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San Luis Obispo things to do
2013 Oscars Art Deco Theater and Dresses
Mother's Day handmade gift cards
Card Writing Help - Examples and Suggestions For O...
Venetian Millefiori Murano Glass Pendant by Gene K...
Fall 2011 Jewelry Fashion Trends - Oversize Pendants
World's Best Top 50 Restaurants San Pellegrino
Jewelry Gift Wrapping International Shipping
Iskin Jewelry Interview in Buenos Aires Argentina
Iskin Contemporary Jewelry at Deco Belle Inc.
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Welcome to the Deco Belle Inc. Jewelry Blog
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Destination Station:  San Luis Obispo, tucked away on the California Central Coast

Nestled on the coast, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo has a wonderful small town charm and tons of outdoor adventure awaits.

Our top favorite things to do in San Luis Obispo, or SLO as it's known to locals, pronounced as "slow" whom live the "SLO life":

1.  Strolling downtown for that small town charm with fun shopping, mostly mom and pop stores that carry unique items with a few big box stores mixed in such as Sephora, Williams-Sonoma, Abercrombie and Fitch, and more.  Some of our favorite downtown SLO mom and pop shops* are:


Mission San Luis Obispo gardens, church, and gift shop are beautiful to visit.

Thursday Night Farmer's Market for dinner and entertainment, this is THE event for the county each week, and is family friendly complete with live music and puppet shows [pictured left]

Walk along the creek that parallels Higuera St. downtown, or dine along the creek at:
  • Novo global cuisine, also excellent for Sunday brunch.  Beautifully lit at night over the creek
  • SLO Brew creekside patio complete with whiskey lounge, fireside salon, and loft hotel
  • Luna Red at Mission Plaza using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients [pictured right] 
  • Libertine Brewery, flights are a great way to try a bit of a lot.  [pictured left] 

 
  




2.   Hiking:  So many trails, so little time.  Famous for the Nine Sisters, or Morros, that stretch across San Luis Obispo to the pacific at Morro Bay, these volcanic peaks are visible from most SLO trails, some favorites:

  • Bishop's peak, so named as the top looks like a Bishop's hat (Mitre), a local favorite for hikers and mountain bikers alike, this is for advanced levels ascending to elevation 1,546 feet.  The trail head begins near sea level.  Fun Fact: Obispo is the Spanish word for Bishop, Mission San Luis Obispo is named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse, this peak is a namesake for the city.
  • Johnson Ranch, a family favorite with many trails on the ranch [pictured below]

  • Madonna peak, elevation 1,292 feet [pictured above]   
  • Irish Hills, several trails linked here, a beautiful view of Morro Rock and the Pacific Ocean.  Read up on the passages at bridges, some are narrow and there have been wildlife sightings in these trails
  • Reservation Canyon allows for a beautiful view of the Cuesta Grade.  Fun Fact:  Cuesta is the Spanish word for "grade" so it's Cuesta squared.
  • Take a trip back in time on the Stagecoach Road trail, the southwest end is at the Cal Poly dairy farm
  • Links to SLO hikes listed here and more can be found on Hikes Peak
3.  Dining all over town, favorites are:
  • Firestone for world famous casual BBQ, tri-tip, and good veggieburgers (seems like a clash of opposites but so good)
  • Big Sky, global fusion food with delicous daily specials
  • Linnaea's Cafe serene patio seating, great breakfast, pastries, coffee, and tea
  • Wine tasting and updated mac and cheeses at TASTE
  • Sally Lou's Wholesome Cafe for breakfast Acai bowl with granola, and tasty lunches, complete with theater seating along the north wall
  • Nucci's for casual pizza, the raspberry salad is the best
  • Shawarma and kebabs at Petra (great pizzas here too) or Jaffa Cafe
  • Grab a sweet treat at Batch ice cream sandwiches  
* all recommendations in our Destination Station series are unpaid endorsements, simply favorites by Deco Belle with no compensation, as we recognize the same quality of service that we provide to our own customers, and well wishes to fellow small business owners.

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by: Deco Belle Inc.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Not only did many stars wear Art Deco inspired fashions to the 85th Annual Academy Awards, the stage at the Dolby theater in Hollywood itself was adorned in Art Deco glamor.  In this image featuring host Seth McFarlane, the ray bands behind him in metallic tones are evocative of the classic Art Deco style, the term originating from the 1925 Paris expo of " Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes", shortened term Arts Décoratifs. 

Other classic motifs from this style are geometric shapes, Egyptian zigzags (made popular by the 1922 King Tut tomb discovery), Mayan revival (Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House in Los Angeles embodied the shape of temples from Palenque, and the shape of a Mesoamerican Pyramid served as the inspiration for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo), curves, sunbursts, ray bands, lightning bolts, aerodynamic and streamlined forms.  (image courtesy of Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)







This photo featuring Ben Affleck giving his acceptance speech for Best Picture award for Argo, shows the Oscar trophies making up an Art Deco inspired backdrop, complete with large movie reel canisters, the use of gold, silver, and and curves give tribute to that bygone era.

This photo gives a broader picture of the film canisters, and Ted.  Was he CGI or a hollogram?  Tippet Studiothe visual effects company, in collaboration with the VFX house Iloura brought Ted the incredibly rude teddy bear to life by building an exact replica of the stage used for the Academy Awards, same lighting, cameras, and camera set-ups, at CBS Studios.  There Mark Wahlberg and Ted, voiced by Seth McFarlane, filmed 10 different segments, accounting for the 10 possible winners, over a four-week period.  The 10 possible outcomes were displayed on Dell Precision workstations.  One would think all bases are covered, however one scenario played out that was completely unplanned, a tie for the Oscar in the Sound Editing category between "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall".  To remedy this with the glare of the spotlights upon the presenters, Academy Award telecast Director Don Mischer cut back to a live Wahlberg and didn't skip a beat.

During the awards show, Art Deco seemed to be everywhere, most stunning was Halle Berry in custom-made Atelier Versace gown featuring a plunging neckline, ombre stripe detail and mesh beading. 

Also noteworthy was Lily Colins in her shimmering royal blue Zuhair Murad creation, with a sheer lace flower bodice and fishtail skirt, and of course First Lady Michelle Obama stunned in a custom made, Naeem Khan silver beaded gown.  Art Deco inspired jewelry that we at Deco Belle would pair with these gorgeous dresses are:

Micro pave, hand-set Grade A Cubic Zirconia fleur earrings, each of our CZ items is set in 925 sterling silver with a rhodium plated finish for an anti-tarnish shine.

Art Deco Vintage Inspired red starburst earrings in filigree style and hand-painted enamel.  These lovely La Vie Parisienne jewelry items are also available in black and turquoise enamel.

Catherine Popesco white enamel and 14kt gold plated earrings, handmade in Paris for the La Vie Parisienne jewelry collection.

There were an array of Art Deco inspired dresses that evening, Anne Hathaway sang along with costars Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Russell Crowe, while glittering in a sheer, vintage inspired layered dress, and even Catherine Zeta Jones in her reprisal of her role as Velma Kelly singing All That Jazz, complete with Art Deco inspired black fringe dress.

Heidi Klum dared to bare a low plunging neckline in a gold Julien Macdonald gown, and tweeted the designer's sketch for this deco decadent dress.
We also noticed that Quentin Tarantino's girlfriend Lianne Spiderbaby was wearing a Mara Hoffman gown that reminded us of the Art Deco zig zag pattern, while Jane Fonda was sunny bright in a Versace yellow dress.  (images courtesy of twitter/heidiklum)





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by: Deco Belle Inc. 0 Comments
Monday, April 30, 2012

We are proud to introduce our new handmade Mother's Day flower gift cards.  No two are exactly alike, as each gift note is set with individual handcrafted flowers of either crepe paper as in the case with the poppy cards, and heavy weight card stock, giving a 3-dimensional effect.




Further complimenting the 3-D effect is the raised lettering on the "Happy Mother's Day message", embossed in crisp white to stand out against the acid free, lignin free paper, a foldover standard A7 size card (7-1/4" x 5-1/4").



We hand write your personalized message (please limit to 300 characters), and enclose the card in an A7 envelope embossed with flowers set in crisp white against the teal or fig colored card stock.  This makes a wonderful addition to any jewelry gift purchase, and as always, Deco Belle provides free giftwrapping on all orders.




Unsure of what to write inside your gift card?  Deco Belle offers various text samples to express your sentiment, from Mother's Day to birthdays and beyond.
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by: Deco Belle Inc.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Recently in posting our new handmade Valentine's Day cards for jewelry gift purchases, a friend of mine mentioned that the cards are all good and great, but what to write for such a nice card. He asked if I had suggestions, and immediately I thought if this ever so witty friend is having a hard time putting pen to paper, then perhaps others might appreciate some suggestions. A special thanks to CS for inspiring this blog.

We at Deco Belle Jewelry will hand write your personalized message (up to 300 characters for the larger A7 cards, and up to 125 characters for the smaller cards, character length noted on each card page), included with handmade card purchase. Our cards feature embossing which give the stamped image a raised surface, we also accent the Valentine and Thinking of You cards with a pearl.

When the paper is in red, fuchsia pink, or purple color, we will hand write the message in white ink, so that the message will stand out against such dark paper.

Paper color in aqua blue (as shown to the right), or other light colors, will be hand written in black or blue ink. Please write your personalized message in the gift wrapping/message field in the shipping section of the shopping cart checkout wrapper when finalizing your jewellery gift purchases.

Suggestions for card messages:

For Birthday cards:
  • What a wonderful day to celebrate you! Happy birthday!
  • Happy birthday! Thank you for your wonderful friendship throughout the year, what a lovely way to celebrate you today!
  • Wishing you a very happy birthday, an even better year, and happiness always.
  • Through the miles I wish you a lovely birthday, and wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you on your birthday!
  • All the very best on your Birthday. May the coming year be filled with love and smiles.
  • Don't think of it as getting older, think of it as becoming a classic.
  • A simple celebration, a gathering of friends; here is wishing you great happiness, a joy that never ends.

For Mother's Day cards: (new Mother's Day card designs to debut late April 2012)
  • You are a loving mother, Who is nice in every way. My wishes are full of love, for you on Mother's Day!
  • Mom (or for our UK, Australia, and NZ friends, Mum), You are the first to give encouragement and support, unconditional love, yet you are the last to look for praise. Thank you for your love!
  • Thank you for all you do, with lots of love for you! Happy Mother's Day!
  • I wish you a very happy Mother's Day! And hope that it blooms with happiness!
  • Happy Mother's Day! You are a constant inspiration to me, and you have always believed in me, offering me unconditional love and support.

For Thank You cards:

  • Thank you so much for the lovely gift. What a wonderful surprise! It was very thoughtful of you and much appreciated.
  • Thank you isn't enough, you are the best!
  • Thank you so much for _____. It means a lot to me, and made me feel so special that you are so thoughtful toward me.
  • Thank you for ______. I was really touched that you _____.
  • (As houseguests): Thank you for welcoming me into your home. I really enjoying spending time with you. You made me feel so welcome and at home.

For Thinking of You cards:

  • (Anniversary): Love and friendship fill our days together, growing together, sharing experiences, and making new memories are what I love the most about sharing a life with you. Happy anniversary!
  • You brighten up my life and make me want to be the best that I can be for you. I love and appreciate you.
  • I am so privileged to go through life with you. Just wanted to let you know how much you are loved.

For Valentine Day cards: (please also see "Thinking of You", above)

  • With you it's Valentine's Day 365.25 days a year!
  • Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. Happy Valentine's Day!
  • Many are the starrs I see, but in my eye no starr like thee. (from an English saying used on poesy rings)
  • Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine! -Thomas Hood
  • For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. -Rosemonde Gerard
  • Be my Valentine, because you are most certainly my Valentine!
  • A special heart (assuming heart jewelry is purchased) for the woman with the most special heart in the world. Happy Valentine's Day!
  • Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. -Albert Einstein

We hope that you find the perfect words to express your sentiment, adding a personalized gift card makes a wonderful jewelry present even more special. All of our orders include free gift wrapping.


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by: Deco Belle Inc.

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