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"From a Pebble on the Ground a Design is Born" with Femme Mecanique Designs

Monday 30 September 2013


 























FemmeMecanique's inspirations bores from the simplest surroundings. After finding a pebble on the ground one day she used the form, colour and significance to create wearable pieces of eco-friendly art, art that I am fortunate enough to experience myself.

Femme Mécanique four distinctive concepts of Nature, Rustic, Tribal and Urban is clearly reflected in all her designs, some with a clever concoction of tribal urbanite and naturally rustic, pushing the boundaries of creativity and imagination both within the designs and the wearer themselves.

One of my favourite pieces of her collection is the geometric armour double arrow ring in sterling silver; a truly statement-making piece yet deceivingly minimalistic and subtle in appearance, I enjoy wearing it in either direction depending on my mood. Another ring I took a particular keenness to is the rustic oval modern ring. It is ever so delicate but extremely durable, it sits so close it almost feels like wearing a second skin. I love the hammered texture to provide its gothic character. 

As I wear her designs and the concept behind it I started to look around carefully at my beautiful beachy surroundings, looking for inspirations however sparse it may be. It really depends on what you make of it. Inspiration is created and it is not forced. Let ideas into your mind and run wild with it.

About the designer

Julie Verfaille is the creator of Femme Mécanique. With an artistic background in music and visual art Julie launched her collection in 2012 to fulfill her passion for technical challenges. She is 100% self taught in metalsmith and use everyday objects as her utmost 
inspiration.  


Please check out her website for more visually stunning wearable art at www.etsy.com/shop/FemmeMecanique
 Images: My own

 More about this etsy feature

Femme Mécanique is the first of my new exciting collaborative project based on etsy boutique owners concentrating solely on independent jewellery designers every fortnight. The designers I've have chosen are all unique in their own way and everything is completely made by hand. 

[Theme] Hell for Leather

Monday 23 September 2013

Moxham X Three Floor Falco and Rhino cuffs/Closet skater dress with faux leather peplum hem/Margherita foldaring/rositabonita Heart triplet necklet/Miista Alka black leather shoes

Okay so I wear black. A lot. From the age of 12 when I was finally given a free rein to select my own clothes that weren't hand me downs, black was my colour of choice. It wasn't because I was going through a phase or was a goth/emo/biker/rock-chic wannabe, I wasn't too worried about colour coordinating my 'look of the day' as my peers were. It felt comfortable, safe and in my personal opinion, black looks better on me (much to my siblings disgust).

If I am going to stick to one colour I would diversify my options by wearing different materials, introducing leather for instant. It changes the monochrome outfit from drab to stylishly adventurous and fashion forward.

Moxham X Three Floor cuffs Bold statement cuffs to draw attention to any outfit. I love how fiercely chunky they are.

Closet dress Break up the all-in-one leather combination with just a starring role at the flared hemline. This dress is flattering and girly which is not how you would normally describe leather. It works.
 
Margherita ring Playful and experimental, the green edging and metal screw adds a unique touch to the ring.

RositaBonita necklet Attached to a gold chain to create a classic yet contemporary feel. Cute floral designs for a more feminised look.

Miista Chunky heels are all the rage these days so break up the girly dress with these heels for added spontaneity. 
  

Rock it! Dorry Hsu's Body Contour Wire Body Art

Wednesday 18 September 2013


10. More sculptural art then simple jewellery, the fluidity and contouring of the wire creates an unusual curve that gives definition to the body shape, making us more in tuned on the parts we take for granted. Remember the big shoulder paddings and tight fitting corsets? They create a silhouette/illusion of a haute couture piece. Dorry Hsu's wire jewellery loosely reminds me of the Chinese letter characters when not adorned on the human body and it's simplified aesthetics has that hidden intricacy which makes you want to find out more about this sculptural artist. I'll simply put it in writing for you, less is more.

Website: www.dorryhsu.co.uk 





Katerina Perez: Top 10 Fine Jewels from IJL2013

Thursday 12 September 2013


In our very first collaboration together I present you fine jewellery blogger Katerina Perez who selected her top 10 finest creations of luxury jewels and gems on offer at International Jewellery London 2013. Here she expresses her precious finds and uncover favourite gems whereas I report on the emerging talents of independent jewellery designers.


International Jewellery London is the biggest annual jewellery fair in the UK. This year approximately 600 participants from all over the world gathered at Earl’s Court to display their best products, which included fashion and fine jewellery, loose gemstones and diamonds, packaging, and manufacturing tools. There was definitely a lot to see!

I am sure you would agree that choosing from about 10,000 jewels of various designs and styles is not an easy task. To higlight different aspects of the fair I joined forces with my fellow blogger Isabella Lee from Rockin’ That Gem. She took care of the Designer Gallery while I was searching for the finest pieces in the Fine and Precious area of IJL2013.

Having seen a lot of pieces and in choosing the best ones I have purely relied on my own personal opinion. Each jewel has been analysed not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also with respect to their intricacy, the labour intensity required to create them, the use of rare precious stones, the manifestation of original ideas, and correspondence to fashionable trends. All of them are completely different from each other, although there is an overall similarity, namely high quality.


Greenspark UK


A tender, flowing cascade of diamond chains shine like the May sun. Such a necklace would be ideal for any lady; no one could feel indifferent towards it. Glittering with 57 carats of colourless diamonds, this necklace is glamour in its purist form.



  Luigi Ferrara – Italy


To create such an exuberant composition of precious stones, a jeweller needs to work tirelessly for a total of three weeks. However, I would not necessarily call Luigi Ferrera a jeweller; I’d more readily call him an artist. The bracelet looks like a palette with precious stones instead of painting colours. Here can be found bright blue topaz, pale blue chalcedony, indigo coloured sapphire, and violet amethyst. The red hues spattered on the jewellery canvas come from the pink tourmaline and cherry-coloured rubies. These are perfectly accentuated by white diamonds and smooth pearl. To put it simply, Luigi Ferrera is jewellery’s answer to Matiss.



Flower&Maricar – UK


 Teardrop shaped, 35 carat deep green tourmaline stones from Brazil are simply dazzling. Fitted in a simple diamond frame, they glisten richly in the light, drawing your gaze. After wearing this refined, elegant piece just once, you will never want to take it off.



 J K Jewellers – India 

 A frame made from white gold and a thin line of diamonds acts like a cosy cradle for a rough diamond slice in the centre. To my mind this piece is elegance itself. One glance and you get the impression that you are looking into a window decorated with intricate frosty patterns on a winter’s morning.



 Gemco International – India


 A Gemco necklace with silvery green tints that resembles a precious fleece which, when worn with a décolleté gown, shrouds the wearer with its soft, entwining mesh. The blackened silver lends a distinguished look to “ice” diamonds and milky emeralds. A piece like this would delicately envelop and “warm” the heart of any woman.



 Gemco Jewels – Spain


 Wearing a ring on just one finger is so yesterday. A new trend which has come from the fashion world into the jewellery industry is the knuckle ring. A couple of seasons ago, decorated with skulls, they looked more like punk accessories. Lately, however, this type of ring has gradually assumed elegant designs, even if an aura of rebellion and mutiny has yet to disappear; barbs on the little stems of white and black diamond roses that tenderly wind around the fingers are a testament to this.
 


 Eleuterio – Portugal


 I saw Eleuterio’s filigree pieces for the first time at an exhibition in London. Now I find myself struck dumb once again by the grace of the design and the delicacy of the work. The jewellers who spend days making miniature ringlets from gold thread that has an ethereal, ornamental composition need to be given their due credit. A few diamond scatters and you have a golden water-lily before you, its little petals blossoming under the sun.



 Djula – France


 Now, this is what I call Parisian chic! Delicate diamond lines of this jewel are barely there, yet these two sophisticated rings are a fashion statement.



Amrapali – India


 For the past few years, many jewellery designers have revisited their love for rose cut diamonds which look as though they have a faceted dome from one side and a level face from the other. These are what cover the curved surface of the Amrapali ring over which, like two snakes, strings of diamonds twist and entwine with circular teardrop diamonds hanging from them. This piece epitomises all that is exotic: with a barely audible jingle, the stones sway, mimicking your movements as if performing a bewitching Indian dance.



And here are some jewels that have not made it to the Top10, but are still worth your attention…

  Gemco Jewels palm bracelet with milky and black diamonds set in silver

  Djula. Drop earrings with pave diamonds

 Jaypore Creations. Gold-plated silver brooch with sapphires and tsavorites

  Tear-drop imperial topaz earring with diamonds. Flower&Maricar

 Sapphires and diamonds full-finger ring by Gemco International

  Carved coral drop earrings in white gold with diamonds created by Luigi Ferrara

 Photographer: Ekaterina Aleksandrova


About the author


  Katerinaperez.com is a blog about passion… passion for Fine Jewellery and Exquisite Gemstones, fine Jewellery as a form of Art. The blog was created by Katerina Perez who is a Gemmologist and the Jewellery Editor of V V Magazine - a Russian-British glossy published in London. On her blog Katerina shares her discoveries of all things fine and precious, covers jewellery novelties and trends, highlights recent and upcoming events and posts interviews with some prominent people in the jewellery industry.

 

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