Getting Busy

I love Mondays....I suspect there are not many who share my sentiments (especially if I remember my corporate days) It's totally selfish really, Monday means my little guy goes for a few hours to his nanny (or 'Assistante Maternelle' as they are called in France), from noon till five, I get the chance to busy myself in my atelier. I've been working on two new series of pendants, one very modern using mostly contemporary silver and bronze settings and another, using very old wooden bobbins and beautiful antique ribbon.

Here is a sneak peek of two of the bobbin necklaces which are still a work in process. The underside of each ribbon or seam is embellished with swarovski crystals.

The story behind these wooden bobbins, which were originally used for spooling silk in our family factory (at the turn of the 19th Century), is that they are all a little broken or chipped and therefore had been cast aside as they were longer suitable for use on the looms. I came across a bag of these beautiful hand-carved bobbins and decided I couldn't possibly let them be thrown out or used as kindling (shocking but true!) and so they came home with me. Each bobbin is sanded down, cleaned and then I wrap a piece of ribbon around the wooden core.

I am just in the process of creating chains and finishing the ribbon 'beads' and then once I have the photographs together they will be up on the Etsy site for sale....I'm taking a little longer to publish my new range as in between looking after my son Louis - I am expecting our second baby for June 2012....so my previously feverish level of creativity has been replaced by indulgent afternoon napping the last few months.