This beautiful graphic was illustrated by Vinnie Maribeth's husband, we thank him from the bottom of our hearts!

We've chosen Bernie Berlin's A Place to Bark as our special cause, and have made this exclusive OOAK "Christmas Charm Bracelet & Earrings", for our Benefit Auction!

These are all the participating shop's that donated charms for this beautiful project, please take the time to visit all their wonderful shops! A Special thank YOU to katy of 'Jewel Fire Designs', she's the artisan who created this beautiful bracelet and earring set!

Maribeth Brief Moments

katy Jewel Fire Designs

Debbie BaublesButtonsBeads

Lee Five to Nine Design

Cheryl Libertyo

Susan Charming Trinkets

Diane Ever so Dear

PattyMara PattyMara's Sacred Heart Cafe

Abby Abby Horowitz Designs

Ronnie My Three Jewels

Debi One Heart Jewelry

Katy Jane Moon Box Studio

Peggy Broken Wing3

Charming Trinkets is known in the real world as Susan Walls-Beverly. Susan was born at the very end of the baby boomer era, and songs like James Taylor’s “Traffic Jam” and Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” were constantly playing on her radio in the 70s. Later, she fell hard for the disco sound; the music of Evelyn Champagne King and the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever can still be found in her car’s CD player.

Susan's parents would be surprised to learn that Susan and her friends were going out clubbing in New York City at the age of 15 and 16 years old (guess the cat's out of the bag now!) and were lucky enough to get close enough to breathe the same air as Andy Warhol and Diana Ross. Susan recalls, “Just the mood and energy of those times were incredible!”

Susan remembers, "My high school years were the late 70's and times were moving quickly into the selfish era of the 80’s. I’ve always felt a bit adrift generationally, loving the hippie, free spirit qualities of the 60’s, enjoying the excitement and self expression of the 70’s but either too old or too young to be a real part of either. We’re not true baby boomers but we’re born too early to be labeled into the next group. For me, that meant finding my own path with A LOT of trial and error. But that makes you who you are today and I wouldn’t change any of it!”

Susan’s mother painted and antiqued furniture, and sewed, so like most of us, Susan’s creative leanings started very early. In fact, at the tender age of six, she won an art contest for her tempera painting of woodpeckers in her backyard! When she reached adulthood, she put away her paintbrush for awhile and got into the restaurant business for almost 20 years until she decided to quit in 1998 to raise a family and concentrate on her art.

Although Susan mostly concentrates on creating whimsical and fun jewelry, her colorful and creative energy is not contained by one art form. Describing her studio, Susan says, There's also paint, vintage paper and books, tiles, glass, and a myriad of other things at the ready. When I can, I also design and install mosaic pieces from enormous privacy walls.”

Susan, her husband of 15 years, and her children, AdaLee, and Paul, now live in a small town in Southern California but she grew up in New York and went to high school just outside the city. Peace & Love is pleased that Susan has also taken up residence here in our market. Take a look at her wonderful, whimsical world of CharmingTrinkets by clicking here.

Photos:

- Earrings!

- Susan, her husband, and kids AdaLee and Paul

- Susan in 1978, wearing "Blonde Bombl Squad" sweatshirt

- Susan and pal in 1979 with her Firebird Formula

- Mosaic in progress

- More fun from Charming Trinkets

DaogreerEarthworks is known in the real world by the lyrical name of Lafcadio. She is the youngest of four artistic siblings, one of whom is a professional freelance illustrator that she often thinks of as “the artist in the family”.

Creativity is obviously in the genes, because Lafcadio’s mother taught her to sew when she was young, and at the tender age of 10 she’d already mastered it well enough to make her 5th grade graduation dress. At the same time, her father taught her photography including how to develop film and make her own prints in a darkroom. Years later, in college, she worked in the costume shop of her college’s theater department. Lafcadio has always gone wherever her creative urges took her and currently lives in a house with a large basement that houses a sewing table, fabric cutting table, and more than enough room to work on any other creative endeavor that moves her spirit.

The first concert she remembers attending featured Country Joe McDonald in Berkeley, but like many of us, she fell head over heels in love with The Beatles. One of her first music mixes was a compilation of Beatles music from The White Album, Sgt. Pepper, and Rubber Soul put together by her uncle.

In Lafcadio’s own words: ”There was a radio station I listened to growing up that featured "Beatles Wednesdays," and played a Beatles song every 3rd or 4th song all day each Wednesday. My radio was left set to that station all the time. I would wake up to it and fall asleep to it every night, and now I can sing along to more music on any "oldies" station than most people I have met.

My friends and I were not only Beatles fans, but also concerned for the environment. We started a club when we were 12, called B.E.A.T.L.E., which stood for Benefiting Endangered Animals (for) Tomorrow's Lasting Environment. We raised money and donated it to environmental organizations, and of course we always met on Wednesdays. We usually had our meetings at Sarah's house, because we knew her mom had a friend named George Harrison, and we would get a big kick out of answering the phone and hearing, "Hello, this is George Harrison..."

No other bands stick out as singularly as The Beatles, since my exposure to them was so much more than the others, but I love songs from all other bands/artists of the era.”

Even though Lafcadio is not technically a baby boomer, she draws inspiration from not only the music, but also the social issues of that time, such as environmental awareness and the issues concerning civil rights.

"I am always inspired by the civil rights movement. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of my heroes, and I am currently working on a silk screen design of him accompanied by lyrics from U2's song, "Pride." Freedom, equality, and civil rights have always been important to me, and I appreciate the struggles of those who have come before me and the work they have done to better the world in which I am privileged to live."

We feel privileged to have DaogreerEarthworks as a member of the Peace and Love Market. To take a closer look at her shop to find "works of art made exclusively on this planet", visit Daogreer Earthworks.

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Photos:

Potential new Beatles silk screens that may come to fruition in the future.

One of only 2 photos I have of myself during the 70s.

The autograph I got from Country Joe McDonald at that concert in Berkeley.

My bedroom in middle school / high school, covered in posters of The Beatles.

A close up of a pair of shorts I embellished in high school. The belt that went with them was made from a pair of curtains I had in my bedroom in the 70s. It was yellow with white and green daisies on it.

A shirt I made recently that was inspired by the era.

The Martin Luther King Jr. silk screen design I'm working on.