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.
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!
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!
Even though my usual design style is ‘striving for elegant simplicity’, I actually love the Art Noveau period – so in that vein, I designed these earrings for myself.
I’ve been wearing them nearly every day since I finished them. I’ve had quite a few comments and requests, so I may even make some more for my shop!
My gorgeous client Charmaine has a huge malachite ring I made for her, and she wanted some earrings to match. These malachite gemstones are in my gemstone collection, so I created this pair of earrings to give her.
This was the first time I attempted this particular style of bezel setting, and I’m pretty pleased with the way they turned out!
