The Beautiful Photography of Malgorzata Maj

I recently came across the hauntingly beautiful and evocative photography of Malgorzata Maj and had to share. Some of her dream-like photographs remind my of Pre-Raphaelite and Renaissance paintings, others of the work ofVictorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron--all of them are perfectly composed and beautifully costumed...

{click on the images to enlarge}

Her biography says she draws inspiration from 

"XIXth century painting colours and themes, ghostly moods & dreamy visions, also fascinated with music..."

All photos courtesy of Malgorzata Maj/Sarachmet Photography. 

More work can be viewed here:

{Portfolio}

{Blog}

{Facebook}

xo,

Scenes from the Studio...

Things have been busy in the studio--here's a little update of what I've been working on lately! 

The mood board that I shared on Monday inspired the colors of this decadent pair of earrings...

Giselaine Earrings

These are perhaps the sparkliest pair of earrings I've ever made--each earring has over 25 vintage rhinestones stitched onto the base of handmade silver lace, as well as beautiful faceted quartz crystals, cubic zirconia and tiny freshwater pearls...

They're a little preview of my Spring/Summer Wedding Collection and now available in my Etsy Shop. 

I also recently completed two custom orders:

a dainty pair of lace flower earrings with pearls and green amethyst stones...

And an elegant pair of bridal earrings in ivory silk and pearls...

Today I'm finishing up a new earring design for the shop and will be onto making some dainty necklaces...think lace, pastel gemstones and crowns! What is everyone else working on today?

xo,

{Inspiration Board} Fairy Tale Silvers

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am currently working on my Spring/Summer Collection. Right now I'm facinated by fairy tale illustrations from the turn of the 20th century, heavily beaded and metal embroidered textiles, architectural details from Versailles, fairies, nymphs and pixies, and sparkly things. Here are some dreamy images that are really inspiring me at the moment:

{1. Vintage Photo, source unknown, via UnderTheIvy 

2. Detail of Versailles, photo by Alix Bancourt, via The Cherry Blossom Girl

3. Napoleonic Era Silver Embroidery, from the exhibition catalogue of Josephine Imperatrice de la Mode: L'Elegance sous l'Empire, via Madame Guillotine 

4. Edwardian Paste Earrings from Vintage Sparkles on Etsy

5. Embroidered Shoes,  from the exhibition catalogue of Josephine Imperatrice de la Mode: L'Elegance sous l'Empire, via Madame Guillotine 

6. Point de Gaze Lace Fan detail, source unknown, via Lace Fairy

7. Gold Embroidery from Balmain Bodice,  photo by Susan Elliott, via Plays With Needles 

8. Arthur Rackham Illustration via ArtsyCraftsy}

xo,

The New Year...

Happy 2011! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I took a few weeks off from blogging and creating and am now feeling refreshed and ready for what the new year brings. And it already full of some exciting things! I thought I'd make my first post of 2011 about some news, changes, and upcoming projects...

*One of the biggest changes for this year is that I've decided to change my custom work process. Last year was a learning experience for me and I was flooded with many, many custom orders. While I love getting to work closely with brides and customers, I realized that I needed to find more of a balance. Special orders are quite labor and time-intensive, and I found that I was left with little time to create new jewelry. I've decided that I am going to schedule far fewer custom work projects per month and will have a slightly longer waiting list. I am hoping that this will allow me more time to create new and wonderful designs for the shop, while still keeping custom work an option.

*In other news, I recently had some of jewelry designs photographed for a stunning bridal editorial. There is a chance that it may be published in a wedding magazine--I will keep you posted! But in the meantime, here is a sneak peek of the shoot:

{Photo courtesy of Kismis Ink Photography}

*Another goal for the year is to launch a bona fide website! I'm still in the researching and planning stages, but I hope to have an official website by the end of the year.

*And on the design front, I'm working on my Spring/Summer 2011 collection. It will primarily focus on bridal jewelry and right now it is shaping up to be inspired by fairy tales. I'll be sharing inspiration and photos of new designs in the coming weeks. Here is the first design from the collection, the Flowering Heart Earrings.

I'd love to hear what everyone's plans are for the coming year. Please be sure to stop by and say hello in the comments section! And on that note, I'll close with a Treasury I made the other day that I think captures the feeling of new beginnings:

Blossoming... 

These dreams are bl... pleasebestill $25.00	Magic lanterns - fi... irenesuchocki $30.00	Red Rose Necklace H... Crafts2Cherish $56.00	8 x 10 Mounted Prin... lilygreenwood $12.00
Felted mittens --- ... aureliaLT $39.00	Frida Kahlo Mosaic ... laurettacreati... $450.00	RESERVED: Embroider... chixycoco $56.00	Wide cable knit acc... dilettant $65.00
Leona And The Yello... janethillstudi... $55.00	bright sunshiney da... jennifermorris... $139.00	Folkloric Suzani Pi... MaterialRecove... $132.00	Plum Print - Free S... hadleyhutton $28.00
Technicolor Pansy B... mamaslittlebab... $42.00	Bright floral petit... MeMeWorld $48.00	Embroidered doll hilleryrebe $30.00	Climbing Roses Broo... fairyberry $43.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

xo,