quiet paws.

Given the random jewellery purchases I’ve been making recently, sometimes the house starts to resemble a mermaid’s lair of sunken sparkly treasures which beg to be worn and loved…

I’m hoping that Poseidon won’t mind too much if I borrow these jewels from his vast oceanic domain. Surely he already has plenty of other enticements with which to please his eye?

This lovely pair of beauties which came gorgeously presented in their own wooden boxes, are from one of my favourite Australian designers, Samantha Wills. Many of her lovely pieces are right at home amongst my other plundered (not really!) valuables… Perhaps you will be tempted too?

It’s taken me a little while to return to the world of brooches. I have a vague recollection of loving them as a child, but somewhere across the years I became a little less enamoured. Then a few years back when there seemed to be an explosion of cute and interesting brooch designs, I worried that if I succumbed, I would put holes in my clothes… But of course the reality is that very little clothing damage is done.

This year finally I’ve cast aside previous concerns and given myself over to loving brooches once more. In any case, how could I resist such lovely accessories as these by Brisbane crafter RE-read design?

These lovely one-of-a-kind handmade brooches (made from old children’s books) combine many of my loves…woodland creatures, pertinent words and unique design. I hope they do indeed keep me on the right path towards large open spaces…

Living in the city, I often feel like I spend many of my days looking down – at my desk, at the keyboard, and at the ground. For this reason, when the daylight closes its door on the day, I like to step outside into the darkness of night and spend some time looking up. At such times I am reminded of the constant beauty of starlight, and contemplate how insignificant I must be to one so ancient. I find this to be an incredibly comforting thought after all the stuff and nonsense of the day.

The words of Emily Bronte far more eloquently describe the delight of the stars:

‘All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And with a full heart’s thankful sighs
I blessed that watch divine!’

Perhaps this appreciation of things that shimmer and shine is what draws me to constantly seek out and collect so many jewelled wonders. This gorgeous necklace features high gloss black glass beads that catch the light (and the eye), and with its polished stainless steel construction, I feel like I carry around my neck a constant memory of the light and dark which shines within the world.

Now at least when I look down, I see this necklace and remember that inspiration and starlight can sometimes be found in the most unlikely of places.

I purchased this beautiful piece from Brisbane jewellery artist Ange McMullen, at her etsy store. She has many more lovely items which may just be the little piece of starshine that you’re looking to find in your life…

So it’s pretty safe to say that I’m going through a bit of a jewellery phase at the moment. Sure this desire for pretty things does have some disadvantages, but there are also some advantages to adding more beautiful things to my collection.

Rather than buy more books, magazines and clothes which take up valuable space (and weigh a lot when you have to move), jewellery is generally small, easily packed and in the grand scheme of things weighs just a small amount. So the way I’m justifying the purchase of these lovelies is by undertaking yet another streamlining of my wardrobe and book collection … I’m feeling pretty happy with the resulting balance of this gain and loss equation.

For whatever reason I really love lock-themed jewellery, so how could I resist this beautiful mini-lockface necklace by Australian designers Limedrop? The correct answer is of course that there is no way I could resist. This lovely little fellow will rest above my heart and protect me from those who do not possess the one key which unlocks it.

I can think of no better (or sweeter) pendant up to the task.

Well not exactly on my wrists and ankles…but whenever I think of layers and layers of bracelets and bangles I think of Nick Cave and more specifically his song, ‘Do You Love Me?’ which the title of this post references…

I feel a bit ‘obsession’ focussed in recent times, but really I feel I can’t fight the tide at this stage, so here is one more obsession to add to the long list of things to obsess over. I’m really loving all things bangle and bracelet at the moment. There’s something very nice indeed about having something clattering about on your wrist that doesn’t have any other obligation or role other than simply looking pretty (yes, that’s right, I’m picking on you watches, you most useful and practical of adornments).

Last week I picked up this lovely pair of tri-coloured metallic ‘bec & bridge’ bangles from Australian Flavour. Sure, I could have just purchased one, but really two always strangely seems to offer twice the fun of one.

I’ve never really been much of a jewellery girl.
I never longed to have my ears pierced so that I could drape them in earrings.
I never dreamed of a day where I would forevermore wear a ring on my finger.
I never wondered when I would be given a ‘little blue box’.

Apart from a completely adorable tabby cat cameo necklace and a plastic koala themed wrist-watch (featuring Belinda, one of the Dreamworld koala mascots) which I wore often as a child (and which I still have tucked away), for me jewellery often seemed like an unimportant addition to an already bewildering decision-making process of what to wear. So in recent years I’ve been making a real effort to focus more attention on all that that glitters and glistens.

Now given that I’m a relative late-comer to the world of jewellery I feel that I’ve had time to reflect on the range of jewellery that is on the market and the variety of brands and manufacturers which are known, and not-so-well-known. Sure there is a certain kind of appeal to be found in the major jewellery houses such as Tiffany, Cartier and Bulgari – but sometimes I find that I crave something more individual and more unique. While I have nothing at all against the larger jewellery brands, I do dislike the wearing of a brand simply for brand sake. And I do love to support local artisans wherever I can…

…enter the classically elegant and eternally stylish world of ‘House of Baulch’.

Sometimes I love a jewellery label so much that I wished I owned every single piece in every single collection, and this pretty much sums up how I feel about the Melbourne born-and-bred House of Baulch. The jewellery collections of this brand range from pretty, delicately feminine pieces to more jaw-droppingly dramatic statement pieces. I love the old-world charm of the brand which at the same time seems to reference modern style. The decorative nod to Art Deco is also much appreciated.

While items can be purchased online direct from House of Baulch, I picked up this beautiful Jumbo Bling Chain bracelet from one of my favourite online stores, Birdmotel. There is also a matching Jumbo Bling Neck Chain available, which I’m yet to buy (so don’t you go and buy them all up before I have a chance to grab one…as that would just make me sad).