tales of a jUnkaholic

a very big...

...tidy up!

Now it feels like the calm after the storm in the workshop, but so much to put away!

When making jewellery with precious metals and stones, you don't have time to be careful with the materials, so bits of gold and stones even get stuck in the cracks of the tables and floorboards! Or even worse, gold dust and clasps end up in the hoover!

After the clean up, the shop area is looking more shop like, and I had to re-arrange everything, as I sent a lot of display items over to Japan.

These window type frames are from a museum, you can see the label in the first photo. I tried to put watercolour paper on the back but it wasn't big enough, so I may have to paint them instead this week.

Such a nice light came through the window whilst I took these photos!

This cabinet is huge and took up most of the workshop. It was a lot of effort to take off its legs and tip on its side. So much glass! I spent ages planning how to do it!

I put vintage wallpaper on the back, but it desperately wants to be in a roll, and wont stay flat, ergh!

The birds have all found a home in the shop.

I am really liking this kind of Charles Darwin interior look, with natural history artifacts and books, and using watercolour paper to put jewellery onto.

Hopefully I will get some photos from the Tokyo shop re-opening soon...I'm sure it will be a very different style to the London shop as the men are in charge of it! ; )

So I hope to now make some new stock for here in London too...I'll keep you posted on that one!

it was a struggle...

...but we made it in the end!

In fact we made another 100 pieces of jewellery this week, already dispatched and arriving at RUST Tokyo as I write this!

A few minor last minute panics but all-in-all I think we (Eiko and I) did a rather good job!

We have a few more platinum and rose cut diamond ring samples...

and now some earrings too!

Our engraver Darren, did a fantastic job with these rings, I love the carved wedding ring set with a 1.5mm white diamond, and the heart ring has a hand milled edge and the Latin word for 'seek'.

and some more silver roses, this one was threaded with silk ribbon by Eiko.

Usually our pieces are worked on by four different people! When you sell more, you have to make more, so having a system is really important. (it also helps to have an Eiko!)

lots of earrings this time, these ones are Cognac quartz, Cornelian and Freshwater pearl.

The Press opening is tomorrow...its quite scary, I hope it all goes well in Japan and that the deliveries arrive on time!

Now I need to get this workshop back to a shop again, it looks like a bomb hit it!

the melange chocolate shop...

photo from http://www.themelange.com/

A big big, grand grand Merci to Isabelle!

As some of you may know (if you keep up to date with my blog that is!) we are opening (more like transforming) our RUST jewellery shop in Tokyo into a new Ladies & Wedding jewellery shop. It was previously Male orientated, so its a massive make-over, not to mention a completely new stock of jewellery made all last minute! (more about that later).

We are having a Press opening this week and Opening to the public this weekend, and we thought, how lovely to give our customers a little present to say thanks for coming!

What could be better than freshly made chocolates handmade in London by a lovely French lady, flying in from the other side of the world no less!

Isabelle's chocolate shop is a stone's throw from our home, on Bellenden Road, Peckham (SE London). You can see her website here.

So I presented Isabelle with the idea to make 300 truffles in 2 days, and she said yes!

She makes fabulous flavours, we had three different types:

White covering ~ Dark Ganache Cardamom & Clove
Milk covering ~ Milk Ganache Lavender & Lemon
Dark covering & Cocoa nibs ~ Milk Ganache Gingerbread & Molasses

(you can also buy these from her shop)

As our budget only stretched so far, we had a small amount in each box, I had to buy smaller boxes, so three truffles in each.

It took me till 3am to get them ready to dispatch with FedEx the next day (Oi, FedEx, no 'missing in transit' parcels this time thank you!)

So here are the 100 boxes all packed up and ready to go. I managed to only eat two whilst packing (truffles that is, not boxes!) which I was very proud of.

I can't help thinking these would be great for weddings parties and other such events, highly recommended!

i went to the market, and i bought a...

wee birdy!

...and all his mates!

I can't quite understand why there are three birds in one nest? Is one a 20-something that just wont leave home do you think?

Thought this would make a nice shop display for Easter, ...wow I'm planning ahead, that's new!

Is it called macrame? this kind of string bag, I like very much, and shall be keeping my sewing scraps in here until next summer.

A rather splendid book.

I know its out of focus, but I love this pattern.

a children's card game, ...it just makes me happy, ALRIGHT!

Pinking shears! I absolutely love it when, you actually need something, and had planned to buy new ones for a fortune, and then find beautiful vintage ones in the market instead! Oh it makes me so pleased to be alive.

a dashing clip-on bow tie, a rather lovely shape I thought. Nao, shall we go to Claridges? Shall we, shall we!

and a whole stack of these little enamel tags, one has been painted, and although not my cup-of-tea, it did give me the idea to paint words on them myself and make into necklaces for the shop.

Who dares wins!

I really must do some work now...

the fruits of our labour

Blimey! I am knackered! We have been quite frantic here in the workshop this week, finishing ladies jewellery to send to the Tokyo shop, which is due to open on the 21st (I think?).

Thus far, we have produced these ones, and many more!

These are made of silver, onyx, quartz and silk ribbon.

This one is 9ct gold, rock crystal and a tiny vintage silver powder compact!

And a tiny silver envelope with retractable pencil, just what you need eh?

...also a silver & 9ct gold top heart ring with milled edge.

What a load of old junk!

Yup. For sure. I know it.
I'm like a mad old grandma already. I've noticed after my latest re-arranging of our living room, that the knitted blankets, tartan cushions and various needle work paraphernalia has taken over a tad, from the muted colours of the minimal, industrial urban look that we first had. In fact we used to have an old horse's nose bag hanging on the wall above the fireplace! Yes, indeed!
By the way, I recently used the top suitcase to go to visit my mum on the Isle of Wight, and felt like a war time evacuee from London, like I should have my comics, teddy bear, fish paste sarnies and catapult in there! The other suitcase, I found on the street in central London, filled with coins from the 1960s, still in their brown paper cashier bags, how strange?

My word there are a lots of bright colours and patterns going on...I don't think Nao is too keen, I remember him saying when we first moved in "I want to keep the living room quite masculine"
Ooops, sorry Nao! Women's stuff always takes over in the end!

I need more space! Also, can't stop buying colourful toys in the market, even though we don't have kids...I just like their cheerful look!

I caught Plimsoll, trying to poke her paw through this bird cage, as if to say "I'm just checking".
The birds inside look slightly concerned, I'm sure their expression has changed recently?
Anyway, enough of my banter...back to work!

uh oh...

I made a big mess...today I have been trying to transform some old boxes from the market into lovely velvet lined boxes of treasure, for displaying our jewellery.

I think this used to hold a silver napkin ring...

It was like this, but now its like...

this! The string is tied around whilst some glue dries, the box fell apart when i was lining it! I put in sections to hold two rings. The rings are mine by the way...