guess its like walking in to my messy studio where you can tell its full of really cool pieces but its hard to tell exactly where to start shopping. You can see what earrings I am selling but the photography is awful. No worries! On 10/24, I did an entirely new earring gallery shoot with stunning pictures and beautiful models/friends. Soon you will see my current collection. Look for that reveal in the next few weeks.

bobbi kahn-ers have a bold style. What makes you fabulous is how you rock that style when you enter the room. I say, do what makes you feel your most authentic self. If you are asking me what I think, then I’ll tell you to wear a bold statement necklace and small complimentary earrings. And if you love statement earrings, compliment them with a bold bracelet.

I love mine. I love the “stuff” I have out, the “stuff that’s in drawers, closets, the garage, the basement. Sometimes, when I want new “stuff” I go browsing in my own home and find things I forgot I had. And I think, OMG! I love this thing! I’ve got to put it out so I can see it again. You do it too.

George Carlin got it. He did a famous comedy bit about our attachment to our “stuff.” 

Each time I’m at a show I hear my customers talk so sentimentally about what they have sitting out of sight. They say things like I have a whole drawer full of “stuff” I don’t wear. We usually are talking about jewelry. I say that doesn’t do anybody any good. If you don’t like it or wear it, get rid of it and get some new stuff. Or they say I really don’t need anything. Right! You don’t. You don’t need anything but food and water. Maybe shelter and clothing. But you’ve got a lot of “stuff” you don’t need. But you love it, don’t you?

Wouldn’t it be better, though, if we could bring that meaningful stuff into our everyday life? Make use of that which is neglected, rather than just accumulate more stuff that may not hold that emotional value?

And that brings us to the topic of your unworn jewelry pieces. Jewelry offers an awesome opportunity for redesigning and repurposing! Fashions change, your personal tastes change, lifestyles change… But when your jewelry doesn’t keep up with you, it ends up sitting in a drawer, unworn - and that’s sad. There are so many beautiful elements that can be salvaged from older jewelry and remade into fabulous, meaningful, relevant pieces that you WILL wear!

I’d love to breathe new life into your tired jewelry!

I’d also like to share with you some resources for making good use of some of your other sentimental stuff, as opposed to having it remain unused, just taking up space.

1. Here’s an informative article about valuing and selling sterling silverware. In fact, my cousin is in the business, so if you’re interested in contacting a professional, check out Paradigmexperts.com and steve@paradigmexperts.com.

2. Got a bunch of Tee shirts you want to immortalize? A couple friends have a business repurposing them into memory quilts. Their business is QuilTee® T-shirt Memory Quilts.

3. Even if you’re not ready or willing to sell or repurpose your stuff, my friend Linda Goodman can help you organize it. Her business, altogetherorganized.org 847-921-0963 Info@altogetherorganized.org is an excellent resource.

Wishing you good luck bringing your unused stuff into the forefront of your life!