I’ve been a very bad blogger of late – I can’t even remember the last time I blogged! The good news out of that, was that I was honestly so busy, I didn’t have time! As you can imagine, for jewelers, Nov & Dec are our busiest months, with everyone doing Christmas shopping, and I was working like a machine trying to make enough stock! On top of that, I was practicing for my advanced Spanish Dancing exam (which I passed very nicely ) – so had no time to spare at all!
But, here we are in the new year, and I’m busy doing new designs – so now is the time to blog and show them off!

What do you think of these – pretty cute? I like the simplicity, and the high shine finish of these… They’re similar to the designs I was doing last year, but by not including resin, I can make these pendants much lighter & daintier.. I’m also going to experiment with getting some of them gold plated (I’m one of the people in the world who still loves yellow gold – and I’m sure there are a few more!) The process of getting sterling silver thickly gold-plated is called Vermeil – so expect to see some examples soon

Just a reminder – The I Heart Market is coming up again soon – 4 February, and the Wonder Market in Umhlanga is the next day..

I’ve also been busy with some more custom orders – take a look at some pics below

I really do love to do custom orders – I love the challenge, the design work, and just creating something unique! As a jeweller – it’s sometimes difficult to come up with a new topic, so when one is given, it’s great to just go with it!

Anyhow – hope everyone has a fantastic week – and to all in the Northern Hemisphere: I envy you sooo much – my brain is frying in this heat! (I will have to go through this thoroughly again, just to make sure I have made sense!) Megs xx

This is pretty exciting news – for one, it means the market just keeps growing & growing, and 2 – hopefully we’ll get new customers through, which is always wonderful!

The great thing about the stadium (built for last year’s soccer world cup) would have to be its proximity.. It’s close to the beachfront – so folks enjoying their morning wander along the promenade can just wander a few feet further, and do some awesome shopping! It’s also close to the 2 Virgin active gyms, and a bunch of restaurants – and is very easily accessible for those in the North of Durban!

I’ve been busy making up a span of new items, which I’m super happy with – check out some pics below:

These pendants are sterling silver, blackened & polished, with a tiny half jump ring to the back that the chain runs through.. I have a little squirrel one I made for myself and – seriously – I haven’t taken it off since I made it! (about a month ago) Not even to bath!!

Here are some earrings I made up last week..

These are based on the design of Perspex ones I previously made up – and I wanted to challenge myself and see if they could be made in silver.. Turns out, with lots of hard work, they can!
I love the fact that these look delicate (and they are lightweight) but as the metal is fairly thick, and very strong, they are about 5 times sturdier than the Perspex versions! And so pretty and shiny!!

So – I hope to see lots of Durban people at the market tomorrow.. The tent will be up as usual (in case of rain, which is highly normal at this time of year!) – and don’t forget all the yummy goodies there are too – brekkie rolls, fabulous coffee, my favourite cupcakes (just ask Melanie – I am the most ardent customer!), and hopefully macaroons too!
Plus – sigh – I saw the first Christmas goodies in Woolies yesterday, which means it’s just round the corner – so it’s a good idea to start doing a little Christmas shopping now, so you won’t hurt your wallet so much in December!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I’m off to Joburg next week for a course, and to visit my mom – very excited! Lots of Love, Megs xx

Woke up this morning to monsoon-sounding rain – gotta say, I love this time of year in Durbs.. There’s a sweet smell in the air with all the rain – plus, it reminds me that Christmas is coming! I know I know -  you’re probably all groaning at the thought – but I’m a Christmas-aholic, and will soon be re-watching my collection of Christmassy dvds! (First up – Elf!)

Anyhow – enough rambling!

Yesterday, I updated my website – re-worked it slightly, and added new pics.. I also created a “custom orders” page – showing some of the cool custom work I’ve completed. Check it out here: http://www.starbrightgirl.com/custom%20orders.htm

I really want to focus on marketing my business as a custom manufacturing one.. This is the work I enjoy doing the most – I love the collaboration with the customer, and imagining cool ways to interpret what they want – and I think I have a pretty sweet portfolio so far! I also love that, because of the internet & email – I can work with customers all over the world – come on – you gotta admit, it’s pretty cool!

Anyhow – had better run now.. Need to do some resin on heart pendant for my lovely cousin, then head to the studio to put in a hard days manual labour!! (My fingers might complain, but my heart just loves it!) Ooh – and that reminds me – must take my camera today to take some pics of the new studio..

Have a lovely Hmmmday all (I really don’t like the sound of “Humpday”! – so am going with this!) Love Megs xx

Another lovely thing that happens occasionally – is Etsy trading.. Another seller will see something they like, and will ask if you’d be keen to swap it for something in their store.. Now, I’m not saying this will always work – but I happen to have been lucky

For example – a while back Karen from Captured Starlight (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CapturedStarlight) emailed me about doing a swap for a pair of earrings she loved – and offered to make me a custom pendant in exchange.. Well, for years I have been wanting some sort of jewellery featuring artwork from my favourite childhood book trilogy – the Borribles.. So, I found a pic of the cover of the second book – and, voila – the most awesome pendant ever!!

It’s pretty cool – although I make jewellery myself – there are so many different styles and techniques out there – that I wouldn’t know how to start to make something like this! So – it’s awesome that Karen was able to make this for me! Her work is really awesome, please check out her shop! (link above) She lives in Ecuador now, pretty awesome

I’m also now in the middle of another swap process – for a panda hat! (Which I have always wanted!) Again, the shop owner is more than accommodating – as with my pale skin, I asked if I could get a black brim – so she’s custom making one for me

It’s gonna be AWESOME!

So – if you haven’t already – please check etsy.com out! You can search for pretty much anything – I know you’ll be amazed by all you can find! And, take it from me – most of the sellers, are just awesome

Have a wonderful weekend – I’m off to a little town in the mountains called Clarens, with my hubby & mom – so am looking forward to a weekend of tea, cake, galleries & gorgeous views.. Hope your weekend will be just as lovely as I’m hoping mine to be! Megan xx

Just wanted to give a heads up to folks in Cape Town – I’m sending off new stock for the new Fringe Arts shop in Kloof Street (99B) – so it should hopefully be in store by the weekend.. Please tell your friends, or go check it out – Prices are good, and some of my new stuff is really cool, if I may say so myself! Here’s a peek at some of the jewellery:

And don’t my new tags just look lovely?!!

In other news – I’ve been busy doing some private orders, and thought I’d share a few pics.. This first one is a custom ear cuff I did for Ilana via twitter (@MymindisAlice) – I think it turned out very prettily

Then I did some items for extended family (sister in law’s sister in law, if you must know!!) 2 pendants for guys – 1 featuring a kung fu broadsword, and the other a cutout speargun.. Pretty cool for guys, I think!

I’ve also been doing some custom work via etsy – take a look at these cute airplane themed items I made up:

So, I’ve been pretty busy – now need to replenish stock on my starbright silver store, with all my geeky items – my hubby says sales are good because comic-con is coming up soon! Maybe next year we’ll get to join you folks in San Diego – the saving starts now!!

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.. Love Megs xx

Here’s a sneak peek at some of my new items:

The newest ones here are from what I’m calling my African Flora Hearts Range – featuring lovely aloes, strelitzias, proteas, gardenias etc – that we find in our gardens here! (Especially love the aloes with the orange flowers that are in bloom everywhere here in Kwazulu Natal right now!) These pendants are R350 each (each individually hand cut and made, not cast!) – but I’m selling the chains separately.. (PS – Hearts can be customised for just a little extra – look at the lovely swirly heart I made up for aHadeda on twitter)

Next up – I made a whole bunch of cute little earrings up, especially for the I heart Market this Saturday (more on that to follow)

I found a stunning strand of mixed heart gemstone beads – quartz, agate etc – and mixed and matched to create these super cute dangly earrings.. Each heart is about 4-5mm across, so these just add a splash of colour to your ears!

Then, I watched the Runaways a while back, and loved Joan Jett’s star necklace – so decided to make my own punky version:

It’s just a plain, highly polished silver star, on a chunky, faceted silver anchor chain – but it looks awesome on!

A little more news about the market this month – as the DLI hall is being taken over by the Durban July (big annual horse race for non-local folks!) – we’re heading to the beachfront As we all know, the Durban beachfront was fantastically upgraded for the Soccer World Cup last year, so I’m looking forward to seeing the I heart Market in this new (temporary) venue! The market is open both this and next weekend, but I’ll just be there this and next Saturday..

So – any Durban folks not getting glammed up for the July – come and enjoy the winter weather (hah – today it’s a chilly 22 degrees celcius!) at the beachfront – and for those at the July – better see you next week! Have a wonderful rest of your week, and weekend all! Love Megan xx

So – I used a true random number generator, which gave me number 41.. I scrolled down to 41 on the comments list – and it was Sandika

I have contacted Sandika via email, so will wait for her address, so I can send off her prize

Many thanks to all of you who entered – and for all your great feedback! I will be taking it all into account when making up new stock..

Speaking of new stock – I am very busy making up stock for shops in Cape Town, then have a long list of orders to complete – but as soon as those are done, will be making up LOADS of new stock for my etsy shops! Can’t wait to show you guys my new designs – inspired by some of the fantastic plants and trees we get growing in this beautiful country.. (But all with a Starbright Girl touch!)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Love Megs xx

This stunning “scribble heart” pendant is completely handmade – domed and filled with a dark gray resin, measures 25mm across, and comes on a 45cm sterling silver chain. It is one in a series of new heart pendants I have been working on..

All you have to do to enter – is take a look at my STARBRIGHT GIRL website, and tell me which your items you think I should make more of! Please post your comment below, and don’t forget to include your email address! This giveaway closes on 16 June, 2011 – and is open worldwide! Please tell your friends & family, so they can enter too! (Prize value is $50)

Otherwise – I will also be taking part in a new exhibition, opening at Artisan Gallery in Durban next week – take a look at the flyer below, for a sneak peek at some of my pieces

Thanks for reading – and good luck to all those entering my giveaway! Please also remember, I love to do custom work, so keep me in mind! Megs xx

So – to celebrate, I have decided to run a little special – on a sterling silver hand cut initial pendant (your choice of letter & gemstone – garnet, blue topaz, aquamarine or rose quartz star) – for R220! (and with silver on the rise, this is a good deal!)

Email me at megan@starbrightgirl.com to order

If you’re not based in South Africa, you can order one via Etsy – here’s the link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74463052/sterling-silver-custom-initial-pendant

In other news – the next I Heart Market is almost here – here’s a look at the amazing new poster (aren’t they always wonderful!) – hope to see lots of Durban folks there!

So – that’s all my news – will write next about the upcoming exhibition at Artisan Gallery (and will hopefully have pics to show off!), as well as possibly having an open day at my new studio premises!

Have a wonderfully nice weekend all! Megs xx

For all Durban-based peoples – the I Heart Market is this Saturday, and I will be there with lovely new goodies! It’s just always worth it – great food (mmm – cupcakes AND macaroons now!), good tunes (via the Unit 11 DJs) – and a good time to be had. Oh, and did I mention, Sunday is Mother’s Day – hint hint people!

Next up – yup – I have FINALLY updated my website! I think it’s looking quite spiffy now, with a background and everything (html is haaaard!) – let me know what you think!

And now – onto some new goodies – been working like a busy bee to get these ready for the market

These are just some of my new pretty things – so many more to come! Hope to see lots of you this Saturday Love Megs xx