Melbourne-based artist and jeweler Liz Jones is a bit of a magician, turning trash into beautiful rainbows. Her art is gorgeous, but sadly just a 20-minute stroll on a nearby beach is more than enough time to collect the supplies needed for just one rainbow.The photographs look like the Smurfs declared an all-out war against the Care Bears using sporks and Barbie accessories as weaponry. Or simply put, rainbows.
Jones has been collecting and recycling materials in to her art and wholesale costume jewelry since 2005. She uses everything from buttons to vintage linoleum which makes her pieces all one of a kind. In 2008 she began photographing what she saved from the landfill. But it was a vacation to Victorian beach in 2009, along with a really large bag of rubbish, that inspired the Skittle-esque photos you see.
She calls them Rubbish Rainbows.
“My first thought was to bin it all, but then the pretty colours were itchin for a quick sorting…and then I wanted to document it,” she explained to me. Not everything she collects makes it into the photographs. The picture below would have been 4-times the size had she used all the Coke bottle lids she found that wholesale necklaces.
She goes to the beach about once a month but also gathers trash from nearby creeks which she visits daily.
“I am yet to find any real treasure, but would get a thrill if I discovered something really ancient and historical,” she confesses. I would have to disagree. Her art is the pot of gold.
Green Findings at Puro Diseno Fair in Buenos Aires
Posted by: FashionInTrend
May 11th, 2012 >> fashion jewelry
we mentioned last Monday, this year one of the most important design events in Buenos Aires (Puro Diseño fair, which took place from March 28th until April 2nd) had some green presence, with the participation of some of our featured local designers and a presentation on the basic aspects about Green Design. But thorough the fair, we were pleased to find some new green designers too. The first one was Neumatica, a small company founded by Roby and Deby Piwnica, two Argentine siblings living part-time in Brazil and Argentina, who make products out of recovered tires along with people from favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Though the idea is not new, they had some cool designs and incorporated things like belts, purses and polished diary covers that could make good green company presents. Their products can be purchased in several stores around Buenos Aires and Rio (they don’t have a site yet, but to find out more e-mail them). Other happy findings were organic cotton clothes (not very common in Buenos Aires), and cool pieces of jewelry that incorporated recycled paper and threads. Read more to find out the brands and websites.Like we said, another happy finding was a company that makes t-shirts with organic cotton, not so much popular here in Buenos Aires (at least it’s not common that the word ‘organic’ is included in the label). The brand is called Inhaus, and though the style was sort of classical, with plain t-shirts with some stamps to be at home, it’s great to see interest in designers in pursuing organic cotton. Inhaus products are sold in Malba Store, Soldba (4645 Costa Rica st., Palermo), Design Suites (1683 Marcelo T. de Alvear st.) and Materia Urbana.
In the jewelry/accessories field we found some really cool necklaces with recycled paper mixed with threads and stones, which really didn’t look recycled until you came really close (the picture is from a past collection, but the new ones are much better). They were from Lua Chea, a company that has been around since 2004. Lua Chea’s accessories can be found in two stores located in Palermo (one at 2029 Borges st., the other at 4593 Nicaragua st.).
And finally, we checked a new brand doing advertising banners bags: Urbag. Though in appearance they don’t have much difference with other brands, we thought worth mentioning it in case someone is interested in other provider.
Green Eyes On: In Afghanistan, a New NGO Creates Gorgeous Jewelry
Posted by: FashionInTrend
May 6th, 2012 >> fashion jewelry
Double-emerald nugget ring by Pippa Small for Turquoise Mountain. Jewelry from the collection helps benefit traditional artisans and craftspeople in Afghanistan.
We all like a feel-good gift idea around the holidays. And here’s it would be hard not to love. At the request of His Royal Highness Prince Charles and President Hamid Karzai, the non-profit NGO Turquoise Mountain was born to regenerate Afghanistan’s traditional crafts and historic areas, and, in turn, create jobs, skills and a renewed sense of national identity. Using irresistible indigenous raw gems from Afghanistan — emerald, ruby, lapis, amethyst, aquamarine, tourmaline — designer and anthropologist Pippa Small creates mesmerizing jewelry designs for the NGO. All jewelry is handcrafted in Turquoise Mountain’s Kabul studios by master artisans.
This month, Turquoise Mountain Jewelry will be available for the first time in the U.S. on ElegantRoots.com, with prices ranging from $69–300. For each piece of Turquoise Mountain jewelry sold on ElegantRoots.com, every dollar goes directly to the charity.
So how did a Prince get involved with a jewelry company?
On a 2004 state visit to Britain, Afghan President Hamid Karsai discussed with Prince Charles the imminent loss of Afghanistan’s traditional crafts and how revival of those arts would help renew a sense of national identity. Prince Charles, an aficionado of traditional arts, committed to help. He raised seed money for a charitable foundation and enlisted his friend (and former tutor to his sons) Rory Stewart (author of The Places in Between and now a member of British Parliament) to lead the effort.
To achieve the revival of Afghan arts and the creation of a thriving art and design community, Stewart brought in many talented volunteers, including architects, urban planners, engineers, and artists. Among them was Pippa Small, renowned designer and anthropologist, whose design brilliance resulted in the line designed around Afghanistan’s native raw gems.
Turquoise Mountain has restored many of of the historic buildings in the Murad Khane district of Kabul, employing many talented wood carvers and bringing life back to the arts center; has created the Institute for Traditional Afghan Arts to pass along the skills, create employment and preserve these arts; has created primary schools for children many of whom had never been to school before; and has created a girls’ school.
Wearing this designer jewelry with raw-cut emeralds or rubies, promotes fair trade and aids in their rebuilding efforts to help restore historic buildings in Afghanistan, build schools, and create employment.
Rust Belt Jewelry Utilizes History Not Mining
Posted by: FashionInTrend
May 6th, 2012 >> fashion jewelry
Here are on TreeHugger, mining for gold has been a topic of discussion and we once reported that eight of the world’s top jewelry retailers pledged to stay away from “dirty gold.” After reading about Rust Belt jewelry, we went on their website and learned about some scary facts:
- Gold mining accounts for 10% of the world’s energy consumption.
- To produce enough gold for 1 ring, about 18 tons of waste ore are created.
- Every year, mines in the U.S. generate an amount of solid waste equivalent in weight to nearly 9 times the trash produced by all U.S. cities & towns combined.
- Smelting, a form of extractive metallurgy, adds about 142 million tons of sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere every year.
- To extract gold or silver from the ore, the ore is crushed, piled into huge heaps, and sprayed with cyanide. As it leaches through the mine waste, acid liberates various metals from the rock, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead.
So why is it that Rust Belt jewelry has these facts on their site? Designers Anna Bario and Page Neal realized that this luxury industry they worked in was causing some serious negative environmental and social impacts. So for every piece from their Alluvial Collection they use repurposed materials. We really like the Sisal necklace (shown above), four enameled chains that loop through handmade, textured sterling. Also worth a mention: their packaging consists of re-purposed glass bottles. Thanks for the tip, Heidi B.! Via ::Daily Candy ::Rust Belt
Bridesmaids are the dear friends of the bride who support emotionally the soon-to-be-wed both before and on her big day. This will turn out to be quite important for you and as a bride you must think of ways to cherish their help and friendship.
S0 you’ve already set the details on the bridesmaids dresses. They like the styles, the color and the materials. What about the bridesmaids jewelry? It’s the most important step of their garment and is the touch of glamor that will make them smile. It will ad savor to their look.
If they’ve already decided what they will wear to match the dresses, give it a second tough. Offering jewelry accessories as a gift is the perfect way thank your bridesmaids for their friendship and for participating in your wedding ceremony. Not to mention that they will look stunning in the wedding photos and that they will wear these bridesmaid accessories long after your ceremony as keepsakes and special reminders.
Just imagine the smiles your bridesmaids are sure to have on their faces when you present them with their bridesmaid jewelry sets or just necklaces.
This week’s jewelry thrilled me immediately, from first sight. It’s a creation from Amy Peters’ Studio, a fortune cookie necklace with inspiring fun messages. Should these messages not please you enough, you can come up with your own personalized message. It’s a funny, sweet, casual accessory with a 14k Gold plated cookie, a matte fortune and a sterling chain with a lobster clasp. You can write up to 28 characters. Start using that imagination!
Engagement rings bear witness for the moment when a man and women decide to become man and wife. The engagement ring is an embodiment of their devotion and their promise to lead their lives together henceforth.
Engagement rings are the symbol of passion and commitment that couples feel for each other. The patterns and designs used in the engagement rings have changed through ages.
At first, diamond solitaires were the way of proposing to the bride to be. A single stone diamond ring was the proof of marital intention. Yet nowadays, colored gemstones have taken soliatire diamond’s place: citrine, emerald, ruby or tanzanite.
Antique rings have made a strong come back. Due to the classical look they’ve become the trendiest accessories of all with floral motifs and extensive engravings.
Earrings add polish and drama to any outfit, and these inexpensive pieces of jewelry can easily change your look and enhance your style. By buying a few basic earrings and a few novelty pieces, you can create an earrings wardrobe to boost your style.
- Invest in a few high quality pairs of earrings. Simple diamond or pearl studs look great with casual outfits, business attire or formal wear. These two basic pairs serve as the foundation of your earrings wardrobe.
- Find simple hoop earrings in silver and gold. These pairs don’t need to be costly, but they coordinate with almost any outfit and add a little flair to your earrings wardrobe. Just be sure to buy hoops in proportion to your height–smaller hoops if you’re shorter and larger hoops if you’re taller.
Diamond Hoop Earrings
- Buy a few pairs of fun, dangling earrings. You can find unique pieces online, at antique malls and at craft fairs. There is so much variety in dangling earrings that you can use these purchases to show off your personality through your earrings wardrobe.
Sustainable Jewelry of Precious Earth Collection
Posted by: FashionInTrend
April 3rd, 2012 >> jewelry
Precious Earth jewelry is promoting throughout its activity the sustainable jewelry concept. “Our goal is to make jewelry that is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside ” they say. I declare myself an enthusiastic of this idea and I will expand it for you too.
By supporting consciousness and transparency in the jewelry trade, jewelry producers such as Precious Earth also support the economic independence of the people in Namibia, Botswana, and other gem mining countries. The jewelry producers offer unemployed local habitats jobs and trainings in the cutting gems industry and the chance of a better future for their families.
Renowned designer Robert Pelliccia has designed the recently Endangered Species collection that marks the launch of Precious Earth as part of the Kari Feinstein’s Golden Globes Style Lounge. Beautiful creations in my opinion that also raise awareness for the continent of Africa .
Emerald engagement rings – the atypical choice
Posted by: FashionInTrend
April 3rd, 2012 >> earrings
Most of the women dream, want or plan to get married. The ultimate dream is obviously that stunning diamond ring that can blind your rivals and envious is, but why not make then GREEN with envy? And by this I’m suggesting an emerald diamond ring. It is certainly not the obvious choice, but who says what is or should be.
I chose this because personally I love green and the thought of getting a little bit out of the ordinary really appeals to me. A vintage emerald engagement ring can be the piece she has always dreamed about, and can surpass a diamond ring in its beauty.
For more emerald rings and jewelry you can visit JR Jewelers, who had the courtesy to provide us with the above photos.
Before buying an engagement ring there are some things you should know. One of the most important is that emeralds are rarely flawless, most emeralds has the so called small inclusions. The famous 4 C’s from diamonds apply to emeralds as well:
The 4 C’s of emerald from Jewelryinfo4u
1. Cut – the precision and delicacy of the cut dictates the price of this stone. Emeralds are however cut in a variety of different shapes, ranging from traditional rectangular step cut, known as “Emerald cut” to rounds, ovals, squares and cabochons. Usually heavily flawed stones are given cabochon cuts.
2. Color – Emerald, a gem belonging to Beryl family are often found in different shades of green. Depending on the presence of chromium and vanadium, the emerald can be grassy green or yellowish or bluish green. The finest quality of emerald bears a “lime Jell-O” color. For emeralds color is the most important price determining factor. Smaller emerald with better color commands higher prices than the bigger stones which have weakly colored.
3. Clarity – this indicates the clearness of the stone. Clarity and color together dominates the price of the emerald. Emerald is characterized by the abundance of inclusions which decreases the hardness and give it a soft velvety appearance. They are marked by the large presence inclusions like calcite, yellow-brown needles of the mineral parasites, pyrite, albite and biotype inclusions. However good emerald with both high clarity and good color are extremely rare. An emerald that has high clarity and higher carat may be cheaper than a smaller emerald with a good color.
4. Carat – the weight of the emerald is measured in carat. A carat is 0.2 grams and is divided in to 100 cents. Good stones of high clarity and colour are extremely rare in sizes above 2 to 3 carats.