My latest Etsy friend

Sorry for the long absence. Summer is always busy. So many people come to our village on holiday and so there are always parties and of course we are not on holiday so we find ourselves juggling work, visitors, parties...!

I am pleased to post today because I am bringing you work from Kerryn who has an etsy shop. She makes the most beautiful jewellery: necklaces, earrings, bracelets. She certainly has an eye for design and colour, choosing wonderful beads, some vintage. She lives in France, a bit further away from me than the shops I've previously featured, near Lyon. However, this is an area I know well as I used to live just south, in the lovely town of Vienne.

Kerryn says about her work:

"Hmmmm... when did my compulsiveness for handmade items start? When I was a child I remember fondly holding my grandmom's earrings that she had made herself in the 1940s. They were made from bread, rolled into tiny shapes to resemble flowers and then glazed into gorgeous colours. I spent many hours at her dressing table playing with her masterpieces made during war time. She also had a box full of 1940s Lucite Jewellery. I wish I still had that box....... the beads alone would be pure delight to play with now.

Then, I would sit for hours and watch my mom sew and draw, she would make all 30 costumes for the dance troupe! I guess that is where my patience comes from, and the love of watching something I make evolve from my own hands.

My own handmade journey started with paper mâché characters, painting wall murals in high school, I have attempted pottery, tile mosaic's, and even painted large hat boxes in folkart flowers. My latest artistic adventures have been making Lampwork Beads and dabbling with PMC/Art Silver Clay to make pendants and rings.

The jewellery designing started about 8 years ago when I was forced to sit still whilst pregnant (sitting still was easy, keeping my hands and mind still wasn't!!), and I haven't looked back since. I just love it, and the people I meet who start as customers / suppliers are now friends. I move globally every few years with hubby's job (like a nomad, but without the cattle!), and I am very fortunate to see this wonderful world we live in, and meet some amazing people who do have an effect on my jewellery designs... and of course my life!

My dear grandmom has recently had a stroke, she sometimes doesn't recognize me, but she always remembers those little gorgeous earrings she made from bread, all those years ago!

I am currently based in Lyon, France......... a very very beautiful part of the world."

So please take a look at this gorgeous shop. The pieces are very reasonably priced , so treat yourself or someone else today!

http://www.jewelsbykerryn.etsy.com

Helen x

Cocon on Etsy

Here is my second featured Etsy artist! I am so happy to be showing off the work of Cocon-a from Céret, France. I discovered Masami (who created the Cocon label) on Etsy when I was looking for a present for my sister-in-law and I found such a gorgeous bag, hand woven in red and white yarn. I didn't realise until later that we were "neighbours"!

When I received the bag, it was wrapped in the most beautiful packaging and finished to a very high standard. My sister-in-law loves it!

Masami not only makes bags but also adorable children's clothes, hats, mobiles and super cute quirky Cocon dolls. All of these designs are conceived by Masami and, as you can see from the photos, she has great talent.

On her blog Masami has a list of things she likes, among them: the dawn, the smell of the sea, hand-made chocolate ice-cream, jumping in virgin snow, things which have a history... I think that this, along with the piece Masami wrote about her work (below) speaks volumes about the poetic, gentle world of Cocon, the inspiration behind the creations and her attention to detail.

Cocon
A world of freedom,
I let my ideas come and they are carried on the wind,
this is how Cocon creations come to life,
I want each Cocon creation to hold good
and not drift away on the current,
"Constant existence"
this is what I seek to achieve with the creations of my hands
through which my thoughts are imparted.
(Translated from French)

Masami's etsy shop is: http://www.cocon.etsy.com
She also has a blog (in French) here:
http://cocon-augreduvent.blogspot.com/
And her own online store here: http://cocon-shop-ete.blogspot.com/
(Look out especially for the Coin de Cocon where you will find sale items (yippee!) as well as vintage articles for sale: http://lecoindecocon.blogspot.com/)

Please have a look, I know you will be delighted by these charming items.

Bonne journée et à bientôt
xx

Melì Melòn on Etsy

I am really excited to be bringing you my very first featured artist. Melì-Melòn is based in Barcelona and so not far from where I live, just a couple of hours over the border.

She makes the most beautiful dresses, as you can see from the photographs. I met her on an Etsy forum where she was asking for help with her English (which she didn't need by the way) and we have been communicating through Etsy conversations. I now have a dress for my little girl and when it arrived she wanted to try it on immediately, it is soooo cute. I can testify that her pieces are extremely well-designed, well-made and she pays so much attention to detail.

I asked Melì-Melòn to write about her work and her ideas and she sent me this lovely text:

"When I was a little girl, I spent hours looking at how my mother was sewing dresses for my older sister and me, every single dress was special, unique and made with lots of love. She left us five years ago and then I became the new owner of her sewing machine and her vintage fabric collection, so I started sewing my own handmade dresses for my 2 daughters. With every finished dress, I remember my mother and how proud she would be. A lot of people and friends were surprised at my girls' clothes designs and encouraged me to sell them. Last summer, my sister discovered Etsy, a wonderful place where you can meet lovely people from everywhere and find really unique handmade items at affordable prices, so I've recently open my little shop there. I really love sewing, for me is like going back to my childhood and playing with dolls again. I want every one of my designs to be unique and different from what I could buy in a conventional shop, so I usually work with high-quality vintage fabrics or Japanese imported fabrics, I love them!"

I hope that you will take the time to look at her Etsy shop. It is certainly worth a visit (and worth making a purchase for the little princess in your life).
http://www.melimelon.etsy.com

Bonne journée to you all and bonne continuation Melì-Melòn!