Saw these lovely jewelry pieces by Donna Barry at Diverse Workshop and I just had to share them. Made from silver and 18ct gold, Donna aims to create designs with a light and tactile quality. The techniques she uses infuse strength into the design, while evoking a supplely and delicacy to her work.

Thanks to Oh Joy! for the find.

It’s time for Round #2 of the I Support Indie Knockout contest, the contest where indie supporters duke it out to win free stuff.

Are you a supporter of indie products? Do you buy handmade items from DIY crafters at craft shows, purchase handcrafted designs from online shops, or shop at your local arts alliance? If so, you are an indie supporter and this contest is for you!

Enter to win a goodie box full of lovely indie products by signing up for with your name, valid email address and a little blurb about how you are the biggest indie supporter ever. The top entrants will be added to a poll for visitors to vote on whom they think is the biggest indie supporter. The winner of the poll will win the prize—a box of donated indie goodies, a $185 value.

Do you have what it takes to be a contender? Sign up here!

Whether your style can be described as cute and sassy or you go for a more sophisticated look, I’ve got scarves for you. It’s getting cold outside and I know that you need keep warm, but you also need to express your individual style, and of course, you want to shop indie.

Pink Heart Scarf by MTcoffinz available at Pixelgirl Shop. Fleece scarf with ruffle and bow trim–for the girly-girl.

Brown & Pink Embroidered Floral Scarf by India Romeo. Chocolate-colored micro-suede with pink embroidered folowers. I own one of these and it is gorgeous!

Love Me Three Times Scarf from Lulette. Lots of other designs available–you can even create your own custom message scarf.

Long Scarf by Rosie Brown and available at Papa Stour. Harris tweed scarf, lined with silk, and finished with kilt pin and shell fastner.

Black Sea scarf by Yseult Designs. This silk and irregular shaped over-sized scarf has a lot of possibilities. Believe it or not, the designer behind this scarf is a member of the band White Zombie.

Wide Vertical Scarf by Supermaggie. Gotta include Supermaggie!

Fabric Scarf by Sparkle Craft. I love all the fabric choices for this versatile little fabric scarf.

Turquoise Bird Quilted Scarf from Goodmorning, Morning . All sold out, but maybe if you ask nicely, the nice lady behind Goodmorning, Morning will make some more.

UBERSTAR SCARF by Madeye Design. This one kinda matches the Indie Fixx colors…

Wool and satin-lined scarves by Mogwaii. Exquisite! What more can I say?

Kelp Scarf from smARTWORKS. this lovely merino wool and cotton scarf comes in a variety of tempting color combinations.

Remember back in the day when you were a kid and you totally had a sticker album? Well, I still do. Well, maybe not an actual sticker album, but I still love stickers and like to use them when sending snail mail and as little gifties for friends. The Ghostiecakes Sticker Sack by Nut and Bee is so cute and would be just perfect to hand out for Halloween instead of sugary, teeth-rotting, obesity contributing candy. You get 24 for only $3.00, which is about the cost of a bag of candy and these are so cute, the kids just might not egg your house. Check out all the fun stuff at Nut and Bee.

I am addicted to lip stuff. I have to have it—lip gloss, lip balm, lipstick, lip shimmers—you get the picture. I literally own 20-30 different lip products at any given time. That should tell you that I am serious about my lip products and when I tell you I like the Lip Balm from Lindsay’s Candles & Stuff, you should take me seriously. Made with shea and cocoa butters Lindsay’s Candles and Stuff Lip Balm is so smooth and moisturizing and is available in Vanilla, Peppermint Tingle, and Coffee. I’ve tried the Vanilla and the flavor is subtle, not overpowering like some lip balm products are. Also available are candles, body scrubs, body butters and other bath and body goods.

Just a reminder that the Happily Handmade Giveaway ends Sunday, October 29th at midnight. If you haven’t entered yet, you had better stop procrastinating because you don’t want to miss out on your chance to win. There are 51 gift boxes full of fun indie prizes waiting to be won by you. Don’t miss out—head on over to the Happily Handmade Giveaway page to learn more.

I just wanted to share this email with you from our first ever I Support Indie Knockout contest winner. Laura is from Biloxi, Mississippi and her home sustained damage in Hurricane Katrina.

“I received the box today and saw first how everything was so lovingly wrapped. I opened each one and each time I did all I could think of was just how beautiful it was. I fell in love with everything inside and feel like the luckiest person in the world. Saying thank you seems like so little for so much. It seems some days like the day may be kind of a rough one and I know it is all due to the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, but then you get a day like this and you think “there will be a lot of better tomorrows”. I am going to go to each person who sent a prize and thank him or her personally. I will never ever forget this and am counting down the days to November 1 and the shopping guide. {The Indie Fixx Holiday Gift Guide debuts on November 1st}

Thank you with all of my heart,
Laura”

The next round of the I Support Indie Knockout will start Monday, October 30th. Make sure to enter and duke it out with other indie supporters to win really fabulous indie prizes. Stayed tuned for more details.

Because there is a chill to the air and the leaves on my trees are turning beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and brown, I am reminded of the lovely fall-colored necklaces of Heidi J. Hale. The Bouquet of Color, Green Garnet, Opal, Citrine & Pearl Cluster, and the Earthly Cluster (shown above) are just three of her designs that are evocative of the season. Heidi J. Hale has been designing jewelry for over ten years and creating her distinctive, color-infused, and simply elegant designs all the while. Her work is distinctively recognizable and stands out among the sea of jewelry designers. If you are looking for exceptional jewelry pieces and visually stunning jewelry photography, be sure to visit Heidi J. Hale.

Now you know one of the things that your momma always told you, was to make sure to always wear nice undies, just in case…Just in case of what, I was never sure of, but I make sure that I do have nice undies. I came across Coriander, thanks to the Crafters for Critters site, and I love their simple yet design-conscious collection. Plus, all tops and bottoms are American Apparel and are silk screened by hand.

Unfortunately, Coriander does not offer online shopping yet, but you may contact designer Emily Moran at info [@] corianderprint.com, for special orders/requests. If you are in the Chicago area, you are in luck; Coriander will be at the DIY Trunk Show on November 18th.

New from glass magician, Tracy Bull of Happy Owl Glassworks, are the most enchanting glass pendants. I own a Happy Owl Glassworks pendant and it one of my most prized possessions—seriously. Tracy’s designs are organic in nature and her workmanship is absolutely supreme. You can also find cufflinks, nightlights, tiny dishes and the most adorable totem badges at Happy Owl Glassworks. I wholeheartedly give a ringing endorsement of Happy Owl Glassworks.

Now this is what I’m talking about–greetings for those of us with some rough edges who just can’t find cards in our local card chain to quite fit the sentiment we are looking for–Bittersweet greetings from Paper Stories. I just love “you just suck the life out of me.” I have an old boss I’d like to give that one to…I think I need to keep several of the “Thanks for nothing” note cards on hand as well.

Paper Stories also offers letterpress custom wedding and baby invitations and announcements and other less acidic note cards. Thanks to Grace of Design*Sponge for the find.

Nothing is better to wear then a stretchy comfy tee, but now you can jazz it up with this Turquoise Reconstructed Victorian Top from Angela Johnson and available at the Made Boutique. I also like the White Reconstructed Victorian Top and the Coral Reconstructed Victorian Top. They are one-of-a-kind, so get ‘em while you can.

Laura from Biloxi, Mississippi is the winner in the I Support Indie Knockout contest and she will receive all the cool indie products pictured above. Laura was Contender #4 and she wrote how she loves decorating with indie style and even though she lost a lot to Hurricane Katrina last year, she at least gets the chance to start over to create a new whole new look. I think you guys picked a very deserving indie supporter! Thanks for voting.

The next I Support Indie Knockout contest will happen later this month. Stay tuned!

Be sure to check out The Handmade Market in Raleigh, N.C. on November 11th. The Handmade Market is a showcase of artists, independent designers, and crafters that is produced by The Handmaidens, a North Carolina collective of nine independent designers, and this Handmade Market is timed just perfectly for you to get all your holiday shopping done before most people have even started.

Don’t miss out, because there are some very haute designers participating in The Handmade Market (some of whom have been featured on Indie Fixx) including India Romeo, Stir Studios, Pink Loves Brown, Holland Cox, Milk and Honey, Lucky Accessories, Circle Dot Dot and Blue Street Designs among others.

If you don’t live in the area and won’t able to attend, you can still shop from the participating artists online, just take a look at this list of vendors to shop online.

I make jewelry, you can find my shop at Tilting Swiftly, but even though I make jewelry, I love it and I am always on the lookout for something different than what I do—a girl can never have enough jewelry, you know…So, when I came across Mingi Jewelry I thought, “Here is something different.” I love all the different crochet earrings styles. Very fresh and elegant—right up my alley.

I now have a new Guest Designer feature at my shop Tilting Swiftly. I will be offering for sale on my site, selected designs from some of the finest indie designers out there. The first featured designer is Alicia Freile of Gauchita who creates the most gorgeous hand-embroidered fabric bags. I wrote about Gauchita some time ago on Indie Fixx after seeing, and falling in love with, her bags at an indie craft show. Her simple, yet elegant, designs are just stunning in person. Available for sale at Tilting Swiftly are the Costa del Sol, Ring Rojo, La Fresa, La Guitarra, and the Las Flores designs.

I know that I have posted before of my dislike for busy patterns on my bedding—I absolutely cannot take overpowering patterns of any kind on my sheets and I prefer plain ones to patterned. As a result, I am always on the lookout for soothing and relaxing bedding patterns that are not visually boring. My latest find is Amenity, the textile design company founded by Nicole Chiala and Kristina de Corpo. In the overly busy-patterned world of bedding, the pair has come up with striking and design pleasing patterns. I love the various botanical duvet covers—the peacock colored Drift, the cocoa Leaf, the ebony Dragonfly, and the cream Wildflower. The pair also offers the striking botanical bags. Sometimes in my capacity as a design aficionado, I come across designs that are so enchanting that they make me shiver with their sheer beauty and overwhelming grace and the designs of Amenity fall into that category.

What is it with octopi lately? I’ve been seeing them everywhere, which mind you is not a bad thing, because it’s my new favorite totem animal. The latest designer to incorporate an octopus in their designs is Sick on Sin. I just adore the Octopus Girlie Tee, which is available in sizes Small-2XL. Also new from Sick on Sin is the adorable Octopus Pocket Mirror and the Undead Friends Button Set.

If you haven’t done so already, make sure to sign up for the Happily Handmade Giveaway. The Happily Handmade Giveaway was organized in appreciation of indie shoppers as a thank you for their continued support of indie businesses. Enter to win one of fifty amazing gift baskets full of donated indie items by visiting each HHG sponsor and signing up before October 29th. Make sure to visit all of the 69 participating sponsors to increase your chances for winning.

To enter, you may visit my indie shop, Tilting Swiftly, (Full disclosure here–I am a participating sponsor) or you may start at the Happily Handmade Giveaway site. Just remember you can’t enter at the HHG site, but only through each participating sponsor site.

Good luck to all!

By Blue St. Designs, I love this felt hat, which is available in cranberry, navy, and chocolate. I think I would look great in the chocolate one. Check out the other hat design at Blue St. Designs.