Oh, Snap! Props to Lisa Mason

I have always loved my Diamonique shows with Lisa Mason--she's irreverent, funny, entertaining, and informative. Kathy Levine certainly left some "big honkin'" shoes to fill and, while many loyal viewers may disagree, I think Lisa has done her best to step up to the plate.

The main criticism of Lisa seems to revolve around her interesting and unnecessarily wordy verbage/verbiage (yes, I know there has been discussion of that particular word), but from my "vantage point," this quirky style makes her all the more interesting.

But that's not what I'm giving her props for.

For years, Lisa has consistently stressed that customers should never over-extend themselves financially by buying too much because "a piece of jewelry won't change your life."

"Only buy what you can easily afford" is not exactly the mantra that salespeople (i.e. hosts) tend to live by, which is why home shopping has a bit of a reputation for sweet talking people into spending their life savings and maxing-out their credit cards looking for happiness.

Lisa risks selling less in order to be true to herself. I admire that.

Creede Rocks the Bracelets!

It's Creede Silver Strike Day on the Q!!! I love jewelry and I love silver, so I certainly have no problem with an entire day dedicated to silver jewelry!

After looking through all the Creede pieces, I was most struck with the bracelets (and I'm not just talking about the TSV either). Normally I'm much more of a ring and earring kind of a girl, but the bracelets were clearly the stars of the day.

The TSV is an Arte d'Argento Sterling Multi-gemstone Charm Bracelet. I love just about anything Arte d'Argento, but I'm sure we'll soon be hearing stories of beads falling off the bracelet (or arriving already broken). I always worry when a manufacturer has to make enough of something for it to be a TSV. If you have to make 10-20,000 bracelets (I have no idea how many they have), I'm guessing that the quality is naturally going to slip a little. Although I have to admit, it does look like it would be fun to wear and jingle.

There's also some great Artisan Crafted items, like this Sterling & Brass Bead Scroll Design Cuff:

And this Artisan Crafted Sterling Bold Woven Bracelet:

There's even some designer jewelry like this RLM Studio Sterling "Molten Wrist" Couture Cuff (be still my beating heart ...)

And some designer knock-off stuff like this Sterling Twisted Cuff Bracelet w/Decorative End Caps:

Janice Dickinson Gives Lip Service to her New HSN Jewelry Line

The rumors were true ... the self-proclaimed world's first super model will indeed have a line of jewelry on HSN.

Here's a sneak peek from Janice's blog:

Love 'em or hate 'em, they are certainly over-the-top, edgy, and fashion forward--just like Janice.

Here's the thing, I'm not so naive as to believe that Janice is burning the midnight oil hunched over some drafting table slaving over jewelry designs; however, it does look like the pieces she has chosen to be in her line reflect her personal style and aesthetic. That's all you can hope for in these celebrity fashion and jewelry lines. I'm just going to withhold judgement until I see more.

Janice will be on HSN October 29 ... it should be entertaining!