Life is precious...

Dear friends,

I will be absent for a time,

I am needed elsewhere for now...

A beloved family member needs me by his side, to help him fight his battle.  A battle that I hope, with all my heart, that he will win...

When life has settled into a familiar rhythm once more, I will be back here again...

I promise :-)

Thank you for your support, your understanding...for being here.

With love,

B.

-xo-

Slow and fast...

The days are growing steadily shorter here in Melbourne,

(as the veil of night draws longer, in turn)

and the air carries the unmistakable breath of Winter.

There is a distinct calm about this time of the year

as Mother Natures idles and wanes.

The wind has abated to a barely audibly whisper...

I walk the footpaths near home

and there is silence,

a hush that only comes with the winding down of Autumn

and the welcoming in of Winter.

Slow.

And yet I find myself hurried.

Fast.

Greeting the crisp evenings with a flurry of energy and a warm cup of coffee.

(my studio is in the back part of the house...a wall of louvered windows behind me leaves the thinnest veil between me and the cold night air!  Coffee is REQUIRED!!!)

Long, late nights.

Just me,

and metal,

and flame...

(and the moon, when the night sky is bare of cloud :-) )

Here's a little of what my hands have made recently...

The *Mosaique* Necklace

A hollow form pendant, formed by hand from sterling silver sheet and wire...

Chrysoprase and filigree...

I find Moroccan mosaic endlessly inspiring,

masterful art of colour and pattern... 

Source

Traditionally, they are designed to inspire 


meditation,


reflection,


faith...

Source

The *Treasures of the Souk* Earrings in Lemon 

Sterling silver and delicious lemon quartz onion briolettes

And finally, a custom order...

Sterling silver and a beautiful faceted red ruby...

...and you all know how much I love rubies!

*swoon*

There is also another new necklace to be listed,


and custom orders to be filled...


I foresee many, many late nights ahead!


I do like greeting the new day under the light of the moon, though :-)


~*~


Whether your week is slow,


or fast,


I hope that it is wonderful 


and full of wonder!

My creative space...

Oh, rubies...!

I have been trying to pinpoint exactly what it is about these gems that has me so enamoured...

At first I thought it must be because they are a perfect, lush shade of raspberry...ripe and ready for the picking!

But I have come to the conclusion that it is because these gems have a PRESENCE...

...they command that you sit up and pay them every ounce of your attention!

And so, a gemstone so regal deserves a noble home...


The *Lalla* Earrings...

The term 'Lalla' is Moroccan for 'Lady'.  It is used as an honorific title when referring to female members of the Moroccan Royal Family.

Regal, non?

And what better accompaniment to rubies than cornflower blue sapphires from Ceylon...

Jewels fit for a princess...

...and designed to make you FEEL like a princess!

And may I just add, that I never, EVER in my wildest dreams imagined that I would one day be working with rubies and sapphires.


RUBIES and SAPPHIRES!!!


I am both humbled and giddy like a schoolgirl!


:-)


More creative spaces over here.

Lucky me, lucky you...

I love my job.

I love it so much that I don't think I can even call it a job.

A job is something that you have to drag yourself out of bed for.

Instead, I have to drag myself away from my workbench to GO to bed.

If there was somehow a way that I could give up sleep altogether and just keep working, I would.

Because then I could create more things like this...

Like it?

You might just be lucky enough to win it.

More on that in a minute.

The other thing I love about my...ummm...UN-job, is working with the loveliest ladies on the planet.

Like Catherine of Wild Scarlet.

This beautiful necklace came to life because of her.

She asked me to make it...

so that she could give it away!

Yes, that's right...she is GIVING AWAY MY NECKLACE!!!

See, I told you she was lovely.

And perhaps slightly mad.

(because if I were her, I would be keeping this baby for myself!)

The necklace features an enormous minty green Australian chrysoprase...

(40 carats worth, thank you very much!)

...and three delightful faceted amethysts...

...including this oh-so-pretty 14.39 carat pink amethyst...

...which I have set into my filigree-adorned, signature tall bezel...

It is a necklace to make you feel special!

So, I know you want to find out how to win my necklace...

It's simple!

You need to hop on over to Wild Scarlet and browse through their gorgeous range of womens and childrens clothing...

I know India would love these gorgeous leggings...

...and Jett would melt hearts in these overalls...

Any purchase made in the month of May puts you in the draw to win!

See Wild Scarlet's Facebook page for full details.


Happy shopping! :-)

Times flies...

...when you're having fun :-)

Gosh, things have been busy around here!

I said goodbye to a few favourites during my 15% off sale in the shop...

...and I can't tell you how happy it makes my heart to know that these lovelies are heading out across the globe!

~*~

I've also been busy with custom orders, including this matching *Koutoubia* Necklace and Ring for the gorgeous Katia of Plushka's Craft...

The necklace is constructed of silver and copper, mixed metal match made in heaven!  

With the cost of silver rising all the time ($48.55 an ounce at the time of writing), incorporating copper into my work is a great way of keeping my prices down.  

Plus it's beautifully warm and pretty and takes texture better than any other metal!  What's not to love :-)

Katia chose the gemstones to compliment the necklace - apatite, iolite, smoky quartz, mystic orange carnelian and a glowing Chrysoprase cabochon...

Katia also asked me to create a matching ring,

(which is one of the reasons why I love custom orders SO much - 

I would never have thought to create a matching ring had Katia not asked me!)

and this is the design we settled on...

The gemstone is a stunning 1.18 carat apatite...yum!

And you know that I always have fun signing my work... ;-)

~*~

This past week I was also very blessed to read some gorgeous things written about me and my work by the super lovely and super talented Triz.

(and even now I'm blushing thinking about it!)

I cannot wait to see what your incredibly creative and capable hands can produce with metal and flame, Triz! ;-)

~*~

The postman has also brought me a bounty of gems this week...

...a little of this...

(arghhh...I just want to eat them!!!)

...and a little of that...

...and a few of these...

Seriously, is there any such thing as too many gems?

No, I didn't think so.

I'm glad you agree :-)

Have a fabulous week, friends!