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Christmas Gifts for Her

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christmas gifts for her silver dish silver post earrings
Silver Poppy Bowl (small) and Torc Post Earrings

Christmas Gifts for Her

Even though there seem to be many more options for Christmas gifts for her, women can be just as challenging to shop for as men. Sometimes too many options can be overwhelming, so I have highlighted an assortment of suggestions based on popular gifts for women people purchase from me as well as suggestions for the extremely picky lady or gal who has everything.

christmas gifts for her silver link bracelet oyster jewelry
Silver Oyster Link Bracelet

Jewelry

Jewelry seems like an obvious choice, but you need to know who you are shopping for, her style, and tastes. My silver link bracelets are adjustable, so you do not need to know what bracelet length she wears and I have a smooth finish option (Oyster Link Bracelet) and hammered finish option (Torc Link Bracelet). Bangles are also a nice jewelry gift, because she can stack them with other bracelets. All of my bangles come in two sizes, medium and large, and can be custom sized.

silver link bracelet torc jewelry christmas gifts for her
Silver Torc Link Bracelet
silver bangle bracelets stacked bangles
Silver Bangle Bracelets

Necklaces are also a great gift depending on the style she likes to wear. A standout, statement necklace is a special gift for the lady with some flare.

silver oyster necklace silver oyster earrings contemporary jewelry christmas gifts for her jacket style earrings
Silver Oyster Link Necklace and Oyster Earrings
silver link necklace torc jewelry statement necklace
Torc Link Necklace

A simple pendant for everyday wear is perfect for a woman of any age, from a young girl to a stylish older aunt. My pendants come with the choice of a 16″, 18″, or 20″ length silver cable chain.

silver oyster shell pendant delicate jewelry
Silver Oyster Shell Pendant

Finally for the jewelry suggestions, are earrings.

silver oyster earrings double earrings christmas gifts for her
Silver Oyster Earrings

Earrings like necklaces are also a matter of taste and style. Some ladies prefer to wear large, statement earrings and others tend to be more conservative or minimal with post or stud styles. I have a wide selection of all styles, so be sure to check out the various options.

Torc Stud Earrings

Dresser or Vanity Objects

A pretty silver vase she can put flowers in for her dresser or vanity, a lovely silver dish to hold small items (see first image on post), or an elegant silver box to store jewelry or other small things all make thoughtful Christmas gifts for her.

silver vase silver vessel functional art contemporary silver
Silver Vase
silver boxes bird box round silver box christmas gifts for her
Silver Boxes

Entertaining and Serving Utensils

Entertaining is year round and not just around the holidays, so for the hostess with the mostess and the lady who likes to entertain in style a lovely silver serving utensil or spoon is the perfect gift. It is a lasting gift she can use often for serving all the delicious dishes and appetizers she makes. I like mixing and matching styles and patterns, so do not be afraid to pair traditional silver styles with contemporary pieces.

silver serving spoon thanksgiving dinner christmas dinner
Silver Serving Spoon
silver spreader forged silver utensil handcrafted
Silver Spreader
silver condiment spoon appetizer serving hors d'oeuvres
Silver Condiment Spoon

A silver napkin ring is a wonderful gift, because you can start her on a collection. Then you have a go to gift for each birthday, holiday, or anniversary. Personalizing with hand engraving is a thoughtful touch with initials or to commemorate which occasion or date it was given on.

silver napkin ring stylish entertaining tabletop design
Silver Napkin Ring

Christmas Ornaments

Finally, a festive silver Christmas ornament is a fun gift for all women. I offer a wide range of designs and most of them can be hand engraved. Choose one that fits her personality best!

silver christmas ornamentsSilver Christmas Ornaments

All of these lovely silver Christmas gifts for her can be found in my website Shop, plus many more. Happy Holiday shopping!

Graduation Gift Ideas

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graduation gift ideas

Graduation Gift Ideas

With summer rapidly approaching, or at least it feels like that in Charleston due to the rising temperature, graduation season will be here soon at the end of spring. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus crisis, many traditional graduation commencement ceremonies have been cancelled or postponed. However, even with the absence of a cap and gown event, giving a special gift to celebrate your graduate’s achievement is still very necessary. My silver objects, jewelry, and men’s accessories are very popular graduation gifts, so in this Blog post I have highlighted some of my favorite graduation gift ideas for both guys and gals. The majority of these quality, lasting pieces can be hand engraved for a personal, memorable touch.

Graduation Gift Ideas for Her

silver cuff bracelet hammered silver bracelet torc jewelry
Silver Torc Twist Cuff Bracelet I by Kaminer Haislip

A young lady would appreciate for everyday wear a simple pendant, delicate stud earrings, or elegant cuff or bangle bracelet, especially if she will have a professional job that requires a more conservative attire style.

Silver Torc Pendant III by Kaminer Haislip

My pendants come with the choice of a 16″, 18″, or 20″ length silver cable chain.

silver oyster pendant oyster jewelry charleston
Silver Oyster Shell Pendant by Kaminer Haislip

Bangles and cuff bracelets are also a nice jewelry gift, because she can stack them with other bracelets.

hammered silver bangle bracelet graduation gift ideas for her
Silver Torc Bracelet II by Kaminer Haislip

All of my bangles come in two sizes, medium and large, and can be custom sized. My cuff bracelets are adjustable and are flexible to form over the wrist for personalized comfort. Additionally, one size fits most.

hammered silver stud earrings torc earrings graduation gift ideas for her
Silver Torc Stud Earrings by Kaminer Haislip

Simple, yet elegant stud earrings are always a great gift for anyone, because they can be worn everyday for a delicate touch and are conservative in style for a professional environment.

oyster shell earrings silver oyster earrings jacket style earrings versatile jewelry
Silver Oyster Shell Double Earrings in
Small (pictured) or Large
by Kaminer Haislip

My jacket style Oyster Shell Double Earrings are very popular, because they can be worn as just stud (small option) or post (large option) earrings for minimal style or with the back component added for a statement look. These earrings transition effortlessly from day to night.

jacket earrings stud earring post earring
Deconstructed silver Oyster Shell Double Earring
by Kaminer Haislip
hammered silver dish silver torc earrings post earrings graduation gift ideas for her
Silver Poppy Bowl (small) and Torc Post Earrings
by Kaminer Haislip

A lovely silver dish to hold small items, pretty silver vase she can put flowers in for her dresser or vanity, or an elegant silver box to store jewelry or other small things all make thoughtful graduation gifts for her.

silver vase etched silver cloud design learning to fly hollowware
Silver Learning to Fly Vase by Kaminer Haislip

The etched design for this silver vase from my Learning to Fly Series was inspired by clouds seen from a plane receding into the distance. The concept relates to graduation by the metaphors of flying the nest, being independent, and moving forward.

silver boxes bird box chorus handcrafted silver box
Silver Chorus boxes by Kaminer Haislip

My round silver boxes come in a variety of sizes, so you can add to her collection as her life progresses.

Graduation Gift Ideas for Him

oval silver cufflinks engravable cufflinks hand engraving graduation gift ideas for him
Silver Oval Cufflinks by Kaminer Haislip

Cufflinks add sophistication to a man’s attire and are a creative way he can express his personal style. Jewelry options tend to be limited for men, so cufflinks are a fashionable accessory to spruce up his look. Most of my cufflinks can be personalized with hand engraving and custom initial cufflinks are also a unique, thoughtful gift option.

initial silver cufflinks personalized cufflinks custom cufflinks
Silver Initial Cufflinks by Kaminer Haislip

Contact me directly at kaminer@kaminerhaislip.com to commission custom, initial cufflinks if you do not see your letter in my Men’s Accessories Shop category.

silver collar stays hand engraving graduation gift ideas
Silver Collar Stays by Kaminer Haislip

Silver collar stays are another professional gift idea that also can be personalized with hand engraving.

A silver box is a very useful gift for a man, because he can put it on his dresser to store cufflinks and other small items or on his desk. My husband has several silver boxes he uses and it is a classy way to store things and keep your desk tidy.

etched silver boxes graduation gift ideas for him
Silver Learning to Fly Boxes by Kaminer Haislip

These silver boxes are from the same Learning to Fly Series as the vase highlighted above and the same metaphors apply to them as well. Also, just as with the Chorus boxes also featured, they come in a variety of sizes, so as he moves forward in life, you can add to his collection.

Hand engraving on top of round silver box for a recent graduation gift for him

Visit my website Hand Engraving page for more engraving samples and styles as well as pricing and details.

silver dish silver oyster dish contemporary silver design charleston
Silver Oyster Dish by Kaminer Haislip

A silver dish like my Oyster Dish above (available in two sizes) is wonderful for a dresser or desk as well. They can be used to hold small items, such as change or keys, and function as a pen tray.

silver tumbler contemporary silver cup hand engraving
Silver Sounding Series Tumbler by Kaminer Haislip

A final graduation gift idea is to start him on a collection of silver cups. My Sounding Series cups come in two sizes with the shorter tumbler cup shown above and a taller, Mint Julep sized beaker shown below. Both styles can be hand engraved to commemorate each date he receives one. I have several clients who have started special people on collections and it is fun to hear for what each occasion the cup is gifted. Many have started out as graduation gifts and progressed to wedding gifts.

silver beaker silver cup silver tumbler graduation gift ideas for him
Silver Sounding Tumblers and Beakers
by Kaminer Haislip

Hopefully I have given you a wide variety of thoughtful, special gift ideas to commemorate your graduate’s momentous achievement! I received a lovely array of beautiful silver gifts for each of my graduations and think fondly of the person who generously gifted it to me when I see it in my home or wear it. They bring back wonderful memories, which is the purpose of a lasting gift. Silver is just that!

Silversmithing Workshop at American College of the Building Arts

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american college of the building arts charleston sc silversmithing class
American College of the Building Arts
649 Meeting Street – Charleston, SC 29403

Silversmithing Workshop at American College of the Building Arts

American College of the Building Arts is hosting a week-long celebration with current women artisan and craftsmen that are masters in their fields. They will be conducting workshops, demonstrations, and a panel discussion. These courses are open to both students and the public.

As part of this special “Women in Trades Week”, Kaminer Haislip has been invited to teach a silversmithing workshop Monday, January 13 – Thursday, January 16. The class will focus on traditional silversmithing techniques with fabrication and forming as the main topics. Each student will make a round silver box like the shorter one below by Kaminer Haislip. The class description and details are below. Contact the American College of the Building Arts to sign up for this exciting workshop and rare chance to learn from Kaminer.

silver box fabricated silver silversmithing class birds singing chorus
Chorus – Silver
by Kaminer Haislip

Introduction to Silversmithing

January 13 – 16

Tuition: $550

Learn basic silversmithing techniques with this beginner’s class that does not require experience. The centuries old method of forming and fabricating sheet silver to create objects will be the focus of this week long course. Traditional silversmith hollowing, hammering, forming, and fabrication techniques will be taught in order to create a silver box. Additional beginner’s techniques will be explored through piercing, filing, soldering, and finishing.

Professor: Kaminer Haislip

Kaminer Haislip, originally from Aiken, SC, earned her BFA in Jewelry and Metals and MFA in Silversmithing from Winthrop University where she studied under Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed English silversmith. Kaminer designs and creates functional objects and jewelry in her Charleston studio. In addition to her work as an artist, she is frequently commissioned to create custom designs in silver and gold. Her award-winning work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and featured in over sixty publications.

For more information or to register for the class visit https://acba.edu/wintercourses

Charleston City Paper – July 2014

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Charleston City Paper 
Second Nature
By Allston McCrady 

LTFPB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been 12 years since an unassuming cinder block building tucked off a sleepy section of St. Philip Street was brightly painted with the giant letters REDUX and transformed into an artistic hotbed. At its inception, Redux Contemporary Art Center was an ambitiously cool concept — a collection of artist studios with a central exhibition space and workshops open to the public. But was it ahead of its time? Too avant-garde for a city whose art galleries sell marshscapes by the dozens? Would it survive?

The answer for the latter is yes. Redux is relevant. Radically relevant. Its panel of advisors sifts through scads of proposals from talented artists across the country to select thoughtful, edgy, often provocative work, pushing Charleston’s artistic boundaries a little further. The application process is rigorous. It is a serious honor to land a show on these walls.

Every other year, Redux takes a break from the national talent pool to cull from within, celebrating the work of its own studio artists. In years past, this took the form of a group show, an often discombobulated hodgepodge of media with no central theme. This year, Redux takes a new approach.

For its upcoming show Reorientation, executive director Stacy Huggins invited proposals from local Redux artists and reviewed them herself, looking for threads and visions that might complement one another. She whittled her choice down to four artists, all women, all working with different materials, whose images struck her as organic or inspired by the natural world.

“These artists really stepped up,” says Huggins. “Their bodies of work are impressive. They’re all super talented, very committed to their art forms. None of them collaborated when submitting their proposals, yet their work meshes well.”

Kaminer Haislip: Silversmithing

Stop by Redux almost any day of the week, and you’ll hear strange sounds coming from a corner studio — whizzing, pounding, cutting, grinding, the steady roar of a blowtorch. Peek your head through the curtains and you’ll see a sylph-like young woman with pale skin wearing green tennis shoes she calls her “grubbies,” hunched over her jeweler’s bench, hard at work.

A silversmith, her name is Kaminer Haislip, and since joining Redux in 2005 she has made a name for herself with her sleek, contemporary vessels. For Reorientation, Haislip submits five works from her “Learning to Fly” series.

Inspired by some photos she took on a flight up the coast, Haislip etches the clouds into metal, paints them with a tar-like substance called black resist, then submerges the silver in nitric acid, which eats away at the recessed silver to give the pattern depth. The result is powerful: a stark contrast between the crisp geometry of the polished silver vessel and the ethereal, transient, organic feel of the clouds.

To read the full article visit http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/four-female-artists-draw-inspiration-from-the-natural-world-for-redux-exhibit/Content?oid=4948286

 

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