Fashioning Memories

Bonjour,

As promised in my last post, I would like to share with you one of my favorite jewelry pieces that I created for myself.

This necklace contains a few of my treasured items.  The centerpiece is a lovely old escutcheon. As I've told you, I love all things old, and this is no exception.  I love its ornate design.  It is suspended from old watch chains on one side and a remnant of rosary chain on the other, which are very symbolic to me. Hanging on the watch chain is my lucky four-leaf clover (if only it would bring me luck! Who knows...maybe it has.).  An old transit token from Galveston, one of my favorite cities and one that I visit often, is hanging below, along with wrapped pearls and crystal beads for a bit of bling. The backdrop is a vintage dog breeder's tag...French, of course. Dogs have always been an important part of my life.

The real centerpiece is my mother's old locket which contains pictures of her and my dad when they were so very young. It is a priceless memento.

I love the idea that treasured items may be repurposed and visibly shared rather than sit hidden in a faraway corner or drawer.  That was one of the reasons I started designing jewelry. Being a collector, I have so many items tucked away, unseen. I wanted to see them, wear them, rewrite their history, if only in my imagination.

Since making this necklace, I have gone on to create many other pieces, using all manner of tidbits and tokens...antique buttons, old medals, crackerjack charms...the list is endless. Is there a special keepsake of yours that you have all but forgotten...something meaningful to you that you might actually wear if it were refashioned into a different form?  Perhaps several gems might be combined to tell a story just to you...your life story.  I would love to create a special piece of jewelry for you.  We all have some little treasure stuck away. What priceless object do you possess that I may restyle for you? Please let me hear from you.

Adieu,

Nostalgia

"Nostalgia paints a smile on the stony face of the past."

-Mason Cooley

Bonjour,

One of my favorite pastimes is shopping the flea markets for antique treasures. Many times I am searching for pieces to add to my personal collection; but, usually, I hope to locate materials to be used in my handmade jewelry.  When I spot something I like, I must wonder, 'Is it the beauty of the items themselves that I find attractive, or is it the nostalgia they elicit?' What exactly am I buying?

It is a fact that nostalgia has become a marketable emotion, which might be demonstrated by my little business, if I am totally honest.  We are offered "retro" fashion and furnishings, especially appealing to the younger set, and "vintage" everything to appeal to the baby boomers.  Everyone seems to have a favorite period of time that evokes pleasant memories.

Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be able to purchase originals, but many reproductions are on the market, often with a modern twist; and, even factoring in inflation, compared to their earlier counterparts, they carry a hefty price tag.  We are gladly willing to pay whatever the cost to purchase that warm fuzzy feeling along with that sofa, lamp or fringed jacket.  

Ralph Lauren, Spring 2011,  Peter Stigler, Photographer

Even television capitalizes on the nostalgia trend.

Mad Men -- AMC

I must admit that some of my most memorable purchases are riches from another era-- a Limoges lamp, an agate watch fob, an antique holy water font.  Was it the beautiful hand-painted roses on the lamp or the artistry exhibited in the fob and the font that attracted me?  Or was it the glimpse into the past that turned my head? Was it a glance into a simpler time, a slower pace, that beckoned?

Is there a special item of yours that makes you smile with the feeling of nostalgia?  I'd love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts.

In my next post, I'll share with you a piece of jewelry I made for myself that always makes me nostalgic. It's the perfect pick-me-up when I'm feeling melancholy.  Until then, you may find a sample of something similar in my shop.  Just click on the link above.  Merci. 

Adieu.

A Taste for Beauty

Bonjour,

"Beauty is the sole ambition, the exclusive goal of Taste."

Charles Bauderie

Where does one discover one's tastes in art, fashion and the like?  Is it predetermined, tied to one's cellular makeup?  (There is validity to the effects of being right- or left-brained.)  Possibly mine was evoked by the hours I spent at our grand Art Deco-style city library, nose deep in beautifully-illustrated books filled with fairies and castles, smelling of dust and daydreams.  Oh, how I loved those days, immersed in a world of princes and chivalry and happy endings.  Even today, I cannot resist the calling of a musty old bookstore -- if one can even be found.

[Gates Memorial Library], Photograph, ca. 1925; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth79588/ : accessed August 12, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Port Arthur Public Library , Port Arthur, Texas.

The jewelry I design often emerges with definite Art Deco or Art Nouveau characteristics.  Is it that lovely old library shining through, or is it just the influence of that French ancestor of mine? 

 

Is there something specific that influenced your tastes?  I'd love to hear from you.  Do tell...

Adieu,

Bonjour

Bonjour

Welcome to Frenchi Grace.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved all things old--furniture, jewelry, books, people. My heart skips a beat when I encounter a rusty barn or an antique prie dieu or even an octogenarian with a great story to share.

After growing up in a home with only "new" things, I couldn't wait until I could furnish my own home with "old" things, often purchased at garage sales rather than antique stores, but priceless to me nonetheless.

It would only follow that I would find my "calling" designing jewelry from antique and vintage findings. 

For a while now, one of my favorite pastimes has been searching for treasures often meaningless to others, small items--religious medals, Cracker Jack charms, antique buttons, anything French--that were symbols of a past lifetime. Where had these items been? Who had found them desirable, as I did?

Now I am enjoying fashioning these lovely items into redesigned jewelry pieces--tokens of the past given new life in fashion for today. I am hoping that you may enjoy following me as I share my treasures with you. Are their any special treasures that have spoken to you?

Adieu,