Wolf and Moon jewellery - ah-oooo!

I was at Bestival at the weekend. It was ace. I was there with work and, while there were loads of good acts there, there was no one I was mad desperate to see so, because I wasn't stressing about being in a set place at a set time, it was way relaxed. Woop! I have some ace pics that I'll share you soon with but this post is about a jewellery brand I discovered there. What do you mean you already guessed that from the title and you wondered why I was talking about Bestival? Regardless, finding cool independent brands is one of my favourite things about festivals, alongside having fun at things you didn't even mean to see or expect to be that fussed about, and eating ace food. Festival food is so great these days! At Camp Bestival, I found I Am Acrylic. At Bestival, those guys were there too but my new discovery was Wolf and Moon. Also big users of perspex, there's plenty of wood incorporated in their designs too.

I only picked up perspex designs and I couldn't resist grabbing a few things! Like this gorgeous glittery gold deer:

According to their 'about' section, "Everything you see in the Wolf & Moon shop is lovingly handmade or handpicked by Hannah Davis. She recently graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College and you can find her personal work here: www.hannahdavis.co.uk

Richard Makhlouf helps Hannah with accounts, making pieces and sometimes running the market stall." 

When I visited the stall the girl, who I assume was Hannah said she does make all the perspex pieces - amazing! They're so intricate and I can't help but wonder how many deer's legs are accidentally snapped, trying to get one perfect. This feather is simple and gorgeous. And glittery...

 

Once I got the pieces safely home from Bestival, I couldn't resist wearing one straight away!

Jumper: ASOS, Skirt: Topshop, Nike Air Safari: schuh

 

For the amount of work that must go into these pieces, their prices were really reasonable too. The feather and deer were both £8 and the one above was £12. The most expensive was this baby at £25. But it literally stretches across my front to the outer edges of my collar bones. It's GIANT! And stunning.

Glitter! Mirror! Colour! Oh my!

They're all off to live in with the rest of my neck-wear on my bedroom walls now.

Anyone else been festivalling it up lately?

Little Scribbler: likes I am acrylic

Yes she does. Or, I do. I'm sure talking about oneself in the 3rd person is wack.

This weekend I was at Camp Bestival (more on that...) - family friendly summer festival hot-spot for the middle class. Really: some of the kids' names I heard included Tilly, Barney, Elodie, Millicent and, I think and hope, Balthazar. Nae offence if any of those are your names - they're perfectly nice names. But there's no denying, they're pretty hooray-Henry in the naming stakes. And that's kind of the Camp Bestival vibe, from the fancy foodie offerings to the Guardian and Observer stalls, it's a classier vibe than your average festival. But...it's great fun too! I'll bore scintillate you with it later this week.

One thing CB does well is shopping. It's got some of your usual tat but, as befits the audience, the stalls tend towards being of a better calibre than, say, T-in-the-Park. And one stall I spotted was that of "I am acrylic", super cute (mainly acrylic) made by Brendan and Ruth. I don't want to copy the 'about' section from their site, but you can read it here.

I'm always on the look-out for cute independent jewellery brands. Ever since Lady Luck Rules OK closed its shiny doors, I've struggled to find a suitable replacement. Punky Pins is a bit mass. I LOVE Tatty Devine but it's often a wee bit out of budget. So I was dead pleased to stumble upon these guys. Look at some of the cute stuff they do:

Sadly they didn't have any tea pots or shooting stars at Camp Bestival, but I did pick up these teeny acrylic charms:

Glorious angular heart

This one's actually a great neon red transparent acrylic.

And check out the cute box the necklaces come in - even at a festival. I appreciate that attention to detail.

And their adorable wee business cards! Check them out sometime. But don't buy all the good stuff before me!

 

Pretty jewels

Hello and happy Saturday to you. I regret to inform you that my money diet is not going so well. I am trying though, I really am. However, I got sucked into Primark last Sunday (I was in Fife and we don't have a Primark in Edinburgh and, because of this, whenever I'm in Glasgow or anywhere in Fife, I can't stop my compulsion to pop to Primarni and have a wee look. Whatcha gonna do). Of late, I've found Primark stuff to be crap. I mean really crap, even by their it's-so-cheap-you-sort-of-expect-it-to-be-shite-and-you-try-to-ignore-their-potentially-questionable-ethics. I said POTENTIALLY. I ain't making no claims. Anyway, point is, of late, things have just been so badly cut, so oddly shaped (talked about squished boobs and an empty waist - usually it's my pear shaped ass that doesn't fit stuff properly. My fairly ordinarily proportioned top half is usually grand) and such poor quality that I've ended up walking out empty handed. However, one area that's got a wee bit more interesting is their jewellery. And, on account of this I picked myself up some swell wee bargains. And I'm afraid, people, that's pretty much the sole content of this post! Dude, I can't be being all kinds of funny for your ass all the time. Hells no. Lookee!

Pretty cameo ring £2 - I love Cameos but don't think I've actually bought one before now. I'm not sure why...

It's another ring! It was also £2. And you know me and florals - I'm a SUCKA and I couldn't resist this.

Super cute tea cup...

...and teapot necklace £1.50. How sweet is this? I love teapots and teacups and I love tiny charm necklaces - go figure.

Little rocking horse and rose necklace £1.50. Did I mention I got a wee bit carried away?

Cameo necklace £1.50. Well, if a girl's going to start buying up cameos, she might as well invest in a couple. Am I right?

Oh, actually, on a non shopping diet tip, my healthy eating is not going great so far - not terrible but not great either and people keep bringing delicious treats into the office and I keep not resisting them. Oh dear. On the plus side, my exercise tally is at 3 zumba classes and a big swim so far this week so that's pretty bright and hopefully I'll make another  zumba tomorrow. Good times. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Blue Monday? Mine was red, black and leopardy!

Blue Monday, schmue Monday! My day was alright, ta v much. How was yours? I've actually been doing a cracking job on the exercise and haven't been eating TOO badly and I had a lovely weekend so, really, there's owt to shout about. Plus, despite a cheeky wee spot, I had one of those days where your outfit comes together nicely and you just feel, well, good. Gotta love that, right?

Also, I managed to sneak in pair of shoes # 46, these little flats by Irregular Choice from Schuh.

They're proper old skool Irregular Choice from back in 2002/3ish. I don't wear them that often so they haven't died. I imagine if I wore them loads, they'd have packed in long ago as they're the most gorgeous, delicate Chinese looking silk/satin. And I love the old Irregular Choice 'bum toe' - I know they really divide people (like they divide my toes - they don't really), but I'm a fan. Split the toe full on like on a Nike Rift though and you lose me - that's just weird!

Leopardy:

Dress: New Look, Cardi: Warehouse, Hairband: Primark, Necklace: Topshop, Belt: H&M, leggings: ASOS, Shoes: Irregular Choice @ Schuh.

 I got this little dress last week in New Look - I couldn't resist the cute leopard print collar! I've already worn it a couple of times so I think it is going to have been a wise investment. Especially as I now plan to TRY to cut back on the shopping this year in favour of saving for holidays. Plus, it's nicer not to be frittering the cash on disposable fashion, isn't it.

Some other cheeky wee bargains here! The necklace I've had for ages (hence the missing stone!), the belt I got free, sort of - it was a gift card purchase, the heart ring was £2.40 as part of a set of three in the Accessorize, and the gorgeous owl was £2.10 also from Accessorize! I got another amazing ring there the same day for £2.40 so that was £6.90 in total AND I had a £5 gift voucher too. I must say, I'm an absolute sucker for a bargain and it's even better when it's something I'd planned to buy anyway - I'd admired the owl ring a few times but vetoed it based on price. It's amazing what 70% off will do to a girl...

Crafty!

This year I decided to go less high street and more local, small and crafty for Christmas presents. Twitter and blogs have proved to be a goldmine when it comes to discovering individuals running small craft based stores and I've been getting my own craft mojo on too. I figured I'd share my questionable efforts with y'all as well as giving a cheeky wee plug to a couple of the best shops I've come across.

So, it's my blog - let's start with me. I started with some fancy nail painting last night:

 I am no artist - this will become apparent when you see my Christmas cards - but I was feeling inspired while watching Kirsty's homemade home.

I have a gorgeous H&M maxi dress - it's orange and has peacocks on it. It's lovely for wafting about in, in summer (remember summer?). Or it was until some punk cycled too close to me, making me rub against a fence which snagged then ripped the dress irreparably. I spent the rest of the day having to be on constant guard against accidentally flashing lady garden (well, knickers but still...). Anyway, as I love the dress so much, I decided I'd keep it and do something with it. Here's what I did...

 

 Et voila! An owl cushion for my friend's house warming present!

And onto the Christmas cards:

 

 

I was one of those kids who quite enjoyed art but was ultimately sort of shit at it. I haven't got much better but I don't really care. And who doesn't love the personal touch?

So that's about as far as I go craft-wise. When it come to jewellery, I have to rely on others. I mean I could knock out something and have made the odd brooch here and there but I'm not massively skilled when it comes to jewellery. Unlike the lovely Stars n Scars, who I discovered through Twitter.

 

 

I can't show you what I bought from her as it's for a Christmas present and I don't want to ruin my friend's surprise but look how prettily presented the, er, present is! How lovely. Here's a little selection of some of my favourite pieces from the store:

 

 I believe all the designs are hand drawn/doodled by Vicky, the talent behind Stars n Scars. I also believe she's doing free P&P today so pop on over and have a look! 

Next up is Crown and Glory whose stuff I came across on Magpie Girl's blog. I saw her teapot and cup hair slides and couldn't resist popping over to the shop for a look.

 

 

I love how cute and kitschy they are. Crown and Glory sell all kinds of, mainly hair related, goodness, including clips, slides (some of which double as brooches), fascinators and hairbands. It's not your usual run of the mill fair though and items are adorned with flowers and laser cut felt. Here's a wee look then get yo' ass on over there!

 

Time to head off out for dinner!

Lady Luck Rules OK. OK!?

Yay! The sun shone today and it didn't rain at all! (well, it's not yet 6pm so there's still time) And I headed up town for a talk by Lady Luck Rules OK's Leona Baker at the Hannah Zakari shop on Candlemaker Row. 

For such an exciting event, only gold lurex, leopard print and a silly 'ooh' face would possibly doodle-doo. Plus, holy-mary-mutha-of-tha-baby-jebus it's got freakin' cold of late and so today was finally the day that I re-busted out my ye-olde-faithful frilly bosom-ed knitted gold lurex dress. Much like leopard print, I believe gold lurex to be a staple wardrobe neutral and this dress is warm, comfy, sparkly and hides absolutely every degree of bloating. Plus, it has ruffles! If anyone knows anyone out there who has the black version and wants shot of it, I'll buy it (it's from H&M)! For anyone who hasn't had them rammed down their throat already (sorry), the boots are Clarks from schuh.

So, back to the day's events! For anyone who didn't come across Lady Luck Rules OK while it was still going, firstly, you can read about the company here, secondly, sad times for you! The brand brought us some of the cutest and kookiest pieces of the, er, noughties (sorry, forgive my momentary twat-sounding-ness there - I hate the phrase noughties.) and some of my absolute favourite pieces of jewellery came from the site. In fact, I'm geeked up enough that I got married in an awesome personalised LLROK necklace, so there's a bit of smooshy sentimental value in the brand for me too. Aw! (Brace yourselves, you're about to get a wee swatch [that's a Scottish word for 'look' BTW. As in "Geez a swatch ae yer new dress" which means "Ooh, may I please have a look at your new dress? Splendid"] of Mr Scribbler)

Picture by Nick Mailer www.fotonick.co.uk

Ooh, look at the pretty necklace!

Sadly, having decided she wasn't feeling the love for her subject anymore, Leona (who started the LLROK after success selling re-worked vintage pieces at London's Portobello market and, amazingly, didn't have a design, jewellery or business background pre market selling.) made the brave decision, late in 2009, to bring Lady Luck Rules OK to an end (it closed up after Valentine's day 2010). Here's a coupla sheets of some of their early designs:

Forgive the picture quality. Being the toppermost awesome blogger amateur that I am my camera battery was dead this morning so the pics are from my phone. Hopefully you get the gist of their early designs, which were bold and colourful and, at the risk of sounding twee, just a bit 'different' from other things out there at the time. Something I think remained true of the brand throughout it's time, in spite of the imitators.

So, being the apparent LLROK geek that I am, when I heard about Leona's talks I decided to go along for a few reasons. Firstly, out of sheer nosiness! I was curious to know what went into one of my favourite brands - more about how it came about, how it grew and why it ended. Secondly, for inspiration. Like many people, the idea of building a business by myself for myself has always appealed - I'm, er, just waiting for the right inspiration to strike. Hmm - we'll see. But I figured the talk really might throw up some valuable info and it did - there were loads of helpful tips and tidbits (what Leona feels she did right and wrong, advice on copyright and legals, trade fairs, PR and much more) in there for anyone looking to start up any kind of business, not just something craft based. Thirdly, I've dabbled in the odd crafty thing here and there (just for myself and friends) and I was really curious to understand a bit more of the 'making' side of the business and that aspect of the talk was fantastically interesting. I'm not gonna give away all the tips and secrets but it was really amazing to hear about how the various items were sourced and made and it was a great reminder that, in business, you can never overestimate the value of a bit of lateral thinking! Another thing I really took from today was a sense of possibility. The fact that Leona developed such a successful business without having any kind of background in the field just goes to show that with a bit of determination and imagination, you can do whatever you want. Unless you're a tone deaf weirdy type and your ambition is to win the X Factor. Reality check peeps.

Here's a wee bit more of the back-catalogue (the owl is one of my absolute favourite pieces!) and, excitingly, a picture of our hands making our own necklaces! Ooh!

And the finished article:

So all that remains to be said is that today was well worthwhile - interesting, entertaining and really, really informative too. I'm just excited to see what Leona does next. Whatever it is, I don't doubt she'll make a success of it.