Passion not one

Those of you who know me know as well that beside jewellery I have another passion - well, not one, but one of many - and it's crochet. Recently I've been neglecting a bit the stones and silver in my studio and concentrated on some crochet project for my boy, for frien's boy, and for myself too. I enjoyed it so much that the moment I'd finish one I'd start a new one right away. And you'd be right to think that there is already a new project in the making, just started :D
Here are photos of what I've made in the last six months.
New jewellery projects are ligned up too... and the skincare home study is waiting to be completed. Am I busy or what?

New place - new display location :)

I have been quiet for some time here and the reason is, you may already know from my Facebook page, that I moved house in November last year. From the North of Scotland to the North of England, I'm now based just outside Durham, a town I fall in love with years ago. I left good friends behind, the wide open spaces and stunning landscapes of the Highlands and... some of my jewellery too - you will still find my jewellery available to purchase directly in the HUNG Gallery in Inverness. I really wanted to have my pieces available locally here, in the North East too, and I found a lovely place! It's an independent Crushed Chilli Gallery located in the heart of Durham, just 5 minutes from the train station.

Today I left there a number of new and older designs - amongst others this Moonlight Shadow necklace with a stunning labradorite. They won't be available for sale off my website, I'm working on some smaller designs which I'll be able to work on whilst my son is asleep. Yep, that's how a full-time-mom and a jewellery artist works :)

Angel Comforter

Some days I just struggle with my designs. No stone looks right, no drawing seems to be good enough, the wire doesn't want to listen to my fingers. An artist block. A depressing day. The feeling of loneliness, hopelessness and desperation make the creative process impossoble. Well, it feels impossible. That day though, instead of just giving up and going to bed  I worked through all this. I didn't know what I wanted to make but I needed to DO something. My hands twisted the wire methodicly making little loops and weaves. Loop by loop, rhytmic movements, like when climbing a steep hill which you didn't think you can climb but you walked anyway. Step by step. Loop by loop, again and again. And after a few hours a little Angel was born :) I named Her Angel Comforter after my Friend said "May she watch over your sleep and keep you safe" when she firts saw the finished pendant.

the heart is made of wood, adorned with Sterling and Fine Silver and Poppy Jasper smooth rounds
the pendant hangs on a tangerine silk cord, hand stitched.

Minimalistic

Thanks to my dear Clients who ask for their dreams to come true I sometimes face very challenging designs. This time I needed to leave my comfort zone to use the smallest stones and the thinnest wire I have and create the smallest earrings ever. The first pair I made were 11mm in diameter and it was... too much, too big a size. So, the next pair I tried even smaller and that 9.5mm was just right. I'm now thinking I could probably make something as small as 8mm, maybe even 6mm that they could still have a stone and a little pattern in the centre. Maybe... :)

 

on the left: Elderflower with 3mm white Freshwater Pearl and 2mm Black Onyx

on the right: Poppyseed with 2mm Black Onyx only

Surprising

I like those moments of enlightement when you suddenly see something you didn't think of when creating a piece of jewellery :) 
These little silver earrings were commissioned to make a set with the Ancient Tree pendant. After taking photos I realised that they are not only in my Spahinsay style (as requested by my Customer) but they also have something in common with one of the Island's inhabitant: the Short Eared Owl :) So I named them Little Owls.

Good nights

Lately I've been working night shifts. During the day I'm a full time mom to a lively two year old boy and somehow I can't find the time for my jewellery ;) So, when he goes to bed I go upstairs and spend as much time as possible with the silver and gems...before I fall asleep usually between 1-2am. This is what I was working on the last couple of weeks when the sky was dark: rings!

Shapinsay again

These earrings are the second incarnation of Shapinsay, after the first pair was sold to Ania from Shapinsay (yes, from there!). I think I'll make a collection of earrings under this name inspired by the island colours :) Here I surrounded a juicy green Peridot (the colour of the grass) with yellow Jasper and orange Carnelian - like the little wild flowers on a meadow. Then I and added a purple Amethyst and burgundy Garnets - colours of the Sea Pink and  wild orchids.