By special request

An old friend surprised me a few weeks back by asking if I would make some jewellery for her. She's started being a little more adventurous in terms of her fashion and was lamenting that she didn't have jewellery that could match her new clothes. She specifically wanted a long necklace. And if I could come up with some earrings, that would be great too.

I decided from the start that I would stick to a silver/neutral tone for the pieces so she could wear them with almost anything in her wardrobe. And I also knew that the pieces would have to be fairly simple and understated, while incorporating some 'bling' if possible. This is what I came up with. 

New stuff on Etsy

I made a couple of new pieces and have added them to my Etsy store. I personally love the earrings. The beads have been with me since last June when I bought them in Tokyo from a little bead store tucked away in the wholesale beads district - Asakusabashi. I love that area and can't wait to get back there again. I think I'll do a post on the wonderful shops there soon. As for the bead caps in that pair of earrings...well, they've been with me even longer. I picked them up when I was in Bali in late 2008. They're gorgeous Bali silver and cost me a pretty penny.

As for the washi pendant, I've been dabbling in making pendants using washi paper and cache of bezel settings I bought on a whim. I was supposed to start using them with resin but have been putting it off since to be honest, I'm a little scared of all the mixing and care that resin seems to need. Anyway, I quite like how the pendant turned out. The chiyogami design is suitably cheery for this time of the year.

Selling on Etsy

If you look at the sidebar on the right, you'll notice that I've started selling my jewelry on Etsy. Yes, I finally got around to doing it. I hesitated for a long time before I took the plunge. It was partly the listing and transaction fees that put me off - what can I say? I'm cheap. But mostly it was because I'd saddled myself with a less than stellar name. I started the Etsy account mainly to buy items, not sell them, so I thought up a name quite hurriedly thinking that it was cool. How wrong I was. So you'll have to pardon the oddly embarrassing name of my Etsy store. I hope it won't put you off visiting. I'm going for a more classic, understated feel for this store - so you'll find a lot more sterling silver and gold-filled pieces than on my Artfire shop. The pieces I list will also be more of what I would personally wear....simple, pretty pieces that aren't too over-the-top. Of the 4 items I listed, I think my favourite would have to be this necklace. I'd wear it in a heartbeat. What about you?