I make jewellery

Sometimes I forget that I make jewellery. Sometimes I forget that it was the reason I started this blog in the first place. Initially, this was going to be the place where I wrote about my designs, charted my progress and showed cheeky behind the scenes photos, but the more I blogged, the more it developed into something broader. In recent years, my blog has become a fashion blog, which is something I had never even considered when building it. Although I am happy for this distinction, I feel that I need to go back to my roots and start doing what I set out to do - make jewellery.

I've been so busy since starting Swell Vintage all those years ago, and for a while other things took priority - my styling work, for example. As much as I enjoy styling, I have decided to return to my first love and give Swell the proverbial kick up the ass she so needs.

To get things started, I'd like to share some new pieces with you! Check 'em out, and please excuse my very amateur photography:

So what do you think? As with all of my jewellery, each piece is made from authentic vintage and antique parts, complimented with pretty shiny things such as freshwater pearls.

All of these pieces will be up for sale on the Swell Vintage website soon, but in the meantime I'd love your feedback! Please be honest with me, I promise it'll be great appreciated.

Until next time!

Much love,

Frankie

Swell Vintage

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Fashion foresight with Stylesight

A little while ago I attended the International Jewellery London (IJL) event with my good friend Nik Thakkar to hear a talk on fashion forecasting. For those of you not in the know (I must confess I knew very little before attending), fashion forecasting is the process by which future trends are predicted so that the fashion houses we all know and love can anticipate the sorts of looks and styles that we consumers will want to buy in the future.

If you're anything like me, you're probably wondering how the hell they do this. How can someone predict what will be possible in the future?! Using witchcraft involving Mystic Meg and her crystal ball, perhaps? Well, it turns out there's a much easier and less satanic way of doing this.

Stylesight is a very clever online service that does all of the hardwork for you. They are constantly researching trends and styles in order to provide concise forecasting and reporting relevant to industry timelines seasons ahead of time. In their own words, "Color Premiere, Megatrends, and Design Developments forecast the upcoming seasons' colour, trend direction, materials, and shapes and silhouettes. Our trend boards provide thorough and insightful analysis of designer collections for each major season, deciphering the core messages by categories such as color, theme and a spectrum of key items from a conglomerate of images."

As a jewellery designer and fashion stylist, this is an incredibly useful tool for me. I found the Stylesight talk at IJL absolutely fascinating, and within 10 minutes of listening I was full briefed on future jewellery trends. In fact, here's a sneaky peak just for you!

(Click on the images to see them nice and big)

If you are serious about working in any kind of fashion design capacity and want to stay ahead of the game, I highly recommend Stylesight. To quote the good folks themselves, they use "state of the art technology is easy to use and makes the tedious work of fashion research simple, immediate and enjoyable". And isn't that what we all want in life - work made fun and easy?!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Ain't there anyone here for love?

(Any excuse for a bit of Jane Russell really!)

What's that I see in the distance? It'sValentine's Day, creeping up on us like a stealthy lioness of love!

What are your thoughts on Valentine's Day? I know it's not for everyone, and that it is popularly believed to have been "created by the greeting card companies" as a way of making even more money. Personally, I quite like Valentine's Day. Even if you don't have a partner when it rolls around, I still think it's a nice excuse to celebrate love - any kind of love - even if it's just for one day. Cheesy? Perhaps. I suppose I'm just a great big softy deep down. Please don't tell anyone, I'd hate to ruin my "tough" street cred...

Queen of Hearts necklace, £50 from Swell Vintage

This year I will actually be working on the day itself, but I'm going to make sure that I take the opportunity to tell everyone I love how much I care about them.

How will you be celebrating Valentine's Day this year?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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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

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Jewellery loving

As a "jewellery maker", it's always nice to observe the work of other people who are far more talented than myself! Earlier this week I was lucky enough to attend an event at EC One, a gorgeous jewellery boutique on Exmouth Market, to celebrate the fine work of Nicholas King and Fiona Paxton.


Apologies for my terrible photos! In my defence, I don't think I could capture the true beauty of their pieces on film anyway...and yes, I'm a terrible suck up. Both Nicholas King and Fiona Paxton have such bold styles, but each brings a totally different flavour to their work.

King's chunky cuffs have been published all over the place, and it's easy to see why! This Diamante Knot Cuff is absolutely huge, and is totally worth the extra weight.

Image courtesy of ECOne.co.uk

My dear friend Fiona of Save Our Shoes even treated herself to these rave-tastic bangles. The lovely lady from EC One assured us they also glow under black light - what more could you want for your wrists?


Fiona Paxton's jewellery evoke a strong glamazon-warrior feel that would make any outfit a show-stopper. Needless to say I was ever so jealous of Dolly, the shop's mannequin for getting to wear one!


Not only was the jewellery gorgeous, but I also had the pleasure to meet long-time Twitter buddy Alex of Alex Loves in the three-dimensional flesh! Meeting Twitter friends can be somewhat daunting at times, but Alex is just as charming and lovely in real life as she is online. If you haven't read her brilliant blog yet, I highly recommend that you do. You will fall in love with the things she loves!

The lovely Alex

In other news, my dear friends at Motorola are currently running a fantastic competition to find the new face for their super cool new phone, the Motorola FLIPOUT™ with MOTOBLUR™ technology! The theme is "Hip to be Square", so if you think you've got the perfect geek-chic style to front their campain, head over to www.motorolasquare.com and upload your photo right now! The public will judge the hippest, squarest and best photographs, and the selected winners will become one of the faces of the very hip and square Motorola FLIPOUT. The photoshoot will be styled by some pretty amazing bloggers (names to be revealed soooon), so it should be a lot of fun.

That's all for now, folks! I have something VERY exciting to tell you soon, so watch this space.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Sweden

I've mentioned Fru & Fröken Kellerman in past blog posts, but I think it's time to go into a bit more detail...

The lovely Fanny of Fru & Fröken Kellerman, a new boutique in the stunning city of Stockholm, got in touch a little while back to ask about selling some of my jewellery. Of course, I jumped over the moon and back at the chance - not just because it's a new stockist, but also because I could tell that Fanny and her talented Mother, who are the brains behind Fru & Fröken Kellerman, share my love and passion for vintage and fashion (hey, that rhymes!).

Fru & Fröken Kellerman is a lifestyle shop that stocks a mix of vintage, vintage-inspired goods and new designs, so I have no doubt that Swell Vintage will fit in perfectly. I've already shown you some of the pieces that will be Sweden-bound soon, but here's my latest one:



The Goddess Locket: a locket necklace made from a vintage brass locket and vintage cameo, hung on vintage faux pearl and brass chain.

So what do you think? Do you like it? I want to make my collection for Fru & Fröken Kellerman really special, so any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated!

If you fancy reading more about Fanny and Fru & Fröken Kellerman, you should pop over to her lovely blog. It's full of lovely things, news and gorgeous fashion!

That's all for now, folks!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell stuff

Happy Bank Holiday Monday, one and all!

Have you had a nice long weekend? Mine has been rather pleasant, as I finally got the time to have a play on my new sewing machine!


This is the beast. It's small, but it's perfect for someone like me who has no real idea what they're doing. I'm really enjoying practicing, and I plan to make some nice little pouches for my jewellery from vintage fabric. I'll be posting some pictures soon!

I also made a couple of new jewellery pieces:

This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, hung with freshwater pearls and vintage chain. I like making fan necklaces. There's something quite regal about them, I think. What do you think? I'd love to know.

She sells sea shells...this necklace is made from a vintage shell, which I've adorned with a freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. This is one of my daintier necklaces, but I quite like its simplicity. What do you think? Do you prefer a bolder necklace, or something more simple and delicate?

I've just about finished my new collection for Trinket in Edinburgh, so now all of my focus will be on finishing up and preparing for the Handm@de fair in Winchester on 5th July. If you happen to be local, it would be ever so lovely to see you!

Wow, this post has been quite boring, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I might go and do more sewing now. Thank you for reading and leaving your lovely comments. They never fail to make my day/life.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell interview!

So, who'd have thought that anyone would want to interview me about Swell Vintage?! But it is so! The lovely lovely Maria from Style Kingdom has posted an interview with me on her blog! If you fancy a read, here's the link: http://stylekingdom.com/

Style Kingdom is a German fashion blog, and (from what I can translate) it's a very good one too! Maria has a real passion for all things fashion, and it shows.

It was really such an honour to be interviewed for Style Kingdom. Thank you so much, Maria! I just hope I haven't come across as a total idiot!

I hope you are all well, and enjoy 2009 so far!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell corsages

The second blog post in two days?! You can tell I have some extra time on my hands!

Happy Boxing day, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying some well deserved time off. I myself decided to be a bit more active than I was yesterday following my turkey-induced coma, and had a go at branching out into something a bit different. Well, for me and Swell Vintage at least!

I cut the sleeves off a dress I bought recently (it looked better this way), and ever since I'd been wanting to do something with them.


So today I sat down with my sewing box, and had a go at turning them into corsages. I used a vintage rhinestone broach on one, and on the other a vintage do-dad I'd picked up somewhere along the way. Et voila! (Sorry, I've been watching a LOT of Poirot these past couple of days...):



Now I haven't actually put a back on either of these, but I'm thinking of putting a simple broach clip on the back of each - but what are your thoughts? Do you have any ideas what I could do with these? Most of the lovely people who read my blog are a lot more talented and creative than I am, so any suggestions are welcome!

Also, to show off, my sister got me a really handy stand for my jewellery for Christmas:


Looks much better than the way I was keeping them before - lying on my printer!

What lovely gifts have you received this year?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell plans

So I've finally decided to set a date for when I'll be selling my jewellery online through the Swell Vintage etsy shop: Saturday 3rd January 2009!

I figured there wasn't any point doing it before Christmas, and this way I have time to build up my stock levels. But don't forget, I'm still selling some lovely vintage items there at the moment, so why not have a browse? http://swellvintage.etsy.com!

Speaking of building up stock levels, I made a few items today. Please see the pictures below. I'd love to know what you think!




This necklace is made from a brilliant vintage broach I found whilst in Edinburgh, linked onto two different vintage chains and pearl. It's pretty bold, and I quite like that.




This bracelet is made with a vintage broach, decorated with faux turquoise, and a really nice thick link vintage chain. I added a chunky faux pearl because...I really like pearl!





I really liked this vintage 'shell', and thought I'd add a pearl (for a change) to keep in with the theme. It is hung on a vintage chain, and I think it's even quite pretty from the back!

So there we go! As I've said time and time again, I'd really like to hear what you think of these. I love getting comments, and every message/piece of feedback/idea is read and deeply absorbed!

In other news, I'm so looking forward to Christmas. Time off my day job = more time to do what I love! Hooray! Do you have any nice Christmas plans? Any nice Christmas jewellery/outfits?

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell bits

FINALLY I've had some time to blog! It's all been a bit crazy recently, but I had the day off today and was able to catch up on my jewellery stuff.

I think I've finally mastered the art of photographing my jewellery. Following a few suggestions from the lovely JuliaEmily, I've realised that daytime photography is the key. Here are a few of my latest pieces:

I love making this style of necklace, and I think this unusual vintage broach really works well with the vintage chain and faux pearl. It does remind me a little of a spider, but not enough to be scary (I hope)!

This necklace is made from part of an antique drawer pull. I've added a vintage faux pearl to lighten it up against the vintage brass chain. It's nice and heavy!

This necklace is made from a vintage do-dad, hung on vintage chain with faux pearls. It's a bit unusual, and but I quite like it!

I've turned this vintage green filigree broach into a sizable bracelet! Linked with vintage brass chain and a vintage clasp, I think it's quite striking.

This vintage brass chain is fixed with a faux pearl clasp. It's nice to keep it simple sometimes!

Also, I'm really excited to now have business cards! Hooray! That ever so talented friend of mine, Mr Mark Pavey, did an amazing job designing them and recommending a printer. I couldn't be happier with the results. Hopefully in the New Year he will be designing me a proper website too!

Front

Back

I'd really like to hear what you think of my photos (as well as what they're of), so if you have any suggestions/ideas/thoughts/stories, please leave me a comment.

Please come back soon! I promise to blog more.

Much love,

Frankie

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Just swell

Hello! This is going to be a quickie, as I'm rather sleepy and have work tomorrow, but I just wanted to write a little something. Apologies for any terrible spelling mistakes or grammatical errors - I'm pretty much ready for bed!

I had my mysterious meeting recently, and it went pretty well, I think. I'm not going to say too much at this stage in case I jinx it, but I will say that I could potentially get some great experience. Fingers crossed for me, please!

Today I made a new necklace. I'm pretty pleased with it, and it's nice to work with silver for a change. I've used this great silver plated chain, so this one's a bit special:



You can't really see the vintage broach I've used very well in that picture, so I've tried to capture it better in this one:


I really am a terrible photographer...

My sister really wants this one for Christmas. What do you think, lovely reader? Shall I be generous?

Also, all of my past pieces are now on their way to Trinket in Edinburgh! It's all very exciting, and I really hope the people of Edinburgh like them. I know that they are holding special Christmas shopping evenings there on 26th and 27th November, so if you're in the area why not pop in? I'd love to know how much jewellery looks there!

I made some big price reductions on my etsy shop today. Please visit Swell Vintage at http://swellvintage.etsy.com and let me know what you think!

Once again, thank you for reading. You are my everything.

Much love,

Frankie

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Swell happenings

Right, so I'm finally ready to tell you all about where my jewellery is going! I didn't want to jinx it by telling people too early on, just in case my collection wasn't up to scratch, but it all seems good to go now! Hooray!

My jewellery is going to be on sale in a shop!!! Not only that, but it's a BEAUTIFUL shop! It's called Trinket, and it's in Edinburgh, Scotland. I've blogged about it before, not because of this, but because I visited the shop when I was on holiday there and genuinely loved it. It's a really gorgeous mix of vintage and contemporary pieces, and has some really unique jewellery and accessories. I spent a small fortune in there when I went! I'm so so excited that I've been given this opportunity, and Jan (the lovely lady who owns Trinket) is been so understanding and helpful. I will be shipping my jewellery off to her over the next week or so, just in time for Christmas. I will miss my pieces terribly, but hopefully they'll be going to a good home!

In other potentially exciting news, I have been given the chance to meet with a very brilliant and very talented jewellery designer. I won't name names at this stage, but even if it's just a meeting, I'm sure it'll be a great experience. Fingers crossed for me, please! I'm really going to have to attempt to contain myself, as I'm a really big fan of his work!

Also, I've had my first Etsy sale - woo! If you have a spare minute, please stop by my shop, Swell Vintage - http://swellvintage.etsy.com. I'm really looking forward to making more jewellery so that I'll be able to sell some online too. I need more free time, please!

So I think I've written more than enough for now! I will leave you with a photo of one of my favourite vintage scarves that is on sale in my etsy shop:



I LOVE the pattern!

Thanks for reading! You are brilliant.

Much love,

Frankie

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Swelling

...riverbanks, that is. What horrible, horrible weather we are having in the UK today! Perfect weather to stay indoors and make jewellery, I think.

Today I made a new necklace, and I'm pretty pleased with it:


I really like this large link chain. I'll definitely be buying some more. Thanks again, etsy! I also made a bracelet, but it didn't show up very well in the photographs I took.

Unfortunately none of these items are going to be for sale in my etsy shop. This is because of the exciting news I wrote about in my last post, and I promise to say more about it soon. Today's clue is: bagpipes. I will, however, still be opening my etsy shop in a week or so, selling primarily vintage bits and bobs. I will eventually be selling my jewellery there.

I'd love to know what you think of what I've done so far! Please leave me a comment with any ideas, suggestions or thoughts that you may have, they are all very welcome.

Thanks for reading my Swell Vintage blog!

Much love

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Swell progress

What a productive day I've had!

First of all, I FINALLY managed to win a cheap and decent mannequin body on ebay:

Apologies for the nipple display! This is going to make getting chain length right SO much easier. I've found it tricky measuring it on myself. I'm still in shock at how much of a bargain it was - £3.15! I can't wait to see what my designs look like on her.

Also, I made 2 new necklaces today. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty pleased with them. I think I've just recently found my 'style' as it were, and I'm really enjoying it. A few people have asked to see photos of what I've done so far, and thanks to the lovely Bianca at Just Be Designs, I've finally managed to take some photos that aren't blurry! Hooray! I'm still trying to figure out the best way to position the items, so these photos are literally my first attempts. I will keep practicing, and fingers crossed that I'll manage to get some great shots for my etsy shop. Please please please let me know what you think! Any feedback will be welcomed!

So, here they are:



This is one of the ones that I made today. It used to be a small broach, which I've now mounted onto a vintage locket base. I've used a rather unusual double-link vintage chain that I think brings out the shine of the jewel in the center quite nicely.







I found this tiny perfume bottle in an antique shop in Edinburgh, and it was originally on a pin. Unfortunately the lid was glued shut a while ago, but I still think it's very pretty. I've linked it on some vintage pearl chain (you'll be seeing a LOT of pearl in my work), then used three stands of thin chain to make it look a little less dainty.







'E' is for Elixir - I was so pleased when I found this gorgeous perfume bottle. I threaded through some large jump rings, and linked it half to vintage pearl chain (see, told you!) and half to some vintage dark chain. I added a large pearl to the other side to create a bit of balance. This is one of my longer necklaces. I think it would be too crowded otherwise.







This is another locket of mine. The broach I've used was actually made to sit on it's side, but I think it looks much better in portrait style on this vintage locket. As you can see, once again I've used some vintage pearl chain to link it, as it matches the tiny pearl in the center. The photo quality isn't great for this one, so I've taken a close-up of the locket itself






That's better. I wore this locket to work as a 'test' last week, and received so many compliments on it! I'm really happy with it, and it makes me want to keep making more! I might have a hard time parting with it if someone were to buy it, but I guess I'll cross that bridge if I ever come to it!



So what do you think? Honest opinions please. I'm still very new to this, and am always looking to improve. I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a comment or send me an email with any ideas/thoughts/suggestions that you might have!

In other news, I can't believe it's nearly Monday already! I don't want to go back to work tomorrow, I want to play with shiny things!

Much love,

Frankie

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