Hey everyone, I've just been uploading some new photos and I can't wait to show them to you. To keep up to date with anything I've put on the site since your last visit, use the New Pieces section for a one-stop-shop of hot new looks. All can be found in their own galleries too. Browse the in depth item descriptions, slideshow photos and buy safely through paypal if you like what you see.

Please visit the new wedding section of the website. I am madly making for brides to be and their bridal party, and I am also uploading some of my own designs, inspired by delicacy, elegance and simple beauty, which can be purchased in the usual way. Please take a look and get in touch if I can help you with your wedding preparations!

http://www.beckytoughill.co.uk/wedding-jewellery.html

A new section has just been added to the site called 'Jewellery Repairs'. As much as I love people buying my jewellery, I understand that having a broken piece restored to former glory is also important. I've been repairing jewellery for some time now, and even combining several designs into one. So if you have any jewellery you would like repairing, refashioning or remaking, please get in touch, preferably with a photograph of the jewellery you'd like mending. My turn-around depends on how busy I am at the time, but I aim to reply to all enquiries within 24 hours, and have repairs completed within four days of cleared payment, or slightly longer if I have to order repair components especially. 

This week's lovely choice comes from Sheridan in Kent:

"Hi, please can you write about Angelica in your next blog. I like quite plain colours and it looks very interesting with all the different textures. Are they real shells you've used?" Well Sheridan, I'll try to answer as best I can... :)

Angelica was made in response to a meeting I had around June 2011, in which I was asked to create some designs that were chunkier than my previous makes. I made these designs and then my style evolved as a result, moving from a chunky design, to one that was tactile and almost creature-like. To do this though, it meant sourcing more unusual beads and being a little more daring than the average five or six bead combination. I was in any case, looking for a change of direction and this concept has allowed me to change the way I work. I think it is rather like the 'Ready Steady Cook' idea; some basics you already have in the kitchen, salt, pepper, herbs, flour, but then the rest come from your carrier bag of goodies - in this case, the contents of the bag depends on what I find in charity shops, local fairs, antique centres and everywhere else my beady eyes travel over. Rough sketches are great, but sometimes, when you find that bead, you've got to do something amazing with it!

Without sounding big headed, I am very proud of Angelica. It is one of the pieces I am rather loathed to sell. Previously, I had been using the murano heart pendants and stringing them simply on linen cord, but this time I wanted to make it part of a design, but not the only focal point. Lets spice things up a bit!! (pardon the pun)

I'm glad I managed to keep the colour scheme fairly plain. Some ladies like a necklace that is striking, but not over powering in terms of colour. There is something very natural about this work, and I think you notice the textures more, because of the subtle tones. 

The beads used are plentiful. The murano glass heart was new, but the coral sits just above the heart is around 15 years old, and part of a necklace a friend bought me back from a holidays many years ago. I used this throughout the design for a subtle pink tone. The freshwater pearls either side of the pendant are Goldsmiths pearls in latte, excellent quality and such a lovely browny purply colour. Then  there are mother of pearl shell chips - these were bought from the Melton Mowbray Tuesday market for ten pence a piece some ten years ago. I do not dare think how many of these I bought of these lovely shells, needless to say I think the market holder has retired now, and I have made at least six wedding necklaces using them!

For the next part of the necklace, which I think are rather like gills on a fish, I used some gorgeous sand coloured mother of pearl nuggets, that were once on a bracelet bought in Torrevieja Marina, some six years ago. The bracelet came apart on one side, and I'd planned to make another one day, but I love the way the fluidity of each piece is so unique, why not have them on a necklace instead where they will be notice more!? And indeed Sheridan, they really ARE real shells on the ends of the design :) I collected them from a Norfolk beach last summer, it was such a perfect day. We ate some freshly caught cockles and prawns from a little seafood trailer, walked the length of the harbour to the pine woods, across the dunes and onto the beach to find shells and take photos. We definitely earned our pint of cider that day! Anyway! After washing the shells and varnishing them, they were wire wrapped and just finish the design off with a nice shape and a woven texture. Other beads like the glass swirly beads and coral have been collected through the years, and were picked because of their contrasting textures and link to the sea. 

As for calling her Angelica - well, I'm not really sure why. The only Angelica I know is the pesky tot from Rugrats, but hey. One thing I do know, is that I love the way the necklace looks like a sting ray gliding through the water in it's photo.... effortlessly. What do you think? I'm so glad this design turned out the way it did - it is the product of many happy memories, with several hours deliberation, design, making and then remaking (unfortunately!). But as with everything, what is finished is only beautiful it has been loved.

Our entry this week comes from Julie in Peterborough and it's called "Washed Ashore" bracelet. And here is it's story...

Washed Ashore is a lovely bracelet threaded on memory wire, a metal based continuous coil that allows any bracelet to flex and wind around the wrist, thus fitting most wrist sizes and maintaining it's shape. Colours range from light greens and teals, to dark ocre reds and amber oranges. The striking hues of this bracelet catch the eye due to their subtle contrast, especially with close up photography.

This piece was really an accidental one. I had just finished making a bracelet called 'Smokey Jo' and had some maroon pearls left on the table, along with some jade from another memory wire bracelet. When I saw the two colours together, I wanted to see how I could combine them without it looking wrong. I find my beads on a table, all rolling around are a little like an artists' palette, no rules or order, just a random mess waiting to be used.

There is a real mix of beads on this bracelet, and for £15.00 including delivery in the UK, it's a real synch. Dark teal glass crackle chips provide a nice grounding colour and shape, with their texture and unusual shapes. Green jade also does the same, but in a paler green, and turquoise semi precious stone chips add a bit of 'perzazz'! The turquoise stone was bought in the Canary Islands mandy years ago, as part of a twisted necklace that split and it is one of my absolutel favourite stones because of it's striking colour. The glass and jade came from the same supplier, with a mixture of bulk buys; not particularly romantic I know, but everyone has to bulk buy now and then ;)

I had a few brown lampwork beads in all shapes and textures in the beady box that did not match and looked a bit lonely, so I strung those into the mix as well. The green glass speckle beads with the white mottling were from an online store that I love, and you'll see in my other designs I also have them in clear glass and pale pink. They have a strange bobbly texture to them that I love. One little inconspicuous bead worth mentioning is a tube-like pale green glass bead with a frosted finish. It was bought at the Corn Exchange in Leeds, in 2004 (goodness I'm starting to feel old) in my student days. This is the first proper bead shop I ever went in, and I do not know whether it still exists, but I must have been in there for an hour or more. The poor lad I was with at the time wished he never showed it to me, especially when I spent £20.00 and then wanted to go back the next day as well.... when you get the beady bug, it bites hard!

Lastly, the cream of the bracelet is the unusual gold freshwater blister pearls, which I adore. These pearls are always unique; they can range from 10mm-40mm, and they are sometimes called baroque pearls as well. I have these in a range of colours, best seen in the "Hope" bracelet design, and I just love the forms, textures and depth of colour in each of these fascinating pearls.

I called the bracelet "Washed Ashore" because the greens remind me of seaweed, sand dune grasses and the frothy shore. The blister pearls are gold and unique in shape, like little footprints in the wet shore sand, and have that golden glow of the sun kissing sand at sunset The turquoise is the colour of the open ocean and the glass chips and smaller beads are like little pebbles that find their way to land.

Here it is! This week's Wednesday blog entry has been suggested by Vicky in Cumbria, thanks Vicky! The piece Vicky has chosen is the "Georgiana" necklace. She says:

"Please could I suggest the Georgiana Necklace for your Wednesday blog post. It's my favourite piece and I'd love to know where the beads came from and your inspiration for it."

This is relatively new piece, made about four weeks ago when we were getting the fresh cold days with the early afternoon sunshine beaming through our windows, much like Melton Mowbray today! It is predominantly browns and golds, with hints of yellow and silver also. The necklace is 18inches long, and there is also a matching bracelet and earrings too. I love this set, it just reminds me of warmth and richness and love.


The inspiration, as with quite a few of my designs, came to me some time ago whilst doodling in my pocket sketchbook. Just a page or two of biro sketches, in no order or colour, but loosely using beads I know I have in the beady-box. It's easier to draw a design when you are pushed for time or space; and although you often use beads you've invented in your head, it's a challenge to make them yourself or see if you can source them if you love the design that much! 

The colour scheme evolved purely through chance. I was going to make Georgiana (at that time nameless) in purple, but having just made "Damsen and Sloe", wanted a new scheme, and, just as I was wondering what to use, the sun came out and cast a golden light across the cornflower studio walls. It all sounds terribly romantic, but it is true, and everywhere I looked was golds and bronzes. I am not one to wrestle with fate (or wrestle in general really), and once I had found a goldy-brown glass heart for the centre piece, (and one for the bracelet) I was away!!

The beads used for Georgiana are mostly made of glass. This necklace was intended to be symmetrical of sorts, though I am against perfect symmetry in most things. It was not meant to be, but that was ok, because it's a part of what makes each piece unique. If the beads aren't there, I adapt, and thus, every design will always be different and my work always evolving. 

The glass heart was from a craft fair in Leeds, bought around two years ago. I bought many of my other hearts from the same lady, in other colours, but have only purple remaining. The beads either side of the heart are different, one a glass brown sphere an the other a copper and brown glass disc, similar in size and weight and both equally scrummy. The beautiful little heart on one side of the necklace is made of tigers eye semi precious stone, and it is one of the first bead sets I ever bought online, and the last I have of a purchase seven years ago. It holds lovely memories of the steep learning curve I was going through around that time, understanding the difference between an ear wire and an eye pin, a tiger eyes and a carnelian bead. Oh the joys. Don't we take accumulated knowledge for granted?!.... The lovely amber coloured glass beads are from a charity shop in Peterbrough, where I also bought a little tea cup and saucer I fell in love with, and only saw because these beads were inside. The coppery golden biwa freshwater pearls, hanging at either side are from China, where some of the most stunning pearls in the world are farmed. These are no exception with their other shimmery hues that can only be captured by the eye, not the camera. And lastly, the little brown beads which act as a buffer to their larger neighbours. It may be said that the 'spacer' beads in a design are not as integral to  the more focal arrangements. In this case however, these little beads are another piece of me that the buyer of this necklace will receive. I bought them as part of a set of bracelets from Florence on a school residential. I used to be quite a hippy, with my long blonde hair, plaited in places with beads hanging down and bell bottomed jeans (not to mention my blue Beetle Mitzie). Needless to say I collected bracelets, of the beads, plaited, woven, leather variety and these were part of a set which set me back around £20 (quite a lot for a young waitress / Art student!). Anyway, years later I found these in my jewellery box and decided it was time to use them for other ends. And now, here some of them are!

I hope you've enjoyed the first story behind the design feature, it is nice to be able to share with you the work and experiences that bring a piece to life. Seeking out new bits for my designs is something I take for granted now, but in a world where so much of our produce has journeyed only by freight, it is nice to know that sometimes, what you are buying has finer threads of distance, and has been loved before as much as it is loved hereafter. 

So, due to the new t&c's of facebook, fan pages are no longer allowed to run competitions that use facebook as the only platform; this includes providing an incentive to fans to like or share. As I am a co-operative and diligent facebook user (well, co-operative anyway), I'm still going to run the competition, but not through facebook so no dummies are thrown.

The competition is still to win a piece of handmade jewellery worth £20.00, but instead of sharing on facebook, you can enter through this website instead by:

1. Commenting on this blog post, stating your favourite piece of jewellery from the website and why
2.Using the contact form on the left hand tab, stating your favourite piece of jewellery from the website and why OR
3. Contact me with the above information through the facebook contact tab on the handmade jewellery page.

A winner will be picked at random and announced here on the website and also on Facebook and Twitter, so

Of course (if you're still reading), I would dearly LOVE everyone to share my products and page with their friends as much as possible, (not only through facebook) and if you feel this is something you would be happy to do, then I salute you in appreciation and hope that all your days be merry!!

At last I've added a new Valentines gallery! It can be found on the left navigation and through the third slide on the homepage.

Valentines is a one stop gallery designed to highlight the best hearty morsels on the website. Spend over £12.00 before 10th February 2012 and receive a complimentary Valentines card too, with postage still free in the UK.

http://www.beckytoughill.co.uk/valentines1.html

Here are a selection of the new pieces that have recently gone on the site. Click the images to see more information.