BLOG NO 10

1st December 2011

The Invitations are arriving and it is Party time again!  I love to add scarlet touches to my black evening clothes to make me feel festive and the Jazz Age pieces of jewellery in Art Deco style are perfect. I want to reassure you immediately that the coral is farmed apple coral from approved sources and does not come from precious coral reefs.  Partnered with shiny black resin, silver and gold vermeil the pieces are stylish and eye catching.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108_79

For those who prefer the earlier Art Nouveau period, coral is also teamed with onyx in the Onyx and Coral Collection.  These pieces of gilded coral and black onyx are party animals. An elegant pendant around your neck, long dangling earrings which swing as you walk, and a gilded ring on your finger.  You can  circle the room with confidence knowing that you look your best.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=101

Black resin recreates the shine and elegance of traditional lacquer in the Japanese Lacquer Collection.  The resin is edged with copper and decorated with 925 silver to create beautiful eyecatching pieces of museum quality.  Cherry Blossom is much beloved in Japan where it is an omen of good fortune and a metaphor for the fleeting nature of life.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=109

This Christmas I am introducing several ranges of gemstones from Jaipur.  Deep purple Amethyst, lime green Peridot, and pale Blue Topaz which is as blue as the Indian Ocean. Smoky Topaz too which is such a stylish gemstone – subtle to wear for meetings with a sober suit,  but coming into its own at night  when it sparkles in candlelight.  It is very gentle and looks beautiful worn by women with white hair.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=121

There are some pretty pieces for young girls too.  The multi Tourmaline drops necklace and bracelet are enchanting and would make a lovely Christmas present for the Daughter or a favourite Goddaughter.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=118&products_id=593

Purple is definitely the fashion colour of the season and what better to set it off than some beautiful Amethyst gemstones?  I have a great selection on the website – small cluster earrings which are like bunches of ripe grapes, beautiful rectangular earrings decorated with diamonds, drop Amethyst necklace and bracelet, and many more.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=119

The swallows are gathering very late on the telegraph wires this year and  soon they will be off, swirling around in a magical formation to return the following Spring. The Swallow brooch, earrings and pendant are lovely presents for a birdwatcher.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_114

Happy Shopping!

Best wishes,

Sheila

BLOG NO 9

28^th October 2011

This Christmas I am introducing several ranges of gemstones from Jaipur.  Deep purple Amethyst, lime green Peridot, and pale Blue Topaz which is as blue as the Indian Ocean. Smoky Topaz too which is such a stylish gemstone – subtle to wear for meetings with a sober suit,  but coming into its own at night  when it sparkles in candlelight.  It is very gentle and looks beautiful worn by women with white hair.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=121

There are some pretty pieces for young girls too.  The multi Tourmaline drops necklace and bracelet are enchanting and would make a lovely Christmas present for the Daughter or a favourite Goddaughter.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=118&products_id=593

I found a wonderful pair of Lapis Lazuli ball earrings when I was in Luxor many years ago, and have reproduced them in several different stones including Coral and Turquoise.  The Coral is farmed and does not come from preserved coral reefs.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=122

Purple is definitely the fashion colour of the season and what better to set it off than some beautiful Amethyst gemstones?  I have a great selection on the website – small cluster earrings which are like bunches of ripe grapes, beautiful rectangular earrings decorated with diamonds,  drop Amethyst necklace and bracelet, and many more.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=119

Lastly for those who like jangly silver bracelets, I have a lovely selection including some decorated with Tiger heads.  I like to wear six or eight at a time but then everyone knows just where I am!

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=118

Happy Shopping!

Best wishes,

Sheila

Sheila Pickles

I am introducting my new range of Gemstone Earrings this month as they look particularly lovely worn with summer clothes.  I went to India before Easter with Charlotte Rose, my daughter, and we were like children in a sweet shop, selecting colourful gemstones to be made into earrings.  You can see Charlotte on the Home Page wearing my favourite Amethysts which hang like little bunches of grapes swinging from the vines.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=574

I have also featured the Jupiter range on the Home Page which has been very popular this year.  I feel very glamorous and dressed up when I wear the Earrings and the gorgeous Bangle or the Brooch on a plain dress or lapel.  It is satisfying to see how many people recognise the jewellery as being inspired by the Planet with its colourful golden rings.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=54

I have always loved Art Deco as a style and I particularly love Cruising, the new range of Art Deco style jewellery inspired by the elegant liners which sailed across the Atlantic in the middle of the last Century.  Made of layered silver and gold vermeil on black and set with amethysts they will set off an evening suit or a little black dress when dining on the Riviera.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108_107

On the Home Page I am also featuring the Cleopatra jewellery which is part of the Ancient Egypt Collection.  I sailed down the Nile and even climbed up a Pyramid in Giza some years ago and bought my first pair of Lapis Lazuli earrings in Luxor.  I have always admired the jewels created many centuries past for the Kings and Queens of the Ancient World  and buried with those who wore them.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=81

Have a wonderful Summer and keep logging on.  Lots more new lines coming out in the Autumn!

Best wishes,

Sheila

BLOG NO 5

Mid season between Winter and Spring is the perfect time to springclean our lives.  Exercise to energise our sleepy bodies,  turning out our cupboards and drawers and planning our wardrobes for Spring.  When the wintry sun melts the snow I know that it is the moment to launch the new jewellery collections and the first two are featured on the Home Page.  Many people like to get away on a Cruise at this time of the year and the Art Deco movement has been the inspiration behind Cruising and Jazz Age, so reminiscent of the lifestyle of High Society in the 1920s.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108_107

I shall be wearing the Jazz Age red coral and black resin earrings with my black poloneck and straightlegged black McQueen trousers during the day, and adding the Jazz Age pendant or necklace at night.  The coral does not come from the Earth’s precious coral reefs but is reclaimed apple coral.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=108_79

There are lots of lovely new products in the Flora and Fauna Collections.  Brooches with wild animals such as the two on the Home Page include an adorable Squirrel and a Dormouse and whole families of Swallows and Bumble Bees

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal was my favourite book of 2010.  In it he tells the story of the origin of a collection of Japanese netsuke, wood and ivory carvings, which he has inherited.  He tells the history of his family, the Ephrussis,  successful Jewish Bankers for over two centuries.  This review brilliantly sums it up.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts-and-culture/touching-from-a-distance/6629063/books-why-i-love–the-hare-with-amber-eyes.thtml

I went to Japan myself many years ago and was fascinated by Japanese lacquer which has played such an important part in Japanese culture.  For more than two thousand years it has provided a protective, decorative finish for items made from leather, wood, paper and bambool.  It is now possible to simulate lacquer with resin which gives the same surface shine and my new collection includes brooches and earrings with a design of Cherry Blossom, Chrysanthemums or Bamboo.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=109

Spring will soon be here and more new collections to come.  Keep on logging on!

Best wishes,

Sheila

I want to start the New Year by thanking those customers whose orders we were unable to fulfil before Christmas due to the huge demand we had for certain products, in particular the Vermeer Earrings.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

I really appreciate your patience and understanding;  they are on their way if they have not already arrived.   By way of a gesture of appreciation I decided not to increase our prices at this time but to absorb the VAT increase.

The British always talk about the weather, and perhaps because I live in a wooded valley in the country and love to walk the dog, I am very aware of the change  in the seasons.  This year the acorns fell, the snow came, but the leaves  are still on the trees in my garden.  A subject much commented on in the Letters pages of the press.  Could this be why the new Acorn Earrings and Acorn and Oakleaf Brooch were so popular this Christmas I wonder?

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_65

Now that the snow has melted, there is no happier sight than to see the spring bulbs pushing their way up through the hard earth. The snowdrop is the first to arrive, often with snow still on the ground, the flowerheads hanging like small white bells. It is not surprising that the Snowdrop range is one of my bestsellers.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_102

The colour Purple has been very much in fashion over the past Season and I have been wearing the Lavender Earrings and Pendant which have been much admired.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=90

The colour of the deep blue iolite gemstones and the blue lace agate perfectly reflect the colour of the lavender as it matures and fades, scenting the air in the garden in the summer. I made small lavender bags to place under  pillows to ensure a good night’s sleep.

The Lavender ring is particularly stunning and if you need to check your ring size, instructions on how to do so are found by clicking on the Customer Services link at the foot of the Home Page.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=3

My other favourite piece of jewellery this Christmas has been the Party Time Gilded Coral Earrings which look stunning with a black dress or suit.  The glamorous gilded coral offsets the elegant black onyx drops to make them a real showstopper.  I sometimes wear them with a black poloneck sweater for a real feelgood factor!

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=101

Spring will soon be here and a new collection to come.  Keep on logging on!

Warm wishes

Sheila

Sheila Pickles

BLOG NO 5

15th December 2010

Thank you to all those who bought the Vermeer Earrings.  The demand was overwhelming and as a result we have run out of stock.  New supplies will be forthcoming in the New Year and we will get them to you as soon as we can.  My apologies to those who were disappointed.

The Bumble Bee Brooch was top of the pops last week having been advertised in the Saturday Telegraph Weekend Emporium.  Fortunately we knew that it was a favourite so had lots in stock.  Bumble Bees are held high in our affection as a nation, is it because Pooh Bear was chased by them I wonder?  This brooch is particularly charming with the bumble bee sitting on the golden honeycomb aside the amber gemstone honeypot.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=44_64&products_id=122

I like seasonal jewellery and brooches come into their own in Winter when we can display them on our coat collars and lapels.  I particularly like the Mistletoe Brooch with moonstone berries (£85) which I shall be wearing when I have gone out to pick the holly and berries and the house is decorated for Christmas. There is also a beautiful pendant (£59) which is nice to wear at this time of the year.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_65

The Oakleaf and Acorn Brooch and Earrings are also very popular this year, and as I mentioned before, terrific value for £55 and £62.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_65

I never look at them without remembering the oak tree in which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651.  There is a marvellous painting of it in the National Portrait Gallery in London by Isaac Fuller.

http://www.npg.org.uk/learning/digital/history/charles-in-a-tree.php

Another brooch popular this year is the Wildflower Brooch (£79) and Earrings (£77).

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_96

Launched in the summer inspired by Queen Anne’s Lace, they have come into their own in the winter when the opalescent Moonstones and the flat matt panels of silver look as if they have just been caught covered in frost in the morning sunshine.

Watch out for the Vermeer Earrings on the Saturday Telegraph Emporium page this weekend.  I remember seeing the portrait of The Girl with the Pearl Earring in Holland many years before I saw the film which sent Scarlett Johanssen to superstardom.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

The deep blue lapis lazuli represents the colour of the Girl’s headscarf, and teamed with freshwater pearls set in goldplated silver it creates a flawless range of classical jewellery. The ring is particularly stunning and if you need to check your ringsize, instructions on how to do so are found by clicking on the Customer Services link at the foot of the Home Page.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=3

Friends and jewellery lovers have been leaving messages for me on the blog which I love to read when I get up in the morning.  Please send me your thoughts and ideas which are always welcome.

I send you warm wishes in this cold weather.  Wrap up warmly!

Sheila

Surrounded by snow I am happily doing my Christmas shopping on line and so are many of Objets d’Art’s customers. The best sellers seem to be the Art Nouveau products and also the brooches inspired by Nature. Take a look at the Oakleaf and Acorn Brooch (£55) and Earrings (£62) terrific value for 925 silver and 18 carat goldplated pieces and a perfect present for a country lover.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44_65

Watch out for the Bumble Bee Brooch in the Saturday Telegraph.   I love it when the orders go out and I know that they will bring lots of happiness on Christmas Day.

Out to brave the snow now. Happy to be wearing my new Alpaca Fur Hat from Perilla. My daughter is having one in her stocking and I know she will be thrilled. Take a look.
http://www.perilla.co.uk/acatalog/Alpaca_Fur_Hats.html

Blog no 3.

Looking through my summer holiday photographs I was struck by the light on the water of the ponds in Monet’s garden at Giverny. It is a combination of sunlight, reflection of the leaves on the trees, and the purple, cream and deep pink of the waterlilies themselves. All to be found in Monet’s paintings of his waterlilies which he painted many times.

I remember visiting the Monet Exhibition in New York in the 1980s as the guest of Ira Neimark, the CEO of Bergdorf Goodman. We were shown around by the Curator who proudly told us of his discovery. He had located as many of the Waterlily paintings as he could find, and the piece de resistance of the Exhibition was a triptych of three vast canvasses. They had come from different sources, and it was not until he put the three side by side on the wall of the Museum that he realised that they had been painted as a triptych but been sold separately and never been reunited since. It was one of those moments when I felt a chill down the back of my neck the memory of which has always remained with me.

The jewellery in my Monet Waterlily Collection was inspired by these paintings – dainty earrings and pendants, brooches, bracelets and bangles featuring amethysts, rainbow moonstones, opals and water sapphires. Perfect presents for a young girl.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=62_1

I was reminded of the Waterlily jewellery once again recently when I visited the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech created by Jacques Majorelle in the 1940s and restored by Pierre Berge and Yves Saint Laurent. There is a simple but moving monument in the garden to the genius Couturier who must have spent happy hours in this tranquil haven amongst the luxurious vegetation and Moroccan architecture. I sat in the sunlight by the central waterlily pond and watched frogs jumping from leaf to leaf like Jeremy Fisher whilst an aged turtle crawled slowly up the steps. A magical moment.
I am also featuring the Lavender Collection on the Home Page.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=90

Blue lace agate is a calm and tranquil stone often used in crystal healing. It is said to be particularly effective when calling upon angels for protection! When I saw it I knew that it was the perfect stone to interpret sweet-smelling Lavender. With a garden in Italy, growing lavender is a year round pleasure. During the summer months the scent is on every breeze, and once it has been cut back at the end of August I place it in empty fireplaces to scent the rooms, make pot pourri and fill small lavender bags to place amongst the linen to deter moths, and under our pillows to send us to sleep. The dried stems make a wonderful scented fire and most luxurious of all, my Yoga teacher, Miranda Innes, places lavender bags over our eyes when we do Shavasana at the end of our Yoga lesson. I was staying at her lovely Riad Maizie in Morocco a few weeks ago where we did our morning Yoga on the roof under a blue, blue sky, with the Atlas Mountains in the background. No building is higher than a palm tree – good town planning! This is the link to her website – a wonderful place for a holiday.

http://www.mirandan.com/riadmaizie.htm

I spent a couple of enjoyable days in Florence earlier this month. I was invited to the Sting Concert at the Teatro Verdi where he sang many old favourites to the accompaniment of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I wore the Music Pendant and Bangle. I had always imagined them at the Opera rather than a Rock Concert, but in fact they looked great with jeans and heels.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=93_95

The next day I went to visit the magnificent Palazzo Strozzi. I vividly remembered going there with Zeffirelli at the time of the Florence flood in November 1966 and seeing all the students lifting the waterlogged books from the Library and painstakingly putting blotting paper between the pages to save them. This was a much happier occasion as the Palace housed the Bronzino Exhibition. He was the Court painter of the Medicis and I was struck by the marvellous jewellery even the children were wearing in the portraits painted almost 500 years ago. Our Tudor Collection would have looked very much at home on those grand Florentine noblewomen.

http://objetsdartjewellery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10

In my next blog I will be looking at present ideas for Christmas from grandmother to granddaughter, flatmate to fiancée. And some stunning newpieces to show off your party frocks.

Warm wishes,
Sheila

Sheila Pickles

As time passes and fashions come and go, I realise that what goes around comes around but always with a new twist.  My attention was first drawn to Art Nouveau in 60s in London when my friends and I made our way to Biba in Kensington on a Saturday morning to furnish our flats with satin bedspreads and velvet cushions and ourselves with feather boas and mini skirts. But the magic for me was the combination of the original Art Nouveau decor, and the Rock and Roll decadence of the clientele inside.

The surroundings where Margaret Macdonald sat and embroidered her exquisite panels and painted The Opera of the Seas,

giving birth to what is now known as Art Nouveau, were very different.  She was already an accomplished artist in watercolours, metalwork, embroidery and textiles when she met her future husband, Charles Rennie Mackintosh at Glasgow School of Art. Together they influenced the evolution of the style which came to be known as Art Nouveau across the decorative and visual arts.  I remember staring at her imaginative freestyle flowing panels in wonderment when I first saw them at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.

I am now showing three collections inspired by her.  The Macdonald Copper and Turquoise Bangle has been a bestseller since it was launched, and this season I have included three new items. a round Copper and Turquoise Brooch with matching Earrings and a charming half-moon Pendant.  Those who have already have jewellery from this collection or the Macdonald Floral Collection will be thrilled to have new pieces to add to them.

After a summer tending the garden, September is the month when I  turn my attention to the Arts, particularly the Ballet, Theatre and Opera.  The new Music and Dancing collections have some intriguing pieces which make perfect

presents for musicians and dancers and the Shakespeare Collection

has earrings, brooches and pendants inspired by his heroines.  Having worked on Zeffirelli’s 1968 film of Romeo and Juliet, I particularly love the jewellery inspired by Shakespeare’s line,

“Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon”

The passionate farewell between the star-crossed lovers is beautifully portrayed in this Juliet pendant and earrings where amber and moonstones representing the sun and moon are intertwined in silver and goldplate.

I live deep in the country and when I see the mist in the valley in the early morning I am reminded of Keats’ Ode to Autumn:

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run”

The hedgerows are full of blackberries, and the Blackberry Brooch, one of our bestsellers, appears good enough to eat.

The Oakleaf and Acorn Brooch has always been a favourite and I have introduced a pair of adorable Acorn Earrings which wearers of the Brooch will love.

Please send me your comments on the blog and tell me what you think of the new pieces.  Feedback is the best way to inspire me as to what to do next.

Sheila Pickles

Sheila Pickles

Cleopatra – Queen of the Nile
Cleopatra has been much in my thoughts this year and is the inspirationbehind a beautiful new range of jewellery: Cleopatra
I have always felt slightly haunted by her as she kept popping up in various guises throughout my life. I was thrilled that Antony and Cleopatra was my chosen play to study at school, and having learned huge chunks of verse, the beauty of the words have remained with me.

At twenty I went to live in Rome, where I imagined Mark Antony addressing the crowds in the Forum and the following year went to New York for the first time. I was working for Franco Zeffirelli who was directing Antony and Cleopatra, a new opera written by Samuel Barber to open the new Metropolitan Opera House.  A majestic Leontyne Price sang Cleopatra, her magnificent voice singing the familiar words to Samuel Barber’s evocative music:

“Give me my robe; put on my crown
I have immortal longings in me”
Thirty years later I was finally to visit Egypt at the invitation of a dear friend, Alice Anne. When I accepted the invitation I did not know that there were twenty-nine American psychics also on board the boat down the Nile which added a whole new dimension to the sight-seeing. But we did see the Lotus flowers which have inspired the new collection. The lotus closes at night and sinks underwater. In the morning it re-emerges and blooms again. In the West we know them as Water Lilies but in the hieroglyphs they are more stylised as you will see when you follow this link:

Blue Lotus Flower

For more traditional Waterlilies, look at the collection inspired by the paintings of Monet at Giverny:  Waterlilies

One flower, two very different cultures, centuries apart, inspiring design today. Take a look and send me your comments.

Sheila Pickles

Best wishes,
Sheila

PS.  Since writing my blog I have had another deeply moving Egyptian experience.  I saw Aida at the Arena in Verona.  Verdi’s magnificent music teamed with Zeffirelli’s spectacular production made it a night to remember.