When I knew that The Zone Creative in Sourdeval was interested in taking a range of my jewellery, I thought that a Normandy inspired line would be a good thing to do.
The first thing that I made was a set of necklace and earrings called 'La Pluie Normande' inspired by the constant rain that we'd been experiencing since spring. The focal stone is a labradorite, which is naturally a blue/ grey colour, perfect for the subject haha. For the raindrop effect, I used some tiny faceted labradorite beads, wirewrapped to be free falling.
Luckily, by the time I finished the first set and was looking for something different, the sun had appeared, so I was thinking about stones with warmth and sparkle when I fell upon these citrines that we've had for a lifetime. I'd always loved them, but never been moved to make anything out of them....until now.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you 'Eclat Du Soleil'
Born from the Normandy sun with a hint of Etruscan.
'Libellules' or dragonflies are not peculiar to Normandy, but I love to see them in the warmer months around water. Also, I really wanted to try my hand at a technique of enamelling called 'plique-a-jour' which is enamelling without a backing, leaving the enamel suspended between the metal frames for a stained glass window effect. Dragonflies seemed like a good choice of subject for this project.
I am pleased with how they turned out.
The next photos are not from the Normandy collection, but were added to my general collection headed towards the Zone Creative.
These earrings are made from a pair of ultra sparkly, micro faceted amethyst cabs, hanging from a stylised heart, on a pair of my handmade ear-wires.
This next set features a stone not seen too often, golden rutile quartz, which looks like threads of gold trapped inside ice crystals, they catch the light every time you move. Sadly, the camera has a hard time picking up the detail :(
This is a set with a leaf design, the silver lines of the leaves echo perfectly the flavour of the stones. Also, because the stones are predominantly colourless, they can be teamed up with your wildest colour combinations .
If you find yourself in Basse Normandie during the summer, maybe you would like to drop by The Zone Creative in Sourdeval and see their range of artisan made arts and crafts they stock, or treat yourself to a cup of tea and a slice of cake in their newly opened tea garden.
You can find them on the high street in Sourdeval, at No. 5 Rue General Millet
