Blanc d'ivoire

Something I have had in mind for a while was to make a version of my "Macadam" necklace all in white... First, because I love all-white accessories, especially in summer, and second, because I fell in love with these off-white wool felt balls : )

Now, the question was to find what combination of white beads could work with my off-white felt balls... I thought about it, looked around, tried a few combinations and finally decided to work with... porcelain!


So, let me introduce you to my "Blanc d'ivoire" collection : wool felt balls, porcelain and magnesite beads for the necklace and wool felt balls, magnesite and sterling silver for the earrings... I am thinking of making a matching bracelet but I am concerned the white wool felt balls might get dirty if worn on the wrist...


(that's me modelling my "Blanc d'ivoire" necklace and showing off my super cool All Saints Spitafields bleached zebra shirt! Note to myself : next time, wear a touch of make-up before taking pictures...)

Il m'aime un peu, beaucoup....

If there's a flower that really epitomizes summer for me, it's the daisy or la marguerite as we say in French....

This white and yellow flower is like a drop of sunshine in the garden, bright, warm, happy... and romantic : "il m'aime un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, à la folie... pas du tout!" (Yes, in French, it's a bit more complex than the English "he loves me, he loves me not"...)

So, here's to my favorite summer flower :

"Marguerite" , earrings composed of mother of pearl, copper, teal blue Czech glass and topaz Swarovski crystals


PS : he loves me, of course!....

Voilà l'été!

Ok, ok, it finally did stop raining a couple of weeks ago - actually, just on the Spring Fab Fair weekend and consequently, all of Vancouver was on the beach, not at the Fab Fair!... and then, things went fast : end of the school year, school fair, school shows, gifts for the teachers and suddenly, that was it, the summer holidays!!!

So, it's official, summer is here... kind of... still not that warm and sunny in Vancouver... but it's ok, at least it stopped raining!


But, just in case, I thought that it would be nice to add a bit of sunshine to our uncertain summer, so here's my contribution : "Au soleil", a bracelet composed of 20mm magnesite oval beads (sometimes known as “white turquoise”), light topaz Swarovski crystals and red branch coral nuggets. The sun rays come from a precious 15mm golden bead made of Venetian glass. This style of Venetian glass is called “Klimt” and you can see here a few pieces I had already done with these wonderful beads.

And this is the matching necklace, "Renaissance", with a lovely red cinnabar carved cherry blossom blooming among the white magnesite...

Now, put your sunglasses and your flip-flops on and enjoy the sun : )

Pompon-mania!

I've always liked things that dangle and move with the wind, like kites with long tails, wind chimes, flags, banners, lanterns... I've always liked long earrings too, and scarves, and fringes and tassels (or pompons as we call them in French..) that seem to dance with your every step...

So you can imagine how happy I was when, one day, a friend of mine gave me a bag full of colorful tassels he had brought back from Morrocco for me! A bag full of pompons... How exciting! So I put a little pompon here, a little pompon there... and then, I forgot about my bag of pompons...

...until I started making these new pieces with turquoise and branch coral and a Japanese tensha bead with pink cherry blossoms... suddenly, I remembered my pompons and it was obvious that I needed to add pompons to my "Folklore" collection! Aren't these pretty?

Mmmm, I can predict more pompons to come in the near future......

And just because, I'll leave you with this gorgeous picture of a Odd Molly shirt from the new Spring/Summer collection... Oh, how much I love this Swedish brand, where every piece of clothing is embroidered, crocheted, adorned with fringes and tassels and ribbons and lace and.... I love it : )

Olala part en vacances!

No, this is not me!..... (I wish...)

These are pictures I found on Kenzo's website today while I was browsing and dreaming about all the beautiful shops I'd love to visit when I'm in Paris this month... Yes! I'm going away for a few weeks : my husband has always wanted to take all of us to Croatia, where his family is from, so we're going this year! And... as I'll be soooo close to France and my family, I'll take off on my own for a few days at the end of the trip to go see my papa and my maman in Paris : )

Oh, I can hardly wait.....

Trois couleurs : rouge...

And now, here's the last part of my trilogy of summer colors with red.

"Sur la route de Kalamata" (the roads to Kalamata) necklace


Despite of the controversy about the use of coral in jewelry, I love to work with sponge coral (which is not endangered). I personally like the organic feel and orangey red color of this material that can be combined with so many different other colors.

Here is one of my favorite pieces from this summer, "Sur la route de Kalamata", a necklace that combines sponge coral beads, ceramic beads in blue and red, and dark chocolate tiger ebony wood with touches of brass and Swarovski crystals. Even though I’ve never been to Kalamata, the inspiration for this necklace was definitely Greece!



And "Guirlande de corail" (coral garland), a very feminine necklace that features a garland of honey jade carved flowers, combined with red sponge coral rectangle beads and topaz Swarovski crystals.


Enjoy the summer holidays in Bleu, Blanc, Rouge : )

Trois couleurs : blanc...

Second part of my trilogy of summer colors, here's white : I came across these amazing ice flake crystal quartz nuggets a couple of months ago and I immediately fell in love with these! This stone looks like ice or snow, I don't know, but it is absolutely unique. I combined this crystal quartz with faceted rock crystal, white rabbit jade, AB translucent Swarovski crystals and some carved silver beads to obtain a pure, all-white effect.

My "cristalline" collection is perfect for the summer, paired with white linen clothes and... a margarita in hand ; )

Trois couleurs : Bleu...

It may be because I grew up not too far away from the Mediterranean sea but if I had to choose two materials that would epitomize summer, it would definitely be silver and lapis lazuli...

These pieces are called "Ciels d'azur" (azure skies) and they are composed of lapis lazuli, natural aquamarine (for the necklace) and gorgeous silver and enamel cloisonne flowers that emphasize the dark color of the lapis lazuli beads.

Tiny silver Czech glass beads punctuate the dark blue lapis lazuli and accentuate the golden glow of the pyrite dust present in the gemstone.

I'm busy!

Two big shows in the same month is a lot of work! I didn't realize that when I said "yes!" to the Greek Festival that is taking place this Sunday (June 27th) in Vancouver, hardly 3 weeks after the two-day Fab Fair... I'm a bit freaked out because the organizers of the Festival are expecting 90,000 visitors during the day!!! Is it possible? That sounds like a lot... I will never have enough jewelry, I should make moooooore..... Au secours!!!

Greek Day, Sunday June 27th, West Broadway Street (@McDonald) in Vancouver, from 11.00am to 9.00pm.

Multicolor

The Spring Fab Fair? It went well, very well, thank you! I had a good time, I met lots of nice people, saw some friends, couldn't resist to buy a few things (look at this beauties by Eikcam) and I had a very emotional moment the first time I used my new Visa card machine and saw the little "Olala design" receipt coming out : )

Now, I am preparing for another fair that will take place next Sunday (June 27th) in Vancouver. Here's the info if you live in the area. I am working on summery items using different shades of blue (turquoise, aquamarine, lapis), white (rock crystals, freshwater pearls, mother of pearl) and some fresh greens, pinks and purples like in these quartz nuggets bracelets :

"Weekend napolitain", a bracelet made of multicolor quartz nuggets, one golden Venetian bead, 2 lepidolite beads and light peach Swarovski crystals.

A very summery version of "Fleurs des bois".

One of my personal favorite color combination for "Frou-frou de fleurs".

Now, let's hope for summer to finally come, it's been so grey and chilly lately... Brrrr...

Bientôt l'été!

I almost fell off my chair this morning when I saw the date on my computer : June 1st... June 1st?... It means that the Spring Fab Fair is at the end of this week, summer is just to follow (we NEED sunshine here... badly!) and school is going to be finished soon... so the kids are going to be on holidays... so it's going to be chaos here every day...

After a few minutes of total panic and a cup of strong tea, I decided that everything was fine and I "regrouped " (as hockey players say on TV... yes, I am becoming more and more Canadian!) while taking a few pictures of my newest creations, some long and funky necklaces called "Guirlandes estivales" (summer garlands).



I must say that I am really excited to present these necklaces at the Fair this weekend because I think that they absolutely ROCK! I love the cheerfulness of the bright jade flowers, the warmth of the wood beads, the elegance of the Swarovski crystals, the softness of the silk string around the neck and the whimsicality of the little charms : )



And if I don't sell them this weekend, it's ok, I'll wear them all at the same time this summer and I'll look super cool : )

Summer mood...

Last Sunday, I hosted my annual "Mother's Day Tea and Jewelry Party" at my house.

This year again, it was very pleasant to receive some friends and some Olala fans, being able to chat with everyone while drinking tea and trying on jewelry : )
Unfortunately, I was so busy being a good host that I totally forgot to take pictures...

I was also happy to see that some of my Summer 2010 creations were well received and I got some enthusiastic "ooohs" and "aaahs" with these pieces :

"Chant du désert", a necklace featuring a beautiful 45mm turquoise donut pendant that has the shape of a flower, honey bayong oval beads spaced with topaz Swarovski crystals, and two turquoise oval beads embellished with copper filigree caps.


I made a "Chant du désert" matching bracelet and also some earrings with honey bayong oval beads, turquoise and topaz Swarovski crystals...


I am personally very fond of these pieces because I love the warm tones of the wood and the bright color of the stones... It's so summery!