In my world of unique crafts, “Ornaments” are small decorative objects for the Christmas tree and “Adornments” is jewelry used to beautify oneself, whether it be a necklace, a bracelet, ring or a pair of earrings. Designs by Sudha is in the business of both these types of ornamentation’s and adornments.
This year these have taken on an interesting twist. Customers who 
loved gold and glitz in their Christmas ornaments have turned to bright jewel tone colors. Fun stuffed animal ornaments made by gypsy craftsmen, hand painted papier mache animals from Kashmir, beaded birds and snowflakes from Agra have been the top choices of retailers. The traditional gold and silver has taken second place to the jewel tone ornaments. Skirts and stockings too have become more colorful with reds and golds with pearls.
Similarly with the price of metals going through the roof this year, I have focused on jewelry with more semi-precious stones and gold plating on silver (vermeil), and less on the pure precious metals. Diamonds once only set in gold are now being set using “polki diamonds” (these are uncut diamonds and very popular in the days of the Maharajas) , set in sterling silver with just accents of 14K gold in the bezel and 
backing. We will see a lot more of these interesting mixtures of metals and stones in my line this fall.
Pearls have become a girl’s best friend
and is featured throughout my line of jewelry and is a jewel of choice my museum catalogs.
Next week I will be featuring the art of lacquer in all areas of decorative handicrafts.
