Tuesday, 24 August 2010

A moment of silence

My post this week isn't about fashion or jewellery, but it is about one of my other great loves.

I love silent films. I really, really do. Since studying film many years ago, the silent genre has always held a special place in my heart...and my DVD collection. My favourite? The Man Who Laughs. If you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend it.

So when I got tickets to see The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, one of Alfred Hitchcock's early silent films, at the BFI with a live piano accompaniment, needless to say I was very excited. I had seen this film many years ago, but I don't think I fully appreciated how brilliant and important it was.

Loosely based on the story of Jack the Ripper, The Lodger is quite a thriller - a serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London, murdering fair haired women. Around the same time, a mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, looking for a room to rent...could he be "The Avenger"? And is Daisy, their beautiful fair haired daughter, his next victim?

The Lodger arrives...

The Lodger gets close to the beautiful (and not to mention stylish) Daisy

If you haven't seen this film already, you must. And if you can see it with a live piano accompaniment, then all the better.

Anyway, all of this is in aid of the work the BFI National Archive are doing to "Rescue the Hitchcock 9". To quote from their website, curators of the BFI National Archive have identified a collection of films in desperate need of restoration with nine of Alfred Hitchcock's early silent films being the first to seek rescue through the Support the BFI campaign. Hitchcock's nine surviving silent films are among the most important in British cinema history. But decades of wear and tear have left them in urgent need of restoration.

These films are:

The Pleasure Garden (1925)
The Lodger (1926)
The Ring (1927)
Downhill (1927)
Easy Virtue (1927)
The Farmers Wife (1927)
Champagne (1928)
The Manxman (1929)
Blackmail (1929)

The BFI needs our help to bring these rare films back from the brink of destruction and into the digital age so that future generations can watch and enjoy. As a huge Hitchcock fan myself, I'll definitely be sparing a few pounds. Every little helps, so if you can afford to give a little something, anything, then please do.

Visit the dedicated donation page now and help save Hitchock!

Many thanks,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Monday, 16 August 2010

More from the House of Swell

I'm afraid this is going to be another quickie post, but the good news is I have some pictures to show you. And everyone prefers looking at pictures to reading words, right? Right.

I've been making more new pieces, and I've really been enjoying it. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Don't go chain-ging! This necklace is a beast. It's made from various different vintage chains, adorned with a cheeky vintage faux pearl.


Oh, sailor! This bracelet is made from an old vintage charm, linked on vintage chain and adorned with freshwater pearls.

So what do you think? Feedback is very welcome, as always. The good news is that both of these items will be available to buy through the Swell Vintage shop soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

In other news, there are some exciting things on the horizon for ol' Swell...but more on that soon.

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Monday, 9 August 2010

Making some swell jewellery

I'm afraid this isn't going to be a very long post, but I wanted to show you a little someting.

I haven't made much new jewellery recently. Considering I am a jewellery maker, this might sound a bit strange, but I promise I haven't just been sat around in my pjs watching Poirot...OK, I might have done a little bit of that, but not all the time. Actual promise this time.

In truth, I have been working on my new collection of glasses chains (hopefully coming to the shop in the next couple of months), so jewellery has taken a backseat recently. However, last night I felt inspired for the first time in a little while, so I made this necklace:


So what do you think? Your feedback is so important to me. Sometimes, when I'm locked away in my little room, I worry that no one will like the jewellery I'm making. It's good to know I have lovely friends on the internet that will let me know when I'm doing ok, so please - any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Until next time...

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage