Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Meet our first InBloom Hero : Shari Ostrow Scher

InBloom Heros: Celebrating those for whom service comes naturally.



InBloom Heros was created to raise funds and awareness for very special InBloom Jewelry customers. I greatly admire people who act selflessly in an effort to meet a need in their community, and who choose to see potential, opportunities and beauty instead of despair. Partnering with these community heroes is a great honor and pleasure.

You can help…..
  • Help us raise funds, bring awareness and celebrate our Heroes' passionate efforts to serve others by purchasing a necklace designed just for them
  • All profits are directly donated to their organization. 
  • A direct donation can also be made by clicking the link to their organization's website.


Meet our inaugural InBloom Hero

Shari Ostrow Scher


I’ve known Shari since childhood and always look forward to a visit with her. I can visualize the collective nod from her family, friends and colleagues when I say that in her presence, one only feels cherished.  

Without hesitation she loves, she accepts, and always strives to lift others up. I’m so delighted to have her as our inaugural InBloom Hero, as she truly exemplifies our goal of “honoring those for whom giving comes naturally”.

When we first talked about this idea, I asked Shari to identify a theme for the piece we were to create together. She came up with "resilience".  We found inspiration in the elegant lines of the ancient gingko tree leaf, and I designed this pendant we are offering for sale. 




The children and families COIPP serves truly are resilient. When you purchase and enjoy wearing or gifting this pendant called “Resilience,” please  know you are helping an extraordinary woman and her volunteers bring joy, encouragement and inspiration to a special group of children and their caregivers.

"Resilience"
Shown here Level 2 $340 Sterling with 18kbezel set.1ct  diamond


Available in 2 levels of support:
Level 1: Sterling Silver pendant. 16-18” adjustable snake chain $100
Level 2: Sterling Silver with 18k gold bezel set .1ct diamond accent (as shown) $340

Make your purchase at www.inbloomjewelry.com under InBloom Hereos Fundraisers
Direct donations can also be made via the website www.coipp.org

Enjoy this video of Shari speaking about why she created COIPP and all the wonderful things they do to support this group of children in Frederick County, MD.


 About Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (COIPP)


Having a parent in prison is life changing for a child.  Some children act out due to the trauma, while others never speak about it. However, all suffer worry and feel their life change.  This happened to me, and happens everyday to thousands of children. 

With this in mind, twelve years ago I decided that I could not wait any longer to start a group to support these children. Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (COIPP), a non-sectarian, non-profit organization, was born.  

Our mission is to assist children and their caregivers who are impacted by the incarceration of a loved one and to raise community awareness of the needs of this population.  Thanks to a group of incredible volunteers, much has been accomplished. This includes giving away warm, homemade ‘comfort blankets and quilts’ to children and caregivers, offering scholarships to women caregivers, offering a lending/giving children’s library at the local detention center, offering resource bag giveaways at our annual Resource Fair at the Detention Center, facilitating support groups for caregivers, offering weekly parenting classes to women at the local jail, and so much more. 

We are about to begin child/caregiver weekend activities, free to all participants. Most importantly, caregivers now have a place to call when they find themselves in great need, emotionally, socially and even financially.  In our country, we honor children who have a parent in the military, but we do not do so for those with a parent in jail. However, it is all about the same issue for the children- loss.  



We are only at the beginning of what we can do, for many prisoners have many children- all of whom need attention, support and a hand up to meet their potential.



 To Donate directly visit www.coipp.org


             


 Get to know Shari Ostrow Scher in her own words.

I grew up in Brooklyn New York and lived there through college.  I have also lived in Buffalo, New York, Washington, DC, Charles County, Maryland and for almost thirty years in Frederick. For all of this time, almost fifty years, I have been involved in education, with a special interest in working with those families that struggle financially or have special needs. 
That interest started early and never left.  In truth, I never took a year off as my career in teaching and administering programs took me to the inner city, rural areas, and on national speaking engagements. I had the great honor of working in childcare, public schools, community colleges, four year institutions, and more. For twenty-seven years I had the honor of being the early childhood curriculum specialist/family involvement supervisor for Frederick county Public Schools, from which I retired less than two years ago. 



My life in semi-retirement is busy and wonderful.  I am presently working at Hood College, teaching student teachers and graduate students, as well as speaking on different topics of interest in a variety of states. I have been fortunate enough to be the President and Founder of both Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership and another non-profit, Children of Hope, Children of Promise, an organization that has put together a library in a rural area of the Dominican Republic.  
My husband and I, and anyone else who wishes to come, travel to the DR at least once a year, with books carried down in our suitcases, and add to our library with new, Spanish resources. I have also traveled extensively to countries all over the world, including places of poverty such as Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania, Ecuador, Viet Nam, Peru and more. 

Whenever possible, whenever traveling, I try to visit schools or orphanages, and carry down supplies or assist with the building of a school, for I firmly believe that education is the way out of poverty and therefore every child deserves the best education possible. 
Besides loving to travel, I am an avid reader, participant in two book clubs, cook, pet lover, fast walker, eater of chocolate, Zumba and Bang participant- and someone with, I am told boundless energy.   

I adore my many friends and spending time with them, usually with an iced tea in my hand. However, the very best part of my life is my family that includes my husband Howie, who never, ever tires of supporting my efforts, my fabulous children, Jedd, Ben and Jennifer, my daughter-in-law Christina, my dog Greta, all of whom are my cheerleaders, and, of course, a grandmother’s dream, the wonderful Anna.






 CONGRATULATIONS SHARI!
Thank you for all you've done for your community!


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Flowers and Beyond; The Philadelphia Flower Show is a Multilayered Event



I'm sitting in my booth at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show on day 6 of 9 and its snowing big fat snowflakes outside! That's to be expected, it usually snows a little every year. What better opportunity to write a quick blog entry about this long running event which celebrates all things horticultural, culinary and design.


I first exhibited in the Marketplace 5 years ago and found it to be a perfect place to meet new flower loving customers.  Annual visitors stop by wearing their favorite pieces they've purchased through the years. I so enjoy seeing that and showing them whats new on the display. Since I've started creating one of a kind pieces my customers are really enjoying seeing what is new each year. This year I have sold 4 one of a kind pieces!

Since I am here for over a week I usually spend some time every day going very slowly through the exhibits. I get a lot of inspiration from this event and fill my sketch book pages while I am here. The main exhibits are large themed installations by landscape and floral designers competing for top honors. There are smaller plant, flower arrangement, table scape, window box, pressed plant art, bonsai, Ikebana and botanical illustration competitions and exhibits throughout the show.





Each day industry experts and top designers deliver seminars on their passions. There are three simultaneous education spaces with beautiful stages. Presenters educate the crowds on everything from the latest garden to table culinary delights, floral design trends, classic design principles, landscape installation, fine pruning, and all things horticultural. I try to catch a few each year.





Best of all, this event benefits the Philadelphia Horticultural Society founded in 1827 which has benefited the community through wonderful programs. In reading their brochure hand out, I was amazed to learn that they have planted over 487,977 trees, donated 280,000 pounds of produce through "City Harvest", offered 850 people workforce readiness training through "Roots to Re-entry", maintain over 8,000 city lots and trained 2,700 PHS Garden Tenders.

Come find us in booth #1003 or shop anytime www.inbloomjewelry.com





Visit www.theflowershow.com for details





Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Beautify, Simplify, Tend: Caring For Your Jewelry

About this time last year I put a slip of paper with the words “Beautify, Simplify, Tend” on the little antique altar in my bedroom. Over the course of this year, slowly but surely, I've been excavating room by room, drawer by drawer, bookshelf by bookshelf the things we really need, love and that bring joy to me and my family. All the rest has been kindly escorted out of the house and it seems to be making the “tending” part of the equation actually possible. 

I do admit it hasn't really been my strength, the tending.  I'm quick “onto the next thing” before I've dealt with what just happened and am most guilty of not putting things back where they belong. I see now how vital good tending is. 

In honor of this theme I thought I'd share some pointers on the care and tending of your jewelry...

Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver, which consists of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. This is where the tarnish comes in.

Why does silver tarnish?

Tarnish is a dulling which naturally occurs when silver reacts with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the air. Most people think silver tarnishes due to oxidation. But, chemically speaking, silver is not very reactive—it does not react with oxygen or water at normal temperatures. However, other metals in the alloy, usually copper, may react with oxygen in the air.

Care should be taken to avoid exposing your silver to household chemicals when cleaning with bleach or ammonia, or when swimming in chlorinated water, as these chemicals can damage silver.

The best way to keep your silver jewelry clean is by wearing it often. However, humidity and storing the silver can tarnish the piece, also known as oxidation, which will give the silver a darkened blackish color. Tarnish is most easily removed when it first becomes visible.

Liquid or Cream Silver Cleaner:

Making sure to gently clean your piece with mild dish detergent first, simply dip your piece in a shallow dish of silver cleaner and swish. Avoid pearls or stones by using a Q-tip instead of immersing the piece in the liquid. Rinse and dry thoroughly.

Plastic Zip Lock bags:

Storing your clean, dry and untarnished sterling pieces in zip lock bags is a very effective way to keep your pieces tarnish free.

Polishing Cloth:

A silver polishing cloth formulated specifically to remove tarnish is effective in cleaning silver jewelry. Sunshine Cloth is a great one.

Aluminum Foil Method:

Fill a bowl or jar halfway with hot water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the bowl or a little more, depending on the size of the bowl. Mix the salt until it dissolves. Add a few strips of aluminum foil to the bowl. Add the silver jewelry to the bowl. Stir it around and let it sit for a few minutes. The aluminum foil interacts with the salt and removes the tarnish off the silver. Rinse the jewelry with water. This process may need to be repeated a few times, but it is very effective in restoring your silver jewelry to its original shine.

Vermeil

What is vermeil anyway and how we make ours nickel free?

The word "vermeil" is a French word which came into use in the English language, mostly in America, in the 19th century as an alternative for the usual term silver-gilt. It is a very heavy plating of 14k gold over sterling silver (not other base metals). 

Typically a plate of nickel is put on first to create a barrier between the sterling and gold which prevents tarnishing to come through the outer surface of the gold. In our studio we decided to use Palladium instead to create nickel-free pieces. Palladium is fine white-grey metal similar in value as gold. It does not tarnish and is used more and more today in fine jewelry in the United States as an alternative to white gold or platinum. 

The best way to care for it?

Gently clean your gold vermeil jewelry with a soft polishing cloth. As with all fine things in life, you should take care to protect your jewelry and always store separately, taking care not to drop, bash or scratch.

Gold

The best way to clean your gold jewelry is by using a solution of warm water and mild dish soap with a soft-bristled toothbrush or soft cloth. Gently, but thoroughly, brush your gold jewelry with the solution. Then, rinse the item(s) under lukewarm water and dry with a soft cloth. Avoid using harsh chemicals or abrasives to clean your jewelry, as this can cause scratches and reduce the gold's luster.

When your gold jewelry is not being worn, store items in a soft pouch or separate compartment of your jewelry box.

Let us do it for you!

We are happy to clean and re matte your piece for you at any point!

Simply package your piece in a small jewelry box then place in a bubble envelope and ship to the address below, if you ship USPS with a delivery confirmation it will likely ship under $2.50.

InBloom Studio 7700 Old Receiver Rd Frederick MD 21702.



Monday, November 24, 2014

Gifting Deep

Growing up there were six members in my household. I am the second of four girls our ages spanning a decade. Early December my parents would give each of us $50, $10 to spend on each family member for Christmas gifts. I honestly would think about what I wanted to give for months in advance of the Holiday, especially what to give my parents. Sometimes we would join forces and pool our cash to get something extra special for someone.


I can still recall the delight in watching our father try to guess his gift, often mysteriously guessing correctly. He was goofy and delighted unlike his typical responsible Dad self. I loved this ritual. 

I have a particular memory of buying my Mom “chain by the inch” at the Frederick Towne Mall kiosk, having had pooled with a sister for the sterling option. It didn’t take long for me to discover that you could get a lot more mileage from the 10 bucks if you bought raw materials to make something. JoAnn Fabrics usually did the trick.



These early teachings about selecting, or making gifts honed in me the joy of giving a gift well considered.  And what makes it so? At the heart of it is listening, observing and paying careful attention. What would delight them, surprise them, or bring them joy? What would they never buy for themselves but secretly crave? What colors, textures, styles, flavors do they enjoy? Do they collect some quirky thing you would never think of enjoying yourself? Then it’s the perfect item and I say bend over backwards to find it for them. Remember the mix tape? I made a few in my day.

Also consider what would support the makers in your very community, our dare devil designprenuers, restaurateurs, chocolatiers, alpaca yarn spinners? Of course I gift a lot of jewelry but not always.



Gifting anything handmade trumps big box plastic land. Try local theatre, a concert,  a gift certificate to a favorite small restaurant or chocolatier or nursery, a subscription to a CSA, a class at the art center, a massage or my all time favorite as a child a handmade coupon book full of sweet favors.

Be it an experience or a handmade piece of jewelry, a well thought out meaningful gift makes memories and communicates Love.  We all crave to be seen, understood and appreciated, with the gift giving season upon us, this is your chance to give deep this year.

Here is a list of some of my favorites locally in Frederick County, it's short but it's just the beginning…

Jewelry           
InBloomJewlery - We are offering Gift Certificates to use online and FREE Shipping through December!
           
Handmade Gifts

Potters            

Forged Knives           

Spun Alpaca Yarn & Gifts 
Sugarloaf Alpaca Farm

Fine Art & Classes
Yoga

Chocolate       
                       
Theatre 
Nursery & CSA

Massage

Local Holiday Shows where you can find InBloom Jewlery...