Download Your Christmas Wishlist Here
Start making those Christmas lists…
Download our new christmas wishlist template, print it out, tick the boxes and stick it on the fridge!
The perfect way to hint at what your perfect gift would be.
A Taste of Spring
A Taste of Spring by Athene Sholl
The rain and hail has finally stopped, possibly just for a few hours – who knows? We even saw just a hint of a pink sunset last night. And the birds tweeted, very very faintly – just for a short while. Spring is on the way…
It really did feel like a sign that light was at the end of the tunnel. But of course we have still have 2 more loooooong weeks of January to get through yet. And then February – sigh. And then the weather will be up and down a million times, teasing us with hints of light and warmth. Then will come the fool’s spring, when cardigans will be cast aside, and sweaters packed away, in false hope, before winter descends again, like a shroud. To catch us all out. Then come the spring coughs and colds as the lymph changes direction and makes us all feel wrong. Rinse and repeat throughout March, and then suddenly – there we are in actual real live spring, birds singing, sun on our faces, clocks changing and we really feel alive again.
But we don’t have to wait until then – grab a slice of spring from our necklace selection. These gorgeous pieces were on display at the Coach House Gallery – and due to the gallery closing this week, (another sigh) we’ve got them lined up in the studio for you, Just when we all need a boost. Ping us a message if one takes your fancy
Athene xxx
Birthstone Jewellery Guide
For those of you shopping for birthstone jewellery we have put together a list of all 12 gemstones and some of their properties, to make it all a little easier.
Some stones can be substituted for others with similar looks or properties. For example, Diamonds can be switched with Herkimer Diamonds which are a water clear quartz.
We absolutely love natural stones and are always fascinated by the properties of each stone and the ways in which they affect different people.
Our Birthstone Jewellery Guide
Need some ideas?
Here’s some of our birthstone jewellery.
Peridot Waterfall Earrings
Dangly, bold and delightfully easy to wear, these earrings are made with peridot.
Peridot is the birthstone for August.
Peridot is reputed to bring good fortune, balance and stability.
White Freshwater Pearl Bracelet
Beautiful, dainty and very wearable. These bracelets are made up of baroque flat pearls sized 6-8mm.
Pearl is the birthstone for June. Pearls are reputed to bring love and represent a pure heart.
Aquamarine Navette Dangle Studs
These simple but beautiful drop studs are perfect for adding a bit of lift to an everyday outfit.
Aquamarine is the birthstone for March. Reputed to have a soothing and calming effect on the wearer.
Greys
Funny that I don’t think of grey, but greys , in the plural
And amazing how much there is to be seen in greys. All the facets and nuances that go together to make up the simply staggering varieties of this lovely, calming and absorbing colour range. Soft greys, harsh greys, blue greys and green greys, those fashionable Annie Sloan paint colours that everyone suddenly had in their house. They really do provide a foil for everything, they make everything look so modern, despite firmly remaining a historical palette. Funny that – perhaps again a fabulous sales pitch? Grey with a bit of something underneath to lift it up, like the Dulux hint of colour white paints from my childhood. Apple white &Co. Now we have warm greys. Or maybe greys really are the go with everything, make everything look fabulous wonder colour that the new black could have been. Except nicer and easier to wear, more forgiving and more gentle. Still as smart, still corporate even, if you’re that way inclined.
I live in grey clothes, when I’m not wearing colours and don’t want to have to think too much, or to respond. When I don’t want to be distracted. Soothing and dependable, like a cup of tea.
Grey clothes are my go–to for smart, seeing as I can’t bring myself to do black.
The whole collection of colour theory essays can be found here.
Grey Necklace. Grey Labradorite slabs with faceted and polished labradorite beads. Sterling silver handmade clasp. Approx length 18′
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Safe Navy
I once had a colleague that completely put me off of navy. We worked in a boutique together, many moons ago, when I was young and impressionable and she was older and much more sophisticated than I. Although we had a fairly similar taste in clothes. She stated emphatically that Navy was for people that were too scared to wear black. So of course, I foolishly allowed that to colour my own opinion. Which is such a silly thing to do. I spent years avoiding navy and wearing black instead and always looking drained and tired.
Then one day, somehow, I finally twigged that navy suits me. I was out with a group of new friends, and one of them casually mentioned that black didn’t suit me. Not in a mean way – but very matter of fact. (She’s Dutch). It was like an epiphany. Now I had a get out clause. I can’t wear that – it doesn’t suit me. Of course there are lots of colours that don’t suit me, but it never occurred to me before that black could be one of them.
So I somehow moved on to Safe Navy. Gently steered by yet another friend, herself always dressed in shades of blue, who stated that as she had blue eyes she hardly wore anything else. It was like turning on a light – Ooooh, I have blue eyes too, maybe that’s why blue suits me. Uh ya think? But now it wasn’t safe in a provincial, boring, scared to wear black namby pamby kind of way. That I’d been scared of. It suddenly had connotations of something else, safe and secure in the knowledge that I was wearing something that looked great on me instead of a colour that made me look older and drained. Perhaps that’s also just crossing over the magic colour fence that comes when you turn thirty and suddenly decide you need to look younger rather than looking older and more grown up in a desperate attempt to be taken seriously? Now rather than be taken seriously, I’m hell bent on not looking too serious.
Secure in my Safe Navy, I can look almost smart, and still colourful. So now I’ve made Safe Navy into Cool Navy – all in my head.
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The New Black
I’m not even planning to discuss black, defined as the absence of colour. That’s not a colour, it’s not on my radar at all. I don’t wear black, (I don’t have a corporate wardrobe at all) and I don’t even use black stones very much.
But the new black, ah that’s different. Along with prison pink and greenery, by jove they’ve done it again! The new black isn’t black – it can be anything they tell you it should be!!!!!! At first it was quite simple to grasp…”NAVY IS THE NEW BLACK.” You can see the thinking behind that. Navy is a staple, a basic, a base. It’s useful and can do most of the things that black can do. It’s slimming, forgiving, smart, simple, a foil for other colours, wearable. It allowed the fashion industry to flog more stuff, all in the name of newness, of keeping up, of staying abreast, of staying in the game. But then it got seriously out of hand. “Grey is the new black.” Oh really? Ok, Grey can be quite dark so I can see where they’re coming from. But then all of a sudden Taupe was the new black. Really? Taupe? Hang on this isn’t just out of hand anymore, this is just downright silly. Grey can be many shades, as can Navy and these colours can do pretty much what black can, to maybe lesser degrees, so I can see where there coming from, but Taupe? Interestingly I don’t ever remember brown being badged as the new black. Maybe they did that in the seventies but forgot to give it the catchy tag line, so it went unnoticed as a fashion ploy.
The best one I ever heard was the hopefully tongue in cheek “ White is the new black”. That one made me laugh out loud, the sincere statement that something other than black can replace black. I can see what they’re trying to do, wean us off our collective obsession with black
White is the new black, although perhaps what they really mean is that the presence of colour replaces the absence of colour.
Now that might make sense. Maybe?
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