Commission: turquoise pendant

A friend mentioned he wanted to gift someone special a pair of turquoise earrings. I’m a helpful kind of friend and went looking for him … though I couldn’t find any suitable ones in local galleries, and made a speculative stone purchase on eBay (I couldn’t find a matching pair).

I was having lunch with this friend while wearing my opal pendant … I happened to have the stone with me … and one thing led to another and I agreed to made a simple elegant pendant for his special person.

turquoise pendant; image not to be reproduced without permission

The stone was slightly oval … it’s a simple setting, made of fine and sterling silver, rhodium plated to make it extra shiny and hard-wearing (even though the lighting in the below image is a little strange and makes the metal look goldish!).

turquoise pendant; image not to be reproduced without permission

I hope my friend’s special person likes it.

Commission: ‘Sweetpea’ earrings

I’ve been such a lucky girl lately … another of my beautiful friends asked me to make them some jewellery!

My friend saw my ‘Summer‘ earrings, made for ‘Deck the Walls‘ at Studio 20/17, and liked the ‘Sweetpea‘ colouring.

‘Sweetpea’ commission; only a quick photograph before she wanted to wear them!; image not to be reproduced without permission

So I made a pair for her especially.

As she is a jeweller/maker herself, I decided to leave the hook shaping to her … and it’s so fabulous that she selected to have the ‘back’ as the ‘front’ … I love how someone else can see your work so differently, and it brings something new to work that may seem familiar…

It was such a joy to see her excited to receive them. Thank you darling!!

More on ‘Opal01′ pendant

I’m so excited about my ‘Opal01‘ pendant commission, that I want to share some more photographs of it.

Oh please, do indulge me!

all ready to give to my lovely friend; image not to be reproduced without permission

It still amazes me how weird the opals and weave look when they’re scanned…

scanned; image not to be reproduced without permission

‘Summer’ in situ @ Studio 20/17

Just a quick little post … Studio 20/17 have shared images on their blog of the exhibition, and my group has its own photo.

They look so wonderful!

from Studio 20/17 blog; click on image for original source

Hoorah! Thank you Bridget and Melanie!

Commission: ‘Opal01′ pendant

One of my most beautiful friends was admiring my ‘Oh Opal!‘ pieces … and while we were talking about which ones she liked and why, we decided that instead of her needing to choose between two of those she liked, we would collaborate to make a pendant especially for her.

Yes, my very first commission!

From the many opals I own, she selected what I would consider the most gorgeous of them all: I call it Opal01, as it was the first opal I bought (all my opals are named in the order they came to my collection). I had intended for it to be in the ‘Oh Opal!‘ exhibition, however I didn’t like how the setting eventuated.

This opal is simply stunning! It is from Mintabie, South Australia. I bought it on eBay, and remember when it arrived I couldn’t believe its beauty.

We worked together to design the scale and proportion of the pendant, and the colouring of the weave.

nearly there; image not to be reproduced without permission

I am so excited about the final result!

‘Opal01′ pendant; image not to be reproduced without permission

So many thanks to my beautiful friend for her trust in me – I couldn’t dream of a more lovely collaborative process, nor a more wonderful patron and model for my jewellery!

Even more ‘Summer Earrings’

The last two earrings I sent to Studio 20/17 for ‘Deck the Walls‘, their Christmas Showcase 2012.

• ‘Miami’ (approx. 40 * 20mm) : reminiscent of the colours used on Art Deco buildings in Miami USA; also, strangely, of the pastel fever of the early 80s
  

  ‘Miami’, photograph not to be reproduced without permission

• ‘Jumpsuit‘ (approx. 50 * 23mm) : the large size and strong colours, you know it’s ready for day out roller-skating in the sunshine
  

  ‘Jumpsuit’, photograph not to be reproduced without permission

‘Deck the Walls‘ is at Studio 20/17 until 24th December 2012, and you get to take-away when you buy (not at the end of the show).

Some more ‘Summer Earrings’

Two more of the earrings I’ve sent to Studio 20/17 for ‘Deck the Walls‘, their Christmas Showcase 2012:

• ‘Sweetpea‘ (approx. 30 * 18mm) : reminds me of the beautiful sweet peas and flowers one of my lovely old neighbours grew; he had a wonderful rose garden and regularly cut flowers for me, his name was Ozzie and he was so gentle and nice … and old, yes pretty old
  

  ‘Sweetpea’, photograph not to be reproduced without permission

• ‘Glo-mesh‘ (approx. 35 * 21mm) : oh you know you wish you could wear glo-mesh every single day
  

  ‘Glo-mesh’, photograph not to be reproduced without permission

‘Deck the Walls‘ is at Studio 20/17 until 24th December 2012, and you get to take-away when you buy (not at the end of the show).