Are You Guilty - Blazer On Top / PJ’s On The Bottom???

Posted by Karen Sugarman Designs on Apr 07, 2020

After the current administration finally agreed we indeed did have a pandemic looming in our future and everything came to a screeching halt (including sales of anything that was not related to a.) masks, b.) sanitizer, c.) food / cleaning supplies or d.) toilet paper {seriously !?!}) - the amount of interest in my jewelry designs also waned as people went into “hunter” mode for life’s necessities. Fortunately for me, I had already been in a conversation with a lovely client from Chicago regarding making a beaded necklace to go with her antique micro-mosaic pendant. We finally decided it would be easiest for her to mail out the pendant so I could place different gemstones next to the pendant for color accuracy. She agreed to ship out the pendant - then . . . the world turned upside down as COVID-19 invaded the US. As I awaited her pendant, I began my strategy for dealing with grocery orders, mail and also what I should do with new jewelry items, such as this pendant, that came into my possession.

As I scoured the house to find any type of cleaning supplies, I found some extra cans of Lysol spray which was like finding GOLD under the bathroom sinks!. Since I am a bit of a germaphobe anyway, Hubby and I decided that spraying the mail with Lysol spray was the most practical thing to do, otherwise any mail contents could be damaged by the use of a soapy bleach water solution. We set up a table outside on the covered patio designated for cleaning mail, packages and groceries. My first attempt in using the soapy bleach water was done without the use of gloves since our cleaning ladies had possibly thrown out all of our rubber gloves and used up all but 3 (singles, not pairs) of our disposable gloves. My hands were weird for days!

After a few days, the micro mosaic pendant arrived and I was able to wash the mailing package, then wash the pendant in soapy water - just in case! Because I had my antenna up on this pandemic - I had cancelled our annual Gem Show trip to Tucson in early February. As a result, no new gemstones have entered my workroom since the outbreak and I still have tons of older gemstones to work with. After a few attempts, my Chicago client decided on some gemstones for her micro mosaic pendant and I began to work. When it was finished, she mentioned to me that her Book Club was having their monthly meeting via ZOOM and now she would have something new to wear!

With that in mind + watching all the news correspondents who now report from home - I realized that others normally working in a business setting might also need something new, pretty and professional for their Zoom, Face Time and Skype meetings. The more things change - the more they stay the same. Since those new types of formats tend to focus on the upper half of the individual, clothing is perhaps not the focus, other than the color. Office productivity experts agree, getting up and getting dressed in professional attire, as usual, is the key to working from home and being productive. New earrings or a gorgeous choker style+ necklace would cause the viewers to take notice and give the attendee not only an image boost, but also a more professional look. Looking professional is really the operative word of the day since working from home makes many of us think we don’t need to dress for success - nothing could be further from the truth. Here are a few designs that would look fantastic for your new normal. “Mr. DeMille . . . I’m ready for my close up now!”