Cara, by Caprilicious Jewellery

Hello folks, how are you today? It has been a fabulous week with the weather playing ball and the sun coming out to warm our bones - the warmest February since records began, no less! We made our first trip to the garden centre - the first of many this year, I'm sure. The jet lag has finally left me and I am back to full mental and physical capacity and it feels great. We've already booked our next holidays and although they are a way away, it gives us something to look forward to. I can now proceed to organise my life and activities for the year around my holidays and weekends on call. 

I was sent this photograph by a lovely client and thought I'd use it in a different way - I love the quotation because it encapsulates exactly how I feel about Caprilicious. Each person who wears my work is a part of it and my work becomes a part of the life of the wearer. In this way we communicate without a word being said and become a part of each others life experiences, sharing a common thread that connects our reflections on life and developing a mutual understanding of who we are without even having to meet. 

Cara

I've been meaning to use the beads in this necklace for a long time, I find them quite delightful. I love the naturalness of the material - they are made of slices of a stalactite with the most beautiful crystalline structure, also called solar quartz.
The words stalactite and stalagmite can be traced back to the Greek word "stalassein," which means "to drip." This is fitting because it describes how both are formed in nature. Stalactites and stalagmites grow because of water running over and through inorganic material. It can take a very long time for most stalactites to form - they usually grow anywhere between a quarter-inch and an inch every century. When water  dripping from the end of a stalactite falls to the floor of a cave and deposits more calcite into a mound, a stalagmite eventually forms in a cone like shape. When water drips onto your body from a stalactite, it is called a 'cave kiss'!! And I'm led to understand that this is pretty rare as the water takes ages to collect the momentum to fall from the tip of the stalactite.

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The slices of stalactite are naturally a creamy white in colour, and can be dyed in beautiful colours. Most of the slices I used in 'Cara' are in their natural state.

This is a necklace that sits close to the neck, but far enough away so that the edges of the beads are not uncomfortable for the wearer. The necklace is very spring like, very reminiscent of sunny summers days, floaty frocks, flowers, straw hats and weddings. The warmth of the weather this week has definitely affected me with this necklace. There's a thought - what would I have made with the same beads at the height of mid winter? I wonder!!

That's me for the week, folks. Have a lovely week, and I'll catch you next week, same time, same place. 
Until then
​xx