Review: Switch Gear™ Kit by Lisa Monahan

I am always on the lookout for the most innovative, most unique products I can possibly find so I can introduce them to you, my readers. My goal is always to make visiting here exciting and entertaining and ultimately give you a chance to experience a new products that perhaps you may not normally have exposure to. Recently on my discovery journey I stumbled upon this truly genius concept called the Switch Gear™ Kit created by Lisa Monahan, a most talented and gifted artist. The Switch Gear™ Kit allows you to unleash your own creativity and gives you a chance to design and assemble your own earring designs everyday using the some really dynamic, sleek, unusual pieces to make up each earring design you create. Lisa Monahan has very carefully selected an eclectic mix of intriguing parts to use to design your earrings and you can decide what pieces you want to mix and match together to constantly reinvent new styles for yourself each and everyday. Here are the specifics of what comes in this exceptional kit. I am so thrilled to have a chance to include this delightful kit in my Spring Radiance 2010 Guide. It is the coolest kit I have ever seen that gives you a chance to spice up and add some twinkle and sparkle to your earring collection without having to spend a small fortune!

MY REVIEW

Lisa very generously sent me the Switch Gear™ Earring Kit to Review. It came beautifully packaged in a pretty sage green organza gift bag and upon first glance you see a clear plastic cylinder that has 4 individual round compartments, each one stacked on top of one another. You can see that each compartment has some pieces in them that resemble parts that you may use for repairing your sinks or faucets. Looks are very deceiving, and upon closer inspection you quickly see that inside these compartments are the very tools that Lisa's discerning eye has magically chosen to be a part of all your enchanting earring designs. If you visit Lisa's website by CLICKING HERE you can view a slideshow that she has created that beautifully depicts many more of the options that this kit offers, the over 4,000 unique options (yes that's right) and this was studied by Harvard and UMass Boston math and science teams - independently.

The Switch Gear™ Standard Earring Kit sells for $80.00. You are only limited to the number of different styles of earrings you can create by your own imagination. You can mix and match the pieces contained in this kit to create such a wide variety of earrings, that this kit pays for itself immediately because of what it has to offer you in terms of number different earrings you can experiment making and the sheer enjoyment and entertainment you will have with playing around with the pieces to create your own unique designs.



What comes in this masterpiece of a cylinder? First, each Switch Gear™ Kit comes with two core pieces. There are two pairs of sterling silver lever-back earrings: one is brightly polished and the other one is oxidized. These core pieces are the foundation for a fascinating funky assortment of interchangeable hoops, loops, chains, drops and charms made from all kinds of materials such as silver, rubber, rhodium-plated brass, anodized aluminum, silicone and more. You can literally make a new pair of earrings for yourself each and everyday using this exciting mix of unique materials and shapes and it takes just seconds to put a pair of earrings together. There are over 100 different ways you can mix and match the parts in the kit to create your own unique pair of earrings to fit your mood and "look" you want to have on any given day. As Lisa says, the sky is the limit with this kit!

Is your style classic, edgy, sporty casual, euro-chic, glamorous, whatever it may be, this kit will work for you! It has all the pieces that work harmoniously together to enable you to create earrings that fit your own unique sense of personal style. Maybe there are days you want to look sleek, polished and professional. You can design earrings that will give all your outfits that exact "look". Or perhaps you want to look sassy and flirty and add some pizzazz to your outfits. Ah, there are part in this kit that you can build on top of one another to give yourself that fun, more playful style. Here are just a very few styles you can conjure up for yourself:





On a final note about this kit, I am so impressed with the truly unique concept of this innovative kit as well as the high-grade materials found in the kit. The silver earring backs with the exceptional lever back style is rare to see, and not found widely in the United States. They set the stage for your earring designs and are just so classy and sleek looking on your ear lobes. You can purchase additional accessories to add into your standard earring kit, one of which is a 14K gold earring base in this really cool lever back design. I am thrilled with the level of excellence of each piece contained in the kit. It is also so inspiring to learn that each Switch Gear™ Kit purchased gives back! A portion of the proceeds of every Switch Gear™ Kit sold supports survivors of domestic violence including The Second Step, Inc., www.thesecondstep.org. This kit would make the perfect MOTHER'S DAY Gift, especially if you are like me and have so much trouble finding something that your Mother doesn't already have. And, to know that a portion of the proceeds goes to such an important organization makes this a gift that will keep on giving!

Lisa Monahan has put together a really terrific video that really captures the essence of this kit on her website. It is brief and more importantly to the point and really gives you an exact idea of what is contained in this kit and her vision behind the entire concept. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

Do you have a young daughter, friend, niece, etc. that loves to wear jewelry and have some fun with mixing and matching her jewelry? Well, Lisa Monahan has also created a Switch Gear™ Tween Kit. How thrilling it would be for a young girl to unleash her own creativity and have a chance to experiment and explore designing her own jewelry! Here are the basics about this delightful kit for tweens:



A Fun combination earring/necklace kit designed just for Tweens! This kit is the newest addition to the Switch Gear Kit series. The Tween kit has been Tween tested and Tween-Tweaked — this kit is fun!

The earrings in the kit are sterling silver with the same great lever back design as the Basic Kit, only with a thinner, wire shaped design. The Tween Kit comes with a sterling silver ball chain necklace and a stack of colorful containers that can be combined in lots of ways.



You may visit Lisa's website to learn more about this adorable kit and how to purchase it by CLICKING HERE The kits sells for $45.00 and makes the perfect gift for your little fashion diva.






{Taken from Lisa's Switch Gear™ Kit Website}

ABOUT LISA




Lisa Monahan is a metalsmith and has been designing jewelry and sculptural metal works, or "jewelry for places" for the past 17 years. Her work is modern and is highly influenced by her 20+ year career as an architect. Lisa will consider working with almost anything; her art gives new life to ordinary, industrial and vintage materials. She typically works with silver, gold, gold vermeil, oxidized silver, copper, brass, precious and semi-precious stones and pearls. Lisa's work is available in select galleries and museum shops; and custom commissions are available directly through the artist. Lisa has studied metalsmithing coursework privately, at the DeCordova Museum School, Metalwerx in Boston and in various workshops.

Lisa's work has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Globe's Sidekick publication and the Middlesex Beat. Lisa's work has been included in several DeCordova Museum School Gallery exhibits, was featured in a solo show in the Store @ the DeCordova, at Newton Open Studios and various galleries and shops. Lisa studied art and architecture in Boston, Arizona and London and practiced architecture in Boston until 2003. She has been involved in local area art and architectural initiatives for many years. In her career, Lisa has been part of award winning design teams in architectural practice and an invited guest speaker in various institutional venues. She taught architectural design studio courses for many years in Boston and taught a design inspiration course — "What's your hook?" at MA College of Art in Boston. Lisa is a member of the Board of Directors of the New Art Center in Newton, MA where she lives with her husband and 2 sons.

A very special THANK YOU to Lisa Monahan for providing me with the Switch Gear™ Kit for this review.

Disclosure: I received from Lisa Monahan the Switch Gear™ Kit for the purposes of this Review . This has no bearing on my completely honest review above and was not influenced by any type of monetary compensation. The opinions and experiences I’ve shared with this product are my own and yours may differ.