24/10/2013 0 Comments Urban Natural, Urban Island...I have already mentioned these before and they are now a reality. I got a batch of natural seeds from the Caribbean and started creating a range of jewelry using them. So far, it is mostly just earrings and necklaces but there will be some bracelets and rings coming later. As usual, these are mostly one of a kind designs and may not be reproduced and the item you see on the picture is the one you are buying. The whole range is available to buy right now in the Urban Natural section of the shop ! And to compliment this natural range of jewelry, another one with sea gems. They are mostly sea shells and sea glass and definitely unique by their very nature. Finding matching pieces of sea glass is a challenge in itself but an enjoyable one. I am still working on this section which is mostly earrings at this point but all the items available in the Urban Island section are ready to go ! Of course, I am happy to take customized orders, if you see something you like but would like it to be a little different. Why not combine the land seeds and the sea shells ? That's an idea... Send me a message with your requests !
0 Comments
29/7/2013 0 Comments the shop has received a makeover !Yes, I finally did it. I finally rearranged my shop to go with my shop's theme: "jewelry designs for the urban tribes". First of all, I introduced new sections: -urban tribal: you will find in this section the jewelry aimed at the "tribes". -urban mythology: jewelry to adorn your inner goddess. -urban spirituality: designs inspired by religious items. -urban natural: designs that include natural seeds from the Caribbean. -urban island: jewelry featuring shells. -hair jewelry: all you need to beautify your hair. -rings workshop: design your customized ring, just the way you want it. -kids section: jewelry for the little ones. Some of the sections are still under construction and I am working on them. It always seems to take longer for me to do the things that are in my head... but I'll get there and I'll take you there with me ! I then made sure to include lots of pictures, some of them are my friends who helped me with a photoshoot at home one evening after work. I hope you like them as much as I do ! I also went to the Swarovski elements shop in London one sunny Sunday afternoon and bought some of their beads. I hope to include them in a few pairs of earrings very, very soon ! I am generally very excited about all the things I have in store for the future of the workshop. The seeds, the shells, the crystals... Let's make this happen, shall we ? One funny, interesting, paradoxical thing about me is that I don't wear much of the jewelry I make. I love to see my designs being worn by others but I don't make it a point to be my first customer. The only one of my designs that I wear daily is a very simple macramé necklace. This is not very good, I must admit and I should work on that. Another thing I needed to work on and that I have applied myself to very much lately was to add earrings to my catalog. A lot of my friends asked for it, I know people who own them by the dozen and they are the flagship item of most of the handmade jewelry designers I know. So I went into the workshop with my usual wires and pliers. Once I figured out that the 2mm thick wire was too hard to work with and settled for thinner gauges of wire, I came up with a few designs that I was pretty happy with, including one that I made for myself for a beauty contest with a "Boucles d'Ebene" theme. I didn't win but it was a good start. I soon found a few tutorials online and put my wire jig to good use. It had been sleeping at the bottom of a box for so long, I started to wonder if it had been a wise purchase to begin with. I am very happy to say that the last couple of days have proven this to be wrong. It's like I can't stop making new things and when I am not making them, I am thinking about what to do next... It is not without its ups and downs, I make a few mistakes, I waste some material, but in the end, I always seem to come up with something that I am happy with. I have also figured out the reason why some people don't bother with making pairs of earrings and come up with asymmetrical designs. It is pretty difficult to make two identical earrings ! Especially when you are a perfectionist, like me, and you want them two earrings to mirror each other so that they will both face the same way on each side of the wearer's face. Anyway, I am happy to announce that the earring section of the shop is now open for business ! One of my first designs was snapped up within hours of it being published on my facebook page. Here is a sneak peek at the upcoming designs to join the shop as soon as they are finished. If you can already picture these dangling from your ears, keep an eye on the urban mythology section of the shop !
And isn't it long overdue ? I think it is, anyway. I've been working on two projects regarding my website lately. The first one being to add more items to the shop, including a DIY ring section to allow people to either purchase items that are already made or to order their own custom made ring without any hassle at all. I am also working on an earring equivalent but with everything that is going on with me right now both in and out of the Workshop, it is likely to be in a while from now. The hair jewelry shop only carries one little item for now, which is the hair jewelry tool. I actually invented this tool to make it easy to slide them on the hair and now you can acquire your very own ! You just slip the jewel in the loop then put the lock of hair you want to adorn into the loop and then simply slide the hair jewel onto the hair. No fiddling, no snagging... Coming very soon in the shop:
The other project I've been working on is my French website, which is pretty much a clone of this one but does not have a blog. Not that I don't have anything to say to my French readers... I just don't find it interesting to have two identical blogs in two different languages... or even to have two different blogs, for that matter. The French version of the hair jewelry shop is more advanced at this stage than the one on this site so if you really can't wait to get your hands on some of my items and would like to purchase size 3 or size 4 jewelry for your hair, go and have a look ! Please forgive me for the quality of the pictures, however. some of them are blurry but you still get a reasonably good idea of what the jewel looks like. And before I wrap this up, I give you a little picture which was taken during my hair jewelry inventory. My little helper would not let me do it by myself and had to get involved. I hope that one day he will earn his helper's title by actually participating in making the Workshop happening because at the moment he is mostly one reason why things are moving slower than I would like them to. I do love my little man with all my heart but his tendency to try and swallow beads and to fling my tools across the room kind of hinders my progress . He is now past that age when he will sleep most of the day so even working during his naps proves highly inefficient. But knowing me, even if it happens slowly, the Workshop is definitely happening so don't go anywhere ! I have been working on some really interesting ring designs using thick silver plated copper wire (2mm) now that I have mastered the art of shaping the wire the way I want it. I have previously come up with these: They were fine but I figured I could simplify the design slightly and now I can offer you the chance to design your very own ! It is quite simple. First you choose a style of ring: Please note: they are all adjustable and would fit most finger sizes, except Véronique which needs to be fitted to your ring size. Then you choose which type and style of bead you want: The large illusion beads are 8mm in diameter and the small ones are 6mm. The dice and small crystal beads are about 5mm and the crackled glass chips vary between 4mm and 8mm. As you can see, the possibilities are pretty much endless ! The ring alone is sold for £7 then add £1 per bead being added. This means one like the one below would be £9. You can also choose to have only one bead or to have a big one and a small one close together. It's your ring, you decide !
Have you made up your mind how you want yours ? Well, place your order ! 8/12/2012 0 Comments a lot is happeningUnfortunately, I have no time to update this blog. I have plenty of ideas, however, and I hope to come back and materialize them very soon. A few updates: sadly, I had to stop going to the Brixton Makers Marker. It was a great experience and I would absolutely love to do it again but lack of time and a full time job are getting in the way of this happening. For those who don't know it yet, I am also the mother of a wonderful little boy who has now entered the Toddler Stage, which means he is interested in everything I do and wants to touch and play with everything that is at his reach. This also means I had to dramatically reduce the amount of time I spend in the workshop. A mother only wishes to remove pliers from her son's mouth so many times, you see... it is not as enjoyable when I have to stop him from swallowing my beads all the time. I have come up with a few new designs, one including lovely Swarovski Crystal Stardust lovingly encapsulated in tiny little glass bottles and I am very excited about these. They will soon be added to the shop. We also have the Music Rings which I am particularly proud of and I hope to have a lot of them in circulation very soon !
Well, that's mostly up to you for this to happen so start ordering ! |
About MeI love making beautiful things and I also love sharing them with the world. Archives
November 2013
CategoriesAll Brixton Makers Market New Designs Tutorials Updates |