For most photographers, taking a beautiful image is the accomplishment of their art.  Debra sees things a little differently and it surely makes her work unique.  Her art is also an inspirational message.  She finds a beautiful spot in nature, takes her shot and then she finds the perfect quotation to hand calligraphy on the matte. Saying that makes it sound easy and anyone who has ever tried to snap a photo knows there is much more to photography than that.  To combine the photography with the perfect inspirational quote and then to hand calligraphy that message on the matte makes her work unique and very special.

'Consider The Lillies'

Her photo with it’s inspirational matte is framed in a georgeous custom made hardwood frame, courtesyof her husband.  These frames are beautifully put together.  Got to love a man with skills!

'Living Water'

Come see more of Debra’s beautiful work in our shop at the Factory at Franklin, TN   

Fall has always been my favorite season- the best clothes, beautiful weather and lots of color!  This year is no exception!  Despite the rain, fall looks are coming out in all their colorful splendor and. of course, no look is complete without a trip to Adornments!  Come check out Fall & Winter clothing by Olia Zavozina: rich colors and textures sure to feel good and look great!  Pair that with some of Adornments’ one-of-a-kind jewelry and you’re on your way to having a stunning fall look!

This tunic is beautiful, soft and very comfortable!  A classy look that will keep you feeling cozy all winter long!

Olia original Brown Tunic with sash & Adornments original "Mantis" pendant

Olia original Brown Tunic with Sash & Adornments original "Mantis" pendant

Rich, beautiful color, luscious texture and a fun, funky cut make this jacket a must for this winter!

Olia Zavozina original jacket & Adornments original sterling silver earrings

Olia Zavozina original jacket & Adornments original sterling silver earrings

Not ready for Winter yet?  Get a jump on next year with on sale spring/summer lines by Olia Zavozina- paired with Adornments’ jewelry for a timelessly classic look sure to please on those last few warm summer-like days and give you something to look forward to for next spring!- a fashion must!

This is a limited time opportunity to get some of Olia’s custom designer clothing at a great price! From now through November 30, receive 40% off all of her in store summer fashions, only at Adornments!

Olia Zavozina is a Russian born fashionista who started her journey by leaving her hometown at the age of 18. Olia has been traveling and exploring the world of fashion ever since. With multiple degrees in world economics, an MBA in business administration, biblical ethics and religion she could not let her passion for fashion go. Olia started her own label at the age of 20.

Designing beautiful garments that show your personality though design, color and texture is a passion of Olia’s. Her goal is to build a relationship with a customer that is much more than just a sale. The foundation of Olia’s line is based on the concept that quality goods and excellent service will yield both rewarding careers and financial success.

Craig McDonald is a self-taught artist, born and raised in Nashville.  He works mainly in steel and stainless steel, often incorporating other materials such as marble, wood, stone, and fabrics into his work.  Much of his art is contemporary or modern in design and ranges along the scope of  functional to purely sculptural.  And without further ado, here’s a sample of his work that’s available at Adornments! Stop by and check them out!!

Melt - steel 29x30x20"

This piece is very fun- can be placed on a table or on the floor or can even be mounted on the wall!

Warp - steel 14x9x12- Sorry! Can't have this one! It has already sold!

Fun from every angle, this sculpture adds a special touch to any room- looks gorgeous by a fireplace!

Offset Table - steel/marble/glass 26x32x48"

Very modern, this table could set the tone for a whole room!  Sturdy and beautiful, this piece is sure to impress.

Zig Zag Wine Holder - steel 24x18x5"

A great gift, this wine holder will give you a place to store your featured wines with properly moistened corks without having to hide them away in a wine cellar!

Made from steel, this wine holder will give you a way to store and display that is sturdy as well as elegant.

Exploded Triangle - steel 14x6.5x8"

Unusual, edgy and fun- this sculpture is perfectly suited to add interest to tight spaces either at home or the office!

Opposition Vase - steel 10.5x8x2.5"

Not your average vase, this sleek and modern design can hold some serious flowers or stand on its own!

All these and more are now available at Adornments!  Come get your contemporary and modern furniture, steel sculpture, and home items in time for Christmas!

I have been remiss in posting about my efforts to find the perfect dress for Laura’s wedding.  The wedding has come and gone, I was present and attired in a lovely gown.  Back to the efforts.  After spending hours in fruitless search at the mall (both Cool Springs and Green Hills) as well as online I was was feeling despondent.  Are there no more pretty dresses for women with less than perfect figures?  Frankly, there’s a lot of ugly out there.  Finally inspiration hit.  I have a friend who is a fashion designer here in Tennessee, Olia Zavozina.  We’ve done trunk shows for her in our shop and supplied our jewelry for her fashion photo sessions.  I asked her to create a dress for me for the wedding.  She came to the shop with her fabrics and Alexis, Laura and I chose some fabric and voila! a dress is created.  Have to tell you, I felt like Cinderella.  Imagine the scene where all of the critters are making her dress for the ball.  In my case it was Olia, Tamara (her seamstress), Alexis and Laura.  I just stood while beauty was made.  Ok, I got to hold the mirror due to a lack of birds.

Olia gathering her pins after pinning me into the bodice of my mother of the bride dress.

This was a fairly painless way to get a dress.  Certainly less painful than running from store to store and not finding anything great or even good. Laura created this necklace for me to wear with this gown.  Then Olia adjusted the neckline to compliment the necklace.  How cool is that?  This was definitely and Adornments wedding!  I was soooo adorned.  Wait until you see the finished ensemble!  Thank you Olia and Laura for making me feel beautiful.

Laura's necklace and Olia's dress

Adornments recently donated custom jewelry created with adoption in mind for auction at An Orphan’s Ticket Home adoption benefit.  All proceeds from the auction went towards helping families with the costs of adopting overseas orphans.

It was a lovely event coordinated by Courtney Hammons from “A Magical Affair” with live music by Sparrow Recording Artist, Britt Nicole,  and guest speaker and author of Fields of the Fatherless and Red Letters, Tom Davis.

Adornments donated two original pieces for this benefit:

A pendant entitled “Family” featuring a Copper and Silver parent figures embracing a 14k yellow gold child figure adorned with a ruby as well as a blue handbag entitled “It Takes A Village…” featuring Copper and Brass adult figures celebrating the first steps of a Silver child.

Here are some in progress shots of the pendant!

We started with a concept drawing. The red indicates the various layers of metal we plan to use.

First step after drawing is cutting out the metal layers.

Silver & copper layers ready to be cut.

This is what the pieces look like just after sawing them out.. Are you scared yet??

After the pieces are all cut out, we domed them slightly and then set them up to be soldered together.

Yikes! Fire!!

This is the pendant just after soldering all the pieces together (well, ok, we cleaned it up a bit with sandpaper too). Ready to be polished!

Soldered "Family" pendant

Haha! Safety first!! I love what that mask does to my ear!

Suiting up to polish!

Polishing!

And, finally! The finished piece!

"Family"

We were honored to be asked to participate in this event and had a great time at the Gala! For more information on an Orphan’s Ticket Home and how to get involved with this program, please visit http://www.orphanstickethome.org/. And on a final note, we leave you with this… love it when they have photo booths at events!

The Adornments ladies at the Gala

A couple of weeks ago Adornments participated in the yearly Franklin Bridal Ball, held right here in the Factory at Franklin!

It was a pretty busy day- but we had a great time meeting with local brides and their families!

Nashville area brides were out in force to check out the local wedding vendors and get ideas, and Adornments excels at unique ideas for those special finishing touches (if I do say so myself!). We had a great variety of hand made jewelry and invitations on display. As always brides are encouraged to discuss their ideas with us and work with our designers to create something unique just for them!

Sample papers on display for inspiration in designing your own invitation!

Toward the end of the evening the Bridal Ball put on a fashion show featuring our favorite local designer, Olia Zavozina and you know we had to get our jewelry on the catwalk too!! Handily enough, our booth was right next to Olia’s too.

Laura and Lucinda are both sporting custom fashion designs by Olia and doubled as models for the fashion show!! Need I mention the amazing jewelry we’re wearing? Check it out!!

Here are some shots from the fashion show.. why do models always look so cranky??

A model wearing our diamond pearl chainmail set.

Chainmail choker with small coin pearls

Silver feather necklace

Keep an eye out for the above necklace in upcoming posts… it’s about to play a very special role!!

Silver macrame choker

And because we can never take anything very seriously… our very own models striking poses:

Lucinda & Laura sporting Adornments jewelry & Olia's fashion.

At the end of the evening we raffled off a pair of hand made earrings (who doesn’t love free stuff?!).

Earring Raffle

Don’t forget- Adornments offered some great discounts to Bridal Ball attendees! So come visit us and let us design something special just for you!!

Well all we can say is: Yaaaaaay!! Laura and Jim are officially married!

We’re waiting for the pics to get back but stay tuned because when we get them we’ll put up a full wedding review for your reading pleasure! In the meantime…

Laura & Jim

Also keep track of the Gray’s Blog for picture updates!

Hello All!

As you know, we’ve been planning a wedding for months now and it’s finally here!  This Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 5:30 Laura and Jim will be tying that knot!  In honor of this momentous occasion, Adornments will be closed on Saturday, October 3, 2009 (sorry guys!  There’s still so much to do!  You understand!)  Don’t worry, there will be lots of fabulous pictures courtesy of the Grays of Gray Photography and we’ll post them as soon as we can to share all the pretties!

The Wedding is Here!

Wish us luck!

Adornments' Magnificent Sign!

As the pictures show- this party was fantastic!  The new, improved, more centralized location for Adornments in the Factory At Franklin is gorgeous!  The art was beautiful, the jewelry dazzling, the invitations magnificent and the clothing stunning.  Add to that a party atmosphere created by Margaret Tolbert of “Details by Margaret” event planning, delectable foods by “Busy Bees” catering, to-die-for chocolates from Schakolad in Cool Springs, fun games and even better prizes and you get a night that was an unabashed success!

Entrance to the Magical Realm of Adornments

Model Ginger Simpson Displays Beautiful Adornments Jewelry

One-of-a-kind Fine Art Gifts

Stunning Pottery by Artist Tom Turnbull

Classy Handmade Invitations by Lucinda Harshey

Adornments' Artist/Owner Laura Shows Off Custom Jewelry by Artist/Owner Alexis Anbari

Custom Fashion Designs by Fashionista Olia Zavozina

Check out the pictures by Hartz Photography and Stan Dunlap and keep an eye out for a video of the event from Heather and Eugene Brown of 2Duce2 Videography!

Come one and all to enjoy the new and improved Adornments!