PILL Jewelry

When I first saw the beautiful jewelry made by Jo I was transported to an old, mystical place... She calls her brand PILL Jewelry - made from sweet fairytales and dark dreams, and her - all handmade - pieces combines an nice mixture of old strange photos, bugs and other obscure things. Here are a few of the pieces you find in her web shop, but she also makes custom made things if you crave something special!

The Green Beetle Brooch

The Death Head Moth Necklace

Lily Of The Valley Earrings

Peony Collar Brooch

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Secret Love Locket Necklace

Ribs Earring

Dark Antlers and Moonstone Necklace

The Full Moon Bangle

The Wicca Moon Three Piece Ring

I met Jo at Burleskloppis (The Burlesque Flea Market) a few weeks ago, and there I bought this Big X-Ray Bat Necklace from her. I love bats so wearing an actual x-ray of this fantastic creature around my neck feels great! There are many, many more wonderful pieces in Jo's web shop, so go ahead and visit her place of wonder - you find it here!

Fabergé Friday

I just realized I haven't shown you any of Fabergé's flower creations yet! He made many of these, and thought it fitting to start with my favorite flower - Lily of the Valley - made around the year 1899!

The delicate bell-shaped flowers are made of pearls, edged with tiny rose diamonds. They are attached to stems of gold, on which also sits a pair of Siberian nephrite leaves. The whole creation rests in a vase made out of rock crystal, carved to resemble a water-filled glass vase.

The Lily of the Valley was also the favorite flower of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. She used to import these flowers from the south of France, which were kept on ice during the long train ride to Russia. After buying this one from Fabergé though, she had one that never faded...

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Grandma

As you might already know, my beloved grandma - Birgit - passed away on July 4th this year. In November she was going to turn 96, so even though it's incredibly sad she's gone, I'm just grateful we got to have her in our lives for as long as we did.

Grandma was always very stylish, and she loved to see me wear clothes from the 40s and 50s. Every time she visited us, I had to show her what I was wearing before leaving the house, and seeing my dresses she remembered things she had worn herself back in the days when the vintage clothes I treasure so much today, were actually created. So for her funeral I didn't want to wear the usual black. Instead I chose a pretty 50s dress I know she loved, paired with vintage transparent gloves...

...and a 50s half-hat made of fabric Lilies of the Valley - both her and my favorite flower!

Except from a shared interest in old, beautiful clothes, me and granny also shared the love of dancing 

and being on stage. Here she's performing an act called Jitterbug together with a man named Jeddy, but called Gäddan (The Pike Fish) at a cabaret in Norrtälje, in 1946.

A few years ago my mother got a tattoo of her mom done on her upper arm. Granny thought this was a bit silly, but I know she really liked it too. Haha! Except for being one of the strongest women I have ever met - one of her many sayings was: "If it doesn't work, it works anyway" - she she was also one of the funnest, wittiest persons I have ever known. Her tongue could be very sharp sometimes, and she always found a clever response when someone said something stupid to her. Like for example: grandma was very tall and statuesque, something that women shouldn't be back in the day when she was young. Once a man asked her "what it feels up there, where you can feel the angel's farts", well, granny retorted, "a lot better than down there, where you can feel the stench of the shit on the ground". Haha!!!

I love you grandma, and I can't wait to see you - and dance with you - again in the future!

Fabergé Friday

My favorite flower is Lily of the Valley, so now when the snow is finally melting away, I can start looking forward to be able to smell these lovely flowers in not too long again! For now though, we have to make do with other versions of it - like this Fabergé Lily of the Valley Locket, made between 1899 and 1903 by workmaster August Holmström!

The locket is made of gold and silver, and is covered in pearly, light blue enamel. The hight is 1 1/4 inches (3,2 centimeters).

On the front sits an Art Nouveau lily of the valley in gold, set with greyish half-pearls and rose-cut diamonds.

The inside is fitted with a glazed miniature gold picture frame. I don't know who owns this lovely little thing today, but I hope he or she wears it a lot - with a picture of a beloved one inside...