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Monday, January 30, 2017

Here comes the Bride....

 I've had weddings on the brain for a couple of weeks. Last weekend we held a Wedding Fair in our Village Hall and, as the local jewellery maker, I was asked to take part. So I'm sharing my thoughts about wedding jewellery.

I've done Wedding Fairs before and, to be honest, they are a long game. Brides are looking at least one or two years ahead, collecting ideas and inspiration and you can't really expect to sell very much, if anything. Promotion is the name of the game. Plenty of business cards, generic examples of your work, swarowski crystal and pearl colour charts etc. And a really pretty display, with one or two stunning designs to catch the eye.

I'm lucky in that I am custodian of my daughter's wedding gown; I had it cleaned after her wedding eight years ago and I have leave to roll it out when needed. So on to Vi my trusty mannequin it goes and hey presto - my display is transformed into wedding - land.


As well as simple crystal and pearl pieces (always popular) I had a small display of beach wedding jewellery. More and more couples are tying the knot abroad these days and I find alternative wedding jewellery sells really well for me - and not just for brides. Both the pairs shown feature beautiful polymer clay shells hand made and painted by my good friend and oft time collaborator  Helen Backhouse of  Helen's Bat Cave using moulds made from shells collected on travels abroad.  
It went something like this - 'Helen, help! Make me something weddingy but not too weddingy'!



She, of course, as always came up trumps (apologies there to my US friends). To the top pair I added fine silver findings, tiny swarowski crystals, and rustic and keishi pearls, both from Smitten Beads


 
 
This pair are beautifully detailed abalone shells in white and silver, with platinum swarowski crystal pearls and Karen Hill Tribe fair trade silver stars, on fine silver earwires. 

I had a lovely day, made all the better by being next to a young singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist called Skyler Mae who was hoping to get bookings for singing at weddings - if I had one planned, I'd have booked her like a shot!





So. Wedding jewellery. Do you make it? Do you buy it? Classic or with a twist?
 
See you soon
 
Lindsay
 
 
 
 
 
 


16 comments:

  1. Really love those silver-y earrings, especially the second pair!

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  2. Thanks a lot Claire! That pair went pretty quickly...

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  3. Gorgeous Earrings!!!I have made Baseball themed earrings and bracelets for the bride and her bride's maids. Her then soon to be husband is my cousin's son and he is in LOVE with the Boston Red Soxes. People loved them as they could wear them to their son's baseball games!

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  4. Beautiful earrings Lindsay. Especially the second pair. I am not surprised it went quickly.

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  5. So beautiful! My favourite is the bright abalone pair. The shape of the shell is really original, I love it. But I also like the first earrings pair because of their elegance. If I had been a "beach wedding" bride I would have chosen these pair instead of the classical pearls.

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    1. Thankyou so much - that's the best compliment x

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  6. I love the shell beads and they make the earrings look so elegant. Where I come from wedding jewelry is bold, in gold and hardly ever sold in fairs (Pardon the bad rhyme) but I do make colorful floral jewelry for prewedding events and have a lot of fun with it

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  7. What a fun post, Lindsay! I made some wedding jewelry for a friend's very small, informal wedding years ago, and it was a fun experience, but yours are much more beautiful! I especially love the abalone earrings; they're just exquisite. Helen is a genius, and you always make magic with her art.

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    1. I once made a tiara Meridy - not an experience I'd wish to repeat!

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  8. The detailed abalone shells in white and silver are just gorgeous!

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    1. Thankyou Kathy - some of Helen's loveliest work I think.

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  9. So pretty! Perfect for a bride! - but I would wear them too!

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    1. I think that's the beauty Cindy - you don't just wear them once.

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  10. Unbelievable beauty lindsay! And oh how I love violet. 😊

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