Foxy Fizz Cocktail

In honor of the Tiki Oasis event coming up and the release of my new Fan and Umbrella Cocktail Swizzles/Hairsticks I have a new cocktail recipe to share!

The Foxy Fizz! It is a light and refreshing rum and coconut drink meant to be enjoyed poolside on a hot day. Cheers!

Fox Fizz Cocktail Recipe:

Small handful of fresh mint, plus and extra sprig for decor

1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice, plus an extra half for decor

1.5 oz light rum (leave out to make it non-alcoholic)

3/4 oz falernum

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 oz simple syrup (I use cardamom or cinnamon

simple syrup to make it extra Foxy)

4 oz coconut water (vita coconut pressed is my favorite)

Shake with ice till chilled

Strain into an ice filled Collins glass or tiki mug

Top with sparkling water - about 2 oz - I like coconut LaCroix

Stir with the Fox & Doll Fan and Umbrella Swizzles

Garnish with mint and lime

Check out Miss Rox the Fox making it on her instagram

The new swizzles/ hairsticks are available in 8 pearlized colors. Just in time for Tiki Oasis!

Shop the new Fans and Umbrellas

Put them in your drink! Put them in your hair!

Shop the whole Tiki Party Collection

xo - Fox & Doll

Custom Wedding Rings

I was honored to make rings for my friends Reba and Andy. Reba's was easy, we came up with the design quickly together... little retro stars engraved into a slightly rounded band, inspired by the 'name necklaces' I had recently started making, and with a bit of a classic 50's look. And once we decided on the size and details it was done just as soon as we started the design process.


Reba's rings are the thinner ones on the right, 2mm yellow and white gold half round bands. The wider set to the left have gone off to a store in San Francisco as part of their wedding ring sample inventory. Orders are welcome on both.
This necklace is an example of the original design that inspired the rings, sold here on Etsy.

Andy's ring on the other hand was a much longer design and making process. They wanted a ring that incorporated gold that Reba found on her birthday the year before on a trip to Maine (where she is from). We came up with a design that was mostly silver with a band of gold running through it. The process of making the ring is documented here...

step 1: Melting the pure gold nuggets that they supplied (in the little vial) with some scrap added to bring the karat closer to 18k, see what a tiny nugget it turns into sitting here on a charcoal block!


step 2: The gold nugget is prepared to be drawn down into wire by adding a silver 'pull' wire onto it, before the drawing process it is hammered some to get the elongated shape started.


step 3: A draw bench is used to pull the wire through the draw plate (a steel plate with many small graduated holes), this wire was pulled about 20 times to get it down to a 18 gauge, it was annealed twice in between (heated to soften). The result is a wire that is about 6" long. Half is the gold side that we will use and half is the silver side that will be recycled.


step 4: The ring shank is made by soldering two pieces of half round sterling silver wire together, this makes for a groove that the gold round wire sits in, the wire is then soldered in the groove.


step 5: The piece is then rolled down through a rolling mill, this flattens the surfaces and elongates them. A few passes are made to get the correct flatness.


step 6: The flat wire is then bent into a almost round band, soldered, hammered round and cleaned up...


Done!


And now they are married! It really was such a special honor to attend their wedding and witness them exchange the rings I had made custom for them.

November 5th, 2011 - Rodeo Beach, Sausalito, CaliforniaMore photos from their wedding can be seen here on photographer Alison Yin's blog

Custom Candle Holders

Last month I made these custom candle holders for the new Locanda Restaurant on Valencia Street in San Francisco. This month they opened and it is so exciting to see them on the tables!
See the process here. And check out the restaurant if you get a chance, delicious!

The process started out with cutting up anchovy cans from Locanda's sister restaurant, Delfina.

Then to the drilling holes for the light to come through (16 hand drilled and deburred holes in each)...bending into the round (more like an oval to account for the next step)...riveting the seams...then really rounding out with a hammer and metal stakes (my buddy Reed really worked it here, thank you Reed).


The last steps seemed to take forever, cutting down the original lids and tension fitting them into the bottoms, each one was custom fit!

And then meticulously adding the smallest bead of JB Weld with then end of a toothpick (and lots of ventilation) to seal it up.

Done and delivered!

And there you have 40 candle holders filling up a lovely and bustling new restaurant in the heart of the Mission on Valencia Street.

Here are some more pictures from the amazing meal my sister and I shared at Locanda.

Name Necklaces

Lucky Megan got this beautiful necklace from her hubby Andy this past year. She wanted a 'name necklace' so when Andy came to me with this special project I was excited to create a custom version just for her. In all gold this necklace sweetly has Megan engraved in a scroll font across the front. And how lovely she wears it!



I now make these necklaces also in silver and offer a few options for fonts. See the Fox and Doll versions created for Fox & Doll Makeup.



Custom orders welcome, listed here on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72166268/custom-name-necklace

Custom Colors

Last week I completed a custom ring for Saskia, shown below wearing her new ring. I loved her color choices so and was pleased she got exactly what she wanted.



The custom order has re-inspired me to get working on a few more felted pieces and to play with combining some new colors. Here below are a few pictures of some pieces in progress.
Panels knit by my mom! Thanks for helping out mom! The panels will be washed over and over again so they felt into tighter squares.
The result will be a bracelet similar to this one made a few years back, made up of over 50 of the hand knit and felted pieces.

A new bracelet design in progress, still working out the details.


Not sure yet what I will do with these, maybe a new earring design.