Seriously?!

I love jewellery, gold is beautiful but this....this is too much. Way too much. Actually, in my opinion I'd call it sick.

I could give you another thousand reasons why I think this stinks.

First of all, this blackberry is not just covered with a gold color cover thing... No, it 24 carat gold. 

I said: 24 CARAT GOLD!

What a waste of gold!!!! WHY??? WHY???

Victoria Beckham has one. Encrusted with diamonds, and it costs £ 20.000

Sorry, I gotta go.

I'm gonna throw up.

Hair Jewellery

A few weeks ago I tried using this hair band to my friend's engagement party in NYC...well, both of them plus my boyfriend thought its was too "childish". Come on!!
Anyway, now that I'm in London and none of them are here(sadly), I used it for a friend's party...maybe people thought I looked like an eight year old, but I loved it!

The Triple Rosette Sparkle Alice Band ( what a name!) is from Accessorize, which is also available in Brazil my Brazilian people!
  Anyway, who doesn't want to look younger?

Inside information.

For the ones that are not in "the industry", I know that it all seems very fun and glamorous when you look at a pretty picture, but there is a lot of work before we start shooting...make-up, hair, lighting, getting the set done, fitting the clothes...loads!

Here is a link to a quick video of what goes on behind the scenes:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1568245859489

Saudade do Brasil!

It's February and any Brazilian would understand me. It's summer time, people are enjoying the beach, the sun, their caipirinhas and everyone can feel that carnival is just around the corner. What a great time of the year. There is something about the air in Brazil at this time, people are happy, friendly and everything ends in Samba! Yes, I'm jealous. Very jealous, indeed.
 I love London to bits and I almost consider myself a Londoner, but at the end of the day, the blood that runs in my body is so very Brazilian.
As you have probably noticed already, I am super proud of my country. We all are. With all due respect for every country in the world, we are basically the coolest! ( There is an actual survey that came out with such results.) :)
Talk about pride, Rio de Janeiro based designer Lidice Caldas is a patriot. Amongst her pretty designs is the Christ pendant. It doesn't get any more Brazilian than that.
Above, Lidice's necklace and below a few snaps of my beautiful homeland.

Olinda, city that has on of the most traditional carnival parades in Brazil.

Olinda - PE

Last year's costume fitting for the parade in Rio.

Sunset in Rio de Janeiro

My gorgeous sister at the Street Carnival in Rio.

Rio de Janeiro

Degas

Born in Paris, Egdar Degas spent most of his life (1834-1917) painting inspired by ballet.
He was regarded as on the founders of expressionism but preferred to be considered a realist.
Whatever it was, it was powerful.
I know ballet is hot right now but I do love ballet pictures and paintings, and after a friend of mine mentioned his name, I didn't need much research to know this guy was about to make it to the top of my list. Where have I been?!
How could I not know this guy?! What a mystery.
Now that I know, a few of my favorites:

Caipora

  Caipora is a collection of contemporary ethically made jewellery crafted by five Brazilian designers with a passion for the environment. A key element in the process of making the jewellery is the importance of using recycled and easily replaceable natural materials.
 Caipora's jewellery is green and gorgeous!!
A very good friend of mine is the founder of Caipora and I'm so proud of her and how far she has come! Go Zel!!
A while back I shot for Caipora and it made me feel very proud of being Brazilian, not only because we have amazing resources, but also because we are using it well and responsibly!

    

Things they make me do...

Well,  as much as I really want to be a jewellery designer...I'm still a model!
I love my job and I adore photographing and making cool pictures, but sometimes you are faced with tasks you are not really comfortable with...to me, that's anything that involves talking to a video camera!
You can see that by the relief in my face once the take was done and dusted!!

                                  

Isabella Oliver days...

Isabella Oliver has been a client of mine for years, we always shoot gorgeous pictures and we look forward to every season, when the team gets together again. We are like a big happy family!
At this seasons editorial shoot, stylist Sophie paired up their beautiful designs with beautiful jewellery.
One of the pieces that caught my eye was the earring by Nicole Richie's jewellery brand House of Harlow.
Yes, Nicole Richie. I never thought I'd say this but I actually like her designs.
Here, follows the earring picture and me wearing the pieces while getting ready for the next shot!

Pretty bits...

   

 

Class 1

Today was the first day of my course on Silversmith at Central Saint Martins and I woke up as excited as a child going on a school trip.

Once I was there, I met all the other students and teacher Linda started going through what we were going to do. For some reason, I thought we could to do any silverware piece as long as  determined techniques were applied, but no. We were shown a cute little silver box with a lid on and told that making another one of those was our task for te next weeks.
So we started.

The whole thing is way more complicated than it looks. We have to measure everything and if anything isn't exactly right....well, the lid won't close, the bottom won't fit and the silver goes to waste.

Once all the measuring and marking was done, I was relieved. Out with the maths, in with the craft!
We aren't even near finishing it and I know that I'll have to start measuring and calculating boring bits by the time we get to the lid, but I'm enjoying the process.

The stages where I'm soldering, piercing and stitching are my favorites. I love seen things on paper been transformed into something concrete, real.

So far, I think is a great course and I feel like I learned a lot today.
If it weren't for the "engineering square" ( a tool to measure exact angles :-/ ), it would have been perfect!
  Everything I'm learning with this project can be applied to the jewellery making, which is perfect, but one thing is for sure:

This is the only silver box I'm ever gonna make!
 Ever!

Dialogues in Gold

Born in 1942 in the English town of Buckinghamshire, Jacqueline Mina is one the most important goldsmiths in the country.

Unafraid of experimenting, her creations are filled with emotion. Mina's jewellery, created over many decades, are a combination of innovative use of form, time consuming craftsmanship and experimentation.

Her textures and prints on gold, are a breath of fresh air, considering some of the pieces on show at the Goldsmiths Hall were created over 30 years ago.

She says:  My art is in gold, other artist may choose stone  or paint, textile or clay, but if I left my imagination run free with gold I find the possibilities are limitless.

The artists retrospective show is entitled Dialogues in Gold, and it speaks for itself.

Jacqueline Mina - Dialogues in Gold
At Goldsmiths' Hall
Monday 31st January to
Saturday 26th February, 2011

Construction/Deconstruction

The Swarovski concept store is a MUST GO for anyone that can't resist a bling! The store holds beautiful, creative and mostly affordable designs by up and coming designers and huge names like Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzaro, Lulu Guinness, etc....

SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™concept stores are a fantastic idea and their success is a quite obvious outcome of the union between the world's leader crystal cutters and some of the best fashion and jewelry designers.

To me, the most amazing thing about this concept of store is how they sell everything deconstructed, so you can construct! Crystals, hoops, ring bases, clasps, threads...they provide you with direct access to more than 2,000 loose elements. Everything you need to create you own designs.

Mix and matching will allow you to create an outstanding unique look. Not just for people who enjoy jewelry making, this is also a great idea for those that are looking for a special gift to a special friend.
PS: There is nothing like a gift made by the hands of the person offering it!

Above, the elegant London Store, and below one of my favorites pieces: The Duchess cuff by Melissa Kandiyoti.

Silversmith

Today I enrolled in a silversmith course at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, I can't wait for my first day of class on Saturday!
The video below is a sample of what I will be doing for the next 5 weekends!
http://www.thedevilsworkshop.ca/video_forgingaring.shtml

God save Hennes!

At good old H & M, I found this super duper sweet bracelet that touched my heart. Not only it adds a delicate touch to any outfit, it is also guilt free. This beauty costs £ 1.99
Unbelievable!

Beauty from Belfast

                                                                www.abigailpercy.com

 Belfast based jewellery designer Abigail A. Percy creates beautiful feminine pieces like the one in the picture above. The designer, alongside her partner Ryan Bell also run a company called abigail*ryan home wares, they design tea towels, cushions, lavender bags and many other very pretty things. Both websites are way more than worth checking, it's a must to do so!

                                                               www.abigailryan.com

Liberty LOVE

Today I went to Liberty, which is one of my favorites shops and just because I was there already I thought it would be cool to see the ring I posted yesterday by Annina Voguel....but it was gone.
A very lucky woman has it in her fingers right now!!! Anyway, Annina was there and I really enjoyed watching her fix a piece to fit a costumer.

One other beautiful thing I saw at the store was the Wall of love, a gorgeous paper crafted wall where people put secret love messages...just to throw it out there and get it out of their chests! Spread the Love and Happy Valentine's day everyone!

This is what I call a Valentine's day gift!

 

London born jewellery designer Annina Voguel creates unique and stunning pieces by putting antique finds together. Each one of her pieces is a masterpiece. The Victorian Diamond and Ruby Heart Ring is basically any woman's dream ring!

Digging deep.

I kind of feel like I have been posting too much since my blog was only created yesterday, but at the same time I think I should build a look for it, so since I'm not at a point where I need to save subjects for the next day I will just keep posting.
Here, digging deep last centuries picture folders I found these humble pieces I made...

Day Job.

Here, I'm in action for Kuka-me jewellery by designer Reema Pachachi. Lovely timeless pieces...

Michigan

I have lately spent some time in the Midwestern Ann Arbor, where my boyfriend is getting his master's degree. This place is very beautiful, freezing cold and totally white. Here are some snaps of this gorgeous place.

Jewellery bug

I must admit that I kind of lost interest in anything creative in the last few months. I had been working a lot with very commercial clients and not really being exposed to creativeness until 2 weeks ago when I was booked for an editorial of The Sunday Times Style magazine. Fashion Editor Olly Paton not only had an amazing selection of accessories (pictured) that kept me entertained for 2 days, she also put me in contact with an amazing designer in NYC. That day, the jewellery designing bug bit me again. It was all I could think about, so I wrote an email to this contact that lovely Olly introduced me to, practically begging for an internship opportunity during summer in NYC. Fingers crossed!

Long ago...

Photo by Guto Silveira

This is one of the first pieces I ever made, probably around 5 years ago. I have used freshwater pearls, cristals and stearling silver. Altough this is a very simple piece I have it in my heart, as it was one of the first things I have made and actually felt proud of.

Intro.

My name is Mariana and I am from Brazil. For the past 10 years I have been working as a fashion model, and for the past 5 years I have lived in London.
 I have decide to write a blog to follow me in the new path I chose, and hopefully it will be a successful one!
I aspire to one day become a Jewellery Designer, so let this blog be the journal of my journey and a place for me to keep and share the pretty things that inspire me!

M.