Hand stamped Jewellery

I reckon all jewellery is special; handmade jewellery is that bit more special but handmade personalised jewellery, well that is off the scale in my opinion. 

If you've been onto my website you probably know by now that I've got a bit of a thing for birthstones, but being able to inprint a name, phrase, or special date onto jewellery just adds that extra wonderfulness. And hows about combining the two, personalised birthstone jewellery. Excuse me while I have a little sit down.

I've had some stamps for stamping letters onto metal for a few years, but these were 4mm so not ideal for many of my smaller items. So, I thought it was about time I invested in some dinky little 2mm stamps. 

I got these ones from Cookson (I know a few people were interested in my suppliers), but Palmer Metals also have them, and I think they also have a few different fonts.

I'm hoping to get some items listed soon... like this secret message ring...

...but in the meantime, if there's something you fancy having stamped, do get in touch. It'll take me a while to add that option in the shop.

Such a gorgeous way to remind you of special people, or times. 

I'll be stamping me a couple of birthstone rings for the girls, with their names and birthdays on the inside, and I'll hand them down to them when they're older. 

The birthstone for August - Peridot

There's something so special about wearing jewellery with a special meaning, and birthstones are a great example of this.

The birthstone for August is Peridot. I'm still never sure how to pronounce it.... do you know? I always assumed it was a french word and pronounce it with a silent 't' (a la merlot) but I have heard by people who should know these things that it's actually not french and should rhyme with "hot". Who knew!? A google search didn't help me much in deciding either way, so my internal jury is still out but I'd love to know what you think.

Peridot is unusual in that it is one of  the few gemstones that occur in only one colour - olive green. However, the intensity of that green varies depends on how much iron is contained within the stone. The colour of the individual peridot gems can therefore vary from a yellow green through olive to a deep brownish green.

I favour the lighter zingy yellow green; shown in these rose cut beauties...

Rose cut peridot stud earrings by Becky Pearce Designs

I must admit I don't really believe in the "talisman" effect of birthstones. You know, when the wearer supposedly gets special protection, or energies from wearing their birthstone. BUT I do love the extra thought that goes into a birthstone piece.

Peridot pendant by Becky Pearce Designs

Peridot, symbolizes strength. It is formed deep in the magma from the upper mantle and is brought to the surface by volcanic activity. And because it is therefore found in volcanic ashes, it was believed that peridot crystals were the tears of the volcano goddess, Pele.

Wooooooaaaah what happened to March?

It's mid- April already! How did that happen?

March was a complete blur for me. It was my birthday at the beginning of the month, and not just any old birthday, but the big 4 - 0.

I was hoping I'd finally feel like a grown up, but I guess that comes at 45?

So, March meant three weekends of celebrations with different groups of friends (followed by a lovely mothers day weekend at the end of the month). With all that going on, it was always going to be a fantastic month - but to top it all off,  my jewellery was featured in Glamour magazine!

I was beyond excited. You can imagine how I skipped around WHSmith!! I really must set up a press section on my website now....hee hee. The item they featured is the 5 band rolling ring (number 16!) which is  available on my website at the reduced price of £58, but the price will have to go up to £65 at the end of this month, so if you'd like one, get in quick!!

Phew - so far April has been pretty hectic too so far, but more on that later..... for now I just wanted to show you a few of my birthstone stacking rings...

How lovely is this Sapphire, Opal and Ruby combo?

Blogging and birthstones.

I was so excited to be in print this week. And I mean really excited. As in, having to stop myself showing the cashier at WHSmiths.

I was interviewed by Make and Sell Jewellery, about blogging for their March issue (available now from all good magazine shops). It's definitely worth a read for all bloggers, not just for my bit obviously; there were lots of top tips for jewellery designers or other small businesses. So a big hello to anyone who's popped along to this blog after reading their feature. Do say hello back in the comments.

Meanwhile, once I stopped beaming about my 5 minutes of fame (hopefully another 10 minutes to come someday) I got to work on more stacking birthstone rings... lots of new cabochons arrived ready for setting..

pearl, peridot, garnet, and sky blue topaz stones for setting

and here are some of the finished rings...

ready for photographing and popping onto the website. Hopefully next week!

Birthstone Goodies for January

I've been working on some garnet goodies recently, as garnet is the January birthstone.

I always think the rich deep red of the garnet looks gorgeous next to that dark sheen of oxidised silver. What do you think?

I know lots of you prefer shiny silver so I tend to offer both options on my goodies. It makes such a difference to the look of the piece. Even if it's not stated on the listing, just ask - I probably just forgot to add it on as an option.

This ring is usually shiny silver, and I think it looks stunning, so I guess it depends very much on each individual item.

Another shiny silver  - last years' January favourites were these pearl and garnet dangles. The creamy pearl with the sparkle of the garnet is such a classy combination.

More info on the January birthstone on this post!

As well as the gorgeous garnets I've been looking head to February, the amethyst birthstone always brightens up that greyest of months.

Click on the pics for a closer look!

Hello 2014!

Happy New Year

 

2013 was an incredible year for my business, and I thank you all so, so much for your support. It means the world to me, and enables me to work from home, doing a job I love, and be around for my kids whilst they're small (ish). Who could ask for more?

I know it's a little late but I never feel the New Year starts properly until the kids go back to school (which is tomorrow!).

Apart from anything else, in January I try (really hard... honest) to give up the booze Sunday to Thursday. And there's no way I'm prepared to do that until the kids are back at school! So all my other resolutions have to wait too.

Christmas was a little soggy around here.... luckily our house didn't flood, but our village was all over the news, and lots of friends had a Christmas which didn't go exactly to plan. Some are going to be out of their homes for the foreseeable future and our hearts go out to them.

This was bridge at the bottom of my road on Christmas Eve morning....

By Christmas Day, the water had subsided and the roads were passable again.

And an aerial view, courtesy of Sky News.

I hope you lovely lot got away unscathed?

But that's all behind us now (fingers and toes firmly crossed as the rain continues to pelt down against the window). And I'm excited to find out what 2014 is going to bring.

My resolutions for the New Year are...

1. To practice on the piano for at least 15 minutes a day.
   I started lessons with the kids in September, having never played before, and always wanting to give it a go. I'm absolutely loving it, and it's got to be doing my brain some good from the way it hurts after each lesson.
2. The booze thing (see above!) 

Business wise my plans are to..

1. Finally crack my birthstone range....which I've slowly been adding to, but just need to bloomin' well get sorted. Especially the stacking rings, which will be lovely for a mum to have in the birthstone of her children.
2. Get around to putting my sterling silver initial jewellery in the shop. Can't wait to show you this!!!
3. Find some other suitable stockists to get my wares out and about a bit more. If you know of any lovely shops which like to stock handmade goodies, please let me know. 

I'd love to hear about your plans, or resolutions for the year ahead. 

In the meantime I'll leave you with one of my best sellers from last year, these oxidised opal studs....(just because I gave a pair to myself as a Christmas treat!)

Peridot - the birthstone for August

Wear a Peridot or for thee, 

No conjugal fidelity, 

The August born without this stone, 

`Tis said, must live unloved; alone.

The birthstone for August - Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one colour; green. Although the intensity and tint of the green hue is dependent on how much iron it contains and individual peridot gems can vary from a sparkling pale yellowy green to deep olive. 

Whilst the most valuable peridots are usually the less common deep olive shades, I prefer that zingy fresh pale green and tend to go with that for my designs. And yes, it does help that it keeps the cost reasonable!

It looks perfect with sparkly sterling silver!

Peridot is the gem form of the mineral olivine, and it is formed by extreme heat and pressure in volcanoes and is then forced to the surface in the lava. It is also, (less frequently) found in meteors that land on the earth’s surface. It's amazing to wonder what that little shiny stone on your earrings has been through and how long it took to form. 

Peridot is also a great stone for weddings in August, and is the gemstone for 16th wedding anniversarys.

These gorgeous handmade calla lilies hold a teeny faceted peridot stone within.

I must get some more peridot designs up in the shop, as it really is a gorgeous gem! 

Birthstones and other inspiration

Well, so much for me getting lots of lovely handmade birthstone jewellery in my shops each month. I've done pretty well, but I have let May down. The May birthstone - Emerald started off pretty well. I got some gorgeous little stones, all beautiful and deep green. And then messed up completely in trying to set them. Whoops. They aren't the strongest stone, and I was probably a little....ahem over enthusiastic.

Never mind, onwards and upwards.... June is pearl, and I've got a box full of pearl goodies and a brain full of ideas - well half a brain anyway, the other half is trying to deal with all the everyday stuff and failing miserably.

In the meantime, I've been loving the warm weather and was out in the garden yesterday taking pictures.

 I love how this chive flower is bursting out of it's bud. Yippee... sun.

 These Lily of the Valley are such a gorgeous delicate shape. I would love to make some earrings in silver based on these flowers. Might take me a while to figure out how to put it all together though.

 Stunning stunning peonies. Love this splash of colour in our garden. Big flouncy and beautiful!

Ah we have so many forget me nots all over the place. I know people think they're a weed, but I think they're so pretty. I can't bring my self to get rid of them, so now they're everywhere. I love how there are so many teeny flowers clustered together. Definitely gives me some jewellery design ideas.

May Birthstone

Who first beholds the light of day
In spring's sweet, flower month of May
And wears an Emerald all her life
Shall be a loved and a loving wife.

Emerald is the birthstone for May. It's a true gemstone, as opposed to a semi-precious stone. Emerald tends to have numerous inclusions and is graded by eye, rather than a loupe. These inclusions mean that it is not a particularly strong stone. It's such a special stone it even has a cut named after it. Which shows off the stone's colour to it's best, whilst maintaining a strong shape.

In 1953 Jacqueline Bouvier was presented a 2.88 carat diamond and emerald engagement ring by Senator John F. Kennedy. Apparently, John Kennedy's father, Joe Sr. picked out Jackie's emerald engagement ring. Not the most romantic, but still who wouldn't be thrilled with this beauty....

I've always loved that deep emerald green colour. I always look for clothes in this colour, but rarely find any. I once saw Mary Hansen, from Stereolab on stage in a gorgeous emerald green sequinned dress many, many (many) moons ago. I wanted that dress then, and I still want it 20 years later. One day I'll make it happen. I'll probably be in a nursing home by the time I get round to it, but I will make it happen dagnammit.

I'm working on a couple of emerald birthstone pieces for the shop - some gold wire wraps, a first foray into the world of gold!! Plus I have some lovely teeny cabs which I'm setting onto silver to make some pretty little earrings. I'll let you know when I have pictures!

Happy Birthday to me!

It was my birthday on Friday, so to treat myself I spent the day at the Desire fair in Richmond.

Wow,  there was some truly amazing work there. It was great to see such a fantastic range of work in one room.

Things seemed to click into place for me about my jewellery style and where I'm going (and where I'm defintely not going!). People often ask me what type of jewellery I make, and now I think I could answer them a little better.

Ring by Sabine Konig

There were some stunning stalls, where I simply stood and stared at the goodies (possibly with my mouth slightly open, and  drooling a bit) and some where I had a chat with the artisan and got a real insight into the stories behind the pieces. So interesting.

The best thing for me from the day though, was that even looking at the most stunning works there, I felt inspired, and thought, "yep, one day if I work hard, I could do something as good as that". It probably sounds a bit silly, but in most other fields I seem to be the type of person who would think " oh dear, I'll never be that good, aren't they lucky to be able to do that"

A beautiful ring by Barbara Bertagnolli......

I wonder if it's just that I've found my path with jewellery.... or whether I'm just getting a bit more confident in my old age.

Speaking of which, I had a great weekend as well. We went up to London and had a Duck Tour - it's a tour on those amphibious vehicles - a drive around showing the girls all the sights, and then a splash down in the Thames. The kids loved it! After that we took the girls to see Stomp. Brilliant - sweeping up will never be the same again.

I got some fantastic pressies off my lovely family... I'll show you later in the week but I also made a little present for myself.

I've been looking into birthstones recently and thought it would be nice to have something in my own birthstone. As my birthday is March - that means Aquamarine. I have a little secret....don't tell anyone.... I don't really like it that much... (ssshhhhhh!). Don't get me wrong it's a really beautiful stone, but it just wouldn't look right on me with my pale skin and red hair.

The traditional stone for March is Bloodstone, which I admit would probably suit my colouring a little more, but I fancied something with a little more sparkle.

So what to do? I did what anyone should in my situation. Cheat.

I found a lovely moss aquamarine, wrapped it in sterling silver and voila! Happy birthday to me.
Let me know if you're a March birthday and would like to cheat too, I'll happily make you one!

Amethyst - February Birthstone

The February-born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they an amethyst will wear.

From light pinkish violet to a deep dark purple, the Greeks believed these beautiful stones could prevent intoxication hence the name; the word amethyst comes from the Greek word “amethystos” meaning “not drunk”! Medieval soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle because they believed amethysts could heal people and keep them cool-headed. 

Because of their beautiful colour and relative hardness, amethysts have been used in jewellery for many hundreds of years, in fact beads of amethyst have been found in Anglo-Saxon graves. But although it is quite a hard stone it's still only 1/15 the strength of a diamond. 

The most expensive amethysts are the darker purple, which look gorgeously regal,  but I have to say love the lighter violet and pinky colours too.

Did you know some types amethyst can be meters long. In 1900 in Mexico a stone was found which measured 33 feet, by 16 feet, by 10 feet and weighed over 8 tonnes.Not your jewellery grade amethyst you understand!!

January birthstone info

More information on the other birthstones