Novelty Brooch Friday - February

This month there are 2 fantastic brooches to be given away by the wonderful Olivia of Desperate Beatnik.  You might have seen Olivia's work through her Etsy shop or her Instagram account @desperate_beatnik. Her distinctive work caught my eye with it's iconic symbols and sparkly finishes, I knew her work would be something special for those magpies out there. 

I hope you enjoy reading about Olivia, her work and a bit more about her background and inspirations.  Thank you Olivia for your time and for offering 2 people a brooch for February's Novelty Brooch Friday.

When did you start making jewellery?

I started making jewellery in 2013. But the ideas started when I had lost a green Bakelite clip in 2009, it was my all time favourite, and after each flea market, I thought I would never find one like it and naively thought I could make a copy. I had in mind this naïve project but procrastination always wins. I asked everyone around me if they could remake it and a few confetti earrings to match my Lucite purses, but no one was interested in remaking something that only I seemed to be passionate about.

In 2013 I separated from my partner during the holidays. I had nothing to do, I was too sad to go out with friends or to the beach. I really needed to do something with my hands and occupy my mind. So, I purchased materials. My green/yellow swirls earrings turned out as a total fiasco but not the confetti earrings and 45 rpm spindles I built. We didn’t have vintage glitter jewellery in France from the 50s, just a few pieces with sand and tiny seahorse or 80s confetti clip-ons not "period correct". Inspiration came very quickly. It was a little bit "mystic". I feel a spiritual force pushes me to work more and literally speaks to me. This "inspiration" pushed me to post on social media. I resisted during the following weeks as I didn’t think my pieces were good enough, but this "voice" literally keeps telling me to do it. So without self-confidence, I posted a picture. The "voice" was right, word spread, and other people liked them, I was the first person to make them in France and the 4th or the 5th worldwide. People want them !!!! I still can't believe it. It was incredible.

Do you have a favourite maker of jewellery?

Hard to reply to this question as there are too many !!! But being French myself, of course, I will say Léa Stein. I am so impressed by her work, each brooch is the quintessence of the figuration. For me it is the perfection.

What inspires your designs?

My inspiration is a mix of my personality and my too many passions. As a lady involved in the 50s music scene, I always spend my weekends in flea markets but as a leoness who likes everything that shines, exuberant baroque / ancient music and arts.... Well I could build a mesh/confetti jewellery parure to match one of my Lucite purses, as I could be inspired by the colour combo of venetian glass art work from the Renaissance . Well all those things are deep inside me and it comes up as a flow. I am a very prolific artist who doesn't really know the words "lack of inspiration" for a while. I build things with modern colour combinations that are full of joy, feminine and I like a pop of colour. Since the beginning, I took my work for a manifest for the Light. You will never see skulls or death symbols in my work. Our world is too dark to create macabre jewellery. My work is an ode to the Light.

Can you tell us a bit about the city you live and why you like to live there?

I live in Montpellier in South of France. I live here for professionals reasons. Yes I have a day job, my jewellery can't feed me. I am too honest, plus I am a very bad business lady ha ha. I offer too much, but I do not care, I am a beatnik. I love working with my hands and turn projects into real things. My jewels help me to put gas in my peanut tank. My town has a nice situation on the Mediterranean coast. I am not far away from my favourite Spanish 50s festival, we have nice curvy roads in the countryside for motorcycling and above all we have sea and sun !!! I know it is a privilege to ride in January in front of the sea on a cold but sunny day and stop to eat oysters. It is not California but one of the sunniest place in France.

Is there some advice you could give someone starting his or her own business?

Ha ha my best advice to someone who wants to start their own business??? Ha ha it is a joke???? Where is the hidden camera??? Well seriously, what I will say is that I too often under evaluate my work and sell with little profit. Only enough to pay French taxes and the price of the materials (the hours of work should be included in the price).
My second piece of advice is to develop your own network of shops and markets.
And my third piece of advice is be careful not to burn out if you already have a job. Manage time for you and your family.
In conclusion believe in you, everybody has something different and special inside him/her, our modern society really doesn't help for that but believe me everybody has the Light inside him/her. So as I always say: "Go Go Gorilla" !!! 

Here is the brooch you could win, and as I said there are 2 up for grabs!

All you have to do is take a photo of yourself with one of your brooches and use the hashtag #noveltybroochfriday on any Friday in February to be in with a chance. The winners will be announced on Monday 2nd March.

If you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a beautiful brooch to the giveaway and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs and shop and hopefully i'll get you a spot on the calendar.  

tunabake at hotmail dot com

Novelty Brooch Friday - January Winner

January is already over and that means the winner of a fantastic brooch for Novelty Brooch Friday.

Thank you so much Zohar for your time and for offering this really special brooch from your private collection.  I know a lot of you coveted this fancy brooch but as with every month I use a random number generator to chose the winner - so it is fare.

The person who shared with us her brooch, used the hashtag in January and on a Friday is:

@dameshirleybasterd if you could email me your postal address Zohar will post out your newest edition to your brooch collection (tunabake@hotmail.com).

Thank you everyone for sharing your brooches, Friday will be a new maker and a new brooch for February.

Until then keep brooching xx

Novelty Brooch Friday - January 2015!

Happy New Year and wishing you all a fantastic 2015!  I hope it brings you adventures, love, creativity and happiness.

This month I was so happy to be approached by Zohar from RakShniya Vintage to offer a wonderful vintage brooch to one lucky person this January.  I have been following Zohar's shop on Etsy for a while now and also follow her on Instagram (@rakshniyav). Not only was I curious to learn more about her shop and her interest in vintage clothing but also to learn a little more about Tel Aviv, a city I don't know anything about.

Thank you Zohar for your time answering the following questions, I have loved reading your answers.

When did you start your shop and what inspired you to start your vintage Etsy shop?

In my late teens my sister started working in a second hand shop called "Rak Sahniya". "Rak" & "Shniya" in Hebrew it literally means "only" & "second." It's a pun with two meanings – one: a phrase saying "just a second", two: in our case (if used in the literal sense) "only second (hand)." My mother befriended the owner, one thing led to another and they decided to be business partners. In August 2014 the shop closed after 11 years and after being quite frankly one of the biggest and best second hand shops in Israel.

During those years I worked on and off in the shop and got to join my parents and my mother's business partner on their visits to people's homes, rummaging through their and their loved ones closets, cupboards and storage. I was already hooked on vintage for a quite a while.

Since the shop had such a huge clientele most of which brought in clothes and items on a weekly basis, somewhere in 2009 I got very frustrated with the fact that a lot of really beautiful and rare vintage items weren't reaching enough people because there wasn't enough room to keep everything for a long time. Then I discovered Etsy and a whole new journey started. 

Is there a particular era of clothing you appreciate more than others?

I'm very big on the 1940s right now. I love that a lot of the 40s designs are romantic and feminine but also clean and simple at the same time. Really though, I'm all about liking whatever strikes your fancy. My closet has a mix of eras, fabrics, textures and silhouettes. I'm never looking for something specific, I look for items that are interesting and that I can wear often. And that is what my shop is really about: I might be a big vintage fashionista but my customers don't have to be and I want them to be able to sneak a special vintage something into their outfits, something that they can incorporate into their daily life. 

You are offering a beautiful brooch to a lucky winner this month, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

This brooch has been a part of my private collection for quite a few years now. I don't know much about it's history but I do know it was loved because it's in such good condition. I grew up in a Moshav (hebrew for village) so nature and animals are an important part of my life. I like how this brooch has a soft and edgy mix to it: it's made from metal and has very specific accurate detailing and yet the subject, the goat looking through the leaves is very heart warming.

Could you tell us a little about Tel Aviv, what you like about your city and what you like to do when you have free time?

I am madly deeply truly in love with Tel-Aviv. It's hard to explain without actually visiting. There's something for everyone here but what I love most about Tel Aviv are the back streets, the architecture, the hidden gardens, the small coffee shops and pubs. I love how you could pretty much walk anywhere you like. I like getting lost in the city during those walks. Last year for my birthday, my boyfriend got me a book of the city's historic buildings and when we have some free time we pick a neighbourhood and walk around while reading my book. If you let it, Tel Aviv can feel quite magical, and you even get used to the faint smell of pee that comes and goes.

Is there any advice you could give those wanting to start their own business?

Starting your own business (especially in the sea that is the internet) is a hard thing to do, sometimes your passion for what you do is the only thing that keeps you going. I think it's important to remember that it's OK if you can't get everything you want done by the time you want it done. Most of us have families, a 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) job, there's always something to be done that reduces the time you have for your business and you don't need to punish yourself because of that. Try to structure your schedule and plan ahead and set boundaries (for yourself and for people around you). Also, since you’re the boss, remember to have fun and challenge yourself! 

Thank you Zohar and below are a few other places you can find Zohar:

Shop Marmelada Market (HEBREW) 

@rakshniya Instagram 
Rakshniya Pinterest 

Twitter - @rakshniya

If you would like to enter simply take a photo of yourself on Instagram on any Friday in January using the hashtag #noveltybroochfriday to be in the running to win this fabulous brooch.

The winner will be announced on Monday 1st February.

I can't wait to see the new brooches you were lucky enough to receive over the Christmas break, see you on Friday Broochettes x

If you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a beautiful brooch to the giveaway and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs and shop and hopefully i'll get you a spot on the calendar.  

tunabake@hotmail.com

Novelty Brooch Friday - November

Happy November and happy Novelty Brooch Friday for another month! 

I am so happy this maker agreed to be showcased this month because I love her work, I have purchased 2 of her creations and pine after many more - they are gorgeous.  And to tell you the truth I really wanted to find out more about her background and her business.  

Another Australian business that gets me excited and am so pleased to bring to you....if you haven't already discovered her.  Thank you Ashley for your time and for offering 2! Brooches, so this month there will be 2 winners!!! You really are lucky ducks.

Demure Couture

When did you start your business Demure Couture and what got you interested in making jewellery? 

Firstly, thanks so much for having me for November’s feature – I’m honoured… and mega-nuts about novelty brooches (clearly!), so it’s all very exciting.
 

I started the line back in 2009, under Pistol Packin’ Designs, but it was quite different then. I was (and still am) mad for vintage hats; the felt, the detailing – The wackier and kitschier the better!  When I continued the line, after moving to Australia, I found the culture to be quite different and not as receptive. A lot of the feedback I was getting would relate back to horse-racing and seemed to be most acceptable during this season; a completely new concept to me, as horse-racing isn’t such an affair in California, or at least, not that I was ever aware of. I began to focus my work towards special events; custom pieces for wedding, parties, etc. Demure Couture was born.   

After many lovely, local designers began creating pieces in the same vein, I decided to expand Demure. I’d always created bits and pieces of jewellery for myself and started to explore that space further. I’m ridiculously obsessed with novelty brooches and old plastics, and pine for those hard to find Bakelite pieces. I started toying with concepts and sketches of items I loved and wanted to reproduce, and hoped there were just a few like-minded folk out there that would dig what I was doing.  Throughout these years, I’ve finally found myself in a place where I’m absolutely in love with what I’m creating and I hope that shows. I have my mits on every little piece, down to the initial sketch, to carving and casting, sanding and hand-painting, and knowing others are stoked when they receive their orders makes it all that much better!  

 Are there any themes or imagery you like to include in your designs?  If you’re familiar with my work, there’s no denying I’m heavily influenced by good ole Spaghetti Westerns and all things South of the Border! I do love a splash of tropical Hawaiian and an under-the-sea theme as well. Pretty much, if you’re looking for donkeys, sombreros and lobsters… I’m you’re gal! Ha ha 

Can you tell us a few of your favourite artists/designers and what it is about them you admire?  Ah! How much time do we have??
1930s/40s jewellery (and fashion for that matter) had this beautiful balance of structure and complete imagination!  

My biggest icons, hands down, that steady that scale would have to be Elsa Schiaparelli, Carmen Miranda, Lupe Velez, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Nudie Cohn… the list goes on…  A few of my fave modern designers, that I seriously recommend checking out, would be: Forbidden Charm, Cork Stuff, She Accessories, Nudie Rodeo Tailors, War Path...all, seriously tops!   

Are there any materials you would like to work with that you haven't already?  I’d love to get into silver and stone work - It is an absolute craft, so I will respectfully leave that up to the pros! Ha ha  

Is there any advice you could give to someone who wants to start their own business?  Sit down and brainstorm, really nut out a vision, even if it starts out small – be sure it is something you believe in and would still want to continue doing, even if you were your only consumer. Talk to people – research your market. Be unique and true to yourself. Most of all, have fun… when the love for what you’re doing leaves, get out, or evolve! We’re always learning and growing – Allow that to reflect in your work… and don’t judge yourself too harshly when you look back.
 

If you’re keen to check out more of Ashley's work, you can find her here:  

Instagram: @demure_couture 

www.demurecouturedesigns.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/DemureCouture 
www.demurecouture.net

So would you like to see the the brooches you could be in the chance to win this month?

You guessed it its the lobster and the sombrero!

Thank you so much Ashley again, and remember post a picture of yourself with one of your favourite novelty brooches on any Friday in November with the hashtag #noveltybroochfriday to be in with a chance to be one of two lucky winners.

The winners will be announced on Monday 1st December.

Have a wonderful November and see you on Friday xx