More Portrait Drawings with Fair Trade Jewelry

I can't stop drawing. And I can't stop sharing what I've been drawing. I found by adding Dunitz fair trade jewelry to some of my portraits, I can post them on Dunitz & Company social accounts, most notably our Instagram feed. With this blog post, I have another excuse to share some of my artwork. These drawings shown here were all created within the last several months.  In no particular order, check out how I add our fair trade designs to my drawings.

Crazy. For some reason a couple of years ago we started receiving all sorts of random magazines at the office. We received an issue of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. There are so many beautiful women on its pages that provided plenty of material for my drawing pleasure.  This woman wears our Glass Teardrop Earrings.

 

 

 

 

 

This bombshell was inspired by a cover from IN STORE, a fabulous jewelry trade publication. They always have such great covers. On this occasion, I braved up and challenged myself to drawing a hand. Then I decorated that hand with one of our embroidered rings.  (Retailers can order these on our wholesale website.) This woman also wears our Glass Triangle Dangle Earrings.

 

 

 

 

I had purchased some new wider pastel sticks (Nupastels) and wanted to give them a whirl. For this quick drawing I didn't use sharpened pencils. It seemed appropriate to decorate this woman with purple earrings. This style is quite popular and we always offer it in many different color combinations.

 

 

 

 

 

An old and dear friend of mine visited recently. She & I worked together in the 80's during my Corporate America days. Years later she & I traveled to Cuba together for a jazz festival. I snapped this pic mid-drawing. And for fun, I added our Crystal Teardrops.

 

 

Same drawing. But completed. My friend deserved roses. If you love vintage fashion, our laser cut rose earrings feature old botanical illustrations. These certainly make for fun, eco-friendly and affordable gifts.

 

 

My drawings seem to really allow me to show off Dunitz & Company earrings. In this case, my friend's ears were hidden and a long neck allowed for one of our glass pendant necklaces. I mention all the time that blue always sells better than other colors. For this drawing, a blue necklace was added.

 

 

 

 

OK - It's a bit scary, I know. This is a self-portrait. I don't wear earrings. But for this transformation, I thought I should be wearing one of our best sellers ever. No matter how many Starry Night Earrings I order for stock, they continually sell out.

 

 

This was another challenge I set up for me.  I wanted to try a portrait where I used no black. No black outlines. No black sketching. These color blocked earrings are from our Contemporary Colors collection.  Sometimes I pick school colors for these dangles. Do you know a MSU Spartan for a pair in this color combination?

 

 

 

A first for me. I zoomed to a garden in Manchester, England to draw this model, Heather. She posed nude for a few quick sketches. And then because it was cold and breezy across the pond, she covered up a bit. For her longer pose, I worked on this portrait.  If I could have decorated her ears, I would have had her actually wear these glass teardrop earrings.  The color shown her matches her red hair so well.

This close up is a crop from another Sports Illustrated swimwear mode portraitl.  These women are fun to draw since they're all young and beautiful.  I decorated this gal with a pair of our triangle shaped glass earrings.

 

 

 

Another magazine model. Her lips were so full. Maybe she uses fillers. I added some striped beaded teardrop to her portrait.

 

Sometimes I specifically look for photographs where the model is not looking straight on. I also like looking for pics with lots of shadows. This model also now wears one of our most popular round beaded earring styles.

 

 

 

 

 

Curly hair. Yes! That's what I was after. And ears. Ears to show off our long skinny glass earrings. I fondly call these our stick earrings because they are so narrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is fun! (I use that word a lot. It's what my drawing has given me.) Earlier this year the tree trimmers came to my house to....yes, trim my trees. I have one absolutely huge ficus on my property. It's a really big "tree" job. I asked a couple of the men if I could take their photo so I could draw them while they worked. At the end of they day, I gifted them my drawings.  I of course take photos of my work. This allowed me to give Carlos a faux earring for a social media post. These small glass dot studs are a super seller and very loved by our customers.

 

 

I saw a most beautiful photo of this friend of mine.  That prompted me to draw her. Hands are challenging and I went for it. I added what I call our "skinnies", little bracelets you roll over your hand. We offer this set of 5 on our retail website. You can wear them all. Or give them out as friendship bracelets.

 

A beachy girl with wild hair needed a pair of our long embroidered fringe earrings. These earrings are all one-of-a-kind and will match up with your Boho aesthetic.

Another swimsuit model. Drawing the arm and a well endowed bosom was a new challenge for me. Since her bikini top is turquoise, I thought she should be wearing some matching glass dangle earrings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fondly refer to this model as 'big hair girl.'  What fabulous long curly waves she has. My choice for her ears? Our large embroidered teardrops made with recycled denim. I always have to reassure our customers that the denim we use, which comes from discarded pants is always thoroughly washed before using.

 

 

 

 

 

When I first started creating portraits early in 2021, I would often spend a few hours on each drawing. In recent times, I've often given myself a "30 minute challenge."  This was my first one and still is one of my favorites. I didn't have time to re-think my strokes. I just made them. This sweet model is wearing our smaller glass earrings, which are very loved by so many customers of ours. They really are the perfect accent with so many outfits.

 

 

 

So, there you have it. In another few months I'll post a bunch of other drawings with Dunitz fair trade jewelry added for fun. Want me to draw you? Send me over some photos. -ND

My Favorite Designs I Wear from Dunitz Fair Trade Jewelry

Some of you know I've been collaborating with artisans in Guatemala since 1989. Dunitz & Company has been around the block. The other thing you may not know about me is I don't have pierced ears. I've gotten lots of flack about that from everyone. You betcha. Knowing that, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite designs I enjoy wearing (not in any particular order) from my fair trade jewelry collection when I'm not actually working.

 

Glass Bib Necklace

When I dress up a bit, I love wearing our Glass Bib Necklace. It's a classic look that you can wear short or long. And it isn't heavy at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embroidered Rings

We sell a lot of rings to stores all around the US. Since they're not sized, it's impossible to retail them online. You can often find me wearing one our Daisy Denim Rings. These are embroidered on upcycled/recycled denim. We find old jeans at the local markets, wash them well and then cut them up to create jewelry.

 

 

 

 

Denim Floral Bracelet

I can't hide it. I'm nuts for our embroidered flowers. You'll often find me wearing one of our Denim Floral Bracelets. We also offer this design embroidered on traditional corte fabric. Want to see more? Watch this video we prepared with artisans making these gorgeous pieces.

Suede & Glass Cuff

When you don't wear earrings, you MUST wear a lot of bracelets. I've always been a bracelet gal. Our wide suede and Fused Glass Cuff is also a favorite of mine. I like it because it's handsome and not so girly.

 

 

 

World Coin Bracelet

Several years ago I designed a complete collection of jewelry using retired world coins. It was a huge success and it still sells today. I think the World Coin Bracelet on my dresser has coins from France, Mexico and Thailand. I even wore it to my niece's bridal shower recently. These bracelets jazz up all sorts of outfits. 

Vintage Button Bracelet

I can be a bit predictable. I love vintage. It absolutely makes sense that you also might catch me wearing one of our beaded designs that use vintage buttons.  And since I often wear black and earth tones, you'll find me wearing a Vintage Button Bracelet in dark earthy colors. 

 

 

 

Stacking Bracelets

Finally, you'll find me stacking some of our most inexpensive bracelets on my wrist every day. Our Beaded Skinnies come in so many colors; solid, color blocked and with a radial pattern. We have little Square Bead & Crystal Bracelets which are so fun to pair with them.

 

 

 

Pin me

Take a closer look at  my favorite things. I'm guessing something I love from the Dunitz fair trade jewelry collection will make you or your loved one happy. Yes, I know. You wear earrings and I do not. You'll find lots of amazing fair trade earrings from us too.-ND

Showing Off Fair Trade Jewelry & Portrait Drawings

I've been having a pile of fun drawing these last several months. Did you see my blog post from May where I showed off my accomplishments from earlier this year? Lately I've been amusing myself by adding jewelry (yes, with the help of Photoshop), and transforming my pastel portrait beauties into Dunitz & Company jewelry models. I thought it would be fun to share some of my recent "work" here.

 

It's fun drawing people you love. And I adore my niece, Lauren.  She was quite flattered that I wanted to draw her.  At my request she submitted a few photographs that I could pick from.  After my initial sketch, I added Dunitz & Company's coral necklace and a pair of sparkling crystal studs. That worked for the Shop Dunitz Instagram! 

My pal Amy also was game to have me draw her. She also submitted a few snapshots for me to choose from.  My social post shows her wearing our embroidered fringe earrings. You too can add some Boho style to your wardrobe.

I have 8 nieces. That gives me lots of opportunity to draw young pretty women. I promise, Rena is not naked in the photo I used. She was wearing a very low cut dress at a wedding we both attended. And I liked her expression.  In the in-process drawing, she is modeling our small rectangle glass earrings and a matching pendant. Why not? That low cut dress left me a lot of space to add the pendant without interference. 

 

Lately I've been cutting out pics and advertisements from fashion magazines. I've named this woman "Fiction Girl" because somehow I envision her on the cover of a romance novel. Silly me. I decked her out in Dunitz & Company twice. Once wearing our long stick glass earrings. The second time with our embroidered flower pendant necklace. (This necklace design is currently available to our wholesale customers at www.dunitz.com and is not currently available on our retail site. That could change at any time though. Check out our Huipil Collection for all things embroidered.)

This lovely young woman reminds me of a Disney princess. Maybe it's the hair. She came from an Anthropologie email blast. Anthropologie has some amazing looking women modeling for them. And these days they've added many more models with varying ethnicity.  I added triangle shaped glass earrings in one image. And the other my favorite embroidered flower earrings, the same style as Amy above. 

 

Another pretty girl. This time the challenge was to master "yellow blonde hair." My girl with yellow hair is modeling one my newest embroidered earring designs. Fun, right? Click on through to snag your favorite one-of-a-kind pair. Or maybe for your gal pal who enjoys an ethnic aesthetic. 

For those of you that work in the fine jewelry and fashion industry, you might be familiar with In-Store Magazine. I'm on their mailing list. My girl with narrow nose was inspired by one of their cover models. I like their covers because there usually is a photo of an attractive woman that takes up the whole page. It allows me to really see the features and shadows. I decided to dress her up in a pair of our Van Gogh Almond Blossom Earrings. Chic and very affordable.

Honestly, I don't remember where I discovered this attractive model.  What I liked was the hand by her face which provided a new challenge for me. And a red tube top too! I decided this bare midriff woman should wear one of our worldy coin necklaces. 

 

 

 

I'm always looking for new challenges. And this Sports Illustrated swimsuit model did just that for me. A mostly naked body. An arm and hand. Hair that went on forever. Since her hair covers her ears, that wrist was the perfect opportunity to show off a Dunitz cuff bracelet. This design features embroidered butterflies and flowers on recycled denim.

Fondly called Watermelon Girl, (because for social I decked her out with one of our new fruit stud earring designs) was also an In-Store cover girl. I selected her because again, the image gave me a chance to draw some hands. I've been told this drawing is reminiscent of Modigliani's work. I take it as a compliment. Modigliani's women have really long faces. I'm assuming that is where the comparison comes from. (At the time of writing this, I have not listed my fruit designs on our retail site. They are however, available for wholesale.)

You've guessed it. As a newly minted portrait artist, I'm always looking for new challenges. This Anthropologie model tested my abilities in drawing hair. I think I was successful communicating her dreadlocks to paper. What do you think? And for fun, I dressed her up on some of our long skinny glass earrings.

 

And then there was this. A sweet angelic model, also from Anthropologie. To me she looks like some of the dolls I longed for when I was a tot. Such a sweet face deserved flowers for her ears. Since I adore Van Gogh, I added Almond Blossom Earrings. (I'm starting to see that I have some favorite designs. I seem to repeat styles that I attach to my social darlings.) The image on the right is true to my drawing. The social post on the left was lightened up quite a bit in Photoshop. This allowed her to look a lot more like a baby girl.

 

Sketch girl has been posted to IG & Facebook. However, at the time of writing this blog post, I have yet continued with or finished the drawing. This will be a Nancy project for this weekend.  If you want to see this drawing finished or watch me as I progress, do follow my personal IG account. I tend to be a bit of an over-sharer there. Just saying. This full lipped stunner comes from the pages of Sports Illustrated. And she is yes, wearing my favorite embroidered fringe earrings!

One final portrait I just wanted to share for good measure. I get some of my most pleasure from drawing people I'm fond of.  Working in fair trade, over the years, I've made many friends who are quite special to me. Nimet and Fatima are long time friends that no longer work in fair trade. However, that is how we met. And we're friends forever. I decided to draw them from a photo I snapped when visiting them in Canada several years ago. And then I mailed this gift on to them. I never decked them out in my jewelry for social. I do however, know I posted this pic on my personal Instagram feed. Since this portrait was not yet created when I shared many of my drawings here in May, (and I'm so proud of all my drawing accomplishments,) here it is for you to see.

So there you have it. As they say, I've killed two birds with one stone. I've shared my most recent portrait drawings. (You now know I love sharing them.) And it's given me an opportunity to show off Dunitz & Company's fair trade jewelry. Keep watching. I'm sure in a few months I'll be sharing another batch. Are you in? -ND

Black Clothing. An Opportunity for Accessories.

Once again, I'm scheming for Dunitz & Company and working out colors for our next season of fair trade jewelry. Currently, I'm obsessing about Fall 2020. Last year it seemed many of the biggest clothing designers incorporated lots of color into their designs.  This year, I'm finding many are playing it safe.  When checking out all of the runway shows, I saw fields of models in black clothing strutting their stuff. All of 'em. Check out samplings from Stella McCartney, Miu Miu, Lanvin, Elie Saab, Altuzarra and Alexander McQueen. You could randomly take a peek at just about any show from Fall 2002 Ready to Wear and New York Fashion Week. You'll find a lot of black. (Red probably was the color that popped up the most, and mostly as an accent.) What does this mean for accessories? Just about anything looks good on black! It means I can offer any gorgeous color I darn well please.

I always create new color combinations to keep things interesting. (Stay tuned.) I do this as much for my customers as I do it for myself.  I also know from creating color combinations for over 30 years, sometimes you can't improve on your best. You can count on Dunitz & Company to offer some of our strongest from the past.  The assortment might include some of these pictured. (A little hint.) Do you have a favorite? I'm always game for input. Yes, we'll offer a bit of red for Fall 2020. (Shades and tints to be determined.) And you can always count many varieties of blue. You've heard me say it before. I'll say it again and again. Blue is always a top seller and most requested of us.

Can you believe I'm even writing about Fall 2020 when many of us are waiting for the snow to melt?  I have to be a few steps ahead, always. Keep reading and watching our websites. We appreciate you over here at Dunitz & Company. Thank you.  Because of you, we can continue to support the many artisans we work with in Guatemala. -ND

NY NOW and My Favorite Show Neighbors

Me. Dunitz & Company Booth

This summer's NY Now is now behind us. It's hard to believe that Dunitz & Company has been exhibiting at this show since February 1990! Let's not count up those years. The one thing that I can tell you is attending the trade shows is a little bit like going to summer camp. Each season we all arrive with big smiles and hugs for our "regulars," our trade show friends. We catch up and visit for the days of the show. Often we break bread together. And when it’s over we all pack up, hug again, knowing next time will come soon. Do you understand my reference to summer camp?





Some of my favorite trade show friends had booth locations near me this past show. And if you don’t know them you should. First and foremost, these peeps are good people. Friendly. Fun. Kind. And, if you’re a retailer, you need to know their product. Why? Because these friends of mine have fabulous offerings. And they’re all ethical vendors.

Poonam, Nancy, Harish

Harish and Poonam from Sustainable Threads have been some of my Fair Trade Federation colleague favorites for just about forever. Well, for at least all the time Dunitz & Company has also been a Fair Trade Federation member. They're warm and supportive and always helpful. They design and sell fabulous table linens and home decor textiles that are ethically made in India. And Poonam is always trying to feed me. What could be better than a show neighbor who is always trying to pawn off delicious home-cooking?

Nancy, Joan, Kovida

Joan and Kovida from Sevya also work with artisans in India and are Fair Trade Federation members too. Their goodies target fashionistas. They offer an amazing array of scarves and some scrumptious tunic tops. If you sell wearables, you should definitely check them out. These woman also know all the best Indian Restaurants in New York City. Do you think I'm getting hungry as I type this post? If I want a southern Indian meal, and I want company, I know where to look.

Samir, Nancy, Marion

The NY Now angels knew what they were doing when they placed Samir from Socco Designs near me a couple of years ago. He's quite savvy and from the moment we met, we easily shared business ideas and information. But what I like most about him is he's kind, honest and funny. He feels like family. Socco Designs covers a lot of ground. They offer classy designs that hail from Morocco. Home decor and fashion. Got a lifestyle store? Check them out.  If you're reading this blog, you probably know me pretty well. You know I'm a natural interviewer. From all I've learned, I'm certain Socco treats their artisans fairly.

Nancy, Seema, Dhruti

Seema and Dhruti from Trovelore definitely make my list of favorites. They've been favorites for quite some time. And it wasn't until this past show that their booth was only a few yards from mine. Lucky me.  Trovelore and Dunitz & Company are both members of Museum Store Association, and it was within this community that we became acquainted. Seema and I actually were roommates last season at the MSA Forward in San Diego. You definitely get to know someone well when you share a room! These women are so kind and also nurturing. If you don't know their product line, you must. They design the most exquisite beaded pins - many butterflies and bugs. And I know beadwork!

Nancy, Ann

Anything Fair Trade Federation always makes me feel proud. The staff of FTF works tirelessly to educate the public about sustainability and fair trade. It's a huge job.  One way they do this is to staff a Fair Trade Display which is often situated in the lobby of Javits convention center. That's a lot of talking and explaining that goes on over the course of the trade show. One morning I arrived early and spotted Ann, FTF's membership manager tidying up the display.  She's a sweetheart. I'm always referring potential members to her. She's definitely a favorite.

Dunitz Fair Trade Jewelry

And now I diverge from favorite people to share a few selfish tidbits about Dunitz & Company and the show that just past. NY Now staff juried those to be featured in WFTO - Fair Trade Federation Display. Our beaded and embroidered bracelet and earrings from Guatemala were featured. Plug: If you haven't sold these in your store, I encourage you to consider them. They're right on trend and some great sellers.

Dunitz, destination:new display

Dunitz & Company was also selected for the destination:new display at NY Now.  We launched a new Contemporary Colors collection this season. I was completely impressed with how our earrings were featured in this display. (Aren't you?) We're offering these modern pieces in several color combinations. I was thrilled that a few museums and lifestyle stores honed in on them.

And what is so fun, is a few stores ordered them because some of the color combinations perfectly reflected schemes of their local high school, college and professional teams. In our booth, you could find these two-tone hipster pieces in several shapes including rectangles, circles, teardrops and square studs.


NY Now debuted fashion runway shows this season. Each morning gorgeous women and men strutted their stuff in the Crystal Palace (main lobby) of the Javits Center.  And then they strutted their stuff down the exhibition aisles. Well in advance of the show, in hopes of inclusion, I (and I'm sure oodles of others) submitted designs for consideration. Farai Simoyi, a world-renowned designer curated the event. And I was thrilled that our Coral Necklace and Embroidered Pendant Necklaces were selected.What's even more luscious is Zie was the perfect model of our jewelry. This gorgeous and warm-hearted woman stopped by our booth a couple of times and volunteered to have her photo snapped. If you're "about" fashion, you must check out her Instagram account. She's done some amazing editorial stuff.

NY Now Recap Pin

So there you have it. Dunitz & Company always has a great time showing off fair trade jewelry at NY Now. And we always love seeing our show friends. Stay tuned. Camp will be in session again next February and I'm sure I'll have other wonderful neighbors to tell you about.-ND