So… deep breath… With the encouragement of my husband, I’ve decided to revive my old passion for craft. And also the blog that went alongside that passion, after 3-4 years of silence. What can I say? Two young children and a job pose enough day-to-day challenges. I haven’t even thought about, let alone made any, jewellery! Most of my tools are still in boxes from when we moved house – sob, sob! But I haven’t completely let go of the creativity front, occasionally making knitted clothes and costumes for my children.
A Change in Direction
With two children, however, I think that the direction of this blog must change a little. At least for the moment. I still love and enjoy making jewellery (look out for a review of a recent Tatty Devine hen party I went to, in the coming weeks!), but with time now being a precious factor, I’ve decided to widen the topics that I write about, beyond just sharing my learning experiences in working with silver.
(But never fear, I do intend to start making jewellery again in the coming months. I will happily be writing again about how I plan to set-up my workshop, how I re-learn the skills that I’ve learnt previously, as well as learning some new skills to boot.)
Family Trip
In the meantime, I’ve decided to use our upcoming family trip to Northern Ireland as the perfect excuse to take a look at some Celtic influenced jewellery. I’ve always loved Celtic jewellery, although I know very little about the symbolism (and now’s a good time to learn!)
I recently found some of my old childhood jewellery boxes, and yes, inside were a lot of pieces of jewellery that I’d been given over many years. I thought I’d share a picture of this one, which I’d bought at the Giant’s Causeway when I was around 11-12 years old (it probably shows from the tarnishing!)
What I love most about this ring are the crosses either side of the stone. For me, the ring’s character comes from the flowing nature of the metal, crossing from side to side of the stone. More insights into my childhood jewellery to come…
So on this trip across the Irish Channel, I’m really looking forward to visiting some jewellers. In particular, over the past few years, I’ve been watching Game of Thrones. Like many others, I find the locations and costumes stunning; but most of all, the intricacies of the jewellery worn by the characters amazes me. And luckily for me, we are staying in County Antrim, where some of Game of Thrones has been filmed. I’m aiming to get a visit in to Glenarm Castle, which not only looks stunning in its own right, is also home to Steenson’s – one of the jewellers, which worked on pieces for Game of Thrones. Fingers crossed that I get a chance to visit the workshop, and share the experience!
