I love sparkly things- have I ever mentioned that? I'm kinda like a crow, see somethign that sparkles and my attention goes "poof"! My favourite kind of sparkly things are far from diamonds, which are tarnished permenantly by their history of blood, slavery and war. Local and handmade is where it's at for fun unique sparkles. I love being able to say who made my earrings or necklace, vicariously living through their artistry (I WISH I could make pretty things...). (my favourite "tree" earrings)Buying handmade helps support local artists and not sweatshops or pollution spewing factories. Also, instead of simply an accessory, you're wearing art.
The only problem with this is the price tag attached. Of course it makes
sense that you'd pay more, as you are paying a fair price for the hard work that goes into each piece (as opposed to a machine that stamps out copies).
However, since I love dangly things, one of the first things I began justifying paying more for when I got my "big girl job" was to purchase a pair of beautiful handmade "Tree" earrings. They were made by an Artist in New Brunswick and the stone is rose quartz. I heart them a lot.
Another fun "green" jewellery designer that I have discovered in Nova Scotia is 2ReVert's Jann and Jeff. They create fun, unique jewellery from old skateboards and are in LOVE. Awww. I found these fantastic earrings at P'Lovers! I feel like perhaps I have a bit of coolness "cred" from wearing parts of an old skateboard... delusional- yes. They have awesome necklaces, cute button earrings and rings! (my fun earrings!)
Finally, my last fav local designer is Rita at Seaglass Designs. She hand makes jewellery
from "mermaid tears" that she finds on the coast of Atlantic Nova Scotia. I adore my necklace and Andrew and I are beginning the process to have her design and create our wedding bands for us (with a mermaid tear in the middle of mine)! (mermaid tears necklace)Having all these cute sparklies to choose from means I need a way to organize them. I really didn't want to buy something new, and I didn't want to put them away as I was tired of rummaging through stuff to get what I wanted for the day. A former colleague in BC had this cool cross-stitching board that she stuck all her jewellery on and displayed. As I don't cross-stitch this was kinda out.. BUT my dad had made cedar frames from left over wood for me a couple of years ago. A bit of superglue, some string... and voila! A display for my "eco" jewellery that can even be hung up on the wall like a picture!
Just because you're "green" doesn't mean you can have "eco" sparkles :)
Blessings and Happy Weekend! We're off to the parental unit's cottage for four lovely days!
Photos and article authored by EcoYogini: ecoyogini.blogspot.com
First of all, LOVE the earrings! The tree earrings are amazing and the sea glass...wow. To have your wedding band with one of those...that is going to be so pretty!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE that display! What kind of string did you use?
Have fun this weekend!
heh! my sweetie calls me a magpie because of my love of pretty, shiny things. i agree with you about diamonds though... i never really liked them until i had certifiably sustainably mined (an oxymoron?) one from canada - it IS sparkley!
ReplyDeleteOOOOOOOHHHH!! Gorgeous bling, dahling!!
ReplyDeleteI, too, have a weakness for dangly bits of sparkly things but don't indulge as much as I'd like -- because of your aforementioned heftier (but appropriate) price-tags for handmade stuff...
LOVE your 'display case'...tres chic!!
~blessings~
especially love the ones in the top photo - curious what you think about canadian diamonds?
ReplyDeleteYour display of sparklies looks lovely! :)
ReplyDeleteI so love your jewellery frame! What a lovely idea... I may have to steal it some time....
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should have a go at making earrings? They might be easier than you think and you don't need too much to get started...
Diego calls me a crow too! I could cove my entire body in jewelry...and I have kind of... tongue and belly piercing along with at least three holes in each ear! My dad keeps bugging me about my tongue falling off...i am sure if this were to happen it would have 10 years ago when I got it done! :)
ReplyDeleteMost of my shiny stuff comes from Mexico and it probably not very "eco", except maybe the cultured pearls...I guess it was never something I thought about, maybe I was just to dazzled by the shine to consider its impact (except for diamonds, I agree with you on that one). However, consider me a changed woman! Thanks for your post! Have a great long weekend! :)
Thanks for posting the symptoms!
ReplyDeleteMy mum actually makes jewelry so I can definitely identify with the preoccupation with sparkly goodness.
ReplyDeleteThe sea glass is gorgeous!
Ps. Your skin looks awesome!
Greenspell: thank you so much! :) the string was... twine actually lol- Dad being the handy fisherman that he is has lots and brought some :) I'm thinking fishing line would work too though... and not be as noticeable.
ReplyDeleteBarefoot Bride: yay Canadian Diamond!!
Mel: LOL- thank you thank you :)
Kitty: I'm not so sure yet about Canadian diamonds... they are supposedly harvested sans blood shed and violence, but diamond mining isn't the prettiest or cleanest thing out there. I'm still thinking about this one- but I'd say they are a definite huge improvement from regular diamonds.
Emma: thank you! :)
Rose: I'm glad you like it! I'm not so sure about making earrings... my hands shake quite a bit- weird hereditary things... might make for some interesting results. lol.
Alli: yay sparkles! It is very cool having jewelery that is hand made and although I try to get as "green" as possible, sometimes that would just cost too much. And I like shiny things haha.
Alex: lucky you! Thank you about my skin, for about three days it cleared a little... annnnnd now the red evil bumps are back. BUT i have a new face wash... i'm hoping it will work! :)