My lovely friend Anna commissioned me to make an amber and silver pendant and earrings set. The set was a Christmas gift for her mum. What a sweetie, and so thoughtful!
Anna chose the amber cabochons from my available gemstone collection. The brief was that the set be fairly delicate, and that the earrings not hang too low. I drew up a few designs, and we worked out what Anna’s mum would like best.
Amber is actually fossilised tree resin, and sometimes contains suspended life forms, for instance insects or plants. You can read a bit more about amber here.
The rage right now is tassel earrings, and I love pairing them with handmade silver earwires! Fashion doesn’t usually drive me, but I’ve been in love with the tassel lately. I worked out how to make some using high quality cotton (and sterling silver of course), and I’m pretty pleased with the result. To give the earrings a fresh and fabulous look, I used silver for the earwire, the hanging part at the top, and the wrap around of the tassel.
I made these particular lovelies as gifts for two of my dearest besties in the whole world. I find a constant source of joy in being able to create beautiful things for amazing people!
You can find some tassel earrings with silver earwires in my online shop. Although these earrings have nearly sold out at present, I am getting ready to match another fabulous batch of these in a gorgeous array of colours. I’d also be very happy to make you a pair in any colour you dream of! You have a rainbow of choices available. Let me know what colour tassels your earrings should have by getting in touch with me here; and of course, sterling silver is hypo-allergenic so is perfect for everyone!
History
Tassels have been around for thousands of years. Tassel creators use a wide variety of materials. Throughout history, they’ve appeared as decoration, for religious purposes, and in ceremonial wear. So varied and highly prized were they that in 16th century France an apprenticeship of seven years was required to become a master in the guild of ‘passementiers’. If you’re interested, you can read more a bit more about their history here on Wikipedia. You can also read about them here on Martha Stewart’s website.
Meanwhile, tassels add a great pop of colour to any outfit! They can be a bit of fun for a day at the office, or sleek and beautiful for a night at a party – you get to choose and enjoy them any way you like!
One of my clients, Jake, asked if I could create a pair of treble clef earrings, using Ludwig van Beethoven‘s own handwriting for a template.
What a joyous and fabulous idea! Jake sent me the snippet of handwriting via email. I was able to reference the handwriting while I bent the silver to the same shape.
I was very pleased to oblige, and also to honour Beethoven in this way.
It’s all about earrings style! In part one of a series of tips about the basics of jewellery wearing we looked at necklaces, and in part two we looked at rings. Today we’re looking at those fabulous fashion items, earrings.
earrings style – lengths
You might have noticed that my earrings come in various shapes and sizes. One of the things that can make a big difference to whether earrings suit you is their length.
My current basic earring designs are anywhere between 3cm and 5cm long.
3cm is good for everyday wear and for people who like a subtler look, and goes well with a heavier bead so that there is less movement and tugging on the earlobe (I hate that pulling stretching feeling!).
5cm skims the jawline on most people (apparently the most flattering look, who knew!); and is great for making a statement. Also good for people with longer hair. The design of my earrings keeps the bead still so that there is still limited pulling on the earlobe – so comfortable it feels like you’re hardly wearing anything!
If you’ve spotted a bead that you love on my website, but don’t like the drop – let me know and I can make you a pair of earrings any length.
style – hooks
I like to design my earrings in different shapes and sizes – and the shape of the earring wire is one of the differences that can affect how comfortable you find your earrings!
I create a number of different earwire shapes. My personal favourite is the oblong. This shape allows the earring to balance comfortably across the hole in the earlobe and provides stability so that the earring doesn’t swing and drag on the lobe.
The curve shape suits some beads better, and is comfortable no matter what size your earlobe.
The hook shape is a modification of the curve shape, the small kick at the end giving slightly more security stopping the earring from coming out of the ear unexpectedly.
Round hoops are a nice earring shape to give more depth to the earring. Square hoops are the same. I usually wear mine with the right angle corner at the centre of the lobe, but you could wear them with the longer side flat through the lobe if you want.
Really, it’s a matter of personal preference. If you find a bead that you love on my website, and would like a different earwire style, let me know – I’d be happy to make your earrings with your preferred style!
style – materials
When deciding what material your earrings should be made from, sterling silver is a good choice. As well as being beautiful, it is usually hypoallergenic, so you avoid allergic reactions and green skin (problems usually brought about by the nickel in inferior quality metal).
I am a bit of a purist, so I like to use natural materials such as stone, glass and ceramic in my earrings. That’s not to say that I won’t one day embrace resin and plastic!
Earring size and shape is really a matter of comfort and personal preference of course. Tell me, what’s your favourite style earrings?
There’s a nod to the sky and the sea and the forest in these sodalite, malachite, and silver gum-leaf earrings I created last year for my client George.
As part of the design process, I sent George some pictures of combinations of different gemstones from my available gemstone collection. He chose sodalite and malachite as a lovely combo. We added the gum-leaves for a lovely subtle nature themed earring. George thought they looked great, and they went off to a new home overseas. I’m always so happy when my clients like the pieces I’ve made. It’s always exciting when they’re headed off to various corners of the globe. I have made some well travelled jewels!
I was pleased to be invited to participate in the 2017 Mount Eliza Art and Design Show, and I mailed a large box of goodies down to Victoria, including pieces from my Spirals collection.
I also sent down a selection of earrings, including various pairs of my popular bubble earrings.
I also sent some large bubble hoop earrings like these ones. These larger earrings are not yet available in my shop, but if you’d like a pair get in touch and I can let you know what colours I have still available.
It’s always a pleasure to have my work on show around the place, so a big thanks to the Mt Eliza Design and Arts Show team for all their efforts!
My lovely sister had a birthday recently, and I thought she might need a bit of understated bling – so I made her a pair of melanite garnet stud earrings.Love my sister!
