Dorallama!

The Dora necklace has just been posted to the shop along with seven other pieces. This lariat imposter looks like the real thing, but there is a spring ring clasp in the back because the center stone does not fit through the twisted hoop. This means the piece will not accidentally fall off!


The pink tourmaline has a peachy-pink colour and looks like a juicy teardrop. Rounding out the stones are a solitary morganite next to the twisted hoop and white topazes connected to the clasp.


This necklace has a silly story behind the name: I was speaking in accents and joked about various prices. "Dollar" somehow turned into "Dora" and that's how this name was born!

Trio of beauties

Three of the most recent additions to the shop have interesting names: Circe was named after the goddess that Homer's Odysseus spent a year with on his fabulous journey; Damietta was named after the Egyptian port city where the Nile meets the Mediterranean Sea; and Sarinda was named after an Indian stringed instrument I fell in love with at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The last one features a large pink tourmaline in the centre of a shiny sterling silver frame, while a large citrine, lemon quartzes, and mystic pink quartzes dangle below with crystal quartzes:

Things are a-happening...

What's this? A preview? Yes! Twelve items are being prepped for the shop and these earrings are one of them. They are called Rollande and the name came from an oil-on-canvas painting I saw at the National Gallery of Canada in December. Here's a look at the smoky quartz and pearl combo:

Louka, not Leah

Three fabulous pairs of earrings have just been added to the shop including the Louka, pictured below. The large smoky quartzes are from my recent trip to Ottawa and I love the raw look of the graduated colours. Before deciding on the name Louka, I also toyed with Leah and I swear the options had nothing to do with Luke and Leia from Star Wars.

Earrings in development

Since the last post, I have attended another bead sale and picked up a ton of beads: some green tourmaline (new to my stock), melanite (also new to my stock and super duper shiny), andalusite (one of my all time favourites), blue topaz (hands down the jaw dropper of the bunch), several strands of labradorite, lemon quartz, and more! I am incredibly excited about the new items and they should start showing up when I post new pieces to the shop.

There are currently three pairs of earrings in the works and the first pair to be completed will be short and delicate. Named Portia, they will have only white materials - moonstone, pearl, and white topaz. Then there are the Lalani earrings, which are grander and more intricate. These were inspired by something I saw on the show Spartacus: Blood and Sand, but the design ended up completely different from what Lucy Lawless' character was wearing. The main stones will be smoky quartz, garnet, and amethyst. Lastly, there is another pair of earrings that are just itching to be made and they will also be chandeliers like the Lalani. The Yara earrings will incorporate one of the sterling silver findings pictured in my previous post and the stones will be mystic blue topaz, prehnite, peridot, and pyrite. The colours remind me of water, which is perfect because the name means "water lady" to the Tupi people in Brazil.

What's in a name?

Over the years, I have been asked many times where the names of my creations come from. And the answer, I always say, is everywhere! Sometimes I name things after people in my life or those who custom ordered the piece, other times it is celebrities or something from the entertainment world. Recently I named three pairs of earrings after Olympians, but most often, I am completely stumped as to what name to choose. When that happens, I will visit baby name websites for ideas. Ultimately, I like to choose names that fit the personality of the piece. I have compiled a list of all the names I have ever used for my jewellery and here are a few tidbits about names that were inspired by popular culture:

Carice: I watched the movie The Black Book as I made the necklace and the protagonist was played by Dutch actress Carice van Houten.

Romilda: These black hypersthene earrings were named after Romilda Vane from the Harry Potter universe because I always pictured her with straight black hair.

Margaux: The prestigious winery Château Margaux was the inspiration behind the name because the earrings' garnets were wine coloured and the cluster style looked like grapes.

Lydia: The purples and blacks in these earrings reminded me of the girl from the Beetlejuice cartoons.

Fiametta: I had just finished reading In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant, and that was the name of the title character. Also, the pale blue calcites in the earrings perfectly complemented the colours of the book cover.

First Olympic gold and customization

The last of the Olympian earrings is the Maelle, named after the first female Canadian to win a gold medal on home soil. There are magnificent giant citrines, matching golden tourmalines, mystic pink quartzes, and lemon quartzes:


One of my coworkers loved the cheery colours but wanted something shorter so I substituted citrine coins from the Salome earrings for the large briolettes. We also agreed to use one golden tourmaline and one hessonite per earring to liven things up and here are the resulting Kathleen earrings:

Another Olympian

Here are the lovely Tessa earrings I mentioned in my previous post. They are named after Tessa Virtue, the Canadian ice dancer who partners with Scott Moir. The earrings have a combination of blues, greens, and whites, just like the colours of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and are anchored by beautiful tropical blue apatites.

Three Olympians

The 2010 Winter Olympics are over (though the Paralympic Games are still ongoing), and I have three unique souvenirs. Three of my pieces have been named after Canadian gold medallists: Charlie (Charles Hamelin), Maelle (Maelle Ricker), and Tessa (Tessa Virtue). Here is the Charlie:

Olympic break

This past weekend was spent watching speedskating, curling, and of course hockey, and in between those sports I also managed to squeeze in Terminator Salvation, An Education, and Inglourious Basterds. Don't ask me how, I just did. I also named three pairs of earrings after Canadian Olympians. Which gold medallists were they named after? Stay tuned to find out!

EotW: Demelza

The new Earrings of the Week are the delicate Demelza earrings. Named after a character from the Harry Potter books (just like the Romilda), they feature tiny smoky quartzes and olive tourmalines above unusual kite-shaped beer quartzes:


In other news, the craft fair props and supplies are almost all packed away, which means it is time to refocus on the shop. I am working on two custom modifications and will be posting the Carissa, Jen, and Ulla soon.

Don't forget the free shipping deal during Celebration Week expires after tomorrow! The deal applies to shipping to anywhere in the world whether it is to Calgary or Stone Town.

Mary Mary quite unordinary

Seven new items have been posted to the shop at aileen.etsy.com including the previously mentioned Esme and Shandra. One of the new pieces is the Mary, although its work-in-progress name was initially Eliza and then Sybilla. It has unusual amethyst octagons plus clusters of pretty pink topazes and mauve pearls:

Icicle jewellery

A selection of earrings, plus a necklace and a bracelet, have been added to the shop just this afternoon. These are the Isis earrings, which were inspired by icicles.

Vanessa is Lenya

The name Lenya has been rolling around my brain for the last two days and I have decided the earrings I had temporarily named Vanessa will actually be called Lenya now. I'm not sure where the name came from, but it sounds a lot like Enya and is the actual lastname of Lotte Lenya, the woman who played SMERSH operative Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love.