Christina will be at these local events:

Valentines Day Arts and Craft Show
February 10 —9 am-4 pm at
THE MILLERIDGE INN ,
585 N. BROADWAY JERICHO, NEW YORK
Visit their website>>

Birthstone Jewelry Showcase
February 28-March 1
Wabi Sabi Salon
324 Sea Cliff Avenue, Sea Cliff, NY
For more information call: (516) 674-6723

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts &Crafts Show
March 29-30
Stony Brook

Birthstone Jewelry Showcase
April 3-April 5
Wabi Sabi Salon
324 Sea Cliff Avenue, Sea Cliff, NY
For more information call: (516) 674-6723

Birthstone Jewelry Showcase
May 1- May 3
Wabi Sabi Salon
324 Sea Cliff Avenue, Sea Cliff, NY
For more information call: (516) 674-6723

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
May 17-18
Deepwells Farms

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church
Fine Arts & Crafts Show
May 24
2429 Montauk Highway
Bridgehampton, N.Y.
South Fork Craftsmen’s’ Guild

41th Annual Art in the Park
May 31 & June 1 —10am-5pm
Heckscher Park, Huntington, NY
Art League of Long Island

Sag Harbor Fine Arts & Crafts Show
June 14-June 15
Marine Park Sag Harbor, NY
South Fork Craftsmen’s’ Guild

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
June 22
Rockwell Center Street fair North Village Avenue

Marks Church Fine Arts & Crafts Show
July 12
St.40 Main st. Westhampton Beach
South Fork Craftsmen’s’ Guild

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
July 19-20
Deepwells Farms

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show Balloon & Music Festival
August 8-10

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
August 23-24
Sayville Seafood Festival

Bridghampton Presbyterian Church
Fine Arts & Crafts Show
September 27
2429 Montauk Highway Bridgehampton NY
South Fork Craftsmen’s’ Guild

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
November 15-16
Stony Brook, Sports Complec

Preferred Promotions Fine Arts & Crafts Show
November 29-30
Deepwells Holiday Festival

46th Annual Holiday Fine Art & Craft Sale
December 6 & 7,
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Elwood Middle School,
East Northport, NY
Art League of Long Island

SHOPPING: Chrisitina's designs may be purchased through the following boutiques:

New York

Artisan Well Designs
316 Sea Cliff Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
Tel: (516) 759-1217
Fax: 516 759 7142
www.rubylane.com/shops/artwelldesigns

Sedona Court
871 Willis Avenue
Albertson, NY 11507
Tel: (516) 750-5606

National Jean Company
650 Willis Avenue,
Williston Park, NY 11596
Tel: ( 516) 742-2999
www.nationaljeancompany.com

Southern California

La Boutique Shops L'Auberge
202 Fifteenth Street
Del Mar, CA 92014
(858) 755 -0525

East of Bali @ The Forum
1905 Calle Barcelona,
Carlsbad, CA 92009
(760) 943-8400
Send an e-mail to East of Bali
www. eastofbali.com

Gracie Boutique
Del Rayo Center, RSF
16087 San Dieguito Rd
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
(858) 756 - 2628
www.graciebtq.com

Christina in the News:

Jewelry made of Heart and Spirit

By Marti Gacioch, Del Mar Times, April 2007
>>View Article

Growing up in a small Swedish town on the edge of a large nature reserve, Christina Bjenning delighted in drawing the natural world around her.

“I belonged to the junior ornithologists and started drawing,” she said. “My parents encouraged me in art, but they also wanted me to focus on something that would support me.”

She chose the field of marine biology because she “enjoyed looking at life from different angles and loved looking through a microscope.”

While a student at Sweden’s Gothenburg University, Bjenning specialized in the nervous system of sharks, and as a Ph.D. student, she traveled the world to study them.

According to Bjenning, sharks have a nervous system similar to humans, even though it is less complex. So through her shark studies, she became involved in researching various facets of the human nervous system.

She spent four years at New York’s Rockefeller University studying how drug abuse affects nerves. Afterward she worked in New York’s pharmaceutical industry, where she helped develop drugs for metabolic disorders. But after eight years there, she longed for a more artistic, contemplative lifestyle.

“My left hemisphere took over my life and everything was science and numbers,” Bjenning said. “I was surrounded by art in New York City, but not creating any art myself.”

By visiting art galleries, she became immersed in her creative side once again. Leaving the pharmaceutical industry behind, she moved to San Diego County, and while working at a jewelry gallery, she realized how much she always enjoyed stringing stones together.

“I had good sculpture skills already, so I learned basic wire wrapping skills,” she said. At the Jewelry Exchange in San Diego, she learned more about the art of jewelry making by watching their fine craftsmen at work.

Later, Bjenning studied glass and precious metal clay (PMC) techniques with Stephanie van de Wiel at her Beach Glass Beads & Scrapbooks store in Carlsbad. “I love stones and beautiful rocks,” Bjenning said, “and as an artist and a sculptor, jewelry-making became a way for me to combine the two.”

As a trained scientist, Bjenning enjoys incorporating new high-tech materials like PMC and dichroic glass into her jewelry. Mitsubishi developed PMC, which is 9 percent pure silver, mixed with clay. Bjenning uses it to design rings and pendants, and she’s currently developing a technique to make silver bangles with it. “PMC is fun and malleable,” said Bjenning, “and you can fuse it with some precious stones or make a mold and put the stone in afterwards.”

NASA developed dichroic glass for space use and Bjenning appreciates its iridescence. “It’s beautiful glass,” she said. “If you look at it and twist the glass in your hand, it will change colors.”

Recently Bjenning began blending her love of both fashion and jewelry into high-end accessories that she showcases at a string of North County boutiques. These include Gracie Boutique in Rancho Santa Fe and Adornments and Backstage Clothing in Del Mar.

“I realized that I have a gift for colors and stones and an interest in fashion,” she said. “Jewelry is basically sculpture that you wear.”

Bjenning names her jewelry pieces to illustrate their place along a spiritual journey. Her collections bear such names as heart, spirit and soul. “It’s really the feel of the jewelry that gives them their names,” she said.

Bjenning said that nature, God, people, journeys, colors, art and fashion inspire her freelance pieces. “Those seven things energize me, and I'm filled with enthusiasm that affects my creativity a great deal,” she said.

Within each of her collections, Bjenning’s individual pieces carry appropriate titles. A necklace that a client asked her to design for his girlfriend is titled “I Am Beauty.” It features a braided red deerskin strap holding a silver heart, a vintage cloisonné hand-painted bead and Swarowski crystal, along with several stones and a quartz silver heart chain.

When clients commission a piece from Bjenning, they often describe the type of design and the stones they want, and then she fashions the piece to suit the recipient’s lifestyle. If they lead busy lives, she designs an easy-care piece for them.

Christina Bjenning not only enjoys designing jewelry, she also takes delight in seeing the joy of a recipient. “I like the person who invests in my jewelry to not only walk away with a new possession, but with a story,” she said.

Bjenning recently displayed her designs at the 7th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair at Carlsbad’s the Flower Fields. She markets her jewelry pieces through her company, Esmeralda Designs at www.esmeraldadesigns.com.

On February 23rd, Christina's designs were featured on "Inside San Diego." Host Sandra Maas and Fashion Expert Leonard Simpson presented “Spring Sparkle:  KUSI Fashion Expert Leonard Simpson is here to show jewelry from a new shop in town.” More about this story>>

On January 30th, Christina's designs were show cased, along with designs from Backstage Clothing, on "KUSI's Morning Show!" See the story titled "Winter Jackets">>