Aloha, friends!

Aloha, friends!

 

I cannot even hope to describe the most recent Stockstill adventure in adequate detail, but I can try to show you through photos.

 

We’ve been to Hawaii before, but this time, we went with the intention of taking photos- senior casuals for Lily and some Novi products for me.

Boy, oh, boy was that a success!

 

John has always dabbled in the art of photography, and so we let him have his fun. Hawaii might as well have been a paid actor for how the weather, sky, and ocean showed up and showed out!

 

We had some much needed bonding time with my two youngest. One, that’s already set off into the world and is rarely home; the other, so close to leaving the nest. I’m holding on to every second I get with them, and now we’ve got these fun, quirky, hilarious memories. We only wish Dylan and Dara had been there, too!

 

 

After all of the “serious” pictures, there of course would be the sillies.

 

 

 

But you know, you don’t need a special trip to spend time with your family. You just need intention. With ours being so split up lately, it was peaceful to have most of us together again… but being in Hawaii was a pretty cool addition. Enjoy some of John’s photos of our trip!

 

Make sure you’re following on social media so you can see the product shots he got. They are FABULOUS, if I do say so myself. But I might be a little biased.

 

 

 

 

 

Something NOVI, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

 

 

The first of my children to get married…  Dylan is such a special soul, and he has found his true counterpart. God made them to fit each other perfectly, and I am so thrilled to finally (officially) introduce Dara!

 

 

Life has been a little crazy lately, so even though they got married in September (wow, how time flies…), I am just now able to sit down and collect my thoughts to share.

 

An absolutely STUNNING wedding that I could not have imagined to be more perfect for these two. It embodied everything they are together. It was genuine, loving, natural, joyous, intimate, FUN. The pictures cannot do it justice. And on top of everything she has added to the Stockstill bunch – joy, love, friendship, family- Dara gave me the amazing gift of allowing me to create her wedding earrings.

 

Opal stones to match her engagement ring and copper electroplated pinecones to add a connection to nature, these earrings are so special to me and I am so touched that I got to make them for my new daughter.

 

And now, I just want to brag on my beautiful children and show them off. Enjoy these pictures of one of the happiest days of my life so far.

Novi x Laurel Mercantile

 

As most of you know, Novi has had ties to HGTV Hometown for a little while now- and what an amazing journey it has been!

Back in Spring 2021,  Novi paired with Erin to create some new earring designs and since then, the Laurel Mercantile has carried those designs in store and on their website.

 

It’s been so fun collaborating with “The Merc” that we decided to add more to the collection!

 

Some designs are brand-spanking-new, and some are Novi classics that are going to be reintroduced in a whole new light! We are so so excited to continue our collaboration with Erin and the Mercantile, and we love that we get to share our artistic passions with you! Each new addition will get its own post social media in the coming weeks, so keep a look out!

 

Shop the updated “Hometown Collection” on the Novi website (click below!), on the Laurel Mercantile website, or in store at the Laurel Mercantile! Here’s your first look at the newly added items… enjoy!

 

P.S. Here is a picture of my precious daughter-in-law (and mercantile employee), Dara, posing with the new display at the Laurel Mercantile. Isn’t she cute?! My next blog post will be about her joining the Stockstill fam!! Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

Gypsy Ribbon Defined

 

 

 

We love a lot of things at the Stockstill household, but one of our favorites is… we love to travel!

 

 

 

 

 

It is truly a humbling experience to drive the roads through God’s beautiful creation; how they wind and flow and weave in and out. The experience has affected our family so much, that it inspired the name of the Gypsy Ribbon Collection. We believe the word “gypsy” conjures the image of adventure and freedom while the word “ribbon” instills the feeling of traveling the winding and flowing roads.

 

 

Shown are just four examples of Novi’s designs. Each bracelet is directly inspired by a National Park, and our hope is that they capture not only our memories and future plans, but hopefully those of others as well. Throw a bracelet on and GO EXPLORE. Each bracelet is an opportunity to celebrate and memorialize where you’ve been or want to go.

On our site, you can check out all of our Gypsy Ribbon Collection.

Soon, each wrap will get its own spotlight as we highlight each individual feature and how it is inspired by the National Park that it’s named after! We realize that a lot of people aren’t aware of the design process, and it’s super neat! Be on the lookout for those posts coming in the next couple of months.

And as promised, a special thank you to our Newsletter subscribers:

WE ARE GIVING YOU A COUPON TO GET 30% OFF ONE ITEM IN OUR STORE!

Only available through April 2021. Use it at checkout, and happy shopping!

Here it is: subscriber30

Something Exciting in our Hometown

 

 

If you got a chance to watch HGTV’s Hometown last night, you probably saw a familiar face… and some copper, of course!

 

This was such a fun opportunity for a local artist like myself to bring her love for copper into someone’s home! It was amazing to be a part of cozying up a new place for newcomers. After being a part of Laurel’s community for so long- and being a Laurel transplant myself- it really is something special to become a small part of building up the community even further. It was so fun to have the opportunity to create something new for Novi. And if you’re wondering, these limited edition bowls are available to you at the Laurel Mercantile!

 

But if you thought our surprise was jewelry… you weren’t entirely wrong! Throughout this season of Hometown, there’s been Novi popping up all over the place! Were you able to spot any of it?

 

When you’re approached and asked to make some custom earrings for anyone, you get excited. But these are on national television, which is even cooler!

 

These earrings might look simple, but they sure take some time to make! Take a look at some behind the scenes footage…

Don’t worry, friends, we’ve saved some for you. If you like these earrings, they are available on Novi’s website under Hometown Collection OR at the Laurel Mercantile!

 

Valentine’s Jewelry – Why It’s A Favorite

Valentine’s jewelry has always been some of my favorite to create because the day has always held a special place in my heart. John, my husband, and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day, 1991, when I was 16 and he was 17. When he picked me up in his blue Thunderbird, I could see a dozen red roses and a classic white Valentine’s bear waiting for me in the passenger seat.

I hopped right in and we made our way to Olive Garden. It was my favorite restaurant (so romantic.. I know.) We were disappointed when we got there to see just how busy it was – of course – and that the wait would be a while. So with our minds still set on pasta, we opted for take-out and left with spaghetti in doggy bags. Not wanting our first date to be spent in either of our own kitchens with all of our family around, I called up my Nanaw (yes she was a pretty cool Nanaw) asked to borrow her kitchen while she was at Bingo. So, in my Nanaw’s kitchen, we ate our spaghetti, perused through her very limited CD collection and ended up dancing the night away – me, John and Phil Collins.

Valentine's jewelry

(Impossible to get him in a serious picture!)

Who knew that so much would come from that unsuspecting Valentine’s outing all those years ago and that we would have the privilege to experience so much life together from having children and ministering in our community and around the world to deployment and even building this thrilling little business!

With Valentine’s Day being the start of something special for me, it makes creating something special for you that much more meaningful!

Here are our fave pieces of Valentine’s jewelry for 2019:

A New Year Means New Jewelry!

 

Bring On The New Year!

New year, New Jewelry! Novi is an old bohemian word that means “new,” so it should come as no surprise that we are looking forward to this new year and are hard at work on releasing some new designs! Before we dive too deep into what we’ve been working on, we would like to take a look back at 2018.

2018 was certainly a year of exploring new territory for me personally and professionally.

From completing a home renovation

To sending my oldest son off to college

 

As well as participating in the Houston Nutcracker Market for the first time

And reconciling life after the loss of my influential father-in-law

Needless to say, walking by faith and not by sight was pivotal in navigating the entire year.

We spent the last leg of 2018 on an adventure of our own in Breckenridge, Colorado, where we got to spend time as a family, visit with friends, laugh, cry, and re-coup!

We would like to thank you for joining us on this wild ride and supporting us in another year of Novi.

As we gear up for new adventures as a family and a business in 2019, take a look back at a few of our favorite pieces from the year:

What were your favorite Novi creations of 2018? Be on the lookout for more details on our new jewelry designs for the new year coming soon!

Join us over on Facebook for our first live sale of the New Year on the evening of January 31!

“I Live in Laurel”

 

A little while back I had the honor of creating a little something beautiful for The City Beautiful.  Doing these custom pieces made me reflect on living life in our little hometown of Laurel, MS.   We are not originally from here, but I like to say we were ‘dropped’ here by the Lord 23 years ago from the plains of Oklahoma.  And much like the wind that goes sweeping through the plains, my honey lamb and I did not dream we would be here this long…

But here we are.  Our 23 year journey includes memories from all over the world, but finds it hub – it’s homebase, right here. I never knew what “southern hospitality” really looked like – open carports, and open doors were a huge contrast from closed garages and closed doors. Oklahoma was friendly, but Mississippi was hospitable.  People are born here, grow up here, and often grow old here.  Deep family roots, long lineages, and here we were…Two young city kids barely 20 – living on faith – I’ll go anywhere God – where again is Mississippi? – following the call – 10 hours from anyone who knew our name.   And yet, Laurel took us in like family, like we had always been here.  We stayed.  And had babies.  And now they are growing up here, the only ‘home’ they have ever known.

So, naturally when I was asked to create something unique, something reflective of our little town, I was honored!  We weren’t “from” here.  But Laurel had woven its way through our lives over the years and I wanted it to be just that – a weaving of history in each part of the necklace.  Hence, the Heirloom Necklace.

Five elements make up each of the 6 necklace designs.  Handmade is my preference 🙂 so each necklace begins with just that – a handmade sterling silver charm created out of precious metal clay, sculpted, heated, stamped, polished and waxed with “Laurel” boldly displayed.  The vintage/vintage replica chain is hand selected and is very symbolic of our little town both with it’s beautiful rich history and the desire to bring it back to life (which many of you may well know if you’ve caught any of HGTV’s ‘Hometown’ )  The other elements were inspired by an article written describing Laurel and the assets it possesses, “ranging from it’s incredible history of business and innovations that spanned the timber industry [ petrified wood charm ] and the invention of the Lindsey Wagon, to the oil industry, the building industry and the invention of Masonite siding.  Additionally, Laurel … has a rich architectural heritage represented in it’s downtown commercial architecture [ old keys found in the vault of the historic First National Bank building, now home to Rasberry Financial ] … Finally, its “string of emeralds”  [ emerald charmparks system reveals some of the most beautiful parks designed by some of America’s most renowned landscape architects.”www.msmainstreet.com/events news/press releases/P596

 

  The Heirloom Necklace:  Gardiner, Daphne, Euclid, Mason, Eastman, and the Lindsey.

Here are a few of my favorites!

EUCLID

 

 

MASON

Many memories in this park – playdates with kids, ladies bible study (yes – perfect place while kids play!), church picnics, prepping for my first 10K, home of my first ever craft booth at our annual Day in the Park. ( I made 400$ on bookmarks! LOL! )

 

 

DAPHNE

Daphne park is the home of the Cameron Center and it played a huge role in our lives and the life of our church for many years before we had a building of our own.  We met there, played there, ate there, really felt like we lived there actually!!

 

Maybe you have special memories of one of these Laurel parks as well and would enjoy one of Novi’s heirloom necklaces! They are currently available at The Mercantile in downtown.

This is me.

This is me.  I am the mom.  And this is the second reason why Novi began.  It became a little side fund to help the ever changing needs of growing children in a full time ministry home.  The first reason?  To help support my love for missions and the desire to go and be the hands and feet of the very One who rescued my own life.  After crowding out my little foyer with crafts and hobby making, I soon turned our dining room into my work studio and quickly (reluctantly at first ) tried my hand at a little jewelry.  Falling in love with copper almost immediately, it is still my first choice of metals.  I guess that is obvious!

Shy one year of a biology major with a chemistry minor and a physical therapist assistant for 4 years, if you’d asked me if this was my life long dream to create jewelry I most assuredly would have said no.  It’s funny.  Now I love making jewelry.  But that was not my plan.  This word pops in my mind – flexibility.

If you will remain flexible at all times, willing to change course if need be, I have found that it brings the most amazing life adventures!  My husband, John, used this word OFTEN  in ministry.  This is him by the way, He is usually always BEHIND the camera, not in front and takes most of my professional pictures.

So, when I catch him its a rarity. The love of my life, we began dating when I was 16.  It’s a pretty romantic little story and more so even now.  It, however, would be a blog post of its own…

The point of this post is to reintroduce my business to old friends and hopefully make some new ones. We have decided that it is time for Novi to become more than a side business/hobby. Those of you who know me can see that I am stepping way out of my comfort zone. My life has been a series of leaps of faith, some big, some small. You would think it gets easier each time.

It doesn’t.

That’s the adventure right? All those steps and leaps have added up to a thrilling story that God is creating in me – in each of us. The purpose of Novi Creations hasn’t really changed. It’s only grown into something bigger. It isn’t just about raising some money for mission trips and family extras. With this business I want to show the creativity planted in me by the Creator. I want to share the story of Redemption through my work. I want to set an example for my children and my friends of someone who is willing to take risks for the things they believe in.

I have had AMAZING support from family, friends and customers. Let me take this moment to say a great big THANK YOU! It has meant so much. If you want to continue to be a part of this story, see what happens next, or if you just want to be among the first to find out about new products and special offers, please sign up for the Novi Creations Newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Also, I would love to hear from you. What leaps of faith have you taken recently? What’s your advice about expanding a business? Do you think I’m completely crazy for selling handmade jewelry? Share your thoughts on Facebook and Instagram and as always, feel free to connect through our Contact page.

 

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