Don’t Forget Valentine’s Day!

Hearts?  Um, no, not usually.  It is a perfectly lovely shape but it does not normally speak to me from a design perspective.  However, Sandra Russell took the heart and made it her own by turning it, elongating it, and adding texture and pattern.

Perhaps, the more common the shape, the bigger the challenge it is to breathe new life into it.  Sandra has managed it with the heart.  Her designs are dynamic and eye-catching and wearable.  The great pieces featured here and more are available in her Etsy store, slradornments.  Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

A Brooch of a Different Color

As I have I mentioned, I think that good jewelry design creates a beautiful item that is worn on the body and that it is not necessarily about it’s interaction with clothing.  Because of that, brooches and pins tend to fall off of my radar — those are things that your clothes wear.  Sometimes, though, a piece is just so well done that it must be mentioned.

This is the Quatre Cinq Silver Brooch by Dorothy Cheng, which is currently posted on Etsy.

Quatre Cinq Silver Brooch - by Dorothy Cheng

Worn by a sweater or worn by a person — Who cares?  It is drop-dead gorgeous.  It strikes the perfect balance of clean design, inspired architectural touches, well-considered scale, and attention to detail that makes a perfect piece.  I can see it with a dress, with a jacket, anything.

Thank you, Dorothy Cheng, for turning my head with a brooch.