Saturday, December 10, 2011

Very Limited Raffle for Custom Jewelry Piece ($475USD Retail) To Help Local Musicians Produce Record with Grammy Award Winning Artist

  Happy holidays everyone! As you know we make spoon rings year round. This is an example of the type of work I do when not busy with spoons~

OVERVIEW: A very limited 250 raffle tickets will be sold for $5/each to win a custom jewelry piece (valued at $475 retail), and will be delivered in time for Christmas and Hanukkah 2011 to the winner! ALL proceeds go to offsetting professional studio time for local musicians to produce a record with Grammy award winning musician , Isaiah "Ikey" Owens. (Formerly in Mars Volta.) Studio costs are an estimated $5000. The record will be made regardless of this raffle- but this is a steep cost for out of pocket local musicians. In these economic times, the art of collaboration is a highly effective and efficient way to raise awareness for the independent arts, both of jewelry and avant guard music! (Please VIEW BOTTOM PORTION FOR "HOW TO WIN" ENTRY RULES)
"Skull Dagger"- Collaboration between Josh Wendler and Jason Burruss (details below...) Photo Courtesy Mike Tobias (Win it!)


The story: Today I am writing to share a really neat multidisciplinary art project with you. If you choose to participate, you get a chance to win a totally rad handmade jewelry piece created by myself (Josh Wendler) and Jason Burruss, hands down the best wire wrap jewelry designer in the industry in my opinion. To call his work wire wrap is a bit of a misnomer, as his craftsmanship and his ultra-clean aesthetic are nothing less than jewelry designer quality. I truly expect to see this man's work in fine art gallery settings one day. (He is the reason I will never do wire wraps, because I could only ever get as good as Jason ...)
    But it gets better… All the proceeds, 100% of it- goes to offset production costs on a new album being released in by the True Aristocrats- a Fort Collins, CO based psychedelic prog rock band (featuring Will Wayland- guitars, and Tyler Lindgren- drums). Their album will be released early 2012, and their music has been described as“ . .. like riding a steam-powered horse through a jungle of espionage...”
                Recently, they got a really unique opportunity to play with and get produced by Grammy award winning musician Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, (most famous work with Mars Volta, if you want a refresher click here. He is the keyboard player. Maybe you remember "Deloused in the Comatorium"?) This is not only a dream come true for the band, they get to use state of the art recording equipment and Owens will be playing on the album! While the band remains unsigned, this is an investment worth making in their artistic career.  
                If you are in the music business, you already know that professional studio time is not cheap... In order to help offset the estimated $5000 it is going to cost to fund this project,  we are doing a raffle for a custom, one-of-a-kind jewelry piece that you will not find in stores! The best part? --> Delivery will be made for the piece to arrive in time for Christmas/Hanukkah! <--
How can you beat that? Without further ado- I give you, "Skull Dagger"- by Jason Burruss and Joshua Wendler

"Skull Dagger"- Sterling Silver wire wrap and stone setting by Jason Burruss(upper portion), and fabrication by Joshua Wendler (lower portion with stone set ametrine.) Emerald Cut Ametrine, Swiss Blue Topaz, and Amethyst in Sterling Silver and Gold Plating Accents
3,5/8"x1".

All handmade, one of a kind artisan work. You will not find this in stores, ladies and gents.
Detail. Photo Courtesy Mike Tobias.

Where You come in:  Raffle tickets are $5 each. Every penny goes to the band for studio time. They have worked very hard at their art, and deserve a chance at making the finest possible record for their artistic legacy.  There is no limit on the amount of raffle tickets you can personally obtain, however the total availability of raffle tickets will be a very limited 250. After that, no more entries will be accepted. 

What you get and when
1) WINNER RECEIVES: A truly one-of-a-kind jewelry piece, handmade by Joshua Wendler and Jason Burruss- delivered in time for Christmas and Hanukkah!. This piece will be on display in an underground SAIC art show in December, and immediately thereafter packed and shipped to the winners address.
2) Every contributor receives:Your name in the booklet of the album as well as a full digital download of the album (including art, video, mp3). (Will be emailed to you).
3) The satisfaction of knowing your contribution is raising awareness of independent artistry, both in the avant guard music scene and the jewelry metal arts. 

----->How To Win:<-------
**Mandatory Entry** : $5 donation via paypal to: metal.wendler@gmail.com. Leave a comment below to keep with your email address and the number of entries you purchased. (Entries and payment will be verified by staff to ensure legitimacy of comments.Every penny gets donated to the band.)
If an international winner is selected, please allow ample time for delivery of piece. (May not make the Xmas deadline, sorry guys...)

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.

  There is a very limited available amount of 250 raffle tickets for this piece, however you may buy as many raffle tickets as you wish while supplies last.

 This giveaway will end on December 19th, 2011

With your help, we are helping create awareness of fine arts in a multidisciplinary effort which believes that supporting each other is the only way to survive in a tough economy.  I know there are a lot of worthy efforts deserving your money this holiday season, but we want to help facilitate a community that supports the artistic endeavors of individuals who enrich our human experience.  The True Aristocrats are one of the few bands I have, through a live experience with their music, felt the electrifying pulse and creativity that only dedicated craftsmanship and a romantic engagement with music can provide. They will produce this record regardless of this raffle, they will make their contribution to the music world- but you can be a part of it! 

Thank you so much for reading, we really appreciate it. Even if you can’t donate to the project, please consider spreading the word by sharing or liking on social media. Love you all and hope your holiday season is one of family and good company. <3.  

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival." – C.S. Lewis

“All art is but imitation of nature.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
 
"An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision."
James Whistler


See more of Jason Burruss' Work at: www.facebook.com/jasonburruss and www.jasonburrussdesigns.etsy.com 

ABOUT THE TRUE ARISTOCRATS:------------------------------------------------------------

Who are the True Aristocrats? "We the True Aristocrats; comprised of Will Wayland and Tyler Lindgren. Through a happenstance re-acquaintance we have again crossed paths and sought to create music. Much time has passed in palaces of exile, desolate roads and rendezvous; now our attention turns to nuance and an overall imploring imminence which swells as a Dionysian undercurrent counterpoised by Apollonian structure of meter and form. Free time is our ceremonial jaunt into realms of chaos as order flourishes in due repose amid the sidewalk calculus. We seek transvaluation, reinterpretation, passion, and pleasure to reinvent and extol the aristocratic virtues of existence; we stilt the precipice of desire to regail in the spontaneous value of insight.

“Susurrus” (released April 16th) is our debut album. This existential sonic journey is the culmination of past years efforts, encounters, emotions, and experiences. It is available for download at our bandcamp page along with the improv EP entitled “Zikkurat Thaumaturge”, the vocal/sound manipulation EP "Haruspex Cremisi", and the Acoustic Psychedelic full-length entitled “The Red Album.” All are available for "name your price" download for @ http://truearistocrats.bandcamp.com. Much more is still to come! Thanks for your interest and time, hope to see you at a show soon!"
Will Wayland and Tyler Lindgren, (Left to right).

Live Footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JZmXlg_Ttes

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/truearistocrats/xibalba

Press:

"Susurrus (LP) is like riding a sonic roller coaster made of right angles.

"While a direct comparison would not be fair, fans of Mr. Bungle, The Mars Volta, and maybe Hella would do well to have a listen".- Calliper Music Blog

"It takes a certain amount of daring to release an improvised EP that consists of only one eighteen-minute track. True Aristocrats take on this task with impressive gallantry and amazing instrumental talent, creating an aesthetic gesture complete with the decadence of aristocracy..." -  Scene Magazine

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 SPECIAL THANKS TO: Everyone who helped, inspired, and lifted me up this year- Mama Smurf, Natalie Eve, Mike Tobias, Austin "Ausome" Parkhill, Takeo "Findsmiles" Hiromitsu, Rachel Stoffa, Courtney Kemp, Victoria Montgomery,Vance Leggett, Keven Kalay, Laurel Goodman, Emily Ritchie, Cara Marie,  Nick Harris, MY MOM AND BRO, and friends and family too far to list!! <3~  

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Now taking orders for Little Red Riding Hood Spoon Ring!


Twilight Actress Kristen Stewart wearing the LRRH Spoon ring!
 Did you know that the earliest known version of the “Little Red Riding Hood” story is known as “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” in 17th century French folklore? Dating back to 1697, this was the first known printed version. Charles Perrault is credited for including it in “Tales of Mother Goose “was a notably much scarier version of the one we know today.  Nevertheless, the story of our beloved heroine withstands the test of time!

We now carry a few of these magnificent spoon rings, originally designed in 1920 showcasing Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Made of sterling silver, these are ready to wear and made to your size. Visit our Etsy store to see our current selection!

These rings are very popular and are snatched very fast. Please message us or post on our Facebook wall if you would like one reserved for you. 

Little Red Riding Hood Sterling Silver Spoon Ring, Handmade in your size!

Excellent detail






Twilight star Kristen Stewart seems to like them too…


 Thanks for reading, happy holiday season to all!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Winner!!!

First of all, thank you to everyone who entered the latest spoon ring giveaway! We really appreciate the participation and will continue to do these contests if we see continued popularity in the giveaways.

Secondly, a special thank you to the Chicago Style Crafters for hosting this giveaway! If you have not yet checked them out, they are a wonderful group of artisans in the Chicagoland area. They are always up to something neat, so be sure to give them some love.

 And now to announce the winner of the October 2011 spoon ring giveaway... (Drum-roll please...)

Congratulations to Katy~TheCountryBlossom !!!!

 This vintage sterling silver spoon ring is yours for the claiming.

Vintage Paye and Baker Wild Poppy Sterling Silver Spoon Ring, made to your size

To see more Poppy rings, click the photo

Add caption

Click photo to see similar rings


 Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for future giveaways AND- don't miss out on our Anniversary Sale (Starts Nov 3rd!)

Spoonier~

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

New Giveaway Hosted by our friends at Chicago Style Crafters! (10/18-10/31)

Hello again all! We are proud to announce another Spoon Ring Giveaway- but this time hosted by our friends at Chicago Style Crafters! If you have not heard of them, they are a neat group of Chicago-land artisans who team up and network their efforts to unite the crafting community.

 To enter the giveaway, click here for submission rules: http://chicagostylecrafters.com/2011/csc-giveaway-spoonier-2/

 Here is the item we donated for the giveaway, currently at size 8.25-8.5 (can be sized from 5-11) :

Spoon Ring Vintage Paye & Baker Wild Poppy Sterling Silver Spoon Ring, Handmade in Your Size


Spoon Ring Vintage Paye & Baker Wild Poppy Sterling Silver Spoon Ring, super comfortable!


Spoon Ring Vintage Paye & Baker Wild Poppy Sterling Silver Spoon Ring, Handmade in Your Size


 Don't miss out, and thank you for reading!
~Spoonier
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“For fast-acting relief try slowing down.” - Lily Tomlin

Monday, October 3, 2011

Spoon Ring Winner! (Cupid's Nosegay, RARE by Unger circa 1902)

Well this wraps up yet another awesome silver spoon ring giveaway. I want to thank everyone who participated and spread the word about the contest.We tallied up the entries and used a random number generator to pick a winner. Now without much ado, the winner of the September contest was.....

Janice (aka Mango loayza.janet [at] gmail [dot] com)!!!  CONGRATS!


 I will need your ring size and mailing address, and will be contacting you via email explaining this verbatim. 

Thanks again to everybody who entered. If you did not win this time- keep trying- odds are still very good all things considered! Stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon~








~ Wendybird

  

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

September Spoon Ring Giveaway!! (Sept 13th-October 1st)

WIN A FREE RARE SPOON RING! Valued at $85 USD Retail (Active Sept 13th, 2011- October 1st, 2011)





 

Win It - Spoonier is offering a "Rare Unger Art Nouveau Cupids Nosegay Sterling Spoon Ring , Handcrafted in Your Size,"  the one pictured above. Note: Current size fits 7.25-7.5, this ring can be sized from 5-10. 
This giveaway is open to anyone, free shipping within U.S. (Winners outside of U.S. will be responsible for paying shipping, Canada $10, $15 everywhere else).

How To Win:
Mandatory Entry (this must be done before you can gain any extra entries) - Visit Spoonier and tell me your favorite item in their shop. (Comment below on this blog thread.)

**YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR THE WINNER.
Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries) -
If it says (3) comments you must leave 3 separate comments.

1. Follow my blog - (3) entries

2. "Like" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Spoonier.rings)  - (5) entries

3. Tag us in a Facebook post about this giveaway  ("The Spoon & Sprocket: Neo-Victorian and Custom Fashion") - (5) Entries

4. Blog about this giveaway - (10) entries (Blog must have at least 20 followers, send us a link in your comment.)

5. Follow us on Twitter: @spoonier (3) entries

6. Heart Spoonier's Store on Etsy (add as favorite) - (1) entry

7. Share our "How to Make a Spoon Ring Video" on Facebook/Twitter - (10) entries- (May only receive 10 credits for this, choose FB or Twitter, leave a comment on the youtube video about your entry.) 

8. Email 3 friends or co-worker telling them about this giveaway and make sure to give them the link (I'm trusting you on this one) - (3) entry

9. Purchase anything from Spoonier and come back letting me know what you purchased - (15) entries

10. Add us to your circle on Etsy! (5) entries

This giveaway will end on October 1st, 2011 and is open to anyone (Winners outside of U.S. will be responsible for paying shipping, Canada $10, $15 everywhere else). I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Congrats to the winners of our August giveaway, ended on 8/27/11!!!


Well folks, the votes are in and we got to see which rings you thought were the best. We tallied up the entries and used a random number generator to obtain winners in each category (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place).

Here are the results of the the rings with the most votes:

Frontenac Lily- 14 votes

Whiting Lily- 12 Votes

Whiting Violet- 12 Votes



The winners are as follows:
1st prize, winner of most popular ring: Karen Moriss (dontbesademokid[at]gmail[dot]com)

2nd Prize, winner of  50% coupon to SpoonierEmily (luv.me.some.blog[at]gmail[dot]com)

3rd Prize, winner of  35% coupon to Spoonier: Holley (ilexsweeps[at]gmail[dot]com)

Congrats to the winners of this contest, and be sure to stay tuned for future giveaways right here at this blog!

Thank you to all who entered, we appreciate yourparticipation to keep these fun and interesting!

Spoonier ~



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

New Spoon Ring Giveaway!

Win It - Spoonier is having a new spoon ring contest! Not just new, but new and improved! This giveaway is open to anyone, free shipping within U.S. (Winners outside of U.S. will be responsible for paying shipping, Canada $10, $15 everywhere else).

Prizes! - So here's the deal, below there are 12 different spoon rings (the photos are also links to the rings on our Etsy store, you can click on them to see more views of any ring). There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in this contest.

1st prize is the spoon ring with the most votes, and one person who voted for the most popular ring will be selected at random and receive that ring.

2nd prize will be a %50 off coupon, for any spoon ring in our store. Second prize will be awarded to someone who voted for the second most popular ring, selected at random.

3rd prize will be a %35 off coupon, for any spoon ring in our store. Third prize will be awarded to someone who voted for the third most popular ring, selected at random.

How To Win:
How to enter - ALL entrants must do the following -

Vote in the poll, only one vote per person, there are no multiple entries.

Post a comment to this post with which ring you voted for and a way to contact you (e-mail, blog, etc.), votes without comments will not be counted in the final count

Post a link to your favorite ring on Facebook, entries without FB posts will not be eligible to win

Follow our blog (if you're not already).

A note to point out about this contest, since the prizes are determined by voting, entrants can improve their chances to win a particular ring by getting others to vote for the same ring (even if that ring doesn't win 1st prize, there are still 2nd and 3rd place prizes).

This giveaway will end on August 27, 2011 and is open to anyone (Winners outside of U.S. will be responsible for paying shipping, Canada $10, $15 everywhere else). Winner will be selected using a random number generator and I will email each winner. Every winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

We do these giveaways often, so be sure to "like" us on facebook and follow us on twitter to be the first to know and win your very own FREE spoon ring!