Today's (long-overdue) post shares its title with a beautiful song by Barenaked Ladies, an all time favourite band of mine. As promised in my last entry, I would like to share with you the fruits of some very inspired and talented labour, which upcycles the old and beautiful, so that it may become beautiful in a new way, to be rediscovered through fresh pairs of eyes.
The first of these artisans is Poppie Jasper, who has designed and created an online treasure trove of jewellery made from various objets trouvés. Many of the gorgeous charms, gems and beads she uses in her creations, the designer has in fact found during her travels around the globe. This is evident in the vibrancy and eclectic variety of her collections. I just love the juicy colours, the original designs and the quality of craftsmanship in Poppie Jasper's jewellery, all in addition to the fact that each stunning piece is unique and has its own history. I have selected a small assortment to post below, but allow me to direct you to her website and her shop on Etsy for the full feast!
Aren't they all beautiful?! I'm especially covetous of the last pair of earrings - the pairing of the orange and hot pink is utterly sumptuous. Any loved ones reading this, may I take this opportunity to remind you that my birthday's coming up in August...
The second of this evening's offerings is a delightful online company by the name of Scaramanga. Their profile has been raised considerably in recent months, having been featured in Vogue, but at the heart of what is fast becoming a much larger company, is a very humble beginning...
'Scaramanga was founded in June 2006 by Carl Morenikeji. He
had the vision of bringing back the iconic vintage leather satchel after
discovering one in a dusty bazaar in a former British colonial desert outpost
in north west India in 1999. He carefully researched the traditional techniques
and tools used to hand-make leather satchels and in August 2006 Scaramanga’s
first twelve traditional leather satchels had been created by leather workers
from craft-based communities with a long tradition of making leather bags. Back
then satchels were not really popular and it took three months before they had
sold. Between selling leather satchels Scaramanga sold other handcrafted and
vintage homewares including journals, and old wooden boxes and wooden bowls.' - sourced
from the About Us section on Scaramanga's own website.
They produce some really lovely vintage-style satchel bags, amongst other things, all made from quality vintage leather. I bought this beauty (below) for His Lordship as a birthday offering earlier this year, and it has since been duly admired by many.
These bags are stylish, practical and timeless, definitely future heirlooms in the making, so worth the investment. On that note, I also think they are truly great value for the materials used and the quality of the finished article.
I am almost loathe to share this next one with you at the moment, as her current stock is frankly slim pickings compared with the vast array of products I have seen of hers in the past, but if her present items don't appeal, I urge you to return to her site at a later date to see what she might have in store. Blythe King uses vintage materials, threads and buttons to create cases for Apple products, such as iPhones and MacBooks. I have one myself, which I purchased upon acquisition of my very first iPhone several years ago, and it is still going strong. I love the quirky prints she sources, and both the design and fabrication of her products are flawless. Practical, functional and individual - unlike so many of the other cases available on the market, hers are unique. My iSockit features a cute little pouch, which neatly accommodates a set of headphones and/or other small items, but none of her present offerings seem to have this. I very much hope that she will have a greater variety to showcase soon, in the meantime, here are a handful that caught my eye:
I would like to say at this point, that the above are all genuine recommendations - I have purchased items from all three of the aforementioned companies, and been extremely satisfied, nay thrilled with the results. This final listing is a website I stumbled upon whilst browsing, and I have no personal experience of their products or services, but I did love the look of their furniture enough to want to share it with you. The company is Ruby Rhino, and they have a selection of charming wooden furniture, any item of which I would gladly have in my home. NB the endearing monikers they give to each piece!
'Every home needs a little bit of fabulous which is exactly what we provide at Ruby Rhino with our eclectic collection of antique, vintage and upcycled old furniture. Each piece is sourced for its unique style then lovingly restored, hand-painted and finished to give a sparkling new lease of life. We embrace imperfection by highlighting natural holes, cracks and scratches to allow the original charm to shine through.' - sourced from Ruby Rhino's website.
Right, well that's all for this evening folks, though I will be back later in the week with a (hopefully!) delicious angel cake recipe, along with a few other bits and bobs. Take care in the meantime.
pp x
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