A little something: Daydream Nation for Peter Jensen

Pretty splash of colour and soft crochet detail make these two necklaces by Daydream Nation rather lovely summer treats. The first is called the Octopus necklace (cute, eh) and the second the Metamorphosis necklace, because rather wonderfully you can detach the pearl section and wear it as a bracelet... Head to Kabiri to snap them up in their summer sale.

 

Images courtesy of kabiri.co.uk

EC One Unsigned Graduate jewellery competition

A little bit of news for anyone graduating this year from a jewellery or design degree who hopes to pursue a career in jewellery design - there's a great competition on-going until September at EC One in London. Called EC One Unsigned, they're offering one winner their own shelf space this Christmas (the busiest time of year for any jewellers), along with design advice, PR and marketing and paid costs for pieces that sell.

All you have to do is enter on thier Facebook page by uploading an image and writing 100 words about the influences behind the design or collection. Pretty good, can't wait to see who wins...! See here for all the details.

Zoe & Morgan One-Day Sale

Last Wednesday the lovely girls at Zoe & Morgan organised a one-day pop up super sale, a chance to snap up present and past collections at fabulous prices, to meet the faces behind the designs and of course see the various collections side-by-side, from early designs featuring Bamboo canes to the sell-out Love Lasso ring...

 A quirky shopfront, featuring cut-out cardboard girls draped in Z&M

 Brazilian charm necklaces, far and second right, with some of the gent's designs

A selection of earrings

Ruth, the younger sister of Zoe & Morgan, who works for the brand in London

Held a stones throw from Euston station, my lovely friend Hannah who works for Z&M sent me  a text halfway through the day, saying she hoped there would be pieces left for me to see - and photograph - knowing that I was hot-footing it from work to Euston before the sale ended at 7pm. Luckily for me, there were some goodies left (not so lucky for my bank account), despite Hannah telling me of the queue outside the door before they'd even opened at 10am! Just goes to show how unusual - and coveted - Zoe & Morgan designs are!

Hannah selling, selling, selling!

My cheeky buy of the day - the silver Sugar Skull ring. Actually from the gent's collection,
I've had it made several sizes smaller to fit! Love him; reminds of like the Misfits skull!

The band is a rose stem, complete with little thorns and rose detail on the sides

A little something: New Month, Same Philosophy...

Last month I wrote about Lindsay Pearson, specifically her 'YES' engraved necklace, which from the moment I saw it I fell in love with. With its positive message it's the perfect talisman for everyday, a little memento to have and to wear, to touch while deep in thought or - when you catch your reflection - a reminder that saying 'Yes' is rather a good thing. Eeek, I now have my very own necklace (thank you Lindsay!) and hopefully I won't take it off for a while... Especially because it looks so lovely with my little trio of Becca Jewellery charms. <3

Silver 'YES' engraved necklace, by Lindsay Pearson

Simple but effective!

Lindsay Pearson 'YES' necklace, alongside Becca's Rabbit & Crown charm, engraved Pia Face and Hello Petal charm.
(I put the Becca charms on my own chain)

A little something: Found Bath

Eeek it's be a little while since I've written but I've been building up a few bits and pieces to write about soon... It's all about the photos you see! Anyhow, last weekend in a little jaunt back home and to the wonders of Glastonbury (the beauty of a Sunday-only ticket means big final show and clean clothes!) I discovered a lovely new shop in Bath called Found. This new addition sits alongside Bath's rather scenic Pulteney Bridge, and is a cross between Magma in Covent Garden and The Hambledon in Winchester... Lomo cameras, gorgeous prints, pretty clothes and homeware... and jewellery!

 

These goodies are from Japanese designer Ease, and are exclusive to Found in the UK. So exclusive in fact that I've struggled to find Ease online... Still the Playground Ring, below, is a see-saw inspired beauty - check out the video. Found is definitely worth a look if you're in Bath at all, while their website should be up and running in the next couple of months.

Playground Rings from Found Bath on Vimeo.

A little something: My vintage jewels featured on Adorn London

Last week Juliet from Adorn London got in touch to ask whether I could send through some photos and a bit of history about my favourite pieces of vintage jewellery for Adorn's vintage fortnight. I had a few choices; the first - my Mum's amazing charm bracelet - was all the way back home in Bath... but then I remembered my lovely silver ingot 'handed-down' (sneakily lifted) from my Mum's jewels, but now a regular feature around my neck on its long heavy-weight chain.

My Mum's silver ingot from 1977

The other favourite of mine is my great-Grandmother's wedding ring, made in a beautifully warm 22ct gold. You can read the little histories about both pieces on the Adorn London site here. Some great pieces from the other contributors, too, especially Lucy's Christian Dior coin necklace and Suzi's engraved silver cuff.

My great-Grandmother's 22ct gold ring from 1948

A little something: nOir Esme ring

I've been a fan of American jewellery brand nOir for a little while... Mostly because I've been meaning to write a blog post about a particular collection of theirs for months. I really will get around to it soon..! In the meantime, I just spotted this wench-worthy gem - the Esme sword ring. Double fingers rings are a mini obsession of mine at the moment, and this one pretty much ticks every box. Shiver me timbers and yep, pass the rum!

nOir's Esme sword ring Images courtesy of noirjewelry.com