Hello folks, lovely to meet you again, and thanks for dropping by at the blog. I've had a fabulous week off from work and it has been pretty eventful. Most times when I stay home, I tend to veg out in front of the TV, waking up late and generally chilling out. This week, I was in London on the Monday at a meeting after which I met a friend I was at university with - she was on her way to Tunisia from San Francisco and I was so pleased to see her after all these years. I met another friend for a drink, went out to dinner with my colleagues and generally had a good time mixing pleasure with leisure, a very strange and rare occurrence for me. I made a necklace for my friend, who without realising it started me off with Caprilicious. She sent me a box of gemstones and beads all those years ago and gave me carte blanche with the designs I made for her - my first collection! She still has some of the pieces and was even wearing the pair of earrings I made for her eight years ago - you can see them in the picture she sent me. The necklace in the photograph was probably my very first statement necklace, made with bloodstone, turquoise and cream wooden beads. This time I made her a simple necklace with frosted matte amethyst and citrine beads separated by seed pearls with a single large baroque pearl from a string I picked up in Bangkok. The pearl is flanked by ceramic beads that are electroplated in 18K gold. Birdie - the last oneThis is the last and final 'Birdie Necklace' I plan to make - the other three live in Australia, Bangalore and Texas - who knows where this one will fetch up. The beads are handmade at Caprilicious and all the necklaces are similar and tied together by the birds, however, each one is different. Birdies 1-3Birdie 4The Corsage NecklaceThis one is going to be one of my most 'statementy' statement pieces! Inspired by a tutorial by Kinga Nichols and the work of Dori Csengeri I made loads of little soutache pieces which I attached to a piece of Laceys Stiff Stuff (the name always makes me want to giggle) covered with stretch velvet material in navy blue. More crystals and beads and shiny things followed, as well as a necklace of six strands of crystal teardrops. The embroidered piece was placed on one side like a corsage and it turned into one hell of a necklace that will be worn by someone discerning, who understands what a statement is all about. She will be a woman of distinction, who likes to be both seen and heard, and I envisage it with a black strapless dress. What do you think?? I'd love to hear what you think of this piece. Love it or hate it, this one will not be ignored. I'm sure you will appreciate the amount of time and work that has gone into the making of this piece. Labour intensive, but most definitely a labour of love. That's me for the week gone by folks, have a lovely week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx
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Hello folks, how are you today? I have holidayitis as we are soon off to India to visit my mother and have a few adventures of our own, and I'm really looking forward to it. I was hoping to have a little show of my own while in India, but nothing has come together yet - however, I do have a few people lined up to come and see what I have carried with me. I never tire of taking out my pieces of jewellery to show people, and then put them away in the suitcase - it never seems like a chore. That my necklaces go to a good home, that's what I want, and I show them over and over again, quite tirelessly. OctarineOctarine is the colour of magic - from Terry Pratchett's series of books, Discworld. It's the eighth colour of the Discworld rainbow, sitting where we might expect ultra-violet, and it is only visible to wizards. The eyes of wizards apparently contain, besides the usual rods and cones, octagons that detect octarine. Less magically-sensitive humans can see where octarine would be, as the blackness around the edges of fire. As we can't actually see the colour, it appears as a dark hole in space. I made a veneer using Copper acrylic paint, Kroma Krackle and alcohol inks and as the Krackle dried it separated into plaques coloured by the alcohol ink, displaying the copper paint beneath. The veneer took almost a week to dry out before I could colour it and then I made beads with it. I wanted to seal the Krackle and painted it with liquid clay and was terrified when the alcohol ink vanished, only to reappear when I cured it with a heat gun. I used every single piece of it, wrapping the last few strips around black beads. Here then, is Octarine, the necklace I made using the beads with this veneer. The necklace has an enamelled toggle clasp - I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and had to have a few - a pretty clasp enhances a necklace so much and I couldn't resist it. Shonky GeometryI've been making earring components for a while now, and decided it was time to put them together. Most of the components are misshapen on purpose in the fashion of the times. They are mostly stud earrings which are trickier to make than ones that dangle from hooks, but they have a more polished dimension to them. The asymmetric vibe which is so dear to my heart and very much in fashion is in evidence in most of them in one way or another. They are comfortable, colourful, funky, easy to wear and most importantly, different. I will launch them on the website when I get back from India. This is a sneak peek for you, my lovely readers, and I hope you like them.
That's me for this week, folks. Have a lovely week and I'll catch you soon - I'll do my best to check in each week, if not, I'll catch you when I get back home. Until then xx Hello readers, tantarrararraaaa! I can finally unveil the silver earrings I made in my kiln - it took me ages to psych myself up into making them, and then I had to steel myself into soldering on jump rings so that I could hang them - but in the end, they are pretty, and I am pleased with them. Lili MarleneThis was a song made popular at the time of the Second World War by Vera Lynn and Marlene Dietrich, although it was written well before this. It is a beautiful love poem set to music, sung here by June Tabor. I have always loved the song and as it will soon be Rememberance day, I decided to name the earrings after this haunting song. The earrings are asymmetrical, held together by the floral motif and the orange Cubic Zirconia. Asymmetrical earrings, I am assured by the pundits from fashion glossies such as Vogue magazine are extremely 'in' now! - and anyway it is always nice to be a bit different, wouldn't you agree? Anyone and her grandma can wear ordinary, boring stuff. Al - Kahina, or DahliaAl Kahina was a Berber warrior princess - she lived in the 600's AD and was a Byzantine Christian. She was tall and beautiful and charismatic, with long black hair, and huge dark eyes. She was wise beyond her years, and was probably the world's first feminist. To her disgust, her given name was Dahlia - she didn't think that was a fitting name for a warrior princess at all. She hated her name so much that if there had been deed polls in those days, she'd have used one to change it. As it stood, she had to be more fierce than any man in her father's army and wore a permanent scowl, just to live down the dreadful shame of being named after a flower. Legend would have it that when she was a young woman, a chieftain who wanted to marry her terrorized her tribe. He thought this was the way to woo this woman who had a reputation for being fierce. They clearly hadn't heard of candlelight and flowers in 600AD or maybe he thought they were inappropriate for her, who knows? Dahlia went into hiding for some time but eventually agreed to the marriage. On the wedding night, she slew her new husband by smashing his skull in with a club - she obviously didn't believe in amicable divorces. That act set her on a path to ruling her clan and she consolidated all the major Berber tribes under a common purpose - driving out the invaders. She had of course learned her strategy from the success she achieved in dissolving her marriage - beat all invaders about the head with a club and they will disappear instantly! I've recently been fascinated by arrowheads and I bought the pewter ones in this necklace around the same time. The Moroccan bead is from my little stash - I love the simple beauty of these beads. I thought Dahlia might have worn it as a novel way to store her arrowheads while she strode about the place, barking out orders to her men. ShubhaShubha is a Sanskrit word that means auspicious. The tiny little talisman hollow box pendant from Afghanistan in this necklace combined with the turquoise nuggets and little Afghani coins is meant to confer luck on the wearer. ArgosArgos was a hundred eyed giant from Greek mythology, who was set by the goddess Hera to guard what he thought was a sacred cow. The cow was actually Io, a nymph who had caught the roving eye of Hera's hubby Zeus. Hera, in a rage of jealousy had turned Io into a cud chewing bovine creature so that she could corralled in a field and her every movement watched by Argos' hundred eyes. Zeus however, was determined to have his way and wasn't about to be thwarted by the fact that he was going to have to make love to a cow! He sent his son Hermes to sort Argos out so that he could get to her. Hermes, who was probably the world's first anaesthetist, bored poor old Argos into falling asleep with the telling of stories - one by one his hundred eyes shut, and he began to snore. He was then easily beheaded and Zeus and the cow got it together. Hera was most upset by the loss of her favourite giant, and set his eyes in the tail feathers of a peacock, so immortalising Argos and creating the beauty of this bird's tail. She also thought she'd teach Io a lesson and created a pesky gadfly to hang around the poor cow to bite her, irritating her for as long as she should live. The polymer clay leaves in this necklace are in peacock colours - I've used them before in a bracelet, but this time, I anchored them down with slivers of golden coral and added gemstones and shiny fire polished beads to make a facsimile of a peacock's tail. The 'tail' sits close to the chest and will fill the neckline of a LBD, adding colour and cachet. Icicles at SunsetI fell in love with a string of delicately pale pink quartz beads at the bead show in Newbury a couple of years ago, but had no idea how I was going to use them until I happened upon this photograph of icicles at sunset recently. I have a set of texture hammers, and when I'm feeling particularly tetchy, I hammer the hell out of some thick pieces of wire. When I'm finished, I feel so much better, and I have components that I can hold onto for when inspiration strikes, a win win situation. That moment arrived somewhere in the middle of the week readers, and I now present the result - Icicles at Sunset. I've decided that I shall have a little sale to try and create some space for new stock, and to give people a chance to get their gifts for Christmas in early. It will soon be Caprilicious' fourth birthday and I shall have to think of a way to celebrate that - any ideas??
That's it for this week folks, thanks for joining me. Have yourselves a fabulous weekend and I shall catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx Hello readers, thanks for joining me this week. We are back safe and sound, dog tired, mentally exhausted, both a few pounds heavier, another successful exhibition behind me, and a streaming cold to boot. Another holiday is in order - asap!! The kittens are happy to be back home, and are showing their pleasure by racing around, systematically wrecking the house and then collapsing in an exhausted heap. I should have guessed that this holiday was going to be chaotic - our flight to Dubai was delayed, and then only three of our four bags arrived in India. After an anxious wait, the fourth one was delivered to the house the next day - but not before my aunt took some pleasure in telling me about how someone's cousin's wife's sister's bag had gone missing forever, causing my mother anxiety on my behalf -'what will you do, OMG, OMG' she went, until I was a bit short with her (that's an understatement, by the way) and I went off to chew my fingernails secretly in the toilet, while I pretended a serenity I did not feel. During the three weeks of this manic holiday, my friend's daughter had a three day partnership celebration, my cousin had a 50th birthday, and we had our own wedding anniversary to mark. There were also reunions - friends whom I hadn't met for years and years descended on Bangalore in dribs and drabs all in the same three weeks, and there were a couple of little parties - one organised by my school mates, and another by class fellows from medical school. Itsy BitsyI ran a couple of jewellery making workshops for Itsy Bitsy at two of their stores across Bangalore - and anyone who knows the traffic there will feel sorry for the guy who drove me across town. The workshops themselves were a doddle when compared to the logistics of actually getting to them, where I met some lovely ladies. Preparations for the exhibition carried on through all of this - and then, as if this wasn't enough, my mother suddenly needed an operation - which was scheduled for the afternoon of day prior to the exhibition. The entire extended family swung into action with suggestions and concern and I had to navigate the minefield of doing what was right by my mother without offending the rest of the clan. This of course was also the time assigned to the setting up of my stall, and for a moment I thought I would have to cancel the entire enterprise. My mother however, was made of sterner stuff - no way would she agree to my exhibition being cancelled. Instead, I set up (or tried to) in the morning, well before the operation was scheduled - unfortunately Mr Pinto, who was meant to supply the tables for the exhibition partied a bit too hard the night before, and forgot all about my request for an early delivery - the phone lines were smoking hot that morning, I can tell you - and my blood pressure sky high. Although I am smiling in the photograph, the pose coaxed out of me by Rachel, murder was not far from my thoughts! I stayed entirely silent, in case I let slip a few choice swear words, turning the air blue around me, frightening away my new friend Rachel. Eventually, just after mid day, Mr Pinto arrived - a plump little moustachioed man, chauffeured on the back of his daughter's motor scooter, perspiring and apologising with equal profusion, carrying the table cloths I needed before I could lay my jewellery out - he was so upset that even I felt sorry for him by the time he'd finished with the apologies. He came good, and even delivered an extra couple of tables that I suddenly found I needed the next day, without charge and on time - thank you Mr Pinto, all is forgiven! Once I was three quarters of the way set up for the next morning, I set off for the hospital to be an anxious relative (now I know how that feels, usually being on the other side of the coin), driving all the way to where mum was having her operation, just about ready to pass out myself, having had very little to eat all day other than a couple of sugar hits - which went straight to my hips, rather than do me any good. And after all that fuss, the operation that was meant to be at midday was done at half past three - now I know how that feels as well! The sign by the lift exhorted us to be patient and speak softly - or did it?? And then the exhibition - I was exhausted well before it even started, but perked up greatly when people arrived and began to compliment the jewellery. This time I really felt the love, as last time around I had a lot of support from my (very large) extended family and friends, whose job it was to say nice things about Caprilicious. This year I was at the mercy of strangers - and the response was overwhelmingly, heart-warmingly, exceedingly wonderful! Some of the family came too and were uniformly complimentary - I am very grateful, of course I am. My cousin Brindala worked hard behind the scenes, even handing out fliers to guests at her brother's 50'th birthday bash - and some of those guests did turn up. Rachel Chitra, whom I met through this blog worked tirelessly - I heard her telling everyone that I was the designer - was that why everyone was so complimentary? - or perhaps I just have a naturally suspicious mind! Anyway, whatever the reason, people bought a load of stuff and said a lot of complimentary things, and I was tired, but very happy at the end of it all. My sister and her family turned up to see my mother, bearing macarons and cake. Mona has decided to set up in business and is in the early, exciting stages of sourcing equipment, making menus and getting started in her own business Em'ali, dealing in specialty cakes and breads in Pune, India, where she has decided to spend the rest of her life, having lived a nomadic lifestyle so far with her husband being in the Indian Army. Jackie Pinto, the editor of Indulge, Indian Express decided that she loved Caprilicious, she was the first visitor to the exhibition, then came back for more again and yet again. She is now my brand ambassador in India! She introduced me to the owner of Ffolio and I ended up placing some of my jewellery in this extremely well known, extremely popular and exclusive boutique where even the air you breathe seems rarefied. And finally, here are a few earrings that Bangalore was not ready for yet. The idea was to create asymmetry that was pleasing to the eye by using similar elements, in a different order - almost tricking the brain. After all, nature is asymmetrical - well, that was the theory. But the practicality might have been that they were a bit too avant garde?? - let me know what you think. I have been on the blower every day, and mom seems to be making a good recovery. Ms Muse should be back sometime next week from her extended holiday - I am keeping everything crossed that I won't have to send someone after her and she keeps her promise to return. That's all for now, have a fabulous week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place xx |
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