A WhirlWIND of excitement and fun!

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.  I got the chance to meet jewelry designer John Wind and preview his Fall/Holiday Collection!  If you know me, read my Facebook statuses or comments, or have ever read my blog before, you know that I am a huge John Wind fan!  I just adore his jewelry!  In fact, one of my first posts detailed my love for JW/MA.  It’s the perfect combination of vintage and modern, and it’s so “now!”  It’s a definite “must-have” for all you fashionistas out there!  Please take a minute to go check out his website or Facebook fan page.  Good stuff I tell you, good stuff.  I promise that if you’re not a John Wind/Maximal Art fan yet, you will be after viewing all of his gorgeous goodies!

I guess I should start with a little backstory!  A few weeks ago, I noticed that John posted on his Facebook page that he’d be in Atlanta at the Atlanta International Gift Market at the end of July.  I was SO excited just knowing that John Wind would be in my home state!  Atlanta’s about 4 hours north of my itty-bitty small town, but still… he just seemed so close!  As soon as I saw the post, I immediately commented that I would LOVE to be there!  A few minutes later, Rhonda, John Wind’s Public Relations guru, sent me a message offering me the chance to attend the Mart, view John's Fall/Holiday Collection, and meet John himself!  I was blown away!  I immediately replied with a “Are you KIDDING me?  Heck YES, I’ll go!” (Ok, so I was probably a little more genteel than that.  I am a Southern belle, after all!)  I started making plans!  I convinced my older sister, Mandy, to tag along.  Have I mentioned that we live in a small rural community 4 hours South-East of Atlanta?!?!  I don’t have much experience driving in the “big city," and I knew I’d need a sidekick/navigator!  Plus, she loves shopping and jewelry as much as – if not more than – I do! 

Fast-forward to Monday, July 19, 2010.  A day that will live in infamy… at least in my mind!  Mandy and I were both up somewhere around 4 a.m., and I picked her up at her house somewhere around 5:30.  We had a great time driving up to Atlanta, jamming to music and laughing. 

We basically went from this…

to this…

photo borrowed from here.

We navigated the HOV, took our exit, narrowly made it into a turn lane, and successfully navigated downtown Atlanta!  We finally made it!  Hallelujah!  Now, let me just tell you about the Mart itself.  If you’ve never been, it can be very intimidating.  Just imagine three HUGE buildings with multiple floors (anywhere from ten to twenty-three!) packed to the brim with vendors, booths, and permanent stores/showrooms.  Intense.  

We quickly made our way into Building 2 where we checked in and received our badges.  Our first stop was the restroom to freshen up after our long drive.  We had to formulate a “game plan,” per my sister’s edict.  (She’s totally Ms. OCD/Organizing Queen whereas I’m much more Ms. ADD/Fly-By-The-Seat-Of-Her-Pants Queen!)  We decided to stop by John’s booth first as it was the reason we were even there!  We made our way over to Building 2 West Wing to the High Design area.  Upon entering, I immediately spied the booth!  I was so excited that my heart was literally beating right out of my chest!  We were sad to see that John was nowhere in sight.  We looked around a bit, and we met a few of John’s “girls,” who were there working the event.  They were so sweet!  After learning that he would be around after lunch, we decided to go tour the rest of the Mart.  

We only thought we’d see the “rest” of it!  We only made it to one other building and really only stepped foot on three of the ten floors.  Craziness!  One of the funniest things was having “John Wind/Maximal Art” written on our badges… we got a lot of funny looks from people.  You could see them wondering why we were walking around and taking in the show since our badges said “Exhibitor.”  Everyone wanted to know what we sold… and those that didn’t ask that wondered what kind of store we ran.  And of course there were the few who knew JW/MA and wondered if we really worked with him.  It actually became a good conversation starter, and I was able to point some JW/MA “virgins” in the direction of the hottest vintage/modern jewelry!  : )  (Are you sure you don’t need an extra employee, somehow, somewhere, John?!?  Haha!)   

After a lunch of Chick-Fil-A that must’ve been fried in pure gold as expensive as it was, we made our way back over to John’s booth.  I was soooo nervous as we walked up to the booth!  I can’t even begin to describe how I felt.  Ok, so I’ll at least try.  : )  It was like I had this great big ball of nervous energy and excitement all bouncing around inside of me!  Haha!  As soon as we got fairly close to the booth, I immediately spied John.  Let me just tell you, he’s hard to miss.  He’s what we Southern girls like to call a “tall drink of water…” well over 6 feet tall and oh so handsome!   Mandy and I quietly approached the booth, and John soon caught my eye.  Immediately he said, “Hey, I know you!”  (I’ve obviously commented on his Facebook page a bit too much!  Haha!)  We quickly introduced ourselves and exchanged a few hugs and then John introduced everyone else in the booth.  Let me just interject here for a quick minute.  Ok, so it’s no secret that I totally love John’s jewelry… but now, I need to confess that I totally adore John!  Can I just tell you how genuinely nice he is?  Super nice.  He’s the most gentlemanly, debonair, charming man I may have ever met. 

We quickly launched into conversation, and soon, I felt like I’d known him forever.  Did I mention how nice he was?!?!   : )  We talked about everything from life on the farm (ha!) to the difference in mine and Mandy’s style (she’s much more classic, I’m trendier) to our careers and our dream to one day own our own store.  It was perfect timing... the booth was at a random quiet moment, so we really had John all to ourselves.  He took Mandy and I on a tour of the booth, showing us some of his favorite pieces and talking to us about the creative process.  


John also talked a little bit about his company.  This year’s Fall line kicks off the 25^th Anniversary year of John Wind/Maximal Art.  How exciting!  Let me tell you a little more about John’s story and the Maximal Art background.  John’s vision to connect modern women and style to the past began when he was studying at the Slade School of Art in London in the 80s.  He would spend his weekends on Portobello Road where he’d find really cool vintage pieces and rush home to create something new and modern and beautiful out of them.  The crux of Victorian jewelry – the emotions it evokes and the connections it can create between people – drew John and he set out to create his own version of vintage-modern jewelry.  This is why I love John’s work.  Jewelry does indeed tell a story.  It connects places and events and emotions and people.  My first JW/MA piece, my Pom Pom Sorority Gal Initial Bracelet takes me back to my childhood where I spent countless days playing dress up in my grandmother’s room, rummaging through her jewelry in her dresser and the hats and slips stored in her wardrobe.  

As we toured around the booth, Mandy and I just oohed and aahed over the new collections.  One piece caught my eye immediately.  John noted how the earrings and headband I had on that day were very reminiscent of that particular showpiece.  He started to take it off its display and my heart tripped and my stomach did a little flip.  He quickly slipped it around my neck and fastened it.  Heaven.  Absolute heaven.  For just a little while, I was Cinderella at the ball.  

Here's a picture of John Wind and me wearing that gorgeous necklace!

A closer look at that GORGEOUS necklace!  Isn’t it just to die for?  It is so “me!”  I love it! 

Here's one of my sister Mandy, me, and John!

   

I bet you’re dying to know more about the Fall/Holiday collection… let me just tell you.  It.  Was.  Fabulous.  I still can’t believe I was given the opportunity to view it up close and in person.  What an absolute blessing!  And you, my friend, should be very, very excited... this is totally a sneak peek!  The new collection hasn't even been released on the  JW/MA website yet!  


If I had to pick a few words or phrases to describe the Fall/Holiday collection, I think I'd say: mixed metals, over the top (in a good way, of course!), hard meets fluid, layered, "bling," all about individuality, and rich, deep colors.  Does that whet your whistle?  Are you ready to see some pictures???

One major theme of the Fall collection is deep, rich colors and textures.  I think John referred to the pieces in the picture below as the "Equestrian Collection," but don't quote me on it!  Anyway, it's absolutely gorgeous.  The colors are fabulous - brilliant greens and reds and opulent ambers.  One of the bracelets has a little charm that is a ball made of cork.  What an awesome way to add in some unexpected texture!  I also love the implementation of a universal monogram into this collection... I'll show you more of that in a minute!  Also, check out the tartan plaid bows on some of the necklaces!  Love!

A little more tartan with a whole lotta pearls!  A definite trend this season is layering!  Whether you're wearing subtle layers or mega-chunky layers like the photo below, layers are "in!"  I mean, does this not scream "over the top" in the absolute best way?  Love it!

This is one of my favorite looks from the collection - tortoise shell and jet black bangles featuring universal monograms.  Universal monograms are a super neat way to give the appearance of a monogram with the added bonus that anyone with any initials can wear it.  The "initials" really aren't initials - it's just a beautiful scroll-like pattern that imitates an interlocking monogram.  Imagine the beauty of having a few pieces of jewelry with universal monograms that are passed along from generation to generation in your family.  The jewelry will always "fit" the wearer.  Love these bangles, but I also need you to know that there are matching earrings!  Yay!  I didn't take a picture of the earrings (grrrr!), but I love them!  They are discs of the tortoise shell or jet black with the same universal monogram.  Gorgeous!  I intend on owning a bangle and earrings set in the tortoise with the gold monogram!  So warm and rich for Fall!  

All about some BLING!  Another bangle and new sunglasses sporting some bling!  : )

This is another shot of the showpiece I wore as it rests on its dress form.  It's gorgeous!  Let me tell you, Cinderella sure was sad to let that "slipper" go!  I loved it so much!   I think that I'd be willing to go hungry for a few months or sacrifice my firstborn to own this necklace.  Ok, so maybe I wouldn't go to either of those extremes!  But, seriously.  I covet this gorgeous showstopper!!!

More "blingy" pieces.  I absolutely love the look of mixing pearls and crystal!  Gorgeous!  The second necklace from the left is a smaller, more toned down version of the showpiece that I wore.  It may be possible for me to actually own this version!  There's also a huge, chunky bracelet along the bottom to match!  : )

Look at this gorgeous bow necklace!  Isn't it great?  To me, this looks just like something my friend Nicole (and fellow JW/MA enthusiast) would wear!  And those other "blingy" necklaces are great!  I love the longest one!  It has the same crystal charm that's on the showpiece I adore.

This sweet little display shows two of my favorite pieces from the new collection that are just gorgeous worn layered together.  The third necklace from the left was referred to as a "chandelier" necklace I believe.  It's a little longer (which I love!  I'm all about length!) and it features several beautiful little crystal pieces, reminiscent of a chandelier, nestled on a dainty little gold chain.  LOVE it.  It will most likely be my next purchase. My other favorite necklace, the third from the right, is also noteworthy.  I believe this is a special edition for the JW/MA 25th Anniversary year. It's this super long chain of pearls and JW-stamped "coins."  I absolutely love it.  It comes in silver or gold.  I of course want both finishes, but I think I'll go with gold first!  Anyway, these two necklaces, the chandelier and the pearl, are my current lusts and look absolutely gorgeous mixed together!

Another great part of the collection is this dark, edgy mixed metals look!  I love it because it features keys.  (For those of you that don't know this, I am pretty obsessed with keys!  I have all sorts of key art that I've collected through the years and a few skeleton keys that I've stumbled across in antique stores.  Love keys!)  Just take a look at this fun mix!  One of the bracelets in this collection features a real working watch charm!  Precious! Also, please note the "boyfriend watches" in the upper right corner.  These are watches on ribbon... appropriately named "boyfriend watches" because someone has to help you tie it on!  So cute!  These also come in a great pink plaid and a tartan plaid.  Cute as buttons!

Look at this multi-key necklace!  It's great!  I love the mix of the metals in the keys against the shiny gold of the necklace.  Now this is hard meets fluid!   Look how fluid that chain is against the hard metal of the keys.  Beautiful!

The bracelet with the watch charm that I mentioned two pictures up was recently featured in Country Living magazine.  Let me just tell you... I love me some Country Living magazine.  I just drool over the antique-y, cottage-y, shabby-chic-y, country decor that graces their magazine from cover to cover.  Cool news... John Wind has  partnered with Country Living to create the Country Living Artisan Collection by Maximal Art.  There are some really neat pieces here, and I'm excited to learn more about this unique collection by two of my favorite companies, Country Living and John Wind/Maximal Art!

This is a picture of some of the Holiday collection.  I absolutely love the cute little Santas!  They remind me of Coca Cola's vintage Santa!  This collection is super fun and made me SO ready for Christmas time!  (My favorite!)

Amazing, right?  Seeeeee... I told you!  I was in such sensory overload as I perused the gorgeous pieces of art in the Fall/Holiday Collection.  It was fabulous.  


There's one thing that I really, really wish I had a picture of - the new trend of charm enhancers.  Necklaces and bracelets that allow you to add charms that represent your own personal story.  And I'm talking there's everything from compasses to four leaf clovers to keys to clocks to owls to initials to bling!  Definitely something for everyone in the charm arena!  I'll make sure and let you know when they're on the website.  You must see them!  


The beauty of this jewelry from the John Wind collection is mixing and matching and making it completely your own.  You can layer pieces to suit your mood or outfit.  Throw on a simple initial necklace when you're wearing a t-shirt.  Glitz up an outfit with one of the awesome statement pieces.  Mix your gold and silver charms.  Add some tortoise to the mix!  It's all up to you!  Isn't that what's great about jewelry?  It's a sure statement of who you are as an individual!


After touring the booth, we chit chatted with John a bit longer.  Other customers started popping up, and the booth got crazy busy.  After talking with some of the Maximal Art gals, we got ready to leave.  John was so sweet - he thanked us for coming, hugged our necks, and told us goodbye.  Sigh.  What an awesome day!


I walked away from this experience excited about finding my own unique style.  About mixing and matching metals and textures and components.  About not being defined by jewelry but by defining myself through jewelry.  Viewing this collection definitely stirred something within me.  The same something that longs to create, to find beauty in the every day, to capture life and love and emotion at its core.  I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity.  It definitely rates extremely high on my list of favorite experiences, and it's one I'll definitely never forget.  What a whirlwind of excitement and fun!