We’ve still got moose on the brain here at our house – my girls are drawing pictures of the moose we saw while we were camping, they’re playing Mama and Baby Moose and so, forgive me, but I’m going to indulge the moose obsession a little more today!
The work of Anneke van Bommel (Touch the Dutch, on Etsy) is beautifully simple, with a sense of humour and nostalgia, especially in the Canadiana series, that spoke to me.
Anneke has been an Etsy Featured seller recently and shared a bit about the inspiration and themes behind her Canadiana series:
These works explore an “idea” of Canada, and allude to the souvenir. The desire to take a “piece” of a place home with us and to somehow authenticate a journey is a shared one. This common need allows us, to relate to one another across vast distances and to share our stories.
The organic shape of the antlers is truly beautiful!
A wee little brooch - love the "rings" swirled in the cut!
The icons featured range from lumberjacks, narwhals, the east coast lobster, wolves and, of course, the ultimate in Canadian symbols: the beaver! I’ll leave you to click through and discover just what, exactly, the “Secret Order of the Beaver Legionnaires Trophy Brooch” might be (other than the best product name EVER!) and show off my favourite of the flat-tailed creatures:
Ah, the beaver. A perfectly adorable little nod to Canadian cliché!
I almost feel like I need to do a separate post for each category in her shop, but for now I’ll share a few of my favourites from the rest of her line and encourage you to visit her shop for yourself!
Thrifted spoons are repurposed into functional works of art! Such unexpected beauty!
A little one-of-a-kind piece of art on your finger!
You can find Touch the Dutch on Etsy and in various galleries and shops. You can also follow along with her creative pursuits on her blog. Enjoy!
Cheers,
~Sarah
I admit it, I sport a ponytail more days than I’d like. If I had some of Melissa Abram’s fun hair accessories, I might feel a little happier about that fact!
A simple, organic print
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A splash of pretty brocade on this headband
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Okay, here’s another confession – I cannot make bobby pins do what they’re supposed to do. They just don’t stay in my hair… but if I ever figure it out, I’d like to add these pretty kimono pins to my collection, please!
Little black dress, red shoes and these in your hair? Gorgeous.
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Robots are, shall we say, “trending” these days and this handsome little dude is featured on one of Melissa’s necklaces and more retro robot styles on rings as well!
Robot!!
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Melissa hails from Quadra Island, BC and has a great line of semi-precious jewellery as well. Be sure to drop by her website, her Etsy shop or her Facebook page to see more of her designs including earrings, rings, bracelets and more hair accessories.
Enjoy!
~Sarah
P.S. I found Melissa via the Artzi Stuff shop in Nanaimo, BC! If you’re in the area, definitely check it out – over 40 Canadian artists are featured!
In need of a little boost of summer today (it’s pouring rain in Alberta’s Capital Region today, and it SNOWED last weekend!), I found this lovely Tree of Life pendant. Wouldn’t this just make you feel like you always had a bit of summer with you when you were wearing it? Having made some jewellery in the past, I’m truly a sucker for unique, handmade pieces – in part because I understand just how tricky it is to make those beads or gemstones, silver or gold, cooperate and achieve the vision you have for them.
The Tree of Life, found at Toronto jewellery maker Sammi84, struck me immediately as something that I hadn’t quite seen before.
Tree of Life - peridot & gold
Sammi84 and sister shop Made by S.A.M. are run by sisters Sammi and Kelly, with Sammi doing most of the designing and creating. She prefers to work with sterling silver, vermeil and rolled gold combined with fine gemstones and semi-precious stones in nature-inspired pieces.
A few more of my favourites:
Spring Garden Orchids on sterling silver
Black rutilated quartz with bare leaf
These sterling silver pieces in particular are so delicate… I just love how they would look with the perfect little black dress, or with jeans and a t-shirt out for coffee with your best girlfriends! If you like these, you can find more of Sammi’s work by following the links above, or by visiting her on Facebook.
Cheers,
~Sarah
