Gatsby girl

So I haven't blogged for a while, even though I have so much to blog about... First of all, I have to say I loved the Great Gatsby film, and it gave me the little push I needed to finally create some pearl pieces... Glad to say they have already proven to be a hit in my Etsy shop. The quote is the last line from Fitzgerald's book...

This piece was done with real ivory freshwater potato pearls, so sweet and decadent... The wire wrapping alone was so charming!!!

And this is a simpler piece, done with an acrylic pearl at the bottom... Simpler means more versatile! And less pricey, too ;)

What do you think? I always love to get feedback! And I promise to blog again soon, as I have more things I want to show you... ;) 

xx

The Girl with the Pearl Earring

For the AW 2013-14 collection, Maria and Pier, the creative directors of Valentino, drew their inspiration from Vermeer's painting Girl with the Pearl Earring. I absolutely adored their collection, and I highlighted these (photos from Vogue, of course):

 

I also loved the models' hair and the fact that the only piece of jewelry that could be seen was a kind of pearl necklace. But I would go and combine the clothes with long Amoronia quote necklaces, for sure :)

Overall, an amazing collection!
 

Be glad as children

"My friends, ask gladness from God. Be glad as children, as birds in the sky. And let man's sin not disturb you in your efforts, do not fear that it will dampen your endeavor and keep it from being fulfilled, do not say, 'Sin is strong, impiety is strong, the bad environment is strong, and we are lonely and powerless, the bad environment will dampen us and keep our good endeavor from being fulfilled.' Flee from such despondency, my children! There is only one salvation for you: take yourself up, and make yourself responsible for all the sins of men. For indeed it is so, my friend, and the moment you make yourself sincerely responsible for everything and everyone, you will see at once that it is really so, that it is you who are guilty on behalf of all and for all. Whereas by shifting your own laziness and powerlessness onto others, you will end by sharing in Satan's pride and murmuring against God." (Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Book VI, Chapter 3)

For this necklace I was inspired by father Zosima the elder's teachings, from the Brothers Karamazov. And today it's also a very happy, glorious, sunny day... Perfect! Have a nice weekend everyone :)

Dolce Gabbana AW13-14: Byzantine inspiration

I must confess it had been a while since I was overwhelmed by a fashion show. Dolce & Gabbana unveiled their Fall-Winter 2013-14 collection, part of the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013.

These photos are from backstage, you will find many more at their Facebook page.

 

What do you think of the collection? The Byzantine inspiration is obvious, this is amazing art we see here. The religious inspiration I would say looks more like an element of fashion, as the elements that are stressed are those of wealth and luxury, quite the opposite of what religion teaches. Well, I guess people in Byzantium were a lot more secular than we thought!

Winning an Oscar: The Dream that came true

Hi lovelies!

Anne Hathaway has won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film Les Miserables, at the 85th annual Academy Awards, and finished her acceptance speech with these words: 'Here's hoping that someday in the not too distant future, the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories, and never more in real life.'

In my opinion, Anne Hathaway's I Dreamed A Dream is the only interpretation so far that has made it possible for me to connect so realistically with the lyrics. After all, the approach of the film seems to have been to create a visual interpretation of the music, making it sound more real.

I couldn't help making these.

Apart from Les Miserables, I found many films to be really good this year, and I think the results reflected this. What did you think of this year's Oscars? What was your favorite film?

Goethe quote necklace

These last few weeks have been rainy, stormy, cloudy, windy or, in the best case dull. So yesterday I was looking outside the window, thinking about what an unhappy day Valentine's must have been for some people. I remembered a book from one of the top shelves in my library, about young Werther. It was in Greek, quite an old publication. And I began to read.

This is the book in its original German publication, the first print, in 1774 (image from Wikipedia). So, I suppose, if I wanted to make a jewelry piece with a quote from this book, it wouldn't be special if it was in Greek, or English. It would have to be in German, the language that Goethe wrote it in.

This is what I came up with. It is a gold heart locket, hanging from a black beaded choker. The locket reads 'Mein Herz habe ich allein', the phrase that struck me as quite strong and which I felt like using for this piece. The necklace is available here.

Les Mis Necklace

I love it when my customers come to me with a specific idea in mind for a custom order. This was the case a few days ago, when a woman asked me to make her a necklace with three lines from the song 'A Little Fall of Rain', from the musical Les Miserables. You can imagine my enthusiasm!

Les Miserables is one of the most popular musicals ever, and it is based on Victor Hugo's novel. Here is part of the song which inspired this necklace, trust me, if it brings tears to your eyes, it's normal:

Eponine
Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.

Marius
But you will live, 'Ponine - dear God above...
If I could heal your wounds with words of love...

Eponine
Just hold me now, and let it be.
Shelter me, comfort me...

Marius
You would live
A hundred years
If I could show you how
I won't desert you now...

Eponine
The rain can't hurt me now
This rain will wash away what's past
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
I'll sleep in your embrace at last
The rain that brings you here
Is Heaven-blessed!
The skies begin to clear
And I'm at rest
A breath away from where you are
I've come home from so far...


You can watch the video here.