second time around

So...whatever did I finally end up making for the York Open Studios Launch exhibition in honour of the Grand Depart*?

 

A pendant made up of fortuitous finds and the kindness of friends-the two suppliers my craft.

 

The casing from a watch, donated by Fi, was my starting point. Prising out the watch movement itself, endlessly experimenting with what could fill its place -spring breeze wafting through my open window as I try to keep track of the watch hands that I will eventually sprinkle in amongst the tiny golden seed beads from Margaret, who remembers buying them as a child with her mother in the 1930s.

 

A plastic jar top from the 1950s is liberated from the paste jar that I found in Newcastle a decade ago to become both 16 spoked wheel and a clock for the optimist-the promise of more time.

Also from Newcastle,  fragments of an antique brass bracelet, long bereft of its sparkling stones.

A single Victorian Whitby jet bead, the jewel of Yorkshire, carved in the age of the beginning of the bicycle.

And to tie the two countries of this year's Tour de France together, a swallow in flight, found 5 years ago at a flea market in Paris amidst a handful of river pearls and decayed brooches.

 

I have called it Second Time Around-the idea of laps in a race and of a whirring clock, also of New Beginnings and up-cycling.

Perhaps I should have called it Time's Winged Chariot, having emblems of all three!

 

A work of serendipity, it is chance's compass-shake it to see where the watch hands and beads land-a snow globe, a pinball machine, the gold like the sands of time in an egg timer. A charm for the fidget, a medal for the competitor, a pendulum to power the wearer.   

*see it now at the Blossom Street Gallery till mid April-

price £68

cornucopia

There are some things I just don't want to part with. I've spent years collecting the bits needed to make it, and ages working on the finished piece, and its all turned out beautifully. I know I'll never make anything quite like it again, as I have used unique antique and vintage parts to create it. Its sad to let go but brilliant that someone else is now enjoying it-like Pinochhios wooden boy it only gets to livw if you let it go. 

I feel this way about' Cornucopia', a pendant necklace made from the skeleton of a 1950's brooch:  all  in gold coloured metal, with an array of bright colours bursting out of every available nook and cranny of the leaf like frame.  The oldest material I've used is Victorian branch coral-lobster hot in colour and from Italy. There are vintage glass beads, semi precious stones, flowers and a general riot of the kind of colour that just can't help but brighten things up. I've used a mix of bold primaries and slightly more muted tones to keep it tasteful and complex, and to ensure it goes with absolutely everything. 

Want it? Go to the etsy shop Moth and Magpie by clicking on the etsy badge to the right. Or we could talk about tailoring something especially to your taste and colour preference, maybe even using your own old jewellery. Then, as well as it being something precious in itself, it will be extra-special to you right from the start, plus you get a bespoke jewel that you have helped to dream to life. 

Email ruth@mothandmagpie.com or call 07882509493 to discuss making something from scratch.

nail polish + curtains

I've been painting with sparkly nail varnish  [polish to any Americans out there] on sunbleached curtains. Alas, not gay hippy abandon, but an attempt at a sign for my luxury upcycled jewellery stall. I'll be showing my jewellery next Tuesday in York at a fashion show, where I'll be adorning the models and peddling my wares from a stall too. Get in touch if you'd like more details!