Fashionably Friday: Jewelry Holders

Awhile back I asked readers to submit pictures or descriptions of how they store their jewelry (I mean, who can forget this amazing Barbie example?). The most basic answer, I found, was that some of you just kind of "throw" some of your jewelry in boxes or bowls. And while jewelry boxes are common, looks like they are more of a wish-list item than a reality, which has left some of your necklaces in a tangle :) Here is what you all had to say: 


Linny said: "I keep my jewelry in a plain jane jewlery box. The hubs has been wanting to buy me one of those cool little double door closet like long jewerly boxes but I dont even think I have enough to put in there. Not gonna lie, I have been known to have to untangle a neclace or two for about an hour." 


While Nilsa said: "Someday I'll be all grown up and get a real jewelry box. For now, I hang my necklaces on the back "bar" of a low bookshelf, throw earrings in a fancy bowl and throw my wedding rings in a different bowl (they get my very own version of special treatment)."


Karen admitted: "Well, my jewelry organization and storage would bore you to tears.....its all in little boxes, in a drawer. I haven't been wearing a ton of jewelry since having kidlets, but with my daughter big enough to not accidentally rip a piece off of me, I should start digging through there again!"


As a jewelry designer, Jewel Divas goes to great lengths to keep her collection neat and organized: "Currently I have each set in ziplock bags all lined up in two draws of my tallboy. It keeps them away from hairspray etc and stops them discolouring faster than they need to. I also have them colour coded and single bits like all spare bracelets in a bag, or earrings or necklaces." 


My sorority sister Lindsay recently blogged about how her jewelry drawer had turned into a bit of a war zone. Here is the before:

And after utilizing ice cube trays (brilliant!), here is the after!

Though Linsday confesses she is OCD when it comes to her jewelry collection and drawer, I would like to introduce you to her contender: Rachel Zoe. InStyle magazine recently did a magazine feature on the Bravo star and how she organizes her own jewelry creations (which she features on QVC). In one word: excessive. At least she admits to being loud in her style: "I'm definitely not a minimalist and definitely over-the-top. In my mind, being overdressed is not a bad thing at all. What's the worst case scenario? That you are the best-dressed person in the room? Who cares!" Um, sure, if that's what you want to call it! Here are a few pictures:

Ok, so I think it's darling that you use vintage LV suitcases and a part of your closet to store your jewels. But really? Why do you have enough necklaces, bracelets, and earrings to take up that much space? She reports that she wears "probably - at least - 12 pieces" of jewelry per day. Man, at that rate, Bead Up would be rollin' in the dough if everyone lived like that!

Looks like her collection, and sketching, take over her living room table. I can relate! Zoe says she has been collection jewelry since she was 11. Haven't we all? ;)

Quote: "You know that rule, 'When in doubt, take something off'? For me, I just put on more!"

::smacks hand in forehead::

Moving back to reality... As for me, I am partially embarrassed by my means of storing my jewelry. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to my Etsy inventory, I carefully put each item in a small plastic bag and organize them by genre. But when it comes to how I store my own jewelry, well, sometimes it's hit or miss:

Ok, this example is not that bad. I bought this cool wire bodice thing from Ross before my first jewelry show and have been putting it to good use :) I hang my dainty necklaces and dangly earrings from here, though they end up on the dresser or in a dish more often than not ;) 

For example: 

Other earrings (and dust) ends up here, along with lose hair ties and random bracelets. Or they end up here:

along with bobby pins and stray buttons!

But my chunky necklaces end up here:

(all but three of those are Bead Up made). 

And though I know technically you shouldn't hang things made from thin wire or string, I figure I use them all often enough to justify displaying them on the tree (except my pearls - I do lay those down flat, though unprotected, on the dresser itself). 

So there you have it! Thanks to everyone who participated! Those of you whose answers and pictures I featured (except you, Rachel Zoe) get FREE shipping from Bead Up's Etsy site, in addition to a free gift with any purchase made between now and May 1st! Thanks for your contributions!