Buttons and Beads and Escutcheons...Oh, My

Bonjour,

As I have mentioned in past posts, I enjoy hunting for treasures such as antique buttons, beads of all age and design, and old hardware.  These items are the inspiration for my jewelry design.

It amazes me that there are so many antique buttons still to be found and that they are even available for purchase, often in excellent  condition. There are many button collectors and many others, like me, who just love to see how buttons may be repurposed. Their varied styles and materials are used to determine their age. Although I am not an expert, I have learned a bit from the sellers with whom I have dealt, as well as through my own research. I will share that with you in a future post. This is one of my favorite buttons, which has been restyled.  Doesn't it make a lovely addition to this pendant necklace?

I have recently discovered a bead shop that has been in business for around 45 years. The proprietor stocks beads from all corners of the globe, and in every size, shape, color, and material imaginable. While most are new, some beads have remained unsold for some time and are vintage; however, there are also many antiques, some hundreds of years old.  I could spend hours there browsing to find the perfect beads for my designs.  (Alas, none of my purchases are ever of the antique variety.) These are a few from my last shopping trip.  Won't they make pretty earrings?

In this age of recycling, everything has worth if repurposed. A piece of antique or vintage hardware is often reborn as an object in a statement necklace. I love converting old drawer pulls or escutcheons into the focal point of a piece of jewelry.  This is a perfect example.  Isn't that escutcheon a work of art in itself?

Thank you for visiting with me today.  I would love to hear from you.  Please share your thoughts by commenting below or in the link above. Until next time...

Adieu, 

Mode d'amusement

Mode d'amusement

(Fun fashion)

Bonjour,

As you can see, today's "phrase-of-the-day" relates to fashion. Mode d'amusement.  Even the phrase itself sounds like fun. In my humble opinion, all fashion should be fun. Life is too short for anything else.  

Many mornings, I find I want to just slap on some makeup and don whatever is most visible in my closet just in order to arrive at work on time.  On those mornings, being fashionable doesn't even seem to be an option, much less fun. Other mornings, I may feel like a bit of dressing up is in order. But, in either instance, I never leave the house without jewelry. Accessorizing with jewelry truly is part of my DNA, and I do think such accessorizing should be nothing but fun.  After all, jewelry can be the perfect pick-me-up, especially on those drab days when one is dressing by rote. 

Take this necklace, for example.  No one could consider this anything but fun. Wouldn't this bring a bit of levity to anyone's day?

But there are other types of "fun fashion."  Say that visible outfit on that hectic morning turns out to be a basic ensemble such as a white top and black pants.  Instead of choosing to wear those same pearl earrings you always wear, why not change things up, and choose a pair of pale green earrings, like these...

Wouldn't that mode d'amusement inspire you to find joy in every part of the day? I know that it would do so for me. 

Let's put the fun back in fashion. You may find the items above and others in my shop, FrenchiGraceDeux.  Until next time, thank you for stopping by...merci...

Adieu,

'A la Mode

'A la mode

(fashionable)

Bonjour,

As an Instagram user, I recently found and started following "French Words," a poster of daily French words and their English translations.  The above was their post yesterday. I'm ashamed to admit that I, Frenchi, never knew that was the original meaning.  And to think I thought it only referred to the best way to serve pie.  Hmmm, I wonder who decided that if a dessert was served topped with ice cream, that was the "fashionable" way.

Getty image

As for jewelry, my latest creations may be considered "'a la mode."  In addition to my vintage assemblage jewelry, I like to make jewelry for the urban fashionista--or as I like to identify her, a "Frenchinista"--of which, on occasion, I consider myself one. Lately I have enjoyed making silver earrings with pretty bead and filigree dangles.  I use wire-wrapping techniques and even make my own hand-knotted headpins as enhancements.  The many lovely beads I find and am unable to resist are an endless inspiration for my creativity, such as the crystal beads found in these earrings.

These earrings and others may be found in my Etsy shop, FrenchiGraceDeux.

Do you have a special occasion that demands a certain accent to your outfit?  Or do you just want something to match a particular piece of clothing?  I'd love to make you the perfect jewelry to complete your fashion statement.  Please feel free to contact me via the link above. I love to collaborate with my customers to design a one-of-a-kind piece to ensure they feel their best-dressed.  Let's work together to create a style that is unquestionably 'a la mode.

Adieu,

Reinventing the Past

J’ai réinventé le passé pour voir la beauté de l'avenir.”

 (I reinvented the past to see the beauty of the future.) 

— Louis Aragon

Bonjour,

What beautiful words…especially in French.  "Reinvent the past to see the beauty of the future."  That is exactly what I hope to do when designing jewelry from heirlooms and other antique components.  I love to examine each item and imagine its past life.  

  

This beautiful buckle is a great example.  What exactly did this buckle fasten in its former life?  Was it an ornament on an elegant lady's dainty shoe, such as the ones below (which is most likely)?  

Did it secure an opulent silk sash on the narrow waist of a Victorian aristocrat?  Or, perhaps, it was an adornment on a turn-of-the-century handbag.  As I refashion these precious jewelry pieces, I love to ponder these very questions…and more.  

Although I am no expert in the history of the components I use, I have some basic knowledge of their age.  In most instances, I am relying on the information provided by the items'  sellers.  However, I do have a vivid imagination and love to create a past for these lovely decorations…a past where they had a purpose and an owner who, as I do, loved their beauty.  In restyling these items, I hope to enhance their beauty and extend their "lives."  And doesn't that buckle look much prettier dangling from a crystal-beaded chain as opposed to cast aside and forgotten?

Do you have a special item from the past?  Let me reinvent its past…together we can see the beauty of its future.

Adieu,