Alexis and the Czarina

When Alexis creates a collection, he draws his inspiration from a diverse background. For this winter, he drew upon Catherine the Great, eighteenth century Czarina of Russia.

Myself, I've always like the title "Czarina"- it seems so emphatic! Everyday you meet queens and princesses, perhaps you're even related to a few of them. But Czarina! They come few and far between.

So put yourself in Russia as the force trying to drag and push that feudal society into modernity. Catherine, who was not Russian but married Peter III, took the reins of power when he was deposed. Portraits of her show a strong woman who wore her bling well! She worked to make Russia a modern country, respected throughout Europe. She was devoted to the arts, culture and literature. One of the world's finest museums, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, is her creation, housing her wondrous collections.

Alexis named this winter collection, "Hermitage", and it features marvelous Lucite pine cones and lots of shimmering crystals. You can almost see the sleigh carrying the Czarina through the snowy night to a royal event at the Winter Palace. Alexis pieces are extraordinary, and include earrings, necklaces, bracelets and a ring. My favorite is a single large pine cone on a long chain. I love it because at the top of the pine cone there is a lovely arrangement of crystals - glance down and it's so beautiful!

This is another collection which gives tribute to Alexis' creativity and the beauty he creates in Lucite. I believe we will be loving these pine cones for many years to come.

Bauhaus and Bittar

In just a few weeks, Maddi's will be showcasing the new Alexis Bittar 2009 Fall Collection. There's always a huge air of excitement as the boxes arrive, and then a lot of activity as hundreds of pieces are photographed, uploaded to our web-site, and then tagged and put on display. We're very excited about some of the lovely pieces in this collection and I thought we would highlight a few of them for our loyal blog readers.

One very interesting grouping is the Bauhaus collection. This group is Alexis' tribute to the early 20th century German design school and he captured the essence of this contemporary design trend. His Bauhaus group includes earrings, a pendant necklace, a large hinged bracelet, and a ring. These pieces are rendered in red and black (above) as well as warm gray and black.

The pieces are particularly well-suited to the thick, clear Lucite medium. Alexis has used a tone-on-tone pattern on all the pieces, and it can be seen clearly on the earrings and the left side of the pendant above. The larger pieces include small gray pearls and black diamond crystals, giving the jewelry a note of glitz.

But the most intriguing element is the inlay of eggshells. That's right, real eggshells, set in resin and bonded to the Lucite. The "eggshell white" patch at the top of the pendant acts as an interesting bail for the pendant. On the bracelet, the large patch acts as a focal point. The effect is intriguing and will most likely make these pieces highly collectible.

They also demonstrate why Alexis Bittar is such a luminary in the design world. His attention to design detail is legendary, and his energy in creating such enormous new collections several times a year is difficult to duplicate. And to top it off, all this beautiful jewelry is hand-made in Brooklyn under his watchful eye.

The Bauhaus group is contemporary, unique and and very fun. It's a tight design group and just one piece can give a fabulous look to your wardrobe. We hope you like it as much as we do!

A Day in the Mountains

Yesterday Madis and I headed up to the mountains to visit some of our artist friends. Our first stop was at Little Mountain Pottery, the home of potter, Claude Graves. While we have loved carrying Claude's work since opening, we got very excited earlier this year when he began a new line of redware. Now mind you, this is folk pottery, but with deep rich glazes and lots of fun patterns. All Little Mountain Pottery is functional, oven-proof, and safe for both the dishwasher and microwave. How modern is that!

Plus there's nothing like a viisit to his idyllic studio. With handpainted images, hand-made signs and lots of wild flowers, it is so "shappy chic"! And Clause is always interesting and fun, just like his pottery. We already have the new pieces displayed on the "front table", so stop by while the selection is best. This work doesn't stay in the gallery very long.

Creative Clay Genius

Every once in a while you meet an artist whose creativity is so enormous, it just blows you away. So it is with Felix Kniazev and Olga Julinska whose work we simply cherish. This husband-wife duo work together on every design. Their crafsmanship is incredibly precise, the sculptures are graphicly bold and the colors, oh so vivid.

But it is the breadth of their creativity that is so stunning. Small intricate buildings of every shape, size and architectural style. Letters, numbers, and picture frames. Jewelry, vases, and candlesticks. A whole San Francisco city for Gump's. Huge, wonderful nutcrackers for Nieman Marcus. Have you ever been to the ubiquitous ABC carpet in New York? The funky numbers by the elevators are theirs. The Sundance catalog was their first customer and Oprah raves about their Lily of the Vallery Vase.

We just got back from the Atlanta Gift Show where Felix was exhibiting their holiday line. His order book, already full, he was declining orders. Who's doing that these days? We twisted arms and bribed him liberally, so we should be getting some of the wonderful happy ornaments you see on the tree behind Felix, and a few other great pieces as well.

Oh, and one more note about this amazing couple. They are building a new studio on a dazzling 2200' mountaintop in Vermont and plan to eventually use only wind and solar energy. Felix wants Maddi's to come to Vermont, especially the Bistro, but we tell him in this case "no" is spelled C-O-L-D.

It's a Feast Fit for a Queen

Don't miss out on Charlotte Restaurant Week! You can dine like royalty for the low price of $30 at dozens of area restaurants. At Maddi's Southern Bistro in Birkdale Village, each diner gets 4 yummy courses: Appetizer, Soup/Salad, Entree and Dessert. And there are lots of delicious options for each course.

With just a few clicks you can see all the participating restaurants, view their menus and make your reservations, too: www.charlotterestaurantweek.com. A lot of our customers found their first experience so delicious they tried a second place later. Restaurant week is actually 10 days, Friday, July 10 through Sunday, July 19 so there's enough time to sample several new and favorite places. Bon appetit!

Artwork for Ears

Jewelry artist, Mary Martin, paid us a visit yesterday and left us with some wonderful new work. Mary creates tiny pieces of art with water color, acrylics, paint pens, newspaper, thread, yarn and more. If they were larger they might hang on your walls. But Mary covers them in resin, adds wires and beads, and voila, artwork for your ears! This year Mary also brought us a few adorable animal pins, new items in her collection.

Years ago Mary lived here in Charlotte, and lots of our customers know her and love her work. They'll be glad to see her colorful and unique work back at Maddi's!

Happy 4th of July!

It's the most American holiday of all - the 4th of July. We celebrate our independence as a country and our freedom as people. And while there's always room for improvement, few us would want to live anywhere else.

This year many of us are re-examining our lives in light of a changing economy. While there is a need to save, recycle and reduce, there's also a need to buy things with real, enduring value. And that's where we can be patriotic at the same time. Consider how many people's lives are helped when we "buy American" and the quality we enjoy in return.

At Maddi's you can buy art, craft, and lots of functional items, too. Ice cream scoops, dishes, coffee mugs, scarves, salt and pepper shakers, lamps, wallets, handbags, keychains, placemats, clocks...why the list is endless. So celebrate America. Buy American. Help our artists, our industry, our local businesses, and have well-designed and hand-made items you will cherish for a long, long time!

And a life surrounded by American art is pretty great, too. The American Flag pictured above is a new folk art piece by North Carolina artist, Curtis Gaston. One hangs in each of our galleries to celebrate the 4th!

July Jewelry Sale

It's our customers' favorite sale of the year! And this year, it's bigger than ever. During the entire month of July, you'll save 20% on every piece of jewelry from Maddi's great collection.

All the favorites are here: Alexis Bittar, Kathy Bransfield, Silver Seasons and Elizabeth Garvin. And this season we have a few new names: Sibilia is a bright wonderful designer from Argentina. She uses ultra-light sheets of metal, combining them in large, dramatic pieces. She is attracting a huge following and her pieces are very lively and fun.

New just this week is jewelry with handmade paper beads. Great single and triple strand necklaces and fun earrings, too. This eco-friendly jewelry is made by the folks at Zendick Farm Arts Foundation, located in the mountains of West Virginia. Come get a fun new necklace and help the environment and the arts as well!