100 Fashion Essentials -what’s your score?
100 Fashion Essentials! What’s your Score? Hi, I’ve just enjoyed reading an MSN article about a new book written by fashion expert, Nina Garcia, entitled “The One Hundred: An A To Z Guide To The 100 Items Every Stylish Woman Must Own“, it’s a complete bible for girls like myself , who believe in “investing” in fashion and accessories rather than following the latest fads. Couldn’t have put it better myself as the “Statement Piece Necklace” and the “Classic Pearl Necklace” feature as must have accessories- Something, which I’m sure many of you will have heard me mention in the past!(maybe just once or twice!)
“Charis” – a new range of shimmering crystal jewellery is launched today!
It’s great to have new toys to play with! For me, as a jewellery designer, it’s fantastic to reach the point of launching a new collection of jewellery and sharing it with my customers. Will they like it, want it, buy it???? The anticipation is intense.
Designing a collection can take a little time. Firstly, what am I trying to achieve? which gap in the market am I trying to plug? which customer group is the collection aimed at? and how will I reach them with my new collection? There’s lots to think about before a single piece of jewellery is made.
With the Charis collection, I wanted to produce a range of jewellery which is subtle but with wow. Pretty but contemporary. Not everyone likes to wear large chunky jewellery, I love it and tend to be drawn to making larger pieces and so for me to design a range of designs on a smaller scale has been a new venture and I’m so pleased with the results. So , what sort of jewellery have I come up with?
Tired of your jewellery tarnishing? Here’s what I do……
I’ve just read an article on how to keep shiny silver jewellery shiny and tarnish free. And it’s green, no , not the tarnish, that’s black, but it does involve recycling and it’s free !
We all know those little silica gel packs that come in boxes of stuff you’ve bought (The ones that say “don’t eat”.)
Well,I’ve just read that these little freebies are an excellent way of preventing tarnish appearing on silver. Apparently, I just pop them into a bag or box with my jewellery and it will stay shining and clean. They work by removing moisture from the atmosphere- without which, tarnish cannot form. There’s a novel way of recycling! (although the article didn’t say so) I think that they may be toxic though ( hence do not eat!), so I must take care to keep them out of the reach of children and pets etc I’ll try it and let you know if it seems to work.
If it does work, it’ll really help as jewellery will aways be in tip top condition and ready to wear. It’ll save me time and expense cleaning my jewellery with chemical de-tarnishers.
On the odd occasion when I do have some tarnished jewellery to clean, I usually resort to the old fashioned kitchen foil and bicarbonate of soda method. Not heard of this one? it’s easy, I put a piece of kitchen foil into some hot water in a bowl in the kitchen sink and sprinkle in some bicarbonate of soda from my store cupboard. I then put the tarnished silver into the bowl and leave it for a few minutes. The black tarnish miraculously leaves the silver and ends up on the kitchen foil, leaving my jewellery shining and bright. It’s pure chemistry, can’t remember what the process is called – is it electrolysis? or is that hair removal? or is it both? can’t remember these days! I wouldn’t use this method if the jewellery is stone set or particularly valuable as some gemstones or pearls are porous and may be damaged by the chemical reaction. If in doubt about any jewellery related cleaning, I’d always advise customers to seek the advice of a reputable jeweller who may also offer a cleaning service. Anyway,that’s what I do when I need a quick fix for tarnish. What’s your tip? (nb -This is purely to let you know what I do, if you decide to try either these methods and I’m not advocating that you necessarily do, it’s entirely at your own risk!!!)
Girls, get your pearls on!
Girls, get your pearls on! T’is the season for dressing up for all of the lovely summer events which are happening over the next few months. With Chelsea flower show about to start this week, what better accessory for girls in the know than pearl jewellery? Yes, timeless, classic, understated and yet gorgeous, pearls are still an up to the minute, hot look which will take you anywhere. Perfect for a summer party, effortlessly high fashion and works well with all age groups. Easy.
But, when it comes to pearls, do you really know your onions? Do you know the difference between a natural and a cultured pearl? It’s fascinating to read about how pearls are made and how, while once they were a natural rarity , they are farmed today much like any other crop to produce high quality, reliable harvests of stunning pearls in all shapes, sizes and colours. Yes, we can all have them nowadays, there’s no excuse not to be a pearl girl.
Today, I have added a new page to my website’s home page called “Jewellery Info”. I want to share with you the knowledge I have gleaned over the last 6 years on jewellery and it’s related topics. I ‘ve started by writing a piece on pearls, their history, production and care of pearl jewellery for you to read at your leisure. Take a look when you’re next on my website (www.dawnwoodward.com) you’ll find the link on my homepage. I’ll be adding to this over the next few weeks with more topics eg a fascinating look at Venetian Glass, all about it’s history, how and where it’s made, gemstones and their traditional properties, birthday and anniversary stones and much more. enjoy………
More Arm Candy!! Gorgeous (paper) bags……
Hi
Always on the lookout for interesting display and packaging ideas for my jewellery business, I have been investigating the whole area of …….The Gift Bag! 
I want to give my customers something different, something indulgent and unique when it comes to a paper bag to wrap their jewellery purchase in. Feast your eyes on these wonderful gift bags which can you believe I MADE!!! Now I’m going to share with you how I make a bag like this in 5 (Yes FIVE!) minutes.
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Firstly, having been to the local DIY store to gather wallpaper samples for my intneded redecoration project, I was left with some wonderful pieces of paper ( wallpaper is VERY good at the moment). Not wanting to waste anything in this day and age, I set to work designing gift bags from the fab wallpaper samples.
After some trial and error, I decided that the easiest and quickest way to make the gift bag is to wrap a box with the wallpaper, any boxes from your kitchen cupboards will do ( Alpen and Cocopops were my favourites!) Wrap the box as if it is a present , glueing as you go on 3 sides. Leave one side of the box unglued so that you can then slide out the cereal box to leave behind the paper gift bag. Once the glue has set enough ( by the way UHU type glue was best) fold the top or open edge of the bag inside, punch in some holes with a hole punch and thread through some ribbon or twine to make a pair of lovely handles.
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So there you are, a stunning paper gift bag for next to no cost which is handmde, unique and made from recycled materials! So easy and quick, I only wish that redecorating my lounge could be so simple…….
The Dorset Art & Craft Show
Talented artists and craftworkers come together in a fabulous series of exhibitions throughout Dorset in 2008.
I wanted to let you know about a fairly new and vibrant Art and Craft show which is making it’s mark on Dorset in the UK. I know there are an awful lot of so called Craft Fairs dotted across venues in the UK almost every weekend. Some great and some not so great due to the slipping of what we classify as “Arts and Crafts” or even “handmade”. I exhibit at a lot of craft fairs throughout the year, I have learnt that quality has to be king! Handmade has to mean made by YOUR hand or those of an individual you are representing and not made by factory workers hands in a Far East manufacturing plant! It is so disappointing to see stall after stall of imported cheap (or even expensive) goods at some called craft fairs…….. And that is why I am telling you about the Dorset Art and Craft show! – a show with standards, genuine craftspeople and high quality artisan products.It’s like a breath of fresh air. Take a look at the Events page on my website to see when I’ll be exhibiting my handmade designer jewellery at these shows, or visit www.dorsetartandcraftshow.co.uk to find out more details. I’d love catch up with some of you on Sat 19th April at Digby Hall, Sherborne- free entry. x
Bags, Beautiful Bags!
We do love our Arm Candy! Different bags for each day of the week, for different outfits, for different occassions, for different weather condidtion and different moods………..any excuse, we’ve gotta have them. Next time you’re pondering which one to take out with you, spare a thought for the wonderful bags waiting for you, handmade with love by UK Bag Designer, Ingrid Shepherd, in her brand new bag shop (click on “Beautiful Bags ” link in left hand column). Many of you will have enjoyed looking at Ingrid’s wonderful bag collection at my sale events or on my own online shop www.dawnwoodward.com Some of you may have even fought over a one-off must have and for many of us, they have become part of that daily arm candy decision. Here, in her own dedicated bag showcase, you’ll be able to see all of the new designs as soon as they’re finished, no need to fight now girls. Go on, bag one for yourself!
Dawanda – No wonder I’m excited!
Selling my jewellery isn’t always straight forward! For those of you who know me and have seen me in action, you may think that I do ok, or maybe even a bit better than that. Some of you may even think that I can sell ice-cream to Eskimos (it has been said!) However, selling on line is a whole new ball game! It’s different. No matter how gorgeous my jewellery,how fantastic my photos how compelling my descriptions or reasonable my prices…… If I’m not being found it ain’t going to sell! To put this into perspective, a few years ago , I set up an e bay shop to sell my designer handmade jewellery – great, I thought, another route to market. Ten days later, with no viewings and lost in a category that contained about 16000 necklaces many of them mass produced, cheap and originating from China, a deflated me decided that e bay was probably not the answer to my business expansion.And that’s where I left it – my shop deserted , tumbleweed blowing around the entrance, dust gathering on the counter……. and then I discovered a new breed of on-line market places – Dawanda and Etsy. Clean lines, easy to use, exclusively for handmade goods, low or no listing costs and not a mass produced tatty necklace in sight- No wonder I’m excited! I have created new shops at both of these sites (-Just click on the links in the left hand column to my Etsy and Dawanda shops) and have started to list some of my luxury designer jewellery. Take a look, you might like it and if you are into making handcrafted items yourself, you might just love it enough to build your own shop. I’d love to hear what you think, leave a comment or drop me a line. x
Hello world!
Lovely Beads Welcome to my new Blog space which I have created because I want to talk to you! Many of you who know me will have gathered that I love to discuss all things gorgeous and glam and in particular, matters of the jewellery world. Being a jewellery designer is a fabulous job, I get to meet so many great people at my sales and love to see them looking wonderful in my creations. My thought for the day is…. now that Spring is starting (V. slowly) to arrive, what is going to be your fav accessory for the season? I’ve not been out and bought any new clothes for Spring yet, anyone found any real goodies? Would love to hear from you, don’t be shy,please leave your comment!!! x
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