Studio Update

Most of my designs are made during the Spring and Summer months. The days are longer, the light is amazing and as the kids have no school I have a lot less obligations (no soccer practice, basketball practice, Art class, Judo... you name it, my kids probably do it and I drive them there), I feel more relaxed and that sort of makes my creative impulses go bubbly and ready to create.  This year was different though, my creativity was directed towards my art work so did very little work on my jewlery, hence, I really should not do an studio update blog post today.... BUT,  one of the good things about not having updated the blog in over a year is that I have I not shared any of the designs I made during that time with you which is just what I am about to do (relax, I am not going to swamp you with images, I have just picked a few of my current favorites).

This dragonfly necklace... delicate, whimsy. One of my favorite designs from last year. It is made of a brass antique replica dragonfly and then it was hand painted to acquire that lovely verdigris tone.  When I see it I am reminded of those gorgeous wild Victorian gardens.  If you also follow me on Facebook you probably know that I have a slight dragonfly obsession... which is one of the reasons why I  like this necklace so much!

These gorgeous pair of chandelier earrings with green agathes.  I actually made the first pair for myself  but received so many compliments that I decided to make a few more for my customers and I know of a few happy women who are so glad that I did ;-)

I am specially happy with this pendulum necklace, not because of the necklace itself, but because it was so, so hard to photograph!!  Crystal pendulums reflect light... everywhere!  Technical problems aside, the necklace is lovely, the pendulum  was salvaged from vintage light fittings bought in the UK many years ago. I really enjoy giving "a new life" to vintage objects. I also have a theory that objects made years ago are usually better than those made today, mainly because there was not so much consumerism, people bought a lot less things but those they bought were made to last a lifetime.  I try to do this in my everyday life as well,  buy less things but those I buy of better quality so they will last my family for ages and who knows, maybe even become future family heirlooms?

I hope you like them. Have a lovely day!


*Note: When I talk about "quality" I am not referrring to brands, I have found in the past that the quality of some expensive brands is really quite terrible, I'm really referring to the quality of the materials used, the craftmanship... 

In my absence, I started painting!

This Summer in Madrid we enjoyed one of the worst heat waves in recent history, the kind of heat wave that makes you spend all day long sitting down in the shade drinking ice water.  So for the first couple of days of July I did just that, nothing, and then, I became restless, I needed to do something creative.  Working on my jewelry did not seem very appealing, my studio is located in the attic and in Summer that room is like a big oven and I did not feel specially like going up and down stairs several times a day in search of whatever supplies I needed.  I also needed to find something I could do with my children who were on their Summer break and watching way too much tv and so, one fine day, I suddenly felt the urge to start sketching, doodling, whatever you may want to call it.

A funny looking poppy

After searching frantically through the whole house for my watercolors and not finding them I decided to use my kids watercolors instead (you know that feeling when you want to do something and it has to be done immediately...), so, I took all the materials to the patio, gathered my 3 kids around the table and we all started playing around with the brushes and the paint and unknowingly started a new Summer "ritual"  that brought so much joy to all of us.  

The view from our house in Munilla

Every afternoon we would set up "art camp" and spend about and hour painting together. My kids drew flowers from the garden, fruit, robots, whatever! I loved seeing their own personal style develop and flourish.  As for me, I had not done any watercolor painting in years and this time, instead of doing the more "academic style" paintings I used to do years ago I opted for more informal, quick sketches and what can I say, I had not had so much fun in years (makes me wonder why did I stop doing it in the first place??).

Tomato from our veggie garden

Sometimes a change in routines can be a very positive thing. I discovered a new family activity  which was hugely enjoyed by all of my three kids at the same time (due to their age differences and different tastes these kind of "group" activities don´t always work so well).  As for me, I have rediscovered a long forgotten love which is always very nice.  If you want to see all the little paintings I did this Summer you can hop over  to my instagram.

Have a lovely Monday.

This week in the Studio - Esta semana en el estudio

Playing with my Camera.  Love this photo, pity you can´t see the jewelry though ;-)

Abajo en Español

Hello!!  We have sun everyone! It’s freezing cold but sunny which means that I have finally had decent light to photograph all the designs I had been working on lately. What do you think?

I am going through a bit of a Victorian phase at present, and I think it shows in my new designs.  Ok, ok, I am always in the middle of a Victorian phase, but right now, ever more so.  Over the holidays I watched the film adaptations of two of my favourite books, Jane Eyre and the Secret Garden. Although the Secret Garden is not really a Victorian novel, it does have a certain Victorian gothic feeling (a Manor House full of secrets and mysteries in the lush and green British Countryside).  Give me a full costume drama series or, in this case, films, any time!

Have a lovely week!

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Hola a todos!

Tenemos sol! Bueno, hace un frío que pela, pero con sol, por lo que por fin he tenido la luz necesaria para fotografiar los últimos diseños en los que he estado trabajando.  Qué os parecen?

Estoy pasando por una fase “Victoriana” y creo que se nota en mis diseños. Bueno, bien, reconozco que siempre estoy en medio de una fase Victoriana pero creo que ahora mismo, mucho más.  En las vacaciones ví en la tele las adaptaciones de dos de mis novelas Victorianas favoritas; Jane Eyre y El jardín secreto.  Aunque realmente, por fechas, el jardín secreto no es una novela Victoriana tiene un aire gótico muy típico (una Casa Señorial llena de misterios y de secretos en mitad de la frondosa y verde campiña Inglesa). Ah… no hay nada como una buena serie o en este caso, peli de época para las vacaciones!

Divine Studios, Sophie Schellekens - Estudios Divinos, Sophie Schellekens

*Abajo en Español

In today’s blog post we continue with our Divine Studios section. Today we go to Antwerp to visit the studio of Sophie Schellekens, the designer behind Sunken Treasure Jewellery.

 

I came upon her studio photos through Pinterest, that endless source of inspiration, and I was immediately smitten. What a beautiful studio! So light welcoming and serene, I can easily picture myself working there quite happily all day long.

 

Alas, I am not really sure she designs jewelry any more, her blog is not active and her shop now has some very beautiful ceramics but no jewelry.  Fortunately, you can still visit her flickr to see more of her studio and her very lovely home.

 

Have a lovely Tueday!!

 

All photos by Sophie Schellekens via here

 

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En el post de hoy continuamos con nuestra sección de Estudios Divinos y viajamos a Amberes para visitar el estudio de Sophie Schellekens, la diseñadora de Sunken Treasury Jewelry.

 

Encontré las fotos de su estudio en Pinterest, esa fuente constante de inspiración y quede prendada de inmediato. Qué estudio tan precioso por favor! Tan luminoso y acogedor, derrocha serenidad por todos lados. Vamos, claramente el tipo de sitio en el que yo podría trabajar muy felizmente todo el día.

 

Lamento comunicaros que creo que ya no se dedica al diseño de joyas, su blog ya no está activo y su tienda alberga unas piezas de cerámica muy preciosas pero ninguna joyita. Afortunadamente, todavía se puede visitar su flickr para ver más fotos de su estudio y de su precioso hogar.

 

Feliz Martes!!

 

Todas las fotos por Sophie Schellekens vía aquí.

Vintage!!!

*Abajo en Español

Light amethyst glass jewels. Aren´t they absolutely beautiful?  

Some people have a thing with shoes, others with bags, fabric, they just can´t seem to be able to stop collecting it. My weakness is beads. About a month ago, after I re-arranged my, very extensive, bead collection I promised myself that I was not going to buy any more this year. As you have probably guessed, I was weak, very weak, but I could not help myself. These dainty glass jewels were so lovely and they looked so vintage, but wait! That´s because they ARE vintage.  They were made in the Czech Republic in the 1950´s which is really quite a long time ago. Just so you get the idea of how long ago it was: 

-In the 1950’s Marilyn Monroe was very much alive and at the height of her career.

-So was Coco Chanel for that matter.

-Grace Kelly starred in two of my all time favourite movies, To Catch a Thief and High Society.

-The music for High Society was composed by Cole Porter, he was alive too.

-The Beatles not only did not exist, but most of its members had not even met yet.

-This was also the case with the Rolling Stones.

Ok, enough 50's trivia, now back to the earrings:

I have set them in a very simple design of antiqued brass, to enhance the vintage quality that they have. They are light and bright and beautiful, the kind of jewelry you can wear

all day. I should know, I wear my pair all the time!

Have a lovely Monday.

PS- I was even weaker than you think, I also bought them in blue... you can check them out here... oh, and I also bought some opal ones, but those don´t count as I have not made anything with them yet...

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Joyas de cristal de color ametista claro. A que son preciosas?

Hay gente que tiene cierta obsesión con zapatos, otras con bolsos, tela... no pueden contenerse y las acumulan sin parar.  Mi debilidad son las cuentas. Hace cosa de un mes, después de organizar mi, muy extensa, colección de cuentas y abalorios me prometí a mi misma que no iba a comprar ni una más hasta el 2014.  Como seguramente habéis adivinado, fui débil, muy débil pero es que no me pude contener!!  Estas pequeñas joyas de cristal eran tan bonitas y parecían tan vintage, pero, un momento! Eso es porque SON vintage!! Se hicieron en la República Checa en los años 50 que es hace bastante tiempo, vamos, para que os hagáis una idea de hace cuanto tiempo:

- En los años 50 Marilyn Monroe estaba viva y en la cima de su carrera.

- También lo estaba Coco Chanel.

- Grace Kelly protagonizó dos de mis pelis favoritas de todos los tiempo, Atrapa un Ladrón y Alta Sociedad.

-La música para Alta Sociedad la compuso Cole Porter y si, entonces también estaba vivo y componiendo.

- Los Beatles no sólo no existían y además, la mayor parte de sus componentes no se conocían.

- Lo mismo pasaba con los Rolling Stones.

Ok, suficiente trivia de los 50, ahora volvamos a los pendientes:

Los he engarzado en un sencillo diseño de latón envejecido para potenciar su estilo vintage.  Son ligeros, brillantes y preciosos, el tipo de pendiente que puedes llevar todo el día, te lo digo yo que no e quito mi par de encima!

Feliz Lunes!

PD- Fui todavía más débil de lo que pensáis, también compré los cristales azules... los podéis ver aquí... ah, y otros de color ópalo, pero esos no cuentan porque todavía no he hecho nada con ellos...

Inspiration, Mokkasin - Inspiración, Mokkasin

*All images in this post by Sofia Jansson of Mokkasin blog

The other day I was in Pinterest, not really looking for anything in particular, just enjoying all the lovely things I was seeing, pin after pin of gorgeousness. Want to have a look?

El otro día estuve un rato en Pinterest, no buscaba nada en particular, tan sólo estaba disfrutando viendo cosas muy bonitas, pin tras pin tras pin de preciosidades.  Queréis echar un vistacito?

This wall paper shall be mine!!!  Este papel pintado será mío!!!

I soon noticed one thing, all these lovely images had a cohesive feeling about them and sure enough, they all came from the same original source, the mokkasin blog/shop so I went to take a look.  My first impression was… it’s written in Swedish!! (dratt, I should have taken Swedish at school instead of Japanese!) Now seriously, it is in Swedish but, there is a magical “translate” button which lets you read all the texts in Engelska (English) or any other language that you should wish for. The translations are at times somewhat “creative”  but overall you do get the idea of what the text is saying.

 

Muy pronto me di cuenta de que todas las imágenes tenían un estilo/aire en común y así era, todas venían de la misma fuente, el blog/tienda online de Mokkasin, así que decidí echar un vistazo.  Mi primera impresión fue… Está todo en Sueco!!! (porras, tenía que haber estudiado Sueco en el insti en vez de Japonés!), ahora en serio, si, está en Sueco,  pero hay un botón mágico en el que pone “translate” y lo puedes ver en el idioma que quieras, Engelska (inglés) o Spanska (Español) e incluso Latín (eso se escribe igual). La traducción es a veces un poco “curiosa” pero en general coges la idea general del texto.

Mokkasin is the work of the very talented Sofia Jansson, not only does she run the amazing online boutique of the same name, but she also takes all the  photos which as you can see, are truly amazing. Through them we get to see what’s going on in the shop, visit her beautiful home, and meet her lovely family, I love her children’s names Liv, Viggo, Charlie and Nomi.  As a mum of three (my kids are a bit younger than hers) I am always inspired by blogs that depict large families.  Juggling a job, family and home can get a bit overwhelming at times, so it is always nice reading about how other people are dealing with the same things as I am.  It is also humbling, after seeing all her photos I am aware of how much I have to improve mine...

 

Mokkasin es la labor de la muy creativa Sofia Jansson.  Sofía, además de encargarse de la alucinante tienda del mismo nombre, también hace todas las fotos del blog que, como podéis ver son una pasada.  Gracias a ellas vemos las novedades de la tienda, visitamos su  casa, conocemos a su preciosa familia (me encantan los nombres de sus niños, Viggo, Charlie y Nomi).  Como madre de tres (mis hijos son un poco más pequeños que los suyos), en ocasiones eso de compaginar trabajo, familia y casa me resulta un tanto complicado así que me encantan los blogs en los que salen familias numerosas para ver como se organizan en otras familias y lugares.  También me ha dado una pequeña lección de humildad, después de ver sus fotos me he dado cuenta de lo mucho que me queda para mejorar las mías...

I am specially inspired by this blackboard in which she wrote down all of her children’s after school activities.  I think I should get one too as my afternoons are also filled with activities and only yesterday I forgot to pack one of the boys swimming gear.. ehem, ehem, but it is nice to see I am not the only one who forgets things from time to time…

Me siento especialmente identificada con esta pizarra en la que ha apuntado todas las actividades de sus hijos para que no se le olvide ninguna.   Los míos también tienen unas tardes a rebosar de extra-escolares y justo ayer a mi se me olvidó ponerle en la mochila a uno de los míos la ropa de natación, ejem, ejem,  en fin, que está bien saber que no eres la única a la que se le olvida este tipo de cosas de vez en cuando…

 

If you want to learn more you can visit her lifestyle blog here and the Mokkasin store here.http://www.mokkasin.com/sv/

 

Para saber más sobre Mokkasin podéis visitar el blog aquí, para ver la tienda, pinchar aquí.

 

Have a lovely Tuesday!!! Feliz Martes!!!

 

 

New from the Study - Nuevo en el Estudio

Abajo en Español

After spending a totally unproductive Summer (art wise), about a month ago inspiration finally returned and I found myself spending more and more time at the studio working. The first couple of weeks were spent unpacking all the stuff I had packed away for the renovating (well, nearly everything, I still have a couple of boxes to go, sick of boxes…).  Then came that wonderful process that always follows a renovation, the stage where you can not find anything. I am still working on this and wondering each day what strange logical thinking method was I using when I took the stuff out of the boxes and put it away. Thankfully, I have found enough things to start working on some new designs.  What do you think?

Today we are enjoying a rather glorious sunny day (only use natural light for my photographs), so let’s see if I can finish the rest of the photos and you can soon see all the new designs on etsy.

Have a lovely Thursday!

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Después de pasar un verano completamente improductivo en lo que se refiere a mi lado artístico, hará como cosa de un mes, recuperé la inspiración y empecé a pasar más tiempo en el estudio.  Las primeras semanas me dediqué a ordenar las cajas de la mini-reforma (todavía me quedan un par de ellas, estoy saturada ya de cajas!).  Luego llegó esa maravillosa etapa que sigue a cualquier reforma que se precie, y es el periodo de “no encuentro absolutamente nada”. Todavía me encuentro en medio de esta etapa en la que me pregunto a diario en que extraña lógica estaba pensando cuando saqué las cosas de las cajas y las guardé no se sabe dónde. Afortunadamente, he encontrado ya bastantes cosas, las suficientes para empezar a trabajar en los nuevos diseños. Qué os parecen?

Hoy hace un día bastante divino y soleado (para hacer mis fotos sólo utilizo luz natural), así que a ver si consigo terminar de fotografiar todo para subirlo a etsy y que pronto podáis ver mis nuevos diseños.

Feliz Jueves!

Divine Studios, Amy Merrick - Estudios Divinos, Amy Merrick

Abajo en Español

Photo by Jennifer Causey

You may not remember this as it happened a long, long time ago (back in May in fact), we were renovating the attic which is were my studio is and I was looking at other artists’ studios for inspiration. The renovating, albeit a very small one, took forever, which means that I had plenty of time to look (and drool over) other people’s work spaces.

Photo by Jennifer Causey

One day I came upon the work of the very talented photographer Jennifer Causey and her “The Makers” project, a series of gorgeous photos depicting artists at work in their studios.  Most of these artists are New York based and all of the studios are amazing, but there is one, that for me, stood out from the rest, and that is the work space of the Florist Amy Merrick. Wow. All I could think of was I want that studio (I still do, in fact, I wouldn’t mind living in it), and then, I want to be a florist! (this last wish was soon forgotten as I have no talent with flowers whatsoever).

Photo by Jennifer Causey

The pictures of Amy’s studio and work were so amazing that I googled her to find out more about her work, I found her blog and read it all in one go! That was a lot of reading  (the blog starts in 2007!) but for me it was totally worth it as it is one of the most beautiful and inspirational blogs that I had ever read.  Lately she has not been posting very often but she is very active in Instagram and each of her photos is a real treat.

Enjoy!

Photo by Jennifer Causey

Igual no os acordais de esto ya que hace mucho, mucho tiempo (nos tenemos que remontar a Mayo). Estábamos de mini reforma en el ático, que es dónde está mi estudio, y yo me dedicaba a mirar estudios de otros artistas para inspirarme y dejar el mío bonito.  Aunque nuestra reforma consistía en pintar, muebles nuevos y poco más, por esas cosas en el mundo-reforma se hizo eterna, con lo cual tuve mucho tiempo para mirar (y babear) con los estudios de otros artistas.

Un día me topé con el trabajo de una fotógrafa alucinante, Jennifer Causey y su proyecto “The Makers”, una serie de fotos increíbles de varios artistas trabajando en sus estudios.  La mayor parte de los artistas trabajan desde Nueva York y merece la pena verlos todos, pero hay uno en especial que me dejó prendadita, y es el estudio de la Florista Amy Merrick.  Wow.  Nada más verlo pensé… quiero ese estudio! (todavía lo quiero, incluso me mudaría a vivir en el), y luego pensé ya no quiero hacer más pendientes, ahora quiero ser florista! Pero eso me duró poco porque las flores se me dan fatal.

Las fotos del estudio de Amy y de su trabajo eran tan alucinantes que decidí “googlearla” para ver más cositas y encontré su blog, el cual me leí del tirón.  Mucha lectura ya que el blog empezó en el 2007, pero oh-tan-maravilloso! Creo que es de los blogs más bonitos e inspiradores que he leído jamás.  Últimamente no lo tiene muy actualizado, pero es muy activa en Instagram y todas sus fotos son una delicia.

Espero que os guste!!

Inspiration for my stand at Molly Market - La inspiración para mi puesto en el Molly Market

No se si es porque  paso mucho tiempo en la Facultad de Bellas Artes pero ultimamente me entran unas ganas locas de pintar, dibujar y sacar los carboncillos.

Yo no tengo un logo propiamente dicho, en las ferias y en este blog, lo que utilizo como logo es mi nombre escrito con la tipografía "Jane Austen", y es que Miss Austen, además de escribir unas novelas preciosas, también tenía una letra muy molona.  Mi cartel en los puestos de las ferias normalmente lo imprimo directamente en el ordenador, pero esta vez,  decidí hacerlo yo misma.  Saqué la caja de de tintas y plumillas de mi padre y de mis hermanas que, graciosamente, me han cedido mientras me dure esta fase creativa y me puse manos a la obra.  Qué os parece? Aunque es claramente mejorable, a mi me encanta-  Además, he descubierto otro "vicio" más, la caligrafía! Es súper relajante.

I am not sure if it is because lately I spend a lot of time at the Fine Arts Faculty, but at present all I can think of is of painting and drawing!  So, for the latest art fair, instead of just printing my name with the Jane Austen font which is what I usually do (Jane Austen apart from writing beautiful novels also had an awesome handwriting which the Jane Austen font reproduces) I decided to write it myself using quills and ink. What do you think? Although there is obvious room for improvement, I rather like it! and I have also discovered yet another "obsession" to add to my current list of obsessions, calligraphy!

Una recomendación, si también os "enganchais" a este vicio, comprar tintas, pinceles y plumillas de calidad. No sólo quedan mejor si no que además duran eternamente.  Las que yo utilicé eran de mi padre que siempre nos insistía en que el material de arte tenía que ser de primera calidad.   Las tintas tienen más de 10 años y siguen perfectas y los pinceles... yo ahora con los niños que estropean todo los compro muy corrientitos y al utilizar los de mi padre me di cuenta otra vez de que realmente no hay color.

Just a little thing, if you too are thinking about developing a "calligraphy obsession", make sure you buy inks and quills of good quality.  The ones I used belonged to my father who always insisted that art material had to be of the best quality, the inks are over 10 years old and they are still in perfect condition.  

Aquí podéis ver como quedó mi puesto.  Mi inspiración para este mercadillo tanto para los diseños como para el puesto en si, fueron los cuentos de hadas, los bosques encantados  y los bailes en palacio,  vamos, el mundo princesil, todo muy romántico y etéreo. La manzana roja es un guiño a las madrastras malvadas que no pueden faltar de los cuentos.... 

Besos y feliz Lunes!

This is how my stand looked.  My inspiration for this art fair, both for the designs and for my booth, were fairy tales, enchanted forests and a palace ball, the stuff princesses are made of, very ethereal and romantic things.  The red apple was kind of a tribute to the evil step-mothers that always appear on those tales.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Paris

Se me acumula el trabajo.  No me puedo creer que hace casi un mes que no escribo! Pero es que Junio se me ha pasado volando, han pasado tantas cosas!  El Molly Market, las fiestas de fin de curso de mis hijos, visitas, y mi viaje a Paris.  Hacía años y años que no iba y se me había olvidado lo precioso que es. He venido con mil ideas para mi casa, mi cocina y mi estudio. Ojalá pudiera hacer un viaje cada semana! Pero como no puedo, miraré estas fotos para recordarlo.  Espero que os gusten.

I am so behind on my posts. I can not believe that I have not written any in nearly a month!  The month of June has passed by so quickly, must be due to the amount of things I have done. The Molly Market, my kids end of school year performances, visitors and my trip to Paris.  I had not been back in years and I had nearly forgotten just how absolutely gorgeous it is.  I have returned with a thousand ideas for my home, the kitch and my studio.  How I wish I could travel every week!  But seeing how I can't, I will jus look at the photos to remember it all. I hope you like them.

Mi amiga Mariana, inmortalizada para la historia ;-)