Hi Guys - I'm taking a vacation

I'm out on vacation until July 28th. I'll catch up with you after I get back. Talk amongst yourselves.

Calling all newsletter subscribers...

What? You're not on my mailing list? Well, you'd better jump on it fast. I'm adding a whole slew of new pieces this week. And if you're on my mailing list, you'll get pick of the litter. Once these new pieces are ready for prime time, I'm giving my newsletter subscribers the first chance to snatch up the glassy goodness. And not have to pay shipping to boot! So, quick quick, join my mailing list! Oh, and here's Devera watching her first firework being let off in the street. I don't think I've ever seen eyes so wide.

I'll call him Lazarus

Because he's back from the dead. Butterfly, that is...Devera's pet fish. I was sure he was a gonner. He hadn't moved in a week...Dave and I have been performing the fishy version of CPR, all quietly and behind the scenes so that Devera would never catch wind of the ER happening in her bedroom (I need 30ccs of activated charcoal, STAT!). There he sat at the bottom of the tank for over a week. Dave and I had even negotiated who was going to have the talk, and where we were going to bury him (in the backyard pet cemetery, where Herbert the hedgehog also lies peacefully). But we weren't going to do it until the last gill stopped moving. So, I'd finally made peace with it yesterday. I just happen to peek in the tank, and lo and behold, he has risen! He's swimming around the top of the tank! Not with all the swishy vigor he had before, but he's getting there...he's upright, and he's moving. It's a miracle!

Wow, how cool is this one!

Oooh, aaah...ok, this is one of the nicest ones I've made in forever. It's an Atherton Picture Jasper, a fun custom order where she sent me the stone to set. Turned out nice, huh?

I love happy customers!

Here's a note I got from one of my happy brides in Australia...

I just picked up the package from the post office, the tiara is even more amazing than I imagined and the hairpins are so delicate and beautiful, the dragonflies are so much better than the pictures. It is all so perfect, thank you so much. Now I will look and feel like a princess on my big day, what more could a woman want?

I LOVE getting notes like that...they so make my day. We need more princesses in the world, don't we?

Froggy Central

My audio's not the greatest, but here's what my back yard sounds like right now: Happy Frogs The frogs are just going bezerk in my back yard. It's pretty cool. Devera thinks they're singing her a lullaby to help her go to sleep (well, I might have put that thought in her head, but it's a sweet one nonetheless) I think there are 4 or 5 of them out there. And they sound happy...I just imagine them paddling around in the koi pond. Amazingly, none of the neighbors have complained. It's really loud!

Microlending Maven - Kiva Success!!!

Yay! I got an email today letting me know that the two women I lent money to in Samoa both paid back their loans in full. How cool is that? So yeah, there are two women with some money smarts in a super poor country that were able to grow their small businesses just a little bit more. So I got my 50 bucks back (you don't get interest on the money you loan...so don't think you're going to be a captain of industry yourself by joining), and I've found two new businesses to support.

Las Estrellas de Atipiri

and the Upper Kawuga Group

I'll keep you posted on how these guys do.

Wahoo! New Rocks!

Ahh yes, rock dork me, I could dedicate my life to searching out the coolest rocks to come out of the ground (or not...read on). Well, here are the two latest ones for me to hold in my hand covetously (is that a word?) This first one is a Horse Canyon Moss Agate, which comes from California. Moss agates are so cool...they're a combination of translucent and opaque stripes that look like blades of grass floating in the breeze. Next...and I've been obsessing over this type of "stone" for months now, is called a Detroit Agate. Any guesses to what this is made out of? Yeah, car paint! Some brilliant rock cutter decided it would be really cool to scrape some stuff out of the spray booths in car factories and see what they could do with it. So the bands of color are from changing the color they were painting the cars that day. Looks like they were big on blacks, whites, and grays during this geologic paint period. Cool, huh? When you think about it, there are all kinds of neat places to mine materials from, not just dig them out of the soil. Enjoy your day! Oh yeah, these two pieces are up for custom orders...if you're coveting them as badly as I have, I can turn them into something cool for you. Just shoot me an email.

Want to see another custom piece?

This is a piece of Marra Mamba from Australia. The sad thing is that the photo still just doesn't do the stone justice. If you've ever seen tiger eye and you've seen how it flashes in the light, well this stone has that going on as well. It's stone # 28 from here. I've got one more piece of marra mamba if this tickles your fancy, #27, and again the photos just don't do the stones justice. Sigh.

Wahoo! Fair Trade Gemstones

You've probably noticed that the stones I use aren't the average, run of the mill stones you find at the jewelry counter of say, Macy's. I've really steered away from using them because as I researched a little more about where these beautiful stones all come from, there was a long trail of social and environmental destruction hiding behind them.

So I decided to go with stones where I knew where they were coming from, I've met the people cutting them, and I know that they're doing as little damage in their mining process as possible (yeah, if you look into the mining process for a lot of this stuff...ooh it's not pretty. Makes you want to wear nothing but bamboo). But, I really miss working with the standards like Amethyst and Moonstone. But I've found a great source for the oldies but goodies. I pay a premium for them, but I assume if you're shopping on this site, you're not really someone who picks up their jewelry from WalMart. Now I need to find a greener source for my silver. I'm not sure if you've ever seen a silver mine, but man they are not pretty. At least there's a very high re-use and recycle rate for it since it's a precious metal. If you'd like more info on fair trade gems...shoot me an email. Happy New Year! Toby

Holiday Q&A...All the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

Hi Guys,

Happy Holidays!

Here's all the nitty gritty details for getting your grubby paws on some glittering holiday goods from tobyDESIGN:

Shipping Cutoffs:
For all pieces that aren't labeled as "Quick Ship" (look right underneath the piece's name):
December 11th
These pieces are made to order, and I want to make sure I make them absolutely special for you.

For Quick Ship pieces:
December 17th for standard shipping
December 21st for overnight shipping

Custom Pieces:
Yikes, I'm all booked up for Holiday orders. How 'bout Valentines day?

Guys, do you need some help?
Ok, the fact that you're shopping on a handcrafted jewelry site means that you're 90% of the way there towards purchasing a really thoughtful gift. You get brownie points for even getting this far. Let me help you get all the way there. Email me at toby@tobydesign.com and tell me a little bit about the person you're buying for, and I can steer you in the right direction.

Free Giftwrapping?
Of course! 20 bucks says that this will be the prettiest box under your tree!

Questions? Need Help? email me at toby@tobydesign.com

Here's how to up your gas milage...

I found this in the Organic Consumer's Association Newsletter...

QUICK RELATED FACTS:
YOUR DIET IMPACTS ENVIRONMENT MORE THAN YOUR CAR

13 PERCENT = The percentage of greenhouse gases created by all trucks, SUVs, cars, airplanes, trains and other transportation.

18 PERCENT = The amount of greenhouse gases created by livestock production.>

Source: United Nations

Moral of the story: If you are an average U.S. meat eater, reducing your meat consumption to 2 ounces per day is roughly equivalent to doubling your vehicle's fuel efficiency, in terms of greenhouse gas reduction.

More coming soons...

Here's another style that slowly but surely making it's way onto my site. Cool, huh? I've found this beautiful Japanese silk cord to use for necklaces now. The colors are unbelievably vibrant. And Dave's beads? Gorgeous as usual. This is my favorite style he makes...looks like dewdrops, doesn't it?

Again, if your peeing your pants in anticipation and just can't wait to have this piece, shoot me an email and it's yours to keep.

More Custom Pieces

Wahoo! I'm finally caught up with custom orders! It only took 3 months. Just in time for a quick breather before the holiday shopping frenzy starts. I can't believe I'm getting Christmas catalogs in the mail already. Hello - it's OCTOBER. I promise...you will see no Santas and reindeer on this site until well into November. Pinky swear.

Anyway, here are the latest custom pieces. I really love both of those stones. I'm always so happy to know these goofy rocks are going to good homes.

[Edited to add...]

And here's why I love working with custom orders:

Let me start out with...

Oh my god thank you Toby they are absolutely gorgeous. Definitely worth the wait (you should see the giant smile on my face now).

I can't wait to see them "in the flesh". Thank you so much, I don't think I will be able to say that enough.

These are going out to Australia, cool, huh? I still can't wrap my head around it being spring over there. All our beautiful flowers are brown and crispy now and theirs are just popping up.

[Edited even later to add...]

Hi Toby,

Just writing to say I received the necklaces today and they are absolutely gorgeous. I can't express how much I love both of them.

It was also a great pleasure getting to know you and if anyone asks I won't hesitate to tell them where I bought these beautiful necklaces.