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The Otter Pendant Necklace

04 Jun in Jewellery | Comments (2)

I recently received an email from a gentleman which went something like this ” Could you make a necklace for my wife? She is turning 50 and I would like you to use white pearls and an otter”

So no pressure then….

You don’t want to get a gentleman’s 50th birthday present to his wife wrong do you?

Here is the story:

White pearls – pearls are the traditional stone for June

The Otter – the lady in question sponsors an Asian short-clawed otter

Pearls, you know me, pearls are absolutely no problem. The otter though was another story. I searched high and low for a silver otter. I literally spent hours trawling the web looking for a beautiful otter. I could not find one….. I did find a incredibly talented silversmith who would be able to make a bespoke one for me – one which could be incorporated into a necklace design I had set my heart on.

But he could not do it within the budget I had been set.

And we were back to square one, and a new design, looking for that elusive beautiful otter. Eventually I found one, an elegant creature perched on a branch! The only problem was that the pendant weighed 12.5 grams and any silver object weighing over 7 grams needs, by law, to be hallmarked by the Assay Office in Birmingham. With a week and a half to go before the birthday date and a bank holiday weekend tucked into that, time was precious. We couriered the pendant to the Assay Office from it’s home in Scotland….. held our breath while the Assay Office (notoriously temperamental) did their thing and then it was couriered on to me. With just a day and a half to string the white pearls and assemble the necklace, I had no time to make any adjustments and had to hope that the idea I had in my mind would translate to the finished item.

I think it did.

An elegant double strand necklace – a string of medium white pearls, traditionally knotted, with a second strand using a silver chain, studded with silver drops holding a handcrafted silver otter pendant.

Australia’s Live Animal Trade

03 Jun in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)

One of the blogs I follow is Australia’s Faux Fuschia. I love her sense of humour and straightforward way of telling it like it is. I don’t like leopard print, and my fingernails only see nail polish on the rarest of occasions, but I still love FF 11/10. It’s often a bit of pink, enjoyable, fluffiness in my day.

Recently, she started writing about the revelation to hit the Australian cattle industry. Live animals are shipped to Indonesian abatoirs, where it appears that they are quite literally tortured to death. There are photos and videos. Most of which I am sorry to admit, I cannot bring myself to watch.

There does not seem to be much coverage of this in the United Kingdom yet. It also appears to be a contentious issue, with the respect of religious practice being an issue as well as having political implications.

But at the heart of the matter, is that animal cruelty is something I feel very strongly about. There are petitions you can sign and donations you can make to help animal rights groups raise awareness and try and get the export of live animals banned ( New Zealand has already banned this). Unfortunately, all of these are only open to people living in Australia.

Please let me know if you know of anything that we as foreigners to Australia can contribute to putting an end to this abhorrent system.

Cardinale de Richelieu

26 May in Brush Cottage | Comments (3)

Last year for Fathers Day I bought my husband David his favourite rose – Cardinale de Richelieu. It’s a Gallica rose, with the most intense colour, a dark grape and a wonderful fragrance. It’s in flower at the moment and the bush looks amazing, full of buds and blooms. I wanted to use some of the flowers for a dinner party we had last night to celebrate my father in law’s 70th birthday.

The stems are a cluster of buds and blooms, but with very short stems, so you are limited with ways of arranging them. I used 2 vintage silver goblets, filled with oasis, that held the short stems really well and topped the roses with Alchemilla and stems of catmint flowers.

I also used a bloom to top the birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Lily Pad Bracelet

16 May in Jewellery | Comments (3)

I have a very lovely German pearl man that I meet with a couple of times a year. Pearls are freely available here, but I find that I mainly buy from him. His pearls are always of exceptional quality, the range he sells is enormous, but for me, the main reason is that he always has something a little different, unusual, not run of the mill. He knows me well, and will unwrap these little gems with a glint in his eye, because he knows that I am powerless to resist!

These very large Keishi pearls were part of my last order, in beautiful iridescent peacock colours, but it’s the shapes that make these pearls special, little flower petals, or a whole shy, sweet country bloom, and flat, open lily pads, just waiting for a little visitor.

I’ve used these pearls for the Lily Pad Bracelet. I’ve used lots of them! And tucked in between, hiding away is a little brushed silver disc, cuddling a gold Keishi Pearl. A little hidden gem.

The bracelet closes with a handmade pure silver Rose clasp.

Alresford Rotary Club 10km Road Race

09 May in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)

This year I have decided to take part in the Alresford Rotary Club 10k run. Since 10km’s is a little bit out of my comfort zone, I thought that I might need a good incentive to keep me and my battered old knees focused. I was reminded of a friend, Clare, who until recently lived in our village with her two lovely daughters, Grace and Alice.

Clare’s 10 year old daughter Grace was diagnosed nearly two years ago with an extremely rare degenerative kidney disease. Because the condition is so rare, there is currently no research being undertaken into new drugs to treat it since there is no commercial benefit to the drugs companies in this area. The drugs Grace is already taking are helping to slow down the progress of the disease, but it is currently unknown how long it will be until her kidneys fail and she is on full time dialysis. To date, with the drugs available right now, nobody has lived past the age of 32.

Grace understands she has a kidney condition but does not yet know the full extent of it, or the longer term implications.

The Kidney Research Foundation is able to provide scientists to research Grace’s specific kidney condition, if Clare can raise sufficient funds to cover these costs.

It would be wonderful for me to help Clare raise money to help Grace, and others like her, to achieve a healthy, long life.

I would be so very grateful if you could consider sponsoring me doing the Alresford race by donating whatever you can using Clare’s Just Giving Page – http://www.justgiving.com/clare-acklam/

If you do donate anything, even if it’s only a Pound, please leave a message on the page or drop me an email, so I can say Thank You!

Grey Pearl Earrings

09 May in Jewellery | Comments (4)

I’ve had a request for some pearl earrings using the pearls from the Grey Pearl Necklace. Claire liked the idea of a cluster of crystals – this is the finished product.

Crystals always prove to be a challenge when photographing – these earrings are in colours of grey and ice blue and yet, to me, there are shades of green in my images. I photographed them in direct sun and in shade, perhaps it just goes to show how wonderfully they reflect the light and perhaps the green is from my leafy garden!

This design is now available to purchase on the site – Grey Pearl Earrings

White Pearl Earrings

08 May in Jewellery | Comments (2)

I’ve just added some white pearl earrings to the shop – they are made to match the white pearl necklace . Apart from being made using the most beautiful white freshwater pearls, I like the extra bit of detail the 14ct gold filled wire work gives them. These earrings would be perfect for bridal jewellery too – and you would get lots of wear out of them after the wedding as well!

Crystal Bracelet & Earrings

08 May in Jewellery | Comments (3)

I had a commission recently to make a bracelet and pair of earrings to match the cranberry and tanzanite lariat. It’s always so nice to work with colours that I love and these are favorites, I like them mixed together.

The earrings were clusters of Swarovski Crystals dancing beneath a beautifully faceted oval.

The bracelet, a combination of the requested colours and very unusual sterling silver pebbles and my favorite pure silver rose clasp.

I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again

05 May in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)

Gorgeous, with the big coat on…..

And gorgeous with the big coat off…….

White Pearl Necklace

02 May in Brides, Jewellery | Comments (1)

I love the idea of inherited things. Not necessarily jewellery, but items which for whatever reason have been deemed worthy of keeping and passing down to your family. Most of the things I have inherited have been items of jewellery and almost all from my great grandmother. Some of these things I have had re-modeled, so that they are more in keeping with my tastes, but there are other things which I will never change – her signet ring or her wedding band, and I hope that one day, my daughter will value them in the same way that I do.

A great string of pearls is another item of jewellery that finds it’s way from mothers to daughters. A classic in any wardrobe.

The latest piece I have added to the site is the White Pearl Necklace. These are wonderfully large white freshwater pearls, that have a fantastic luster. I have added some 14ct rose gold filled beads, making it a very contemporary necklace which closes with a matching toggle clasp.

As always with my pearls, these are strung in the traditional way of knotting between each pearl, ensuring the perfect drape and the security of knowing that none of the pearls would be lost should the strand ever break.

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