Downton Abbey - Mary's tiara!

As promised, here are some screen-shot images I took of Lady Mary and Mathew's Downton Abbey wedding. No doubt, lots of drama will unfold in episode two, (bring it on), but let's just focus on Mary's beautiful headpiece for a few minutes!

 

 
There's been plenty of discussion about 'the dress' and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. We're so used to the couture, figure-hugging style dresses of the moment but this 1920's dress was typical of the time. I'd like to have seen the delicate embroidered fabric up close!

Anyway, I'm much more interested in her understated but very glamorous headpiece. I adore this tiara as it follows the form of the head. When I am designing headpieces, this is something I always do, whether it's a beaded hairwire or fine Alice-band. I love the laurel leaf motif - it actually reminded me of a bespoke design that I'm working on at the moment!

I'm sure this hairstyle will inspire many brides too. I'm still seeing a lot of finger-wave styles from my clients. Those rippling curves are great for framing the face.

I had fun giving this image a vintage look - it instantly gives it that authentic feel don't you think? Speaking of which...

I have a great series coming up which I mentioned on my Facebook page. Recently a client showed me a photo of her Grand-parent's wedding. She told me how the design of her own dress was inspired by her Grandmother's dress. It got me thinking about putting some of our glamorous Grannies on pedestals and hearing some stories about them :-)

 

Do you have photos that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you! Ask your parent's if there are any stories about their parent's weddings and take out those old photos.

Designing a backdrop necklace

It's Friday and I'm sipping a nice coffee while sketching some designs. I'm coming up with ideas for Claire who has asked me to design a hanging backdrop necklace for her wedding. Her satin dress has a beautiful low cut back and I think her jewellery idea will really set off the dress.

If I was to describe my designs, I would say that fluidity is really important to me. I love delicate, unstructured shapes and elements that look like they've been taken from nature! My Rangoli beaded hairwires are some of my favourite designs as they are so versatile and can be woven into many hairstyles. I think similar elements would work well in this fine jewellery piece.

The image above is an inspiration picture sent to me by Claire. This backdrop necklace was designed by Debbie Graham. Below is an elegant example I found via {this is glamorous} while researching on-line.

 

I can't wait to work on this project. Claire doesn't want the necklace to be seen at the front of her dress so I'm coming up with ways of attaching the strands to the back of the dress. Lots to think about before I meet Claire at the end of the month!

Do you know of anyone who wore a necklace like this? Send me on some links or photos - I'd love to see them!

Drop me a line if you'd like to discuss an unusual piece of jewellery for your wedding. You can view some of my latest commissions here on the blog or on my website.

Mismatched magic

Here's a single image and thought for the day - have you considered the idea of things being mismatched for your wedding? Variation makes the world go round! Are your bridesmaids wearing different style dresses that really suit them or shoes of the same colour but different styles?

Bridesmaids are great to design for too. I enjoy coming up with quirky variations to suit different hairstyles and personalities. The pins above are Portuguese hair ornaments from 17th/18th centuries with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, topazes, garnet and amethysts. Nowadays, the Swarovski crystal I use can replicate many of these jewel tones - pretty heirlooms for special + everyday wear!

Do you like the idea of mismatched elements or do you prefer a more classic look?

Image credit: The image above was taken from Five Centuries of Jewellery. National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon.

Rangoli bride, Ruth.

An email in my in-box that made my day! Ruth - thanks for getting in touch to share some photos of your wedding. Your kind words mean a lot.

Ruth was looking for a headpiece with an antique, pearly feel. No sparkly rhinestones here! I combined some pale gold and silver beading with cream Swarovski pearls. The design was based on a vine form with beaded leaves. I love how soft the piece looks against the delicate lace. You look gorgeous Ruth.

You can see more photos of Rangoli brides on my Facebook page and website.
 
Ruth's photos were taken by Michael Crean.

Map of a woman's heart - 1800's

I found this beautiful drawing of a map of a woman's heart from the 1800's. It tells us a lot about how women were perceived at this time. You'll need to enlarge it to see the detail. I love the huge 'Love of Dress' section which seems to be intersected by the 'Sea of Wealth'. How apt!

The article was found on the wonderful Brain Pickings blog.

I'd like to see a 21C version of this map. What would you add to the modern version?

Autumn amber shades

I'm designing a headpiece for this striking Vera Wang Evelyn dress. I love the lines of this contemporary gown. I'm incorporating gorgeous shades of amber, golden topaz and white opal crystal. Perfect for this time of the year!

I found this inspiration  board over on The Finer Things stationery blog and love the rich palette. Silver or white gold are still the most popular colours for accessories but gold is definitely a trend for 2012 weddings.

I'll be able to show you the finished piece in October when I get back back from holidays.

Below you can see the finished design. With this commission, the client was fairly open about the style of headpiece that she would like. Her only guidelines were that she wanted the piece to be in gold tones and not too vintage in style.

I asked her to send me pictures of combs that had elements that she liked. So, some incorporated the warm gold tones she liked, while others had floral or linear elements that appealed. This can be a great way to pinpoint the type of design you would like even if it seems a bit vague. It really helped me to narrow down the eventual design, shape and form. This piece will be worn at the back of the head. The dress design is very bold so simple gold rhinestone drop earrings will be the only other accessory.

I wish that more of you would choose these gorgeous golden shades. It seems that silver or white gold is still the most popular. I'd love to hear your thoughts on gold versus silver...

The 1947 wedding of Tineke, my Mother-in-law.

A few weeks ago, I was looking at a jewellery tool that I have used every day since I set up my business in 1998. It was given to me by Tineke, my Dutch Mother-in-law who was also a jeweller. It got me thinking about memories and how objects and photos can tell a story.

Tineke is one of the most inspiring women I know, apart from my own wonderful Mum. At the age of eighty six, she has boundless energy for life, even though her limbs are physically slowing her down a bit now! I thought you might like to hear some stories about her life in Amsterdam, both during and after the Second World War, before she moved to Ireland in 1956 with her husband Cor. I'm glad she did, or I would never have met my husband Ben!


I am going to write two posts - this one is about Tineke and Cor's wedding. The second will be about how they both previously met in Art College - Tineke studying jewellery and Cor, commercial art or Graphic Design.

Tineke, thanks for taking the time to chat about your wedding day! Can I ask you first about what it was like living in Holland in 1947?

Amsterdam Street scene, 1947, courtesy Chiesavecchia Collection via Flickr

"Amsterdam in 1947 was very much working on getting the city in good shape. After the war there was much rebuilding to undertake; for five years nothing had been built and bombed places needed to be repaired. In Amsterdam there was not as much damage as in Rotterdam, where the Germans bombed the centre of the city to rubble."

WWII Ration card, Netherlands, 1944

"In 1947 we had still coupons on certain things especially for clothing and bedlinen, blankets etc. For our wedding we got special coupons for those things, such as the material for the wedding outfit."

Detail of wedding invitation designed by Cor

I have always loved your wedding outfit - tell us about it?

"Yes, it was in three pieces. The blouse was parachute silk but thinking about it, it must have been the first nylon. We didn't know in the war about nylon. You had a sort of silk that wasn't real but it was not a nylon - it was something in between. And after the Arnhem raid, somehow my sister-in-law got hold of a piece of what we thought was white silk. My mother-in-law had a piece of black velvet and on the coupons I got two metres of another heavier fabric to make the skirt in blue. That was a colour that I loved and then at the bottom there was a band that looked like fine embroidery. Somehow somebody had a piece of that. It was an idea of a farewell to my maiden name Margadant, which is originally a Swiss name. [The bodice] was velvet and was even lined with something black... and no, I don't think it came to Ireland."

Cor and Tineke on their wedding day, July 1947

I asked Tineke about how the wedding was planned in those days. She laughed and said that they were so eager to get married that they were married within a month of registering their intent. They went to the marriage registrar on 24th June 1947 and asked what was the next available date.

"...and they said, the 30th July is free, early in the morning, or 8th August - [and we said] 'No, no, no, we want July, What time? They said it was half past nine in the morning and we said OK. We didn't think any further. We came home to my mother-in-law, and she said 'What?!, half past nine in the morning? [for a] wedding? How do I get ready, how do I do this and that?' She was up in arms about it! 'Stupid you, why did you pick so early?' We were so eager to get married that we didn't think about it. She accepted it then - that was the time we were going to get married!"

Wedding dinner at Cor's parent's house

The wedding party consisted of a gathering at her husband's parents' house. Only a few close family and relatives were invited for a meal and celebration. There were no official speeches or dancing, "...everyone just chatting away".

"The next morning, [there was] a ring on the bell and Cor's father came and he had the little booklet you get when you get married, [in Holland]. We were planning to go to Paris and he said 'you might need it, you know, if people ask you; you look so young'".

Proof of being married?! So the rings weren't enough?

"No, probably not, he didn't think about it. And the rings, you give them to each other when you get engaged... When you are engaged, you wear it on your left hand and when you get married you wear it on your right hand.

I made the rings; I had to go around the family to get gold because shortly after the war you couldn't just go into a shop to buy gold - it was impossible to buy a strip. I got a ring from my step-mother and Cor's mother had a gold ring that she gave and I think a few other people gave something but I had enough then for the two rings. We got them inscribed; the engagement date - my twenty-first birthday and the name [of the other person] and then when we got married, the wedding date as well."

So you went to Paris on your honeymoon?

"Yes! We didn't get up so early as we had planned. We put on our rather heavy rucksacks and went by tram to the spot were all hitch-hiking started. Because transport was still so primitive and expensive, so many young people wanted to travel in Europe. During the war we could not leave Holland. We were amazed that the long bridges over the Rhine and Meuse were still lying in broken pieces in the river, but parts connected with Bailey bridges.

In Paris we had to go to the youth hostel, because, we had no money for a hotel. We took the Metro for the first time and with the help of the map we found where we had to go, Metro to Porte d'Orleans and a long walk to Ville de Malakoff, where we found the youth hostel. We met many people from other countries, even Americans. This was so nice in the evenings.

We took the Metro back into the city and went to all the city landmarks over the next few days. A fantastic view was when we went to Palais de Chaillot and entered the plaza between the two arms of the Palace and you see the Seine, Eiffel Tower and in the distance d'Ecole de Militaire. All on such a large scale, you realize you are in a world city. Another place we liked very much was Montmartre, high on the hill the Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre, where many artists were painting or drawing the tourists, not just making sketches, but the sitters had to pose. We saw the Louvre, but didn't go in at that time, [we] left it for the many times we went back.

After ten days we went to friends in Le Havre. We passed the town of Rouen and were so sad to see it in ruins. The cathedral and other ancient building were very badly damaged. Of course it had been damaged during the Allied landings in 1944 and so was Le Havre. Even in the landscape you could see war damage. From Paris we headed North via Luxembourg and the Ardennes and then home to Amsterdam. Paris was all we expected and more!"

A recent photo of Tineke taken by her daughter Emma

Tineke, it's been so interesting listening to your stories and looking at your photographs - thanks for sharing them with me and my readers.

Keep an eye out for my second post about Tineke's time in Art college studying jewellery design - young designers in love, listening to illegal American jazz and studying the subversive social ideas of the Bauhaus movement!

Rangoli bridesmaids brooches

Todays post is about favourite colour palettes and bridesmaids dress brooches! Yurishan asked me to design brooches for her three bridesmaids. Their dreamy dresses combine dusty pink and toffee colours - one of my favourite colour combos as anyone who has seen my Rangoli stationery and branding will know!

 Rangoli stationery

It took me no time to pick out a combination of golden topaz and dusty pink crystals, creamy pearls, rhinestone and bronze seed beads. I love how the silver-lined scalloped edging sets them off perfectly.

The girl's dresses are being made at the moment so I hope to share some photos at a later stage. (I have lots of interesting commissions on the go at the moment and want to share them with you as I make them! I'll then link the wedding features back to the relevant posts.)

I think brooches are a unique way to accessorise your bridesmaids dresses - I'd love to hear what creative ideas you have in mind for your lovely ladies!

Check out my other bespoke commissions or see some Rangoli brides on my Facebook page.

Rangoli lace headpiece

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye! This bespoke headpiece was collected yesterday and is going to a lovely happy owner...(You may have read my previous post about this inspiring commission.)

I loved working on this piece with *Lena. She had very specific ideas about the look and feel of the piece as well as the shape. Her gorgeous lace dress will be worn with a long sleeved bolero. Pearl was to be the main component of the design. I had to create a flat design which replicated the delicacy of lace. Lena had an image of a rhinestone comb that she liked the shape of. We were able to use this as a starting point and template.

For this design, I printed the image of the comb that Lena had brought so we could look at this shape on her head. This probably sounds mad but it gave us both an excellent idea of how the form would look! Above, you can see how I have pinned on some small beaded shapes on top of the paper.

Once we were both happy with the scale and shape of the piece, I began working on detailed sketches of the intricate form. I then created many individual beaded elements which were finely woven together as the piece was being constructed.

Once I begin constructing the design, I work directly in three dimensions and I leave the sketches aside. This design took many hours to make but was a fascinating new direction for me in terms of assembling a piece from a number of smaller forms.

I'm really looking forward to sharing this wedding with you in a couple of months. Lena is so happy with the piece, especially as she had such a clear idea in her head of how she wanted the piece to look like.

You can read about some of my other commissions on the blog. All feedback is really welcome so leave me a comment or chat with me on my facebook page!

* For anonymity reasons, Lena is not her real name!

Siobhan and Eoin's wedding

I'm so excited to share this wedding with you! When I first met Siobhan, she told me about a special piece of jewellery that had belonged to her Nana. (You can read my earlier post about this). In fact this pearl necklace was an engagement gift from her grandfather and was worn on her wedding day. The necklace had got damaged over the years; the three strands were reduced to two and Siobhan loved the idea of somehow converting it into a bracelet and wearing it on her wedding day.

"...Being able to wear my Nanny's pearls feels like they'll be there in spirit and they'll never be forgotten, and means so, so much to me. I am so grateful to Aisling for making this a reality, when you strip away all the pomp and fluff from a wedding it's the people, present on the day and those we'll never forget, that really count."

Above you can see a picture of Siobhan's grandparents on their honeymoon along with some sketches and photos of the beautiful peach pearls in their treasured box. We decided to use the largest of the pearls and to make a feature of the striking rhinestone clasp as the centre piece. I also included a row of cream pearls, spaced with tiny rhinestone elements as a contrasting element to the design. It's been amazing for me to be involved in this project and to see these pearls being worn again on such a special occasion.

To complement Siobhan's delicate lace gown, she chose to wear a 'Diamond' design hairwire. I used soft gold beading in this piece along with some cream and peach pearls. I love how the pearl hairwire sits in her soft hairstyle. And to complete the look, I made a simple double pearl drop with tiny rhinestone setting. There is a single one of Nana's pearls in there too! Here's a few words from Siobhan -

"We have such wonderful memories from our wedding day, start to finish. Everything ran so smoothly, even down to the weather! The beautiful singing by the amazingly talented Naoise Stuart-Kelly, gorgeous flowers and our wonderful priest helped create a relaxed and special atmosphere in the church that continued throughout the day. Niall our photographer did and excellent job of capturing the atmosphere and the little touches we had wanted to include in our special day. Little touches, such as and in particular, the fabulous jewellery made for me by Aisling, re-modelled from my grandmother's own wedding pearls. It meant so much to me and my family that they were able to be restored.

Aisling did such a wonderful job. She was really creative with ideas on how we could redesign and update them. I'm delighted to say I've been wearing them regularly ever since after years of leaving them lying neglected in their box. Our reception in Ballyseede Castle surpassed our expectations, the setting was beautiful yet intimate, the food was delicious and the staff could not have been any more helpful or professional. It's easy to say we had our perfect day.

Thank you so much Aisling for all your help. It really was a pleasure to work with you, you took such care and interest in my project and created something really special and beautiful for me."

 

Doesn't Siobhan look gorgeous?! I'm sure you'll agree that they make a very stylish couple.

Siobhan - it was an absolute pleasure to be asked to design your accessories; in particular, your bracelet. I think your Nana would be so proud and delighted to know that you are continuing to get lots of wear out of it, while keeping her memory alive.

Thanks to both of yourself and Eoin for sharing these images and telling us the story of your wedding.

Credits
Photography - Niall McGann
Church singing and music - Naoise Stuart-Kelly at EncoreOccasions

Flowers -  Eleanor's Florist  

Reception - Ballyseede Castle

Rangoli headpiece - Lace love

I'm working on a bespoke commission and thought I'd share my work in progress. It's no secret that I love lace and find it inspires many of my designs. I love it on many levels, for it sheerness, transparency and romantic qualities...its timeless nature and ability to work with vintage and contemporary dresses. Most of all, I love the linear floral motifs that twist and flow, following the contours of the female form.

The person that I am designing this piece for is having her dress made by London designer Fiona Clare. Let's call her *Lena! The dress features Chantilly lace as seen above. Lena just loves pearls which are the perfect choice for this style of gown.

Once I had met Lena and heard about her ideas, I began by making sketches of the lace design. There's so many interesting forms in there if you look closely!

For this commission, I'm working to a specific brief for a glamorous side piece which will replicate the lace design. The finished piece will be striking and very feminine. I also like that I've been asked to exclude rhinestone elements - it will be interesting to focus purely on pearl as the main component. I can't give too much more away at the moment but I hope to be able to share some wedding photos with you at a later date!


I'm currently working on lots of individual beaded motifs which will be woven together to form an intricate pearl lace form. I'm having fun creating vintage roses and delicate twisted vines, all lavishly embellished with ivory pearls of different sizes.

Welcome to my world - Hope you enjoyed reading about this latest commission! Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss some ideas for jewellery or hair accessories.

Have a look at my other posts featuring lace or check out my other recent bridal commissions

*Lena is the secret identity that I have given this client but her real name is even more beautiful!

Rangoli treasure box of ideas

Rangoli designs are inspired by all sorts of things. I love ornamentation and decorative floral patterns in particular. In between my commission work, I set aside time to experiment and create new forms and sometimes the smallest discovery can be the most rewarding!

I have a few 'treasure boxes' where I keep these mini-experiments. I open these boxes whenever I am working on a new design. I can pick out a small beaded element and know that it will work perfectly in combination with other elements of this new design!

The commission above was a variation on one of my existing designs. The client wanted a more solid or structured design, so I added in some beaded leaf motifs and worked with a combination of pale gold and silver to complement some antique gold beading on the bodice of the dress. The delicate beaded flowers below were another bespoke design. In both cases, the clients really enjoyed being part of the design process and choosing the elements that were incorporated into their unique designs.

I get brilliant ideas from my clients and love hearing about unusual ideas for accessory designs! Do get in touch if you'd like to arrange a visit to my showroom. You can also read about my other recent bespoke commissions or have a look at the Rangoli Brides album on my website.

Vintage brooch bouquets

Wow - it's amazing when someone you know surprises you with a hidden talent! I've got to know Lisa O'Dwyer, seen right, and her gorgeous photography in the last few months. She mentioned her love for all things vintage and how she was designing some vintage brooch bouquets.

Lisa is originally from Pennsylvania, but now living in Ireland with her husband and two children. Herself and her Mum, also a 'vintage everything' enthusiast, collect brooches and earrings from 1930s-50s designers such as Coro, Lisner, and Hollycraft.

What I especially love about the bouquet below is that Lisa sourced delicate blue vintage paper flowers that had been made in Occupied Japan. Like all things vintage, it's amazing to imagine the interesting stories associated with each piece.

"I had seen brooch bouquets on wedding blogs. I showed it to my mom and she said she wanted to try to make one. She is really good at crafts, and is an expert at stained glass and sewing. She bought the brooches in the US, and made two bouquets and sent them to me but I tore them apart because some of the wires were showing! So I made two types: one with the floral form and brooches and paper flowers and the other with silk hydrangeas and brooches. I used good quality antique brooches, nothing new or reproduction. They take around 6hrs to make. I have some more to make more bouquets, and I'm sure my mom will find some more brooches for me to use when I visit this summer".


Lisa has an Etsy shop called Starry Flower Love and would love her bouquets to be held and treasured forever by some Irish brides! Check out more images from Lisa's Easter-themed shoot...full of dreamy dresses and accessories and the fluffiest white rabbit!

Credits
Images by Lisa O'Dwyer Photography
Lisa's Etsy shop - Starry Flower Love
Photo of Lisa by Christina Brosnan

Susan and John's wedding

Susan and John were married in February 2011. Their wedding was in Ratheniska, followed by a reception at Killashee House Hotel, Co. Kildare.

Susan wanted a delicate hair accessory to complement her gorgeous lace gown. She really liked my Rangoli Hairwire styles and together we chose a beaded flower design which picked up on her lace detailing. Susan chose not to wear a veil and wanted something simple yet elegant to dress her hairstyle.

"Aisling, I got lots of compliments about the hair wire on the day and I loved it - it worked out perfectly in the end with the way the hair was done and I even think those that were against me not having a veil were happy enough in the end also!!!!

Thanks again for all your patience with me.

Susan"

Susan was lucky to have Mary Brown as her photographer. I think you'll agree that she captured lots of beautiful and relaxed emotions. Visit Mary's website or see more photos of the wedding on her Facebook page.

Congratulations Susan and John - You look amazing! Thanks so much for allowing me to share your photos on the blog.

Have a look at some of my other bespoke commissions on the blog, or get in touch if you'd like to arrange to visit my showroom.

"10 Things You Swoon Over" with Aisling Nelson

I have been invited to take part in a great collective project which has been lots of fun! Over the last few years, I have connected with so many creative bloggers and readers and now have lots of new 'online' friends that continually inspire and offer support.

Inspiration and creativity can sometimes be hard to describe but I was invited to write about ten things that I 'Swoon' over for the wonderful US blog Swoon. That sentence was inspiration enough :-) It didn't take me long to put together ten things that I love and illustrate them with amazing images.

Read about my ten favourite things or follow the series over on the Swoon blog.

A big thanks to Ann Nguyen for inviting me to be a gust-blogger - I had lots of fun putting the article together.

Come on summer...

The sun is really trying hard to make an appearance in the last couple of weeks. If only we could *rely* on the weather here, we'd all be so much more adventurous in our wedding venue choices! We might even forward plan a picnic or two...



These images really captured my imagination. I adore the sixties outdoor wedding setting with mis-matched lounge couches. Hats would be a definite requirement along with legs crossed at a 45 degree angle. Please someone invite me to this wedding. Or how about the lavish velvet curtain back-drop at this circus-inspired celebration? It's nice to bring the inside out, don't you think? See the full wedding feature here which was photographed by Gabriel Ryan.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on outdoor celebrations!

Image credits
Top image via Enchanted Weddings. Original source PutAWittyHeadlineHere.
Circus wedding via Green Wedding Shoes. Photography by Gabriel Ryan Photographers.