Gilding the Lily is in Somerset Life!

I was down in OC this past weekend and stopped in to Gilding the Lily to see my friend Nancy Jamar.  I have told you about her shop before.  I have posted photos and talked about all the lovely things she has there.  She was just featured in Somerset Life... a lovely eight page layout with oodles of photos showing all of the lovely things available there.  She has recently rearranged things and given the shop a little makeover.  You can literally spend hours there looking at all the lovely ribbons and jewelry making items. It is a Disneyland for crafters.  Drop the hubs and the kids off at D-land and head to Gilding the Lily, a few miles down Harbor Boulevard.  I PROMISE you won't be disappointed.  Nancy is one of the sweetest, most generous people I know.  She is great at locating things you didn't even know you wanted.  If you are looking for something specific, a lot of time she has it, or knows where to go to get it for you.  She has an on line store that sells wholesale components in bulk here.  So all you vintage jewelry part junkies can shop on line to your hearts content.  You can take classes by top designers at the studio, check out her website here for more details.

I found this shop on a fluke.  I had just moved to Orange County from the San Francisco area...  I didn't know anyone, had no art friends and was trying so hard to make a connection with people.  I was going through my old Somerset magazines, and there was an article in there by someone saying they spent a lot of time at Gilding the Lily in Fullerton making jewelry and hanging out at the open studio.  I immediately googled the name of the store, got a phone number and called to see if the shop still existed.  (the magazine was 3 years old, and you know with the economy, many places are out of business)  I was thrilled to find out they were still there.  I went down there immediately and was literally in HEAVEN!  I met Nancy, and we talked about how hard it is to adjust to a new place, and how difficult it was for me to find community there.  She smiled and said, "Why don't you come to open studio tomorrow nite?"  She holds it in her home around the corner from the shop.  There is no charge, it is all about community.  People come, bring things they want to work on, usually some snacks and wine... we visit, celebrate birthdays and babies and other fun events while making incredible things and sharing techniques and supplies with each other.  I even drug my husband along one nite, and he hit it off with Nancy's husband Alain and now they are friends.  It is a magical friend making place...

When I go down to OC now, I try to schedule my visits so I am there for Open Studio on Thursday nites.  I miss my friends, and grab on to every chance I have to meet with them while down there.

Pop in and visit Nancy, tell her you heard about her on my blog.