Natural accessories-birds of paradise at the Australian museum

see-it's innate to want to big it up

At the request of my four year old, we went to visit the dinosaurs at the museum yesterday. The dinosaurs had to wait a little longer though, as I found an exhibition combining two of my favourite things- New Guinea exotica and birds of paradise.

Marc Newson on Design Excellence, Sydney

I was lucky enough to be invited to Sydney Town Hall last night, to hear designer Marc Newson talk at the Design Excellence Forum.

In Clover Moore's opening remarks, she made it clear that the City of Sydney council values creativity, and that good design is not something to be tacked on at the end of a process. Using the example of the Surry Hills library, she said good design can be truly inspirational and a source of delight. I can vouch for that, having spent many hours there with my little girls.

Marc Newson said that design is a young industry, not yet embraced by cities in a holistic way.

A 'young' city like Sydney can champion design, which is a truly international new industry that suits a young, fresh mentality.

He said that even as a child, he always wanted to create things, but he was able to start to a large extent because he was in Australia. Without the heavy tradition of a craft/design culture, he was forced to explore the technologies for himself, and invent new ways of doing things.

Today it didn't feel like winter in Surry Hills

 I have a great DSLR Canon camera (550D, AKA Rebel II), but it weighs a ton with the lens I have, so I only have it with me when I know I'll need it. Problem is, you never know when those magic moments will turn up, so I treated myself to a new camera-one to keep in my overfull bag .
As it happened, it was a gorgeous day to stay at home with the children, so like a classic mum, I took lots of photos of my girls.

 Leda (4) is quite comfortable in front of a camera, but Phoebe(just turned 2) is just a little blur in the background most of the time. And she won't let me take her to a hairdresser, so she has a bogan mullet that fits right into Surry Hills street fashion, but I don't need to document it.

Formatting in Blogger makes me swear. I'll just look at these and take deep breaths

The camera is a Fuji X100 (for any camera buffs), and I have to say it's wonderful. Good lens! Light!! Ross can tell you, my bag weighs at least 6+ kg on a normal day (not that I get him carry it, but if a baby's crying, or I'm juggling a drink and a camera in heels, he can tell you just what a pain all my designer/mum/business stuff is to carry  ;-)

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Mugabe pushes to smash sanctions on blood diamonds

Infamous Damien Hirst Platinum and diamond skull

This story in the Sydney Morning Herald today yet again highlights the need for greater awareness of the ethical sourcing of gems.
In a stance that threatens the future of the entire Kimberley Process, African despot Mugabe has made it clear that sanctions are ineffective against him when diamonds can easily be smuggled into India for resale.

The Herald states" By carat weight, half the cut diamonds imported into Australia come from India; more than 125,236 carats worth $155 million, according to the Bureau of Statistics."
I would have actually put the Indian cut diamond total as much higher, but maybe these figures are conservative. Either way, without evidence that diamonds are not from either Africa or (cut in) India, you run a risk of not knowing that your gem purchase has not funded wars.

The Herald ran a story on the same subject a few weeks ago, which I also blogged, because it's so important for Australians to be aware of.  Read the article, and please share with your social networks to get the word out, so that at least we are not making things so easy for this evil dictator.
As I have stated before, this is why I only work with Russian mined and cut diamonds. The supply chain is much more transparent, the working conditions all along are much better, and the quality of the cutting is much higher too- which means your good karma is coming back to you :-)
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Window shopping on the way to work

As mentioned in the invisible ink post last week , I have a soft spot for fluorescent colours . This bright and happy window display for Hub furniture caught my eye on the walk through Surry Hills this morning.  Loved the little campfire lamp enough to look up the makers.

 Hadn't heard of Skitsch before, but they are Italian designers who have obviously have fun with colour.

Blue ghost drawings in invisible ink for secret diamond sparkles

 Invisible and luminous inks don't really have a lot of practical use for my line of work, but that doesn't stop their siren call. Who isn't intrigued by the idea of secret notes and hidden messages?
The top ink is Noodler's Blue Ghost, a completely clear ink that shows as luminous blue under blue light. It is completely waterproof, so can be used under further drawings.

The firefly is a yellow-green that luminesces under uv light- a colour I've always had a strange attraction to . As soon as they arrived in the post, I went over whatever drawings I could find,  and added secret highlights and notes, for absolutely no reason at all other than the irresistible mystique of Invisible Ink.

Winter in japan

This cold weather is reminding me of our last trip to Japan, so I looked up my photos as a reminder.

the little bundle on Ross's shoulder is our little baby-who was mobbed by friendly Japanese wherever we went

We stayed a few days in an onsen in the mountains- a traditional Japanese hostel built around natural water hot springs.

We were given warm kimono like wraps to wear for our stay .The food was beautifully delicate and subtle. I  remember at least a dozen small courses, always served in our room, on a table covered to the floor in thick blankets. A small heater was placed underneath, for us to kneel near.

With recent tragic events, Japan has been in my thoughts the last few weeks. I look forward to revisiting when our girls are slightly older, and can appreciate its wonders with us.

My last collection had a wintery feel, which, even though it was a Russian theme, was partly influenced by this stay-now I look back on it. Diamonds have an icy crystalline appearance that put me in mind of  pure and timeless fairytale settings. There really is something otherworldly about snow and ice. Add a hot spring, and it does indeed seem like an enchanted forest.


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The seven year itch- keeping the husband, upgrading the bling

I've decided it's time to remake my engagement ring.
After seven years I've refined the design of the setting so much  that I've realised I've outgrown it.  I've started some sketches and some theme notes, and I hope to get time to begin work on it at the end of the week.
 I'm really looking forward to it - adding a platinum frame to an already sizeable diamond is going to result in a big ring, but I can handle it ;-)

I remodel existing rings quite often, but I think sometimes women hesitate to reset the original piece, as it symbolises so much. I understand that completely, but the ring is just that- a symbol, and sometimes they need refreshing.


 Obviously,it's a deeply personal thing. Your engagement ring is a treasured possession, and many women would rightly keep them unchanged their whole life. Just don't feel that you are stuck with a setting you might have outgrown, or a gold colour that no longer suits your skin tone as well as it did. 

 Many couples bought their rings as students, or didn't have much money left after the wedding expenses, so it makes sense to reassess significant jewels (or what should be significant jewels), as time passes. For the price of a luxury handbag, it is possible to have a completely new look, by using the gold, and resetting the gems.

It's the only material possession we have that we wear every single day of our lives, so it's worth getting right.

The finished design was based on this outline

Update- you can see the finished piece here

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Kate Middleton's sapphire and diamond ring inspired me..

My own take on Kate Middleton's engagement ring

Inspired by the recent joyful marriage of Kate Middleton(now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) and Prince William , I wanted to make an 'homage' by creating something unique (not a copy) and spectacular using one of my favourite gems- blue sapphire.

I've spent the last couple of weeks working on this hand engraved and milligrained 18ct rose gold and platinum ring. It features a  2.13ct Oval Blue Ceylonese Sapphire and .73ct  white diamonds.

Sapphire is a great choice for an engagement ring- it is hard, so can withstand daily wear, and if the quality is very high, sapphires have an almost velvety blue colour that draws you in. If the sapphire is really exceptional-like this one, you also catch electric blue flashes as it moves. 

Diamond engagement ring in Australia's Bride to be magazine

 

Recent editorial featuring our 18ct Rose and White gold diamond set Tatiana ring $3880

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ouch-five iPhones and two iPads later..

There are already reports of the iPad's imminent demise, but I wasn't ready for it yet. Good excuse for an upgrade to the iPad 2 though (I wan't at all interested till Ross lent me his, but the iPad has turned out to be indispensable).

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Pendolino's sister restaurant La Rosa opens in The Strand Arcade, Sydney

Super chef Nino Zoccali, the restaurateur behind acclaimed Italian Pendolino , opened his new venture La Rosa in Sydney's Strand Arcade last night. A more casual venue, La Rosa is specialising as an upmarket pizza and wine bar. Huge crowd at the opening, so I didn't get a shot of any pizzas- they didn't last long enough. As it was, I had to lean over the kitchen bar to get a shot of the antipasto .  Looks like staff lunches at VBJ might get a little longer this month..

antipasto obviously features strongly on the menu too

Designing tools- fountain pens, notebooks and time to focus

To do list, Ideas book, and design sketchbook with Lamy, Twisbi, Falcon and Namiki fountain pens

I love to work with good pens because they inspire me to slow down (not my natural speed) and encourage me to write neatly(and in pretty colours).
This then usually leads to little sketches and flourishes in my daily to do lists, which then quite often lead to actual designs.
I work with such a great team now in the sydney store, that I'm able to take a deep breath at the start of my day, and take my time listing all the things I need to focus on. Daniel Brush, an American jeweller whose work I admire spends the first hours of his working day sweeping his studio.  I do enough of that at home, so we still knock that over in five minutes here, but I do like to take my time on paper .

Current notebook favourites-Paperways, Rollbahn, Moleskine Reporter notebook

Extra fine Namiki nib (centre) allows me to work the tiny way I like

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