Busy bee, busy me

Well I have kept up the momentum since my last blog, and have been creating lots of new work, new styles, and re-working old themes. It has been quite unlike me to stay this productive for so long - usually I am distracted from work by the most ridiculous things - Eastenders is one of the worst culprits! I also usually favour cleaning as a form of procrastination, but as I have dedicated myself to making new jewellery, the cleaning has fallen by the wayside, and my house now looks like Stig of the dump lives in it (how can one person make so much mess?! I astonish myself!).

I have re-worked a couple of previous designs - my glass starfish necklace which has been so popular has had a re-vamp, and is now is fine, deep red coral branches, with chunkier pieces of turquoise. It looks like a much bolder piece this time round, and with the richer colour, it would be more of a night-time necklace I think. Some time ago I made a necklace from pale green new jade, which I have had another bash at, and given it a face lift. Again, I've enhanced the colour by going a bit richer, using freshwater pearls in a mint green to liven it up, along with green Swarovski crystal, and alternated the jade squares with green aventuring ovals. I've called it my 'dew-drop' necklace, as the colours look like the dew-drops on all the gorgeous, lush green plants and bushes at this time of year.

My new work is a bit of an eclectic collection - I have drawn inspiration from different places and ideas so there isn't a connective thread between all these things.....who says there has to be a theme?!

My 'Highlander' necklace is made from multi-coloured India jade and little green peridot chips. Last week I made a lariat called 'heather belle' and it got me thinking about the Highlands, and gorgeous they are at this time of year. I always used to go up to the Highlands for my summer holidays, and it looks so different in that part of Scotland, compared to the East coast where I live. I love the 'patchwork quilt' effect of the fields and hills there - all different earthy tones, patched together. These stones remind me of that - there are deep greens like the coniferous woods of the hills, plums and pinks, like the heather,and sandy, orangey stones, like the wind burned fields.

This necklace, called 'Nile' is made from pressed (sponge) coral, and turquoise. I love this combination of colour, it's so rich and vibrant, and makes me think of the gorgeous coloured neck-pieces and crowns of the ancient Egyptians. I love Egypt - I love the colour and history of it, and how everything seems so exotic there (even ordinary things like crisps - they had lime and chilli crisps there! that's exotic!).

I also made a set of earrings to go with some of my necklaces - they do look great as a set, wearing the necklace and earrings together, but I think they earrings look fab as a piece you can wear on their own too.

I have made a couple of pendants as after some thought, I realised it was something I didn't really offer people, so I thought I'd give it a bash.
I have made two in very different styles - 'San Francisco' and 'Abyss'.

'San Francisco' is a really youthfull, fun pendant, string onto linen cord. Its a gorgeous piece of turquoise (obviously my fave at the moment) enhanced by a little millifiori heart, glass beads, and Swarovski crystal. It's got lots of movement in it, and once I made it, I came up with the name as it made me think of flower power, and hippies, and that song about San Francisco and wearing flowers in your hair! I went through a bit of a stage of that in my teens, of wearing big floppy hats, and flower power shirts, and hippy flares. Maybe my fashion sense has grown up a bit, but in all honesty, I'd love to still dress like that.

The other pendant I made is totally different - really simple and hung on a fine silver chain. The pendant is a big chunk of polished and cut fluorite, but the stone did all the work for me here. It is a simply stunning stone - a deep, rich teal colour, with hints of bottle green, and a band of deep purple through it. This stone has great transparency, so it just looks amazing. I love the fact that fluorite develops these colours naturally, and it is not dyed to look like this. I think when nature can do that, it really shows that we just don't match up with things like that - man made never looks this good. The colour reminded me of the colours you see underwater on TV, hence 'Abyss'.

My 'Lily' necklace is just a pretty, delicate, girly number. It looks really feminine on, and really unique. It's made from crackled rock crystal chips, Swarovski crystals, and white rice pearls, with a beautiful, polished fluorite pendant. The fluorite is amazing, as it looks different in depending on how you move - it has blues, and greys through it. This necklace reminds me of the old-school crystal necklaces that my Grandma used to wear to church on sundays! I love alittle bit of girly glamour, and her generation knew how to do it just right!

On a sea-inspired train of thought, I also made a necklace called 'Rock Pool'. This one is just a bit of fun, and so cute for the summer. I used freshwater rice pearls, in a lovely sky-blue colour, and some glass seed neads in a pale blue, to space between the pearls. Then as a pendant, there is a baby-blue Swarovski crystal starfish. I think the little starfish pendant breaks up the string of pearls so it doesn't have such a traditional feel about it (as pearls so often can).

So you can see I have been a bit busy of late! No wonder my house is a tip, and my garden is a field! I think on my days off next week, I'm going to lay off the jewellery, and chill out with a bit of house-work....how sad is that?!!

A few new pieces to see

I have had a surge in productivity recently - which is rather inexplicable, because by my own admission, I am not always the most motivated of folks. Really built for comfort, rather than speed.
I have been dedicated enough to actually sit down every evening and make a few pieces of jewellery, and in doing this, it means that my days off now consist of lazing around in the sunshine, rather than fiddling about with beads.

I have made a few summery bracelets, which although are all quite different from each other, all look pretty good together too. If I had my way, I'd grow more arms so I could wear more jewellery - bracelets being my favourite.

I have also started to use a new pearl supplier who has provided me with some beautiful and unusual pearls, so I was really excited to get started with them.
The first piece out of my new pearls was this multi coloured pearl necklace. The pearls are beautiful rich colours - berry reds, golds, topaz, azure blue, and a gorgeous rose-gold colour. I have interspersed them with little gold glass beads, and they seem to tie it all together. The finished piece is called 'Bedouin', as it made me think of those beautiful colours of bedouin scarves and clothes, and spun gold and the richness of the colours of the desert. This is a great piece for the summer, as it just seems to capture the essence of hot evenings on a holiday somewhere exotic.

This lariat is a new one as well - when I made the 'Pretty in Pink' one last week, I really loved the colour scheme of it, so thought I'd work on it to get a different design in the same colours.
This 'Heather Belle' lariat has amethyst, glass, Swarovski crystal, rose quartz, amazonite, freshwater pearls, blister pearls and mother of pearl in it. It is a real treasure trove necklace. The lovely plums, pinks and blues look great together and made me think of up North when the heather is in bloom. My friend Heather is always called 'heather belle' by her hubby, and I just think it's so sweet, so here we go: romantic 'Heather Belle' lariat.

I think I will need to get my thinking cap on this weekend - I might have been motivated lately, but nobody told my brain. It seems to be struggling to keep up! I need to have a thought about some new ideas and designs to keep it fresh. Maybe a bit of sunbathing will inspire something.....or is that just wishful thinking?!

New outlets for Elizabeth Scott Jewellery

Well I have been making the most of a productive spell, and approaching new galleries to take in my work.

I have an outlet now in Aberdour in Fife - Shoreline Studio. I delivered my first, small collection of work to the proprietor Ian McCrorie earlier on this week, so I have my fingers crossed for some sales! I have supplied this gallery with a selection of chunky gemstone jewellery, pearls, and coral designs. Shoreline Studio, 2 Shore Road, Aberdour, KY3 0TR, http://www.shoreline.sco.fm/1317/frames.php

I have also made my way South of the border to Church House Designs in Congresbury, North Somerset. They have been kind enough to take a small collection of my work into their gallery, so all the new jewellery for them was posted off today. They have a broad selection of all my work - pearl, coral, and gemstone designs, and also my lariat necklaces. I'm excited to see how my jewellery will be received in a different area. People from different towns and counties have different tastes, and different ideas to draw inspiration from, so we will see how Congresbury likes a bit of Fife design!
http://www.churchhousedesigns.co.uk/

I will shortly have a large collection of work appearing in a boutique in Monaco, but I'll give you details once it's signed, sealed and delivered - I don't want to curse it! I was hoping of course, that they would ask me to hand deliver the work myself, and pay my travel over there, but alas, it was not to be.

Any new outlets, and I'll keep you posted.

Made-to-order jewellery

Hand-made jewellery is great, because you know you are always going to get something unique and original, but to get something totally unique to you, you can get something made-to-order.

I have just made two pairs of earrings for a customer, which were made to her specifications. She wanted very long earrings - about 7cm long, with a piece of turquoise as it is her favourite stone, and she also wanted the biggest, heaviest piece of the earring to be at the bottom, so they were really swingy, and swooshy (is that a word?). These were the only specifications she made, so I had a pretty free hand in what I designed, but making something that a customer hasn't seen before is a bit terrifying! How an idea looks in somebody's vision of it can be totally different from the reality. The great thing about making something to order is that you are working from someone elses idea - so it can really open you up to new design ideas, and have you making things you had never thought of before.

The hand-knotted earrings are something I would never have made - but my customer was looking for a pair of turquoise earrings to go with a hand-knotted lariat I had made for her, so going on her specifications, I though I'd try the lariat-style knot work for them. I was a bit concerned before I made them, but now I've managed it, I think I will probably make more pairs now - to match lariats that I've made. The other turquoise earrings on the silver chain are quite different to what I generally make. They are very simple - which for those who know me, know that's not my style (why be simple when you can complicate everything?!!) but I love the movement of them. As they are on such long chains they are really 'swooshy' and just skim the shoulders.

So this has been a learning curve for me, and one that I would be glad to repeat, as it has pushed me to learn something new, and opened my eyes to new designs. If you ever want anything made to order, you can contact me via my email, and arrange a consultation.
debraelizabeth@live.com

Lariats are the new 'It' necklace!

I have had a bit of a push to make some of my Lariat style necklaces, and managed to get all of two made last night!
They take a long time to make as they are so detailed, and have so many stones and beads on them - which is why I have been putting off making some for ages (naughty me). I have also discovered that making these little devils in the summer is a nightmare! Sweaty fingers + tiny beads = headache.
However - despite the fact that I was cursing every tiny crystal last night, I did remember why I love them after I had finished. I love the fact that they look like a little mix-bag of jewels and stones - just delicious!

I read in Make Jewellery magazine recently that they are the new 'It' piece of jewellery, so have been telling everyone this - blowing my trumpet that I'm obviously fashion-forward (which in all honesty, is not how I could be described). But it was great to see that this style of necklace is grabbing the attention of the general public now. I think people are always worried that they will fall off, but as they are being seen more frequently, people are putting their faith in them. When you wear them, just knot it around the neck like a scarf - the way the beads and stones are knotted on to them acts as a lock, and holds them on, so they are perfectly secure - and no fiddly clasps! Just don't leave them lying around if you have pets (my cat decorated himself and the living room floor with one recently - no tuna for him for a while!).

The one pictured above is called 'Indian Summer' and is made from turquoise, glass crystals, mother of pearl chips, and nuggets of shimmering shell. It's a nice weighty piece that just looks like hot, balmy evenings to me.

The lariat on the right is called 'Pretty in Pink', and is made from amazonite, mother of pearl chips, mother of pearl discs, Swarovski crystals, blister pearls, and potato pearls. It's a really flirty number and just made me think of that movie 'Pretty in Pink' as soon as I had completed it.

If you fancy being ahead of the fashion pack, you can get either of these lariat necklaces from Artery Gallery in St Andrews. Their number is 01334 478221, or find them online at www.arteryuk.com