Lush chrome tourmaline ring

I've had this chrome tourmaline for years waiting for the right opportunity to use it. Here it is in all its 1.4ct (8.9 x 7.2mm) splendour. The band is brushed sterling silver with two 2mm rubies flush set on the shoulders. If you like it, you can find it for sale on Boticca

Blue tourmaline ring

I've always loved tourmaline. This ring is sterling silver with the 6 x 4mm tourmaline set in 18k yellow gold. If you like it, it's for sale on Boticca

Little box with ladybird and turquoise

Sterling silver box decorated with 9k and 14k gold flower with ladybird on the lid. Foxtail chain has hand crafted hook closure. If you like it, it's for sale on Boticca

Engagement Ring Commission

18k white gold, 18k yellow gold, blue tourmaline. Wouldn't mind this one for myself!!

A couple of tasty commissions

Sterling silver and 9k yellow gold anticlastic spinner ring and flat ring with 2mm white diamond.

Two new pieces

Cute little sterling silver box with liftable lid with 14k gold heart motif and 9k red gold and silver snail on the lid. Each side has an engraved flower and the bottom features rock crystal beads. This pendant is for sale in my Boticca shop.




Honey bees perform a waggle dance in a figure-of-eight dance of the honey bee. Successful foragers share information with their hive mates about the direction and distance to patches of flowers yielding nectar and pollen, to water sources, or to new housing locations.
This pendant is created in sterling silver with an alloy of bronze and silver for the abdomen and depicts such a dance and is for sale in my Boticca shop.

Jewellery Party woes - the real story

I recently had a jewellery party that was hosted at an erstwhile friend of mine's house (who I do not blame for this debacle but who has chosen to single me out for a punch in the face). Loads of people had promised to attend and some people had apparently been chomping at the bit to go. When the day came, none of those so-called keen people were there and those that were were really only there to socialise with the other housewives and mothers who regularly attend coffee mornings at this person's house.
I had spent 4 days preparing the displays and labels for my jewellery and as some people had already seen what sort of thing I make from my online shops, I was expecting a few sales. I wasn't there to showcase my work, have it poked and tried on and rejected, I was there to sell it. I already showcase it in my shops. I don't appreciate being told it's not chunky enough or too chunky or that I should stick to selling pieces that cost less than €40. Do you people have any idea how much precious metal costs? That's without the work that goes into designing it, making it, and pardon me, dare I say, a little profit for me? My prices were halfway between wholesale and retail, so hardly extortionate. The cheapest items were €10 up to €200 for an 18k white gold ring. Some of the artisan, one of a kind stuff was well underpriced. Yet hardly anyone was even interested in looking, never mind buying anything. Thank you to those who did buy something that day, but it was a really poor day for me, hanging around like a spare part. I don't want to hear about the 2 carat diamond you're expecting your husband to buy for you while you turn your nose up at my jewellery. I don't want to have to keep small children's mitts off my jewellery and then hear, "I can't look at your jewellery because I have to look after my child". People! Why did you go to a jewellery party if you had absolutely no intention of buying anything?
This is my life. This is how I earn my living. It isn't a silly hobby. If I don't sell anything, I don't pay my bills. I don't need to "get real" or "get off my high horse". I've been making and selling jewellery for 10 years and in that time metal prices have gone through the roof but I'm still expected to have prices equal to that of mass-produced jewellery from SE Asia. If you want that type of jewellery, fine, but don't come to my jewellery party. If you want base metal and fake stones, fine, but don't expect that from me. Lucky you, you can sit at home, shop, lunch, do bugger-all, but some of us are trying to work and make a living. That's what I call "getting real".
Last of all, threatening to punch me in the face for expressing my annoyance at the reception I received is just downright childish. Some people need to get off their high horse, stop looking down their noses and get a life!