“On the surface, these images are quite beautiful. They appear elegantly simple and accessible, evoking, perhaps, the silent tranquility that one might feel after a fresh snowfall. Beneath the surface, however, there is a subtle tension. Like fine haiku, each image quietly references another season, a time of life or activity that has already passed, and may come again. ” Lisa M. Robinson on her Snowbound series

(lower left) White Blackbird, Ming Jeong Seo

“I coat an animal’s corpse in porcelain until it’s completely covered. Then it is carefully placed inside the kiln to be fired. All organic material is burned up leaving behind a fine skin of porcelain. The dead animal’s body vanishes in the fire, being reborn in a lasting image. The whole process resembles a burial ceremony.” source

“Why is this ice so blue? Glacier ice, especially when it is thick, becomes compressed and all the air bubbles in it are expelled. Air bubbles is what makes ordinary ice white by reflecting all the colours in daylight. When there are no air bubbles, the red and the yellows of the spectrum are absorbed and the blues and greens are reflected making those the colours that we see.” source

“The sculpture exists as an elegant escape from the turbulent drawn world. They have stepped out of the 2d space, resulting in deceptively simple molecular constructions of carbon, our building block of life and the graphite used to draw.” Alison Moffett

“The photographs I create depict fantasy installations in grandiose exhibition spaces. The works are produced by first building scale models of exhibition spaces, and creating within the spaces original artworks in drawing, painting and sculpture mediums. These installations are then photographed with a large format camera to create the final works.” David DiMichele

Inspiration courtesy of an Arctic scene, fractured patterns on a weathered surface, sea foam shapes,
clothing drapes and the cool hued palette of a frozen landscape.

credit: please hover over an image for the credit and click for the source.

As promised, here is the second part of my collaboration with Belgium photographer Eefje de Coninck, featuring a selection of jewellery inspired by cathedral interiors, ocean waves and the cool hues of a glacial landscape. Eefje and her team styled the pieces with draped fabric, subtle makeup and softly braided hair against a back drop of marble and stone. View part 1 of the collaboration here.

Photography and styling by Eefje de Coninck | Hair and makeup by Noëmi Haesen | Modelled by Stine Sampers and Elke De Mey

amazonite, vintage beads and layered metal necklace | silk cord and chalk turquoise necklace

above: silk, brass and chalk turquoise necklace |
below: crystal quartz necklace with large vintage beads and layered metal discs

above: silk and gemstone earrings in riverstone | gemstone and brass tube necklaces
below: vintage brass and navy suede necklace

below: silk and gemstone earrings in riverstone | gemstone and brass tube necklaces

above: Leather, brass and gemstone bracelets in marble, feldspar, riverstone, amazonite and clear quartz |
below: lemon chrysoprase and riverstone necklaces with layered brass discs

above: feldspar and brass tube necklace | silk cord and tourmaline necklace
below: large citrine drop necklace | vintage brass bar necklaces

Credit: all images courtesy of Eefje de Coninck | jewellery by The Vamoose
Eefje’s Links: blog | flickr | website

dried flowers | vintage postcard | porcelain jasper | pyrite bracelet | feldspar and brass necklace

Dried flowers, porcelain jasper and an old postcard helped provide the inspiration for the pyrite and feldspar pieces above. The design of the necklace was adapted from a previous feldspar version in pale grey, this time with a simplified approach and the addition of tiny brass discs. The feldspar squares have the most beautiful marbled pattern, with spots of colour in pink and mint. I took a similar approach when creating the bracelet, pairing pyrite cubes with a simple, plain chain. The old postcard features a statue of King Arthur, a mythical king of the Britons in ancient times, wearing richly detailed armour.

Statue of King Arthur, Hofkirche, Innsbruck, designed by Albrecht Dürer and cast by Peter Vischer the Elder

While researching ancient armour, I became fascinated with the etched and embossed decorations, often depicting floral and geometric patterns, religious imagery or mythological references. Since embossing had a tendency to weaken the metal, etching proved to be the more popular choice for decorating armour in the late fifteenth to early sixteenth century. I found this piece especially inspiring, believed to have been made by order of Henry VIII, with elaborately etched and gilded steel. Too late for this collection, but I’d love to experiment with etched brass and gold leaf at some point in the future.

Credit: jewellery and photographs by The Vamoose
Research: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Christmas is less than a month away! Here are the recommended last order dates for Christmas delivery:

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If you’re interested in placing an order, free worldwide standard shipping is available until midnight (GMT) 28th November 2011.
Visit the shop or get in touch for more details.

vintage postcard | redline marble and hammered brass earrings | agate and opal slab | silk, brass and pink opal necklace

My fascination with Italian cathedrals and churches doesn’t appear to be fading any time soon. An old postcard of Genova’s Chiesa dell’Annunziata interior provided the inspiration for the earrings above and a piece of dendritic agate with pink opal sparked a hunt for matching opal pendants. I could only find a limited amount, but it was worth the long search!

Geometric earrings in redline marble and hammered brass, inspired by the opulent Baroque interior of Genova’s Chiesa dell’Annunziata…

This beautiful slab of dendritic agate with pink tinted opal inspired a silk, brass and pink opal necklace…

Credit: photographs and jewellery by The Vamoose

Eefje De Coninck is a photographer living and working in Belgium. I’ve collaborated with Eefje in the past and it is a pleasure to have my jewellery featured in her photographs once again. Modelled by Eline Ros and styled by Eefje herself, the shoot is a beautiful mix of earthy tones and tropical colours with the help of a botanical garden backdrop and coffe bar interior. Part two of the collaboration still to come!

All photographs by Eefje De Connick | Jewellery by The Vamoose

Credit: Photographs courtesy of Eefje de Connick | Jewellery by The Vamoose

Featured: serpentine and metal necklace | sesame jasper and metal necklace | gemstone and metal bracelets | vintage mesh collar | layered metal and quartz bracelet | tourmaline and silk necklace | citrine drop necklaces | riverstone and twisted mesh bracelet | chalk turquoise and silk necklace | silk and crystal necklace | smoky quartz and silk necklace | rope chain and marble bracelets | amazonite and metal necklace

With the new season approaching, I’ve been looking over and reassessing some of my samples for the next collection. One of my favourite pieces includes a hammered brass and rolo chain necklace featuring discs and chain from old factory stock. Due to their age, the discs were more of a dullish orange shade, but with a quick wash and polish they’ve acquired a beautiful golden shine.

Initially, I wanted the necklace to fall at a longer length, but after a few wears I couldn’t stand the jangling sound with every movement. So as to avoid sounding like a walking wind chime, I removed a few inches and the jangling sound has thankfully been reduced.

As much as I like the design, I feel as though it didn’t do my original research justice. Inspired by 16th Century armour, richly detailed textiles and Baroque interiors, perhaps I could have been a little more adventurous with those discs and created something that explored the design further. So as a personal project, I’ve gone back to my research and set about creating a number of experimental pieces, just for the fun of it.

So far, I’ve begun work on a neckpiece combining brass and leather, and also the beginning of a cropped vest-style item (pictured below). It feels good to be working on something different to the usual shop pieces, a little fun on the side and perhaps an incentive to continue this more often.

Image credit: my own photographs

Over the past few months I’ve been collecting images as colour inspiration for a new set of pom pom necklaces. Chalky white, pale brown, slate grey, soft peach and varying shades of pale pink are among my favourites. I’ll eventually compile a post with the full set of research and development, but until then, here’s a short preview of the inspiration and a sneak peek at two of the new pom pom colours due this month…

I’m quite happy with the colours developed so far. My favourites include the pale pink and creamy peach shades pictured above, and this bright shade of green. Next up is a bright shade of turquoise and slate grey. If you’re interested in more colour updates, I’ll be posting about the rest of the dyeing results on my facebook and twitter pages.

Image credits: please hover over an image for credit and click for links to the source.