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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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

Swell saints

Hello again!

So it's Monday...two days until the teeth come out. To be honest, I wasn't that worried at all until I started reading the literature the hospital sent me. My favourite part?

Specific complications of this operation

• Dry socket - bit gross, but nevermind...
• Retained root - no biggie...
• Damage to nearby teeth - hmmm...
• Sinus problems - fine...
• Broken jaw - ...sorry, what?!

Broken jaw! COME ON! Don't tell me stuff like that! I know they over-inform you so you can't sue anyone if it goes horribly wrong, but can't they be a bit more vague and fluffy? There's a lot to be said for the blissful ignorance of fluff...

ANYWAY, enough tooth talk - I made a new piece this weekend:

Hail, Mary. This necklace is part of my "Guide to Recognising your Saints" collection. This necklace is made from a vintage pendant, hung on vintage chain and adorned with vintage faux pearl.

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you have any advice for staying in hospital, that would be great. I've never done it before, and I need all the help I can get!

I probably won't be around for a little while, but I promise I'll be back as soon as the Swelling (pun intended) has calmed down.

See you on the other side!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell days

Hello there, lovely readers of blog!

How have you been? Things have continued to be pretty busy for me, but the good news is I've actually managed to be more productive recently. I even made two new pieces last night, which was a lot of fun. I'll get some pictures on here soon, as I always love hearing what you all think of them.

The main reason for this blog post is to talk about an interview I did recently for the wonderful Queens of Vintage. I had the very (very very very) great pleasure of interviewing the devestatingly handsome Joseph Gordon-Levitt, star of the brilliant new film 500 Days of Summer!


I was always a big fan of Third Rock from the Sun and I loved Brick, but I had no idea just how well he'd grown up! The interview was a lot of fun and he was a joy to talk to. It's a miracle I managed to get through the whole thing without visibly dribbling or begging him to marry me out of pity.

If you'd like to read the interview, you can! It is now live at QueensofVintage.com. Click here to check it out!


So what do you think? This is my first proper big celebrity interview, so any feedback or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated - I want to learn!

500 Days of Summer is out tomorrow (2nd September), and I highly recommend it. It's definitely my favourite film of 2009 so far, and I defy anyone to see it and not fall in love with it. That's right - DEFY.

That's all for now! Enjoy the rest of your week and have lots of fun, ok?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell start

Hello again, my dear friends.

How have you been? I hope you've had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Today for the first time in bloody ages, I have had the chance to make some new pieces. As mentioned in previous posts, I am going to be exhibiting at Handm@de Winchester on 5th July, so am starting to build up my stock. I've used some of my Brighton finds - what do you think?


Emerald city joy! This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, adorned with freshwater pearls and hung on vintage chain with a bit of asymmetry thrown in for good measure.



The weirdest looking ID bracelet of all time? Probably. I found this vintage ID bracelet and adorned with a vintage brooch to make it more feminine. I think it has a rather steampunk feel to it, but I quite like that.


I think perhaps I've been watching too much of The Tudors (I really love that show), but I think this necklace has a real Catherine of Aragon feel to it. It is made from a vintage broach, adorned with a freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. Definitely a statement piece!

So what are your thoughts? As always, I welcome any feedback that you may have for me. I won't be adding any new pieces to my etsy shop for a little while, but if you see anything you'd particularly like here, please feel free to email me at frankie@swell-vintage.com.

Thank you, again, for reading. You are my world.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell times

Hello there!

How was your weekend? Mine has been nice and chilled - I saw Slumdog Millionaire (WOW, by the way!) and also made a couple of new pieces!



Times, they are a chain-ging! This necklace is a beast - made from a vintage pocket watching, hung on vintage dark brass and faux pearl chain. Unfortunately the pocket watch no longer works, but it's so bold and beautiful that it doesn't need to be practical!




A diamond era! This bracelet has a real 60s feel to it. It's made from a vintage broach, hung on vintage brass chain - a real statement piece.

So what are your thoughts? As always, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Both of these pieces are available at my Swell Vintage etsy shop, so pop over and have a browse if you fancy it - http://swellvintage.etsy.com.

I'm ever so excited for the Dress Up IFB party for London Fashion Week tomorrow! I know that the lovely Mademoiselle Robot has been working super hard, so needless to say it's going to be an amazing night. If you're there, please come and say hi to me! I can't wait to meet my fellow fashion lovers!

Have a lovely week, one and all!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Sunday

Hello again!

Blogging twice in the space of one weekend - wowee!

So I've had a very productive day. Not only did I measure all of my pieces on sale at http://swellvintage.etsy.com following a popular demand, but I also made a few new ones!


Locked up in pearl! This is a locket made from a vintage base locket, adorned with a repurposed vintage pendant and freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. I really like working with real pearl, so expect to see more of that in the future!



This is one classy cat - not balls of yarn, but shiny pearls to play with! This necklace is made from a vintage 'leopard' broach, hung on vintage silver tone and faux pearl chain. It's a real statement piece!



The perfumery. This necklace is made from a vintage sterling silver perfume bottle, hung on various vintage chains and adorned with two vintage faux pearls. You could use it to store perfume or even a sneaky shot of something!


Wilma only wishes Fred would buy her a necklace like this! This is definitely my boldest piece so far - made with vintage faux silver pearl chain, it's a real beast. Think you could handle it?



Ruby-red ribbons! This bracelet is made from a vintage broach (kindly donated by the lovely Miss Amy at the Wonderland Boutique), linked with vintage chain. I took out one of the stones and replaced it with a freshwater pearl to give it a little something extra. It's a magpie's dream!

So as always, I've love to know what you think! I really value all comments and feedback, so please don't be shy. I'm always looking to improve. And if you'd like to see more, visit the Swell Vintage etsy shop at http://swellvintage.etsy.com.

I'm very sad Sunday is almost over. I hope you've all had a lovely weekend, and that the week ahead is pretty good too!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell times

Hello there!

It's been a while, hasn't it! How are you? I'm good thanks, finally feeling like I'm getting back on top of things. I've been a bit slack recently. Tut tut.

SO - what's been going on? Well, since finishing my Poirot DVD box set (best 11 days of my life), I've actually left the house a fair bit, which is pretty unusual for me.

I was accepted onto a 'Creative Industries' programme, an initiative run by Flying Start and the NCGE. They invited 33 students and recent graduates who wish to pursue freelance or business activity in any art and design related concept to Bournemouth for three-days of workshops and mentoring. It was a very intensive three-days in a hotel by the sea, but totally worth it, as I've learnt a lot. Hopefully I now have the knowledge necessary to take my jewellery stuff a bit further! Not only that, but they paid for EVERYTHING - the hotel, all of our food, the tutoring...if you're a UK student/graduate, I highly recommend you have a look at the Flying Start website.

Not only did I learn a lot, but I also met some very lovely, supportive and talented people! Hopefully I will have a chance to work with some of them in the future, as they all have something so individual and brilliant to offer. I'll let you know!

Due to my travels and general exhaustion, I've been a bit rubbish about making new stuff, but I finally managed a few new pieces today. Here are a couple:



Pure fan-tasy! See what I did there? This necklace is made from a very ornate vintage broach, hung on vintage brass chain and adorned with a vintage pearl. I debated adding more to this, but I think the fan itself is a fan-tastic centre piece. And an excuse for terrible, terrible puns.



The water of life! I am a non-drinker, but in my youth gin was my tipple of choice. This necklace is made from a vintage 'gin' decanter label, hung on vintage chain and adorned with vintage faux pearls. An ideal choice of any fan of gin, or if it happens to be your name!

Both of these necklaces are for sale on my etsy shop, http://swellvintage.etsy.com, along with many of my other designs. If you get bored, why not stop by and have a browse? Also, as always I welcome your feedback, please! It was recently suggested to me by Jody of Couture Allure that I should post measurements of my necklaces, and I think that's a great idea! I'll be doing that this very week.

Thank you for reading. You are rather lovely.

Where did the weekend go?!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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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 antiques

I've been a rather busy bee recently, but today I finally had some time to make some new pieces. Three, to be precise. Want to see?

...I'm going to assume that you were thinking 'yes'. Here they are:

This piece is made from an antique drawer pull! I've used a mix of vintage pearl and darker chain to soften it up and make it a bit more wearable. I quite like it!


I've let the vintage brooch in the center do the talking on for this one. I've used some dark embellished vintage chain to add to the gothic feel with a single pearl because...I like pearl! Also green is my favourite colour.

I apologise in advance for the appalling blurriness of this photo:


Made from a HUGE antique drawer pull, this is easily one of the boldest pieces I've ever made. I've tried to lighten it up with pearl and some light large-link chain. It would definitely take a brave person to wear this one!

So, what do you think? Please feel free to email or comment me with feedback, good or bad. It's the only way I'll learn!

I realise that I've mainly shown my necklaces in this blog, but there is more to my work than just that. My next post will be ENTIRELY bracelet based, so please come back and have a looky.

It makes me very happy when people read my blog, so thank you very much for reading.

Much love,

Frankie

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