Digby & Iona + TAXIDERMY!

Two of my very favorite things.



See more of the photos by Amy Shutt over on style carrot.

Shop Digby & Iona here and here.

really awesome or kinda creepy?

Custom engagement ring by Digby & Iona with a tiny photo of the couple underneath the diamond.....

I think I have to go with creepy.

I ♥ Digby & Iona

Aaron just put up a bunch of new wedding-y rings on the D&I site.

I think this sapphire might be my favorite.

THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE DIAMONDS

May 14, 2012

Hello ESB -

It's simple: I like old, he likes new. I like a story and a particular style, he likes shiny and flashy. I collect allsortsofthings and have a clear aesthetic identity, he... well, not so much.

We both work with our hands (he's a touring musician, I'm a photographer, mixed-media artist, waitress, and teacher) so our rings have to be durable.

I have been looking at a wide range of engagement rings from vintage/antique (eriebasin, ebay) to new but off-beat (catbird, bario-neal, conroy & wilcox) and just can't find something that's NEW (and according to him, doesn't have anyone else's SHIT attached to it) but has the kind of soul I want. Here are some rings that have appealed to me thus far and perhaps you can make some other suggestions?

Elisa Solomon Ancienne (with matching band!?)

Digby & Iona Bears

Erie Basin Deco

EraGem Deco


As you can see I am all over the place. HELP?!

Though we aren't even engaged yet, (yes I am thinking this far ahead), I want to engrave a wave-form into a ring kind of like Sakurako Shimizu (i do rings) but engraved rather than cut through for his band (don't worry, they will say something other than "I do..") and am looking for an artist who is capable and would enjoy a commission like this. (I might get a matching one too, just daintier.. but it would have to be just right...)

We just moved from down South to Boston for a bit, but don't know where we will be getting married. He travels all over so location isn't much of an issue for checking out rings. Thoughts?

Also, I love reading your smart-assery and I think you always have spot-on style suggestions.
kthx.

xo

*****

May 24, 2012

Hello Again Sweet ESB,

Sorry to be a bother again, but I saw your twitter post of one of the new Digby & Iona Diamond rings and figured you'd have the downlow on when the collection would be released and if one would have to be in some super-special club to get their hand in one.

(I emailed you a week or so asking about rings and I'M SORRY TO BE A SQUEAKY WHEEL AND ALL THAT CRAP.. I know you must get annoyed with obnoxious repeat emailers, last time, I promise.)

And I love their stuff. And I know my man is paying close attention to my strategically left open tabs of your posts about different ring styles I like and my fav vintage finds etc. as he has informed me he is doing it all on his own without consulting my friends or mother.

*****

Voila!

Leave this baby open for a few hours.

Digby + Iona does weddings

Aaron Ruff of Digby + Iona just debuted a few brand new pieces at catbird.

WEDDING PIECES, PEOPLE!

Full disclosure: My engagement ring came from Digby + Iona, so I've got a sentimental attachment to this stuff. But I am beyond excited.

Aaron told me:

I've been working on the the design end of this collection for a year and I've been squirreling away the diamonds for almost 4 years. I feel like this is a really huge step forward for the brand and that these pieces mesh extremely unique jewels with the kind of design details that digby has become known for.

The ethos of the brand has always been to create pieces that would have an instant history and become heirlooms for years to come.

Wave Band - NEW! (from $280, pictured at top) + Wave Ring with Yellow Diamond - NEW! ($1200, pictured above)

And then of course there are the Heart + Diamond Signet Rings (from $170).

These are not new, but I've been obsessed with them for some time. CAN YOU SAY MANGAGEMENT RING?

Be sure to check out Aaron's Q&A over on the catbird blog. And shop the full selection here. 

FUNTERNETS

a few things i've neglected to post/tweet while i've had my head up my own asshole for the past week or so:

- Rad + In Love. Two rad lady photographers I happen to know personally are joining forces and giving away a free wedding package. JUMP ON THAT.

- Elizabeth Dye's new dresses for 2012

- Digby + Iona's latest collection, Me + My Arrow (also avail at Catbird)

- "Second Chance" Herve Leger (via little winter bride)

- soup club. need i say more??

- oop! and i almost forgot: Design Tonic (the design blog/online mag that H + cevd designed together) is finally up and running. it's pretty great.

Photo of Jesse Jo Stark via Soph Mueller

Seeking: A FABULOUS FAKE

Dear ESB,

I'm looking for a fabulous fake diamond. My fiance proposed with an awesomely artistic wooden promise ring as a place holder because he knows how specific I can be. So I've been searching for the perfect ring and found it but I know the actual diamond will cut into our savings.

We are paying for the wedding, ourselves, putting a downpayment on a home and getting a new car in the very immediate future. I figure we can cut costs by getting a quality 2.5 - 3 carat fake and upgrade it later. So I'm looking for a fabulous fake for now that is undetectable to the naked eye and I want the OO's and Ah's to ensue.

I know that I can spot a Cubic Zirconia rainbow sparkle a mile away but not much more after that. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

*****

Wear your AWESOME PROMISE RING until you can afford a $10,000 diamond.

Or: Spend the damn money if the OO's and Ah's are that important to you. Which, barf.

Emerald Cut Ring (pictured in bronze with sterling jewel) by Digby & Iona. The only sort of fake you'll ever catch me endorsing.

Wedding? Yes! Rehearsal? NO.

I am having the super funsiest time perusing your Shopping Contest entries. Nicole almost stole my heart for doing the above layout herself in Polyvore.

But you guys should know better than to suggest any kind of dress in white/ivory/blush for a rehearsal dinner.

DON'T BLOW YOUR WHITE-DRESS WAD THE NIGHT BEFORE THE DAMN WEDDING.

I'll give you til Monday afternoon-ish PST to post more entries/redeem yourselves.

Erin Fetherston dress on The Outnet ($195), Big Bunny Ring by Digby & Iona at Catbird ($180), Rabbit's Foot Necklace from Cities In Dust Inc. ($60), Jeffrey Campbell Rose Floral Platforms from Bona Drag ($130)

If I were to get married now...................

from Gracie of woolgathering & miscellany

If I were to get married now... I wouldn't change a whole lot.

Frankly, I'm glad I got married young and poor, otherwise I'd probably be stressing about booking The Flashdance, blog-worthy floral arrangements, and wondering if I'd get to be on ESB. It was perfectly imperfect.

That said, here are some things I would do differently now: 

1) Not wear a dress made from flammable material, rather this hot little Ann Demeulemeester number above (shoes and all).

2) Forgo the stripper satin red opera length gloves and don these white versions of my black Hermes bracelets.

3) Wear these (incredibly affordable) MiniCyn diamond-like studs. I'm very picky about jewelry and tend to wear the sh*t out of a few simple pieces. It's hard for me to add new staples, but French designer MiniCyn has somehow worked her way into the regular rotation.

4) Would've tried to spruce up the dive bar a little. Perhaps with some DIY Confetti System inspired adornments & definitely some white catholic religious candles with personalized labels.

5) Made this Digby & Iona diamond signet ring my wedding ring. It comes with wax to seal your letters with! I plan on getting it now anyway.

6) Would've had Neil Hamburger perform our marriage on stage instead of just performing stand-up at the reception.

Digby & Iona for Madewell

Digby & Iona, one of my very favorite jewelry designers, just did an exclusive new piece for Madewell.

It always feels a little bittersweet when one of your faves hits the big time, you know what I mean? Orla Kiely for Anthropologie and then Target. Steven Alan for Urban Outfitters. That band I used to love that suddenly everyone loves.*

Anyhoo. The necklace is rad.

(Via NOTCOUTURE)
______________________________ 

*I don't really keep up with bands anymore... But you know what I mean.

Catbird Presents a selection of Baubles for Famous Lovers (part 2)

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin
With her thicket of chestnut hair and famous wicker baskets, Birkin took the the original jolie laid wolf by the ears. One night, the wolf Gainsbourg howled ferociously. Jane responded by flinging herself into the Seine. She was fished out by two policemen, and the most famous couple in France walked home, arm in arm, madly in love.
Digby & Iona Take The Wolf By The Ears Ring

Truman Capote & Jack Dunphy
Two writers, one as bright as the Northern Star, the other a bit more modest in scope, set out for Sicily, in a house once occupied by D.H. Lawrence. Thirty-six years later, as Capote lay dying, Jack was still by Truman's side, sort of. Not by Truman's side, were Paley, Radziwill, et al. - his estranged swans, the former intimates he had harpooned in his final, unfinished work, Answered Prayers.
Scosha Thou Shall Not Talk Shit Necklace

Marlene Dietrich & Edith Piaf
Dietrich hung her emerald-encrusted gold cross round the slender, stooped neck of La môme to ward away evil. Though Evil knocked on Edith's door regardless, the Little Sparrow and The Blonde Venus were the most devoted of friends for the rest of Piaf's short life. Dietrich was fiercely protective of her drug-addled, one-time lover; a journalist, knocking on Piaf's dressing room door was answered with Dietrich's inimitable voice, "Can I help you? I am Mademoiselle Piaf's maid!" He lobbed back, "How nice. Please say hello to Miss Piaf's chauffeur, Maurice Chevalier."
Digby & Iona Bird in Cage Necklace
Bittersweets Heart & Dagger Necklace
Yayoi Melting Love Ring

George Harrison & Pattie Boyd
He wrote "Something" for her, but something wasn't everything, and she left him for a Yardbird.  Before things went amiss, their love looked like beauty incarnate.
Elisa Solomon Ancienne Ring & Guitar Pick Necklace



You can find Baubles for Famous Lovers (part one) here. Thank you to Leigh and Rony!

p.s. This is not a sponsored post. It's just a love fest catbird and I have going. Can you blame us?

In Which Catbird Presents a selection of Baubles for Famous Lovers

Salvador Dali & Federico Garcia Lorca
Did they? Didn't they? Let the tongues wag. For Federico, a necklace vaguely in the form of Salvador's moustache, and for Salvador, a ruby ring in honor of Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding.

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
Far be it for us to suggest a bauble for Mrs. White Diamonds herself. Rather, the decanter set from Love & Victory, makes for neat drinking, and easy glass hurling.

Clara Rockmore & Léon Theremin
Léon's muse, and unrequited love, played his namesake instrument, with grace, drama, and a perfect chignon of pitch black hair. Of making otherworldy music rise from a brass box outfitted with a rod and a ring she said, “You have to play with butterfly wings."
Bittersweets Black Diamond Twig Ring

Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera
Love is true, love is trouble. She was pint-sized, he was not.  She was a painter, he was a painter. He loved ladies, she loved ladies. Twice-married, they brawled, battled, left and came together again in a blue house in Coyoacán.
Elisa Solomon Ombre Ring

Bob Dylan & Suze Rotolo
You sweethearts! You young romantics! You read Rimbaud in the park, and rambled round the streets of Greenwich village. The world was your oyster.
Carla Caruso Willow Ring

a heart necklace I can get behind

I have a confession to make. I hate the ubiquitous Tiffany heart necklace almost as much as I hate the ubiquitous Tiffany engagement ring. I guess I hate anything that's everywhere. But you knew that about me.

Anyhoo, this Dainty Heart Necklace by Bittersweets NY, this I can get behind. At catbird. Where else?

You might also enjoy the Tree Trunk Ring by Digby & Iona, which can be customized with an engraved heart. Featured today on Refinery 29.

She said f*ck yes!

Or, according to Ryan Hancock, she said "ok," then laughed and said yes.

Bad. Ass.

Vermeil 14 point stag ring by Digby & Iona at catbird (of course). Might I point out that the baddass choice is generally-recession friendly?

p.s. Really hoping he continues the theme and wears Hunter & Hunted cufflinks on the big day. I'm kind of obsessed with these. I'm not gonna lie.

my custom wedding earrings

Note: H-town wants to be surprised by my whole get-up, so I'm not posting pics of the earrings here, but there is a link below.

The search for my earrings turned out to be longer and harder than the search for the dress(es) or the shoes. I knew I wanted cast silver to complement my Digby & Iona engagement ring (though I was temporarily sidetracked by a pair of fuchsia rhinestones that went with the wrong dress). But everything I found was too fussy or too punk rock or not punk rock enough.

Then I saw a one-of-a-kind pair on Laurie Brown's Flickr and I just knew. She and I wrote back and forth and she created this pair for me.

I cannot express the sheer joy I felt when I took them out of their little wooden box and tried them on.

Style Within Reach: folk romanticism at H&M

I bought the tuxedo-inspired blouse in a pale blue & white stripe. I'll wear it with dark jeans, my favorite cork wedges (these sandals would work too, if I had 'em) and my big silver Digby & Iona ring.

Nothing's for sale on the US website (you may be luckier in other countries) and stock turns around fast in the stores, so go now!

(Images courtesy of H&M)

New work from Digby & Iona

Digby & Iona, my favorite Brooklyn jewelry designers, just posted pics of this Filigreed Spyglass necklace and Seppie ring with blue topaz eyes and black diamond spots.

Sigh.

Not for sale yet that I can see, but they've got other stuff at catbird, my favorite Brooklyn jewelry store.

Why is the jewelry just better in Brooklyn?

(Images courtesy of Digby & Iona)