Robocop, eat your cold, tin heart out.

Beyoncé Knowles sports a metal glove designed by Lorraine Schwartz at the MTV Europe Video Music Awards.

We recently highlighted jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz’s indelible mark on the 2009 Golden Globes red carpet. Well, Lorraine Schwartz doesn’t limit herself to the classic looks of past and present. She also looks ahead to the future.

Lorraine Schwartz was definitely looking ahead when she designed this futuristic metal glove for Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video. Beyoncé loved it so much that she wore it to the MTV Europe VMAs!

But there have been tons of critics lambasting both Beyoncé and Lorraine Schwartz for this interesting accessory. Some just find it too far outside their fashion box.

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Futuristically,
Olivia

Happy Lunar New Year!

This Monday marked the beginning of the Year of the Ox on the Chinese Zodiac. I thought I’d dig up some nice jewelry commemorating the Year of the Ox – maybe some pieces in jade, or perhaps some Chinese characters.

And then I thought, “What do I care?” You see, I’m not Chinese. And I was born in the Year of the Snake.

Snake jewelry is slithering its way into the mainstream. Sandra Bullock wore a snake bangle to the Golden Globes, and this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen snake jewelry here on WooMeOver.

But snake jewelry has been around a lot longer than the last few years. One look at this vintage Baume & Mercier watch will show you what I mean.

This watch was made in 1950. I love its timeless (well – except for the whole “it’s a watch!” thing) beauty! It’s almost sixty years old, but I could wear it today and people would think it was so fashion forward!

What time is it? Time to look good.

And the best part is that it’s a perfect marriage of form and function. You can be polished and punctual!

Is it any wonder that this trend has been snaking its way into our hearts for so long?

Bitten,
Olivia

Sometimes, I feel like jewelry is complicated.

Other times, I think it’s real simple.

Nicole Romano Rosette Necklace, $245 at vivre.com.

Real Simple’s blog, Simply Stated, is running a whole week of features on jewelry essentials — the pieces that every woman should have in her jewelry box!

They started with essential necklaces. The three types of necklaces that Real Simple thinks we all ought to have are pendants, pearls, and statement necklaces. Olivia is proud to say that she owns at least one of each — can you say the same?

I especially love this Nicole Romano necklace that the blog highlights as one of its favorite statement pieces.

I wonder what they’ll write about next!

Curiously,
Olivia

The long-awaited day is finally here: WooMeOver is finally launching our official site!

WooMeOver, Weardrobe, and ShoppingNotes are coming together to present “Fashion Goes Web 2.0,” a panel discussion on fashion and the web!

There will be demos of all three sites, and WooMeOver will officially be launching at the event!

And, to top it all off, there will be pizza!

Seriously, though, if you’re going to be in the Northern California on February 6th, we would love to have you join us for the launch! You can RSVP here!

I’m looking forward to meeting you all soon!

Wooed Over,
Olivia

Ahh, I love a good chick flick.

If you haven’t seen Bride Wars yet, rush out and watch Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway duke it out as the ultimate Bridezillas!

Bride Wars, starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway.

And even if you haven’t seen it, you can still enter to win a fabulous diamond bracelet and diamond earrings (total retail value: $3,100) that were featured in the movie!

You could win this 1-carat diamond tennis bracelet and 1/2-carat platinum and diamond earrings!

Ice.com has teamed up with Bride Wars to give away these movie diamonds, and YOU could be the winner!

Just click here and fill out the form to enter for your chance to win these fabulous bridal jewels!

But try your best not to elbow your best friend out of the way so that you can fill yours out first.

Diplomatically,
Olivia

It’s no secret here at WooMeOver that Olivia loves jewelry.

It’s no secret here at WooMeOver that Olivia loves shoes.

Absolutely Audrey Suzie shoe clips, $25 at absolutelyaudrey.com.

Imagine how Olivia feels about shoe jewelry.

Absolutely Audrey Chic Paris Shoe Clips in Ruby, $30 at absolutelyaudrey.com.

Shoe jewelry does for your shoes what your jewelry does for you – it takes your look to the next level.

Absolutely Audrey specializes in creating jewelry for your shoes – everything from chic and simple jewels to vintage items converted into shoe clips. They even have a special line just for brides!

Absolutely Audrey Audrey Bridal Shoe clips, $25 at absolutelyaudrey.com.

I can’t think of a better way to take a look from day to night! Wear your most sensible pair of black pumps to work, and then clip on your shoe jewelry, and you’re all ready for a night out on the town!

Now, if only they had clip-on makeup…

Ready to Party,
Olivia

(To read Parts I & II of our interview with Anastasia Azure, click here for Part I and here for Part II.)

Inside the Artist's Studio with Anastasia Azure!

We’ve seen how artist and jewelry designer Anastasia Azure gets inspired by geometry, amongst other things. We’ve peeked into her workshop and perused the tools of her trade. We’ve even gotten to see her sketchbook, where all of her designs are born.

Now let’s take a look at the fruits of her labor.

Anastasia Azure loves working with metals of all different colors: gold, silver, copper – even brass! She also thinks that a nice patina can lend a lot of character to an otherwise plain piece.

This piece by Anastasia Azure is nearly finished.

But this requires a lot of prep work. Anastasia Azure tries hundreds of different weaves in each different metal so that she knows exactly which weave looks best in which metal.

Fortunately, experimenting with something new is old hat for Anastasia Azure. She’s used to playing with different materials until she finds exactly what she’s looking for. She had to experiment for a long time to find just the right nylon filament to use in her jewelry designs. And she’s always on the lookout for new materials to use. “I love to push the materials I’m currently working with to their full potential,” she enthuses.

One of Anastasia Azure's magnificent sculptures.

And her creative experimentation doesn’t just stop at jewelry. She also creates sculptures using the same techniques. “The progression from sculpture to jewelry is very fluid,” she informs me. She’s right. When you look at her body of work, it’s amazing to see the evolution of her pieces over time.

Anastasia Azure Majaraja Brooch.

Anastasia Azure is currently working on a line of brooches (which, as we all know, are so hot right now), but what she’s working on now is just the tip of the creative iceberg. At the moment, she’s bursting with ideas! She knows that her chosen career requires long hours and lots of hard work with no guarantee of anyone appreciating what you do, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

But that’s why we’re so glad that we’ve met her. Her job is to create. And ours is to appreciate.

Appreciatively,
Olivia

P.S. To contact Anastasia, order a piece, or get a price, click here.

Your ring finger is like a box of chocolates. Embossing it makes it appear all the more special and delicious.

Each Inner Message Ring designed by Jungyun Yoon comes with a hidden message on the flip-side. After a while, your finger will bear a light imprint of the engraved writing. The two messages here are “marry me” and “always.”

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, would be proud.

[ via: noquedanblogs ]

(To read Part I of our interview with Anastasia Azure, click here.)

Anastasia Azure: The artist at work.

Anastasia Azure loves math.

Now, that’s hardly something common in the artistic community – most people think that art is the opposite of math; that it’s about freeing oneself from the restrictions of corollaries and laws, about using a whole different hemisphere of the brain than the one that helps you to compute the answer to 2+2.

Some of Anastasia Azure's works in progress.

But Anastasia Azure is no ordinary artist. She looks at the world of geometry and she sees more than just shapes that need not be explained; she sees the beauty of the process of creating those shapes, of balancing them; she loves the harmony that makes a wave go on forever.

So when she says that she is “inspired by geometry,” she’s not just talking about triangles and squares.

One of Anastasia Azure's many sketch books.

And she’s committed to her inspiration. She studied geometry for years before she felt that she truly understood how symmetry relates to our conception of beauty. As a result, her designs are amazingly precise – she keeps all of her ideas in her sketch books, and one need only peek into one to see that there are just as many equations are there are drawings in those books.

But her designs don’t depend wholly on her brain. They’re just as much a product of her hands.

Anastasia Azure has two workshops. She does her metalwork in one and her weaving in the other. They used to be 2 ½ hours away from each other, but she recently found another studio space that was closer to her home in Oakland, CA.

A few of Anastasia Azure's many tools.

Her workshops are full of the tools of her trade – some tiny and delicate, made for intricate details, and others big and intimidating, made for forging metal and bending it to her will.

But even in the practical side of her jewelry creation, the marriage between form and function is evident. “The metal base holds the weaving up and gives it shape,” explains Anastasia Azure. She pauses. “The weaving is the flower, and the metal is the stem.”

Tune in tomorrow to read more about Anastasia Azure!

Harmonically,
Olivia

I love jewelry designers. I love them because they take my fashion dreams and weave them into reality.

This is literally true of Anastasia Azure.

Anastasia Azure in her studio.

Anastasia Azure is a jewelry designer/metal artist who has created a technique called Dimensional-Weave™, with which she weaves metal into sinuously beautiful jewelry.

WooMeOver recently had the opportunity to sit down with Anastasia Azure, watch her work, and hear her unique story.

Gold Sophia Pin/Pendant with Garnet.

The art-student-cum-jewelry-designer grew up on the East Coast, where, as a six-year-old, she began creating jewelry at summer camp. She still loves using lanyards in her larger sculptures – a nod to her humble roots. Coming from an artistic family (her mother was an interior designer and her father was a teacher), it’s no surprise that young Anastasia Azure began creating and designing at such an early age.

Silver-White Hoops.

She attended the Appalachian Center of Craft, which is where she developed her Dimensional-Weave™ technique. But she soon heard the siren song of the Northern California arts community and found herself powerless to resist. She moved to the Oakland area about ten years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

Angle Up Close.

Anastasia Azure loves the small community of artists that she lives with. She loves being able to bounce ideas off of other artists. “Northern California is a magnet for artists. There are lots of great jewelers and jewelry schools in the area,” she enthuses.

One look at her work and you can see that Anastasia Azure has flourished in this fertile creative environment. Tune in on Monday to hear more about her studio and her creative process!

Appreciatively,
Olivia