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It comes as no surprise that I find Victorian and Edwardian fashion, jewelry, design and technology endlessly fascinating, particularly as represented early photography.  Perhaps it is the very availability of photography and the ability to see faces of the past that is so compelling.  We are reminded that we are descended from actual people, like these ladies caught in a candid street style photos by Edward Linley Sanbourne. You might enjoy the fashion and photo collections I've compiled on Pinterest on Victorian Fashion and Jewelry and Edwardian Fashion. However, it's all too common for photos to appear without context and...

Never let anyone tell you that you can't use a history degree. At Compass Rose Design we make industrial jewelry and sophisticated steampunk accessories with authentic antique objects, and people really notice. Last month, we were contacted by a super cool lady in Austin, Texas looking for a cool gift for her sweetheart. He's a train buff she was interested in one of our railroad button tie clips with a Pullman Railroad Button.  It was a delight to be able to say - yes of course, they're real antique uniform buttons! In her reply, she mentioned he had one, which...

History is at the center of our work at Compass Rose Design. Lately, we've had trains on the brain and have been making lots of men's accessories with Railroad date nails and antique uniform buttons dating between 1880 and 1950. A few finds relating to San Francisco railroad history have been a delight!We've recently come across several antiques that have local historical significance. Notice the PPIE 1915 buttons in the above photo. These buttons commemorate the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exhibition - the Worlds Fair. Though the exhibition celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, the event was perhaps more...

It's been quite a year at Compass Rose Design Jewelry. A combination of life and family circumstances, as well as a growing list of wholesale accounts in the US and our first International order has forced me to think a lot about the limitations of identifying as a one-woman operation. Despite being in recovery from non-profit burnout, I felt a lot of pride in being a one-woman indie-designer.  I have learned to transition from a state of overworked almost embattled orientation, but in some ways this initial phase is required believe that founding a small business is possible. Our work...