VINTAGE - RETRO



Some of the beads from The Original House of Beads

I haven't been able to get to blogging since Tuesday. I read somewhere that it only takes ten minutes to blog. Well, I suppose that depends on what one is blogging about. In as much as a blog can be seen as a personal diary, one does have to assume that someone, somewhere, might be reading what you have to say. So for me, blogging takes a lot longer than ten minutes. I usually have to give it a bit of thought and of course that happens long before I actually get a chance to get down to it. I was having a look at a few other blogs on Wednesday morning and found http://www.vintagelifestylemag.co.za/. I had a quick look and then had to get a move on as Joce and I were going out to get beads, chain and charms at The Original House of Beads http://www.originalbeads.co.za/ I managed to get beads for my stash, chain and some charms. We then went for lunch at PURE in Colbyn. This is a wonderful restaurant come deli, with seating under old pavement trees as well as indoors. The food is great and the atmosphere is vintage/retro.  

I don't know what one would term the jewellery I make, is it art, craft, vintage, retro or quirky jewellery? I don't really have a particular style, the beads or pieces I want to use usually dictate the design. I'm also swayed by jewellery I see, on someone, in a magazine or in a shop.

Retro and Vintage, as I see it, are items from the past. It appears that Vintage items could be seen to be more valuable than Retro items, although I stand corrected. I'm probably Vintage, having been born in the fifties, a teenager in the late sixties and early seventies. In fact had I only kept some of my STUFF from those years.

I was hell bent on buying this new Vintage Lifestyle mag, only to discover that it is an online mag. Crazy in this day and age for me to be surprised but I love to sit in my favourite chair with my "Coff" and page through a mag. I'm an avid collector of magazines and buy just about every South African mag on homes, lifestyles, gardens and food. Joce buys most of the women's fashion magazines, so there's always lots to read, as well as loads of inspiration. I also buy some UK home and life style mags when I can turn a blind eye to the price.



My kitchen table scape

This is one of my table scape's, as I like to call them. I adore picking flowers from the garden, although the garden is a bit sparse at present. I arranged the Delphinium in the blue baby cham bottle, the Penstemon in the brown Cobra Beer bottle and the Rhodesian Heath in the Coke bottle. Then some Nasturtiums in the old glass yogurt bottle and a mustard pot from Pomegranate, a lovely shop, now long gone. The red paprika in the blue bowl is from the garden. I was really chuffed with myself, hence the snap.

Here are two necklaces which were Christmas gifts. Iconic Charm was nabbed by Joce. She saw it in the making a while before Christmas and asked if it could be her prezzie. I'd had the clear lamp work glass beads with the red polka dots for ages. I only had three, so it took a while to match them with anything. 



Iconic Charm



The Seaside necklace was a commission. I sort of know the person the necklace was intended for. I used a sea shell for a pendant, the shell was found on a beach in Port Elizabeth known as Skoenmakerskop (don't know if this is entirely correct) in January 2010. I drilled a hole in the shell and strung it with different types of shells and pearls. I'm pleased to say the recipient was very happy with her prezzie.

Now what would one call this jewellery? other than Dragon Fodder. I was so pleased recently when someone recognised a piece I'd made and asked if it was a Dragon Fodder.



Seaside

 I packed away the new stuff, did a tidy up, and started with a design using one of Bevan's aluminium pendants this afternoon, which I hope to finish tomorrow.