Special Feature Friday: Jewelry by Johan

Edition 52

In our series about shops to go to for your wedding day, we have discussed dresses, ring bearer pillows, bouquets and guestbooks. This week it is time for the binding factor, and for the one thing you will wear with you the rest of your life: the wedding rings. 

Johan is the shop owner of Jewelry by Johan. He opened his Etsy shop in 2008 when it was still a 2 man show run by himself and his wife. In the up following years Johan saw a great increase in orders, and he hired his son in law and his daughter to help him run the shop. Jewelry by Johan is a real family business, with an eye on quality and sustainability. The materials Johan uses are unique and offer many options in design for wonderful rings.

Johan uses a wide amount of materials for his designs, the ring above is rose gold with dinosaur bone and Gibeon meteorite inlays. Besides dinosaur bone and meteorite Johan also uses wood, titanium, platinum, gold, palladium, mokume gane, tungsten and many other metals. Besides the metal rings can also be inlay ed with precious stones like Jade, Mother of Pearl or Turqoise. Johan can also set any precious or semi precious stone.

Besides wedding rings Johan also sells jewelry sets, engagement rings, interchangeable rings and pet memorial rings. 

Special Feature Friday: Mc Farlane Metal

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First of all I would like to wish you all the best for 2015! I hope everyone had a great time during the holidays and has much great things to look forward to in this new year.

This week I will be featuring a jewelry shop based in Cologne, Germany. Dianne is the owner of Mc Farlane Metal. Her shop is filled with a wonderful collection of hand made jewelry.

This is a pin less silver brooch, the inside of the flower is gold leaf, giving the brooch a unique and delicate look. Instead of a pin it has a tension system with witch it can be attached to a scarf or into a button hole. 

This silver ring with aquamarine stone was inspired by the jewelry of ancient Rome. The body of the ring is textured with hammer marks and the base is wide to offset the weight of the stone. 

Because Dianne's jewelry is all handmade by her, they will all come out a bit different, and therefor every piece will be unique.

For anyone who lives close to Cologne and would like to know more about jewelry making, Dianne also offers courses in all sorts of jewelry making spectrum's.

You can find more information on her website or facebook page. 

Special Feature Friday: Simka Sol

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Sara is the owner of Simka Sol, an Etsy shop focused on eco-conscious products with a unique style. Working as a graphic designer, Sara felt the freedom of expression in the cooperate workplace was too limited. She decided to quit her 9 to 5 job and invested in her own company. She makes her designs from the heart.

Everything down to the production process is about minimizing her carbon footprint. Misprints are used to clean the workplace, eliminating paper towels. The ink used is 100% eco friendly, not only good for the environment, but also for the user of the product. There are even plans to switch completely to solar energy in 2015!  

At Simka Sol one can find clothing, accessories, jewelry and home decoration. One thing that strikes me the most is the details of the prints. The designs give a clear picture, yet leave a lot to the imagination. 

The print on this mini dress was accomplished by removing the color from the garment, and leaving behind a creamy colored design. The fabric is soft to the touch and allows for a lot of stretch, because of this way of working. The dress has a gorgeous drop down back and is made of cotton spandex.

A lovely collection of housewares and decorations is also available at Simka Sol. This is a dish towel made of Egyption Cotton. It was hand printed in the studio at Sara's home, from an original design hand drawn by Sara.

Sara offers the readers of this blog a 10% discount with the discount code: SIMKA10

Special Feature Friday: Betsy Bensen

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Oh Dear, because of the move and the extra hours I do at work I completely forgot it was Friday yesterday! So, as an exeption this Special Feature Friday is published on Saturday!

Betsy Betsen a shop on Etsy , selling handcrafted jewelry. Betsy works with precious metals and gemstones and pearls. All her pieces are one of a kind. Betsy has a 25 years experience as a metal-smith and jewelry maker and all the skills and insight to produce unique and strong pieces.

This is a pearl ring with a freeform freshwater pearl. Next to the pearl you can find a London blue topaz. It is hand crafted in sterling silver. There is a 18kt gold bezel around the topaz, and there are two 14kt gold balls on the sides of the pearl.

A necklace with a stone called Willow Creek Jasper, which is mined in Idaho. The design in this stone makes it a unique piece. The sterling silver and gold pendant was made by hand, and a very lustrurous pearl was added. The back of the pendant is just as pretty, it is pierced with ginkgo leaves!

Betsy offers free shipping within the USA until November 5th 2014, with discount code: AISHA

Next week my sister is staying over, and the Friday we will spend at the zoo, therefor, no Special Feature Friday this week, but be sure to come back the 15th of November. The whole month of November and December we will give extra attention to the upcoming holiday season! 

Special Feature Friday: Silver Spoon Creations

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I always figured there where a small number of  things one could do with a spoon, scooping being the most important of those things. But, recently I found out that spoons are actually way more versatile! 

Silver Spoon Creations is an shop that sells jewelry made from spoons. Mostly bracelets, to be precise. 

At first you might not realize that they are spoons, but the more you look at them the more you see the spoon it was in a previous life. The spoons used for these bracelets are mostly the vintage type that are beautifully decorated. Silver Spoon Creations is run by the wonderful couple Tim and Veralyn. Together they work for this shop, Tim being responsible for making the items, and Veralyn being responsible for making sure the listings are online and handling the orders. 

This bracelet was created out of 2 vintage spoons from a company called Rogers, the spoons themselves where probably made around 1948. Today they make this beautiful bracelet! It is possible to personalize a bracelet by having initials or names engraved in them. This will be great as a gift, or as a memory. It is possible to order multiple bracelets from Silver Spoon Creations to give to your bridesmaids. 

Besides bracelets you can also find necklaces and key chains in Tim and Veralyn's shop. These items will be great to wear as a set! Just in case you can't get enough of spoon jewelry, I suggest you visit California Spoon Rings. This is a shop run by Tim and Veralyn's son, and his wife. 

Tim and Veralyn have been very kind to offer a discount to the readers of this blog: BLOG15

It is only valid for Silver Spoon Creations and gives a 15% discount. 

Special Feature Friday: Venus Velvet

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Venus Velvet is a jewelry shop on Etsy, it is run by Carolyn. Carolyn is from a family of artists and is delighted by any form of art. She gets great satisfaction from creating versatile jewelry. Carolyn took up jewelry making during her studies on the Ontario College of art. She loves working with precious metals and different colour variations. Her work is influenced by her Baltic background and the strong connections Latvians have with nature and craft. Each piece of jewelry is made by hand, in her green powered studio. When possible the tries to use ethically sourced and recycled materials. Respect for the planet and its inhabitants is a important aspect in the Carolyn's life, and  this can be found back in her jewelry. 

This is a modern geometric necklace created from brushed brass triangles. It's simplicity really stands out! It comes on a 18" sterling silver chain. The triangles are black and gold coloured, but it is also possible to get the item in full gold colour. 

These cute little earrings are shaped in two little raindrops. The second raindrop is made from a slightly thinner wire which makes it free hanging. This allowes for the second drop to swing around as you move, making them very playful. They are available in solid 10K or 14K gold, sterling silver or 14k gold filled.

Carolyn offers a discount for the readers of this blog, It is a 15% discount, valid for every purchase over $30. It is valid until the 31st of August 2014: SummerHeat15

If you would like to see more of Carolyn's work, you can visit her website, or if you would like to stay updated you may want to follow her on Twitter.

A new chapter, part 2

In April I wrote about my plans to introduce jewelry to Vallon des Trésors. Yesterday I had my day off from work and I decided to use this day to make this a reality. I am very proud to have these online, and I would like to show you two of my favorites!

The pink beads on these earrings are made of cherry quartz, they are topped off with a blue glass Czech bead. The two colors really compliment each other! the gold spacer beads and the earhooks are gold plated brass.

With the cultivated sweet water pearls and the golden plated connector these earrings are elaborate, yet not too big. The connector is decorated with flowers and swirls. They are real eye catchers!

These are just two examples of what can be found at Vallon des Trésors at the moment, and I hope you will all take some time to come around and have a look at the other pairs yourself!

Special Feature Friday: Mandarinas De Tela

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From the playful world that lives in each one of us, 

I value innocence and I express it in my dolls, 

each one created with dedication and love ♥

This is the wonderful quote we can find on the about page of Isabel's shop, Mandarinas De Tela.

The items in this shop are very attractive, elegant and colorful dolls, every single one is designed and handmade by Isabel.

The dolls are first designed on paper. Isabel carefully picks a fabric that seems most appropriate to the doll she has in mind. When the sketch gets transferred to the fabric it is given life and personality. The dolls have their own details and characters, and each one is unique. Isabel's inspirations are music, colors, art, books, people and life experience. This is easy to see in the collection of dolls she offers in her shop.  

Parts of the doll are painted by hand, this is why Isabel's dolls have such a distinctive look! 

Besides dolls there are also brooches, necklaces and pendants for sale at Mandarinas De Tela. All in the same colorful style as the dolls.

Isabel has kindly provided a discount code for the readers of this blog, it is a 10% discount, valid until August 2014: MANDI10

A minimum purchase price of 25 USD counts for this discount code.

You can also follow Isabel on Facebook, Twitter  and her own shop blog.

Special Feature Friday: Shakti Ellenwood

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Shakti's story is a special one, first I like to share a bit text from her about page:

At twenty-nine I found myself very sick in India. With a high fever I was unable to look after myself. An Israeli man, Asi, who had a room upstairs from me took me in and nursed me back to health.

He was a jeweller and sat at a tiny bench on the floor hammering, soldering and sawing. Whilst I lay on his bed recuperating I became fascinated by the intricacy and delicacy of the work.

When it was time for me to leave he presented me with a gold ring set with a Tibetan turquoise. It was the start of my love affair with precious metals and colourful gemstones.

I had found my passion.

After Shakti recovered from her illness she traveled to San Francisco and trained to become a goldmith. In 2013 she started selling items via her shop Shakti Ellenwood. Shakti offers an interesting collection of gold jewelry combined with diamonds and other gemstones.  Shakti's inspiration comes from the many years she has lived in the Far East, the natural beauty of Ibiza, ancient civilizations and colors in nature. This is easy to see when you enter the shop. The items are unique and of high quality.

These attractive wedding bands are very simple. They are made of 18 karat recycled gold but can also be ordered in platinum. They can be personalized with diamond or colored stones.

This gorgeous pendant is made of 18 carat gold and set with 9 pink sapphires. The pink sapphires really come out great in the background of gold. The amulet is available for special commission, different colored stones can be used, and a gold chain can be added. 

Shakti is also available for custom orders, so if you have a design in mind it would be worth it to message her and see if she can help you realize your dream piece. 

You can stay up to date with Shakti and follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Shakti has been so kind to offer the readers of this blog a 10% discount. The discount code is BLOG25 and is valid for 3 month's after this blog entry was published. I think this is a great chance to get a good piece of quality jewelry!

Special Feature Friday: Barefoot Maiden

Edition 16

A long time ago I discovered the Barefoot Maiden shop. At the time my hair was still very long and I decided I wanted to give myself a pair of her hairsticks for my birthday.

It was a great decision, as it turned out she was very friendly and once the custom made hairsticks arrived I fell in love with them!

Barefoot Maiden makes gemstone hair jewelry, mostly in the shape of hairsticks.
Her hairsticks are strong, durable and most important: beautiful.
It really does feel like jewelry for the hair, instead of a everyday accessory. 

These hairsticks are hand crafted and have a luxurious look. They can keep up the longest hair in a way that will not cause any damage to the hair! 

Barefoot Maiden uses mostly earthly colors and natural materials, like wood and gemstone. It is possible to buy via her Etsy shop,but there is also a website worth visiting. We can not only find hairsticks in the shop, but also earrings and on the website there is a great collection of necklaces. All in the same style!

Especially for the people interested in hairsticks I would recommend you have a look in her shop, Barefoot Maiden has very kindly given a coupon discount code for the readers of this blog:

blogcode15 

This code is valid until a month after this blog was written, and gives you a 15% discount on the items from her Etsy shop and website.

Meanwhile I cant wait until my hair has gained length, so I can use the pair of hairsticks again made by Barefoot Maiden!

Special Feature Friday: Nikkimcl

Edition 15

Today's featured shop is nikkimcl, a wonderful shop that sells high quality hand made jewelry.
Browsing through this shop I notice that the items have a luxurious vibe.

This shop works mostly with high quality materials, like gemstones, pearls and crystal. The jewelry looks well made and sturdy, but is at the same time very elegant. Also I think the jewelry can be used for many occasions, weddings, parties and everyday live. It is always great to add some versatile jewelry to your collection!

I love these sophisticated green and gold wire wrapped earrings, the green beads are beautiful and work so well with the gold elements!

This wonderful necklace has a antique look, it looks very sturdy and at the same time elegant.
The blue color of the stone just springs out and will catch every-ones eyes!

Nikkimcl is situated in the US and ships world wide! There are over 170 items in this shop, so there is a lot more to discover.

Exclusively for the readers of this blog there is a Etsy discount code, you will get a 10% discount when you use this code: SECRETSALE10. The code is valid until the 15th of December 2013.