TAKE CARE

There are many methods to keeping your silver jewelry sparkly--silver cleaners, polishing cloths, silver paste. These methods work best on a polished finish. Your CHART metalworks piece has a brushed silver finish.

The best way to clean your piece:

Gently rub the silver with a clean, dry green ScotchPad (yup, the kind you keep under the kitchen sink to scrub your pots & pans, just be sure to use a new one). Be careful not to make contact with the glass-like resin. Our bronze pieces will patina favorably but can also be cleaned in the same manner if you should desire. The clear resin surface can be buffed with a soft cloth and car/boat wax if you slightly scratch it.

When you are not wearing your CHART metalworks piece (the rare occasion!) just keep it in a sealed baggie. Remove as much air as you can before you seal the bag---it's the O2 that makes your silver tarnish.

The best way to avoid your CHART metalworks piece from tarnishing is to wear it. Constant friction against the silver slows the tarnishing process. Be prepared... your voice might get a work out because when others notice your unique piece they are bound to ask you about it...and then you've got to tell them the story behind your special place.

Tell your story ~ WEAR YOUR WORLD ~ what's yours?

CHART story

Today we celebrate a selection short but sweet CHART stories... Enjoy! We've got some great Valentine's Day stories coming soon, we'll post after Sunday, don't want to ruin the surprise!

We made a bronze zipper pull a while back for Amy, a mother of two. It features Glidden Point of New Castle, Maine. To some Glidden Point represents great oysters, to Amy it represents the piece of Maine to which she moved back from Massachusetts to raise her two kids.

For Marcel, a summer time Bangor resident, we made a St. John belt buckle where he winters.

Kahsi, a Portland resident, received a great medium silver pendant on leather cord of Castine to celebrate where she grew up. She liked it so much she gifted her sister a similar piece for Christmas!

For Kelly, a woman from Windham, she received a ring featuring a historic chart of Belize. Belize is where she was married.

Our friend Jen, a very talented South Portland photographer, you can view some of her work here, gifted a large silver pendant on sterling choker to of Scituate, Massachusetts to her aunt. It features the seaside cliffs as a memorial to where Jen's cousin is buried.

There are many stories to tell!

Wear Your World. Tell Your Story. What's Yours?

Today's CHART story is from Kerry Corthell who purchased a bracelet as a gift for her sister...Enjoy!

Corthell Lane, Hersey Cove, Pembroke, Maine

We have a one room wooden cabin (electricity, but an outhouse and you have to haul water from a nearby spring) in Hersey Cove, Pembroke, Maine where we spent many hours on our summer vacations finding treasures of all kinds on that beach. My grandfather lived in Pembroke and managed the Socony Mobil plant for decades. He originally had a couple hundred acres, giving about 25 acre ocean front lots to my father and his brother to build some camps.

In the early 70's my father bought the Puffin Pig in Whiting, Maine and my parents, brother and sister all lived in this one room camp through the winter while their house was being built next to the store. I even came up for Christmas and stayed in the camp with them that year. That was interesting going off to the outhouse at night before bed. It took my mother a long time to understand why my sister was so gracious in letting her 'go' first!

We sometimes think of how much the taxes are and how much it might have sold for over the years, but none of us want to let the land go and hope some day to be able to dig a well and put in a septic tank and add a bathroom on so that us 'old' folks can stay there for periods of time and enjoy our little piece of the real Maine.

Commemorate a loved one's special memory. Order yours today.

Tell your story. WEAR YOUR WORLD. What's your story?

CHART story

Today's CHART story comes from a Portland, Maine yoga instructor who customized a pair of cuff links. This story reminds us that sometimes it's more about the memory than the place... Enjoy!

We made a pair of cuff links for a Portland yoga instructor featuring an "Unexploded Bomb Ordinance" sector of the chart. This alerts navigators of the possibility of unexploded bombs upon the ocean floor, never good to drop anchor in such areas! He remembered this from chart place mats his mother used to have when he was a child and always thought that part was cool. Well... that part definitely was cool and so are the cuff links we made to preserve the memory!

Commemorate a loved one's special memory for Valentine's. How about a shared romantic memory??!! Order yours today.

Wear your world, tell your story. What is yours?

Where did January go....?

Did I just blink or is February already here...? And I didn't even have time to begin any of my New Years Resolutions yet... guess I'll put them off to next year and focus on creating great jewelry and accessories for you...

Here's a little of what we've been up to in the first month of 2010!

Thanks to everyone that stopped by to see our "Islands of Casco Bay" exhibit at Hilltop Coffee Shop. We enjoyed creating the pieces and displays and sharing a little bit of the history of the islands of Casco Bay for the last two months. So many great stories to tell, tell us yours!

We have a winner for our CHART story contest, it's a gem and a real treat but it's a gift so we can't share it yet, stay tuned!

We've opened up an exciting new account on St. John, USVI. If you're ever in the area stop by and check out Nest at the Marketplace in Cruz Bay. Within a couple of weeks they'll have a fine selection of our goodies on hand featuring St. John points of interest. They also stock all the essentials to adorn and inspire: bath, home, body, kitchen, tabletop, fine correspondence & lighting. We hope you can make it there soon!

With that we're getting back to work to bring you fine custom jewelry and accessories. Remember to get your Valentine's order in by Thursday, February 4th!

We'll have some more to say next week, enjoy the weekend!

Monday's CHART Story

Today's CHART story comes from Malissa of Massachusetts who customized a small bronze of leather cord with Higgins Beach.

Malissa writes:

Summer vacations at Higgins Beach began as an opportunity to connect with a childhood friend and her family living in Scarborough... our annual bonding sessions of beach, barbeques and the Yarmouth Clam Festival. Nine years later our vacation has become two glorious weeks in a sweet beach house shared with a growing extended family and visiting friends all enjoying the magic of Higgins.

There is nothing in the world like a communal puzzle permanently set up on the porch table, searching for crabs in the Spurwink at low tide, the annual Turkey Dinner at the clubhouse and the nightly "knotty pine tour." Babies have taken first steps, children have learned to kayak, teens have discussed the mysteries of life while having mad pillow fights (if only walls could talk) and grown ups have given in to true relaxation here.

Higgins Beach is the source of so many wonderful experiences and memories... it is our slice of Americana, our little piece of heaven. Thanks to Charlotte and John my beautiful custom CHART pendant will be a constant reminder of that special place especially during the Massachusetts winters as I count the days until we return.

Thanks so much...

You're very welcome Malissa!

Help a loved one through the winter, gift them a special gift for Valentine's, order yours today.

Wear your world, tell your story. What is yours?

Islands of Casco Bay: Clapboard, Stave & Cushing Islandss "Pastures"

Today we offer some history on Clapboard, the nearby Stave (any guess as to where they got their names), Bangs and Cushing Islands.

Trips to Clapboard Island were made by men from Richard Trelawney's fishing station on Richmond Island off of Cape Elizabeth. Workers would make small-boat excursions to Clapboard Island to cut timber and saw it into lumber. Guess what that used the lumber for?... That's right, clapboards. Providing an excellent example of Yankee ingenuity, the island quickly became know as Clapboard Island. Oddly enough, on nearby Stave Island, they cut barrel staves.

At one point Bangs Islands belonged to Joshua Bangs, you see where the name came from. In 1762 the island was purchased by Ezekiel Cushing for $2,300. $2,300 was an expensive price tag which remained higher than even some of the Casco Bay islands sold for in the 1960s! Upon purchasing the island, Ezekiel quickly renamed it Cushing Island.

Some time passed and Ezekiel sold the island back to Joshua Bangs. He renamed it Bangs Islands. Joshua's daughter inherited the island and married Jedediah Preble. Eventually, their son, the famous Commodore Edward Preble, father of the US Navy, inherited the island.

Commodore Preble then sold the island to Lemuel Cushing, a distant cousin of Ezekiel, and the name changed once again back to Cushing and has remained so since!

CHART metalwork's exhibit the "Islands of Casco Bay" is on display through the end of January at Hilltop Coffee Shop, 90 Congress St., Portland, ME. "Pastures" features a silver lapel pin featuring Clapboard Island, a silver tie tack featuring Cow Island, a bronze zipper pull featuring Basket Island and a silver zipper pull featuring Cushing Island. The jewelry can be purchased separately or as a collection with frame and story...

...or, you can always customize your own special piece.