Indian Sapphire - new Rangoli headpieces

So what's happening in the Rangoli studio at the moment?! Apart from looking forward to my Easter hols, I'm designing a range of headpieces that are inspired by the moody shades of blue sapphire.

I'm always pinning pictures of delicate dresses on my wall and they inspire me to create accessories. The image below shows two very different dresses. Words that describe them in my mind are floatiness, fluid lines and delicacy. There is certainly drama in there too.

I can be totally free when I design collections like this. My customer is imaginary and she has given me free reign to design fantastical creations for her!

I love antique sapphire shades combined with silver or rhinestone and often bring them into my bridal designs. I'll keep you posted on these pieces - I'm hoping to do a photo-shoot with them soon.

Enjoy the long weekend and I'll see you when I get back! If you'd like to see some of my recent bespoke commissions, you can look through my blog archives. And if you're thinking of including a hint of blue in your accessories, I'd love to hear your ideas!

Botanic Garden Inspiration

Autumn is on the way and I'm designing a new collection of ready to wear jewellery which I can't wait to show you. When I saw these images over on Dust Jacket Attic, they jumped off the page for me  - they perfectly illustrate the combination of reality and fantasy that influences my designs.

When I start sketching new designs, my pencil creates the most fluid and magical lines. Any form is possible and I get totally carried away in the world of my imagination.

Fashion and nature are two great sources of inspiration for me. I took the pictures below in the National Botanic Gardens. The greenhouses are a wonderland of fantastical sculptures and a great way to spend a rainy afternoon!

I'm off on holidays at the end of the month but I'll keep you posted on the launch of the new collection towards Christmas!

Top photo credits -
by Owen Bruce and styled by Tasha Cain with watercolour art by Iveta Karpathyova for Pulp#3.
Botanic Garden photos by Aisling Nelson

Tim and Amy "A wedding in reverse"

Tim and Amy // A Wedding in Reverse from V E L A R E on Vimeo.

This short wedding film is just beautiful. It's just three minutes and seventeen seconds long but it captures the most unique moments and emotions. It's filmed in reverse and in slow motion. When I heard that Wes Anderson was an inspiration for this piece, it made complete sense. The Darjeeling Ltd is one of my favourite movies, with it's quirky yet dreamy slow motion scenes. Slowing things down makes you notice all the precious expressions and emotions of this beautiful wedding.

The film is the work of Velare Imaginarium - Steve and Tim bring their photography and cinematography skills together to amazing effect. Below Tim Twinem talks about his inspiration for this film.

"When Tim and Amy approached me about shooting their wedding, I was so pumped! I’ve known Tim since middle school, and was honored to be a part of their special day. Something that really was on my mind leading up to their wedding is that for a couple who’s lives are based around art (Tim is in a great band, CHURCHILL, and Amy is a fantastic artist), a normal “wedding highlight video” wasn’t going to cut it. The more time I spent searching the internet for wedding films that were doing something different, the more I came up short. So I started to put my brain power attempting to come up with something that would fit their personality, and not fit the norm. I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, and his films have turned me into a sucker for great slow motion (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, just to name a few, all with fantastic slow motion sequences). So I decided to shoot their whole wedding at 60fps (slow motion). I think there’s powerful story telling when you pair great slow motion with great music. Then, setting my sights at something I wasn’t sure was a good idea or not, but at least was something I hadn’t seen, was doing the entire thing in reverse. Being newly married myself, I like the idea of always coming back to the love you had on your wedding day and thought doing the video in reverse would be a great way to visualize that idea. Thanks again Tim and Amy for giving me a little creative freedom to explore something new!!"

Steve and Tim - your films have such a peaceful, meditative feel to them - I think I'm going to be a lifelong fan! Thanks to Marie from Finer Details for tweeting this earlier!

See more wonderful films by Velare on Vimeo.

You might also enjoy my previous posts -

• "I do" an animated stop-frame short film by Manasi Kashyap
• Photo-booth animation by White Tea Photography

"I do" animated short film

Ok - I think you're going to lurrrve this! I spied it over on the fab 'Inspired by this' website and it certainly inspired me. In fact, it made me smile a lot. I'm a sucker for magic - more the magic carpet ride style than the rabbit in the hat variety...and this film has lots of floating magic as you'll see...

This quirky short features Jade and Raymond. The film is directed by Manasi Kashyap, who is an Indian photographer, living in London.


I Do. Short film by Manasi Kashyap. from Manasi Kashyap on Vimeo.

Below, I asked Manasi to tell us a bit about the inspiration and process behind this style of animated film.

"I always give people I work with much latitude to talk about their ideas & if they fit into the overall artistic vision - use them. Often, the personal stories I get have to be greatly abstracted in a way for them to work for both the movie & the people in them. Sometimes, though, an idea looks better in our heads than in motion & might have to be edited out.

If I'm able to visualize a story well from the input I've received, I'm able to story-board it over a week or two & discuss it with the people in it.

Stop-motion story shoots work differently from photography as they are largely pre-determined & require significant direction and co-operation from the people being photographed (especially if there's a specific story line). One of the prime reasons I love stop-motion is that it gives you lots of opportunity to work in beautiful magic using simple props. Stop-motion will also work if you just shoot things as they happen, but then it's not as easy to incorporate magical elements into it."

The number of shots I take is often dictated by the music I choose to tell the story with, the beat of the track, when the beat changes & when the song changes mood. There is a lot of math involved because the frames I shoot a scene with have to work with a certain frame rate (it can't be too slow & it can't be too fast)."

Thanks Manasi for telling us a bit about your creative process. Please let me know when you have made your next film!

You can see more of Manasi's photography over on her website. Also check out the Inspired by This blog for tons of bridal inspiration.

Sometimes when it rains, it pours!

Here's a post about letting go! I came across these photos by Irish photographer David Mc Clelland and they really made me smile. So much so, that I wanted to share them with you.

It made me realise how important having a sense of humour is on your wedding day...when things don't go *exactly* as you planned them! No matter what month you choose to get married in Ireland, there is no guarantee that the sun will shine. So, make the most of your day of celebration and have fun, regardless of any mini or major blips.

Congratulations to John and Amy were married in Ballmagarvey Village, (on a very rainy day!) Outdoor shots just weren't an option so Dave got creative with a colourful bookshelf, along with some carefully selected books, to create some fun group shots, (click on the images so you can read the book titles.) I bet they won't even remember the weather when they look back on their album!

This is just a sneak preview as Dave hasn't finished editing the wedding. You can see Dave's post on his blog or have a look at his website for more information.

"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.

Dreamy colour inspiration

Today I bring you soft muted colours to alter your mood - colour therapy for a misty, grey Irish day. There are hints of Spring in these palettes though!

These two images were found on the Colour Collective Blog. This is an amazing resource for colour inspiration. You might remember my previous post about creating your own palettes using your favourite pics. Use the online palette generator - you'll have lots of fun!

Cupcakes and Jewels and my 'lil sister!

Do you know that I have a sister who runs a cupcake business called CupCakeMe and makes the most delicious cakes for every sweet occasion? I'm so proud that she has launched such a successful business in just over a year. Sometimes redundancy can lead to the most amazing life changes ;-)

We collaborated with photographer Christina Brosnan for a photo-shoot that combined her sweet art with some of my sparkling jewels. We had so much fun coming up with ideas and themes.

A big thanks to Lisa from Bride and Joy for featuring us on her blog today! Lisa is a real bride documenting her personal wedding journey - her blog is full of useful advice for anyone planning a wedding. Hop over to her blog and check out the post and be sure to leave us some comments!

See more of Tara's cakes on CupCakeMe and Christina's photography on her website.

2011 Bridal trends

Whoooh - back to work and delighted to be sitting at my desk, surrounded by beads and full of ideas for new designs which I'll be sharing with you shortly.

Part of my design research involves keeping up to date with the latest in bridal trends so today I am sharing an idea that is going to be huge in 2011 weddings! Succulents - I love them for their crazy forms and variety of colours. They are sculptural yet simple and can be used in lots of creative ways.

This first photo is the one that wowed me - how about a headpiece made from a succulent that has been sprayed gold? This piece was designed by Clarissa Jones, who is an event planner in California. Her business is called JLDesigns - check out the other succulent ideas from this shoot.

This is a bouquet that I have featured before and was found via Style Me Pretty. I love the colour mix of soft greys and greens with yellow.

And here's a striking cake made by Erica O'Brien. The flower decorations are made from fondant sugar paste. I love when things are not what they appear to be. Totally scrumptious!

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing 2011 bridal trends for everything from dresses to hairstyles. In the meantime, I need to get back to my design desk!

'Three things' 2

The 'Three things' series is about things that inspire me to design. This is a visual diary of images I love... might be a colour, a form or simply something that triggers a happy emotion. Welcome to my world - I hope you enjoy leafing through my visual diary!

My inspiration selection today has a theme of transparency. I have a fascination for delicate things which is carried into my designs. I love layering of colours as well as things that have dream-like qualities.

This first image is an installation made with coloured twine. It is titled Feathered Edge by Ball Nogues.

I've picked the second image because it is so magical. I love the delicate colours and can imagine this bubble sailing upwards in the sky!

And finally an image of Nalalie Portman in a delicate, transparent, lace dress. So feminine.

I'd love to hear about your style-files or other ways for gathering and storing visual ideas!

Have a look at some more pages from my visual diary...
Image source and credits -
Feathered Edge installation
Bubble photographNatalie Portman image via tumblr.com

'Three things' 1

The 'Three things' series is about things that inspire me to design. This is a visual diary of images I love... might be a colour, a form or simply something that triggers a happy emotion. Welcome to my world - I hope you enjoy leafing through my visual diary!

First up is the colour grey. Amazing by itself and happily harmonises with any colour palette.

Pattern is probably top of my list for inspiration ideas. I love this installation made from 60,000 quilting pins! Gorgeous colour, pattern and concept. It was made by Lisa Kellner.

And definitely not 'least', a stunning clutch bag by Alexander McQueen complete with four bejewelled rings :-)

This is the first in the series so I hope you enjoy seeing what inspires me to design over the coming months. Why don't you start a visual diary too?

Image sources and credits -
Top - Image via FeyHandmade
Middle - Lisa Kellner
Bottom: Alexander McQueen

Graduated colour palette

It's a very beautiful white world out there so it's a perfect canvas for some bold colours. I love the magical transparent colours in this Johnny Miller photograph. It's the graduation of colours that makes it so interesting though - from sea-green to blue.



You could have lots of flower fun by creating colour graduated displays or perhaps bridesmaids with different palettes of colour.


A magical idea for a magical white world!

Photo credits
Orange flowers via Design Sponge
Pink flowers via A Vintage Rose Garden
Colour wheel by Andy Gilmore via ffffound.com

Colour therapy for a grey day

It's so grey and wet outside today. As I sat in a coffee shop earlier, looking out the window, I realised that I love that heavy foreboding grey sky. The shade of grey that makes all other colours just pop alongside it.

Here's an image that I came across recently by the amazing Rodney Smith. What a dream-like scene and what magical and striking colours. I want to see what happens when this woman floats into the water but it's up to my imagination to visualise it! I suppose that what makes this image so engaging.

This blog is also about things that inspire me to design and colour is something that makes my heart sing, especially on a grey November day like today. And there's definitely some wedding colour palette inspiration in there too...

Short-haired brides

I've been so looking forward to posting this feature and have enjoyed researching this topic...no end. However you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find images of real brides who have short hair! I contacted over ten Irish and International photographers and most said that they had never photographed a short-haired bride. What is going on?

Anyway, never mind - I managed to collect some gorgeous real-bride images to share with you. I've also included a few 'faking it' longer styles as well as some celeb versions.

So let me introduce you to some super-stylish brides...

First of all I'm going to start with Paige who I featured in my opening post. Paige is American and we've chatted away by email and I've found out a bit more about her personal style and thoughts on hairstyles!

"I would just say that short hair is what makes me feel like me. I feel that short hair fits my personality the best. I've always liked to be a little different and not so "cookie-cutter", and I feel short hair gives me that uniqueness. It makes me feel cute, quirky, stylish, and different. When I did have long hair, I was never that good at doing it. With short hair, it's so easy to look good all the time, and that makes me feel consistently better about myself.

When I couldn't find any pictures of short-haired women at weddings, it was frustrating because I knew I wanted short hair for my wedding, but I didn't know how to go the extra step and make it befitting for a wedding do -- elegant and more than just my everyday short hairdo. However, not being able to find pictures of short-haired brides did support my thought that it would make me stand out and be original!"

This photograph is courtesy of Rhonda Steed and you can view more from this wedding in my Flickr album.

Next, let me introduce you to Esther who is my first Irish representative! The wedding was photographed by Claire Wilson from Gingerpixel Photography. I love Esther's natural look.

"Like a lot of others, I was really frustrated by the lack of images of short-haired brides in magazines, etc. Offbeatbride was a great resource, though, because they show a more diverse range of looks, and it was really nice to see some brides who looked a bit more like me! In the end I decided I didn't want to try for a fancy style, as it would just be another thing to stress about on the day, so as you can see I kept it very basic. My flower hairclip cost a couple of Eur in Boots -- it was the only nice decoration I could find that would actually stay in my hair!"

Sonya is another Irish bride and I designed her Rangoli vintage lace comb. You can read about the wedding in my previous post. There are lots of Rangoli accessory options for short hair from hairwires to combs to individual hairpins. Photo courtesy of Bernard Carolan at Mark Griffin Photo.

Next up are Australians Nicole and Glenn. I just love the striking details of this wedding. Nicole's hairstyle is so sharp yet totally feminine. And how about the Japanese Obi that she wore as a belt? She also made her paper flower bouquet. The photos are courtesy of Ross Pulford photography.


Gia Canali is a photographer who I featured a number of times so I was delighted when she was able to share a wedding with me for this article. I've chosen to include a couple of black and white images of Sharlyn and Jim as they are so striking. Yes, it's a relaxed barn wedding affair but how glamorous are this couple?


Tim and Andrea make such a cute couple and I'm including three images as they capture such lovely emotions. Again, this short hairstyle is just so pretty and the French netting hair accessory sets it off perfectly. The photos were taken by Abby Rose Photo.



Katie makes quite a statement with this dramatic headpiece and soft curly bob. This wedding was found via StyleMePretty. The photo is by Daria Bishop Photography.

And yet one more gorgeous image - this time it's the wedding of Astrid and Kyle. This photo could have been taken in the 50's and has such a sense of style. Photo by Alex Rubin

So now time for some inspiration ideas. Love these two styles - very sexy and super-elegant. Images found via WeHeartIt and Aveda.

And here's one of those 'faking it' short-long hairstyles...it's all in the illusion. That's why you need a good hairdresser!

And finally a little dose of celeb style with Eva and Katie showing us that short hair can be shiny, classy and chic. I really hope you've enjoyed reading this post - I'd love to hear your feedback and please share this link with all friends or colleagues that have lovely short locks :-)

You can also view my complete album of inspiration photos - I will be adding to this on an on-going basis. I also love long styles so you can read about my other hairstyle articles, featuring 'half-up' hairstyles and soft up-styles.

In addition to the photographer credits above, I'd like to thank Offbeatbride who were a great source for many of these photos. (Thanks for the link Gia).

Follow Rangoli on Facebook for all the latest tips, advice and inspiration...and keep your suggestions coming for articles you would like me to research :-)