Some Recent Custom Work

So, this time of year seems to be a bit quieter with shops – but I’ve been lucky enough to have been kept busy with some interesting custom orders 🙂

Here are some pics of some of them – a nice variety, I think!

Have a great day 🙂 xxx

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Charms, Totems & Amulets

First of all – Happy New Year! 🙂 Hope you all had a fantastic festive season – and for those in snowy climates – I am soooo jealous right now!! 😉

It’s been far too long since I last blogged, something I want to sort out this year (I’m not saying I’m going to aim for every week, but once a month would be good!) For this first blog post, I want to talk about charms…

Just before Christmas last year, my mom phoned me, and asked if I’d be able to make some little charms to go in the Christmas pudding – she said when she was young, they’d had silver charms in theirs, as opposed to money.. I said yes (even though I was hectically busy!), then suggested each charm be customised for each person.. This led to the following set of charms:

The star charm was for me (I’ve always loved stars, hence my business name), the bow & arrow for my husband – who loves archery, the airplane was for my uncle – who used to be an airplane engineer, the puppy was for my aunt – who has 2 golden retrievers, and the kitty for my mom’s best friend – who loves cats!

Even though these were just tiny, fun charms – it led me to think about charms – as well as traditional totems and amulets.. For thousands of years, different cultures have carried tokens as symbols of their tribe or family (totems), or as good luck charms (amulets), or simply to portray a piece of their history (where they’ve been or what they’ve done) or show off something they liked (like with charm bracelets)

I don’t know if I’m really a believer in something protecting you, but I love the idea of showing off your love of a particular thing – be it an animal or TV show.. I’ve done this for ages with my starbrightsilver geek range of jewellery on etsy – the designs are based on oblique references from geek culture, which allows only other geeks to recognise them, and thereby instantly form a subtle allegience with the wearer.. Some examples below:

I think this has had an effect on my design choices for the rest of my work.. I started doing Africa heart charms ages ago, and they’re probably my most popular item – I guess people love to show off where they’re from, especially when traveling. From this I progressed to making other “items” as opposed to just designs.. I have a range of little animals & birds with hearts (like a squirrel – which is probably my favourite animal) – and I love to hear people at the market exclaim how much they love a particular animal when they see the pendant on display! I also have some other objects – like the bicycle, and a classic camera – which fans of cycling and photography seem to love..

So essentially, for me a charm (whether to be worn as a pendant or on a bracelet), is about showing off the things in life you love..

Towards the end of last year, I also had a request to make a wild dog pendant – as the customer could not find one anywhere.. It was a challenge,but so wonderful to see her so happy with it when it was done!

So, I’m going to keep on doing what I do – creating items for people to show off a side of themselves that the world might not know about – whether it’s a geeky side, or just loving the cuteness of hedgehogs! Whether it’s a charm, amulet or totem to the wearer is irrelevant – as long as it’s something they love, I’m happy 🙂

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Wednesday hmmmms

So. It’s Wednesday. Hmmmm… Feeling a little “Bleh” today, as you can probably tell.. Mind you, I really shouldn’t complain.. Working for myself, I don’t have to sit in rush hour traffic, didn’t HAVE to be at the studio at 8.. Instead, here I am – 8.45am, and writing up a new blog post, while I wait for the kettle to boil! 🙂

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

 

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Etsy love

So – I’ve been on Etsy for more than a year, and I have to say, one of the things I love the most, is the personal interaction you are able to have with the sellers & buyers.. I’ve had some lovely conversations with customers, and have organised some awesome custom items with sellers – as Etsy people, having small businesses, are most often the most accommodation folk out 🙂 Gotta say – you’ll never find this level of interaction with big online shops!

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

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New Stockist & Some Finished Orders..

Hi all! Hope everyone’s having a good week 🙂 I’m pretty busy with orders and, alas, paperwork – ack!

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

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Custom Initial Pendant Special & more

So – just wanted to blog a little about exciting news – as of next month, I will be working on my jewellery fulltime – sharing a studio with Nicky Savage – and working like a mad thing on new designs, and on getting stock into more shops! I’ll also be able to do more custom orders – hurray!

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

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Giveaway Winner & New Pretty Things

Hello all! Hope everyone’s had a wonderful Easter weekend, whether you celebrated it, or just ate a lot of chocolate! 🙂

So – here’s how I chose a winner for the giveaway this time.. I created an excel sheet, and copied the names of everyone who entered into it (53 in total!) in order of when you entered.

I then used a random number generator (random.org) – entered 1 to 53, and it gave me… No. 26!

So… drumroll… the winner is: Kathy Dettweiler!! Congrats 😀 I’ll drop you an email later, so you can send me address details 🙂

Thanks so much to all who entered, and for the awesome feedback – which I have already put to good use! A very popular silver item choice was the flaming heart – so…

What does everyone think?! 😉

I have also been busy adding lots of new stock to both my etsy shops – please check them out..

And finally – don’t you like what I made for myself?

It’s a kodoma, or tree spirit, from the Miyazake anime film “Princess Mononoke”.. They are the cutest creatures, who click their heads, and are tied to the trees they live in.. I do have a thing for cute!

Anyhow – that’s all from me – congrats again to the winner, Kathy, and thanks to all entrants! Hope you all have a wonderful week 🙂 Megs xx

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Giveaway ends this week, & more news..

Hi all.. 🙂 Had such a nice start to my Sunday, drinking coffee & reading my Runaways comic collection – bliss 🙂 Anyhow – onto proper blogging!

First off, just a reminder that my starbrightgirl etsy shop giveaway ends at the end of the week (Fri 22nd) – check out the blog post to enter: https://starbrightgirl.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/starbright-girl-april-giveaway/ 🙂

In other news – it’s been a busy weekend so far, went ice-skating on Friday night, which I haven’t done since I was a young teenager! But this being Durban, although it was an indoor rink, people were skating in t-shirts & shorts, and the ice was melting rapidly, which meant it was like skating in a pond! But I’m happy to say I did ok – better than my hubby (was his first time ever) – he did look like a super-cute Bambi-on-ice, but managed not to fall, so I’m very proud 😉

Then, last night we headed to a mystery masked party for a friend’s 30th, at Unit 11 in Durban. Was a great evening with friends, got to dance some, and watch my hubby take part in illustrating a skateboard deck as part of the entertainment – how awesome is his illustration?!

You can check out more of his amazing illustrations on his website – www.jumpsuitart.com 🙂

Onto some jewellery – here are some pics of recent work I’ve been doing.. First up is my new series of domed heart silver & resin pendants.. These look awesome for real, but I am having some trouble photographing them, as they reflect everything!! With time, hopefully I’ll sort it out!

Then the following are some uber-cool scifi reference sterling silver pendants (handmade!).. Hope I’m not stepping on any licensing toes with these, they really are for fans only, and I only make one at a time.. Ah, one day maybe I’ll get to meet Joss Whedon and work out a marketing deal – how cool would that be?!! 😉

Anyhow – that’s all from me for now, folks.. I’ve gotta get into the kitchen and bake cookies before heading to an indoor picnic (it’s rainy-like outside) – a woman’s work is never done! Have a wonderful week everyone 🙂 Megs xx

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Starbright Girl April Giveaway

Hey all! 🙂

Have been a terrible blogger of late, been a busy girl, but that’s no real excuse.. March has been a busy month, but in a nice way – had a whirlwind trip to Cape Town for my hubby’s granny’s 80th birthday, and went to the Midlands for a good friend’s wedding – which was awesome! (Also enjoyed staying at a place with DSTV, which we choose not to have at home, or else I would watch the decorating shows all night long – I looooove Extreme Makeover Home Edition!!!!) 😉

Anyhow – on to the giveaway. I had a very successful giveaway last year, where you could choose your favourite item to win from my etsy shop – http://starbrightgirl.etsy.com. For this giveaway, however – the entry criteria is a little different.. As mentioned in my last blog post, I’m moving away from Perspex, to mainly silver, and silver & resin jewellery. So – to enter this giveaway, please take a look through my designs, and let me know which you would want to see in silver! The winner will receive their favourite piece of jewellery from my online shop 🙂

You can email me to enter, or post below – please just remember to include your email address, so I can contact you if you win! Then list: 1. What item would be great in silver, and 2. What your favourite piece (that you’d like to win!) is.. The giveaway is open worldwide, so tell your friends! Winner will be drawn at random..

A little taste, before I leave, of some of my beautiful new designs:

Have a fantastic week all! xxx Megan

PS – Forgot to add – giveaway ends on the 22nd April! 🙂 Good luck!

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Updates & Etsy Deals

So – just had a manic trip to Cape Town this last weekend (went down for my hubby’s gran’s 80th birthday!) It was pretty epic – caught up with old friends, met a whole lot of his extended family, got to go to a wine farm (for the first time ever! – the cellar was cool!) – and played an legendary game of Balderdash!

I’m still busy with a span of orders (Manic March!!) – here’s a pic of a ring I finished up last week.. Metalocalypse? (Still need to watch it and see what it’s all about!)

In other news, I am still busy making up samples of my new range, which I think is looking awesome! Already have 1 order from this weekend, and the possibility of stocking a new shop – but will let you know if & when confirmed!

Tying in to the new silver range, I have decided to move away from Perspex for a while. There are so many people out there mass manufacturing, and on a small scale, I really can’t compete. Plus, there is still a prejudice towards non-precious metal jewellery (sad but true), so I feel that commercially, I need to go a little higher end – wish me luck!

And on that note, whilst my husband does not believe in sales, I feel that with this change in direction, I need to move my old stock – and so will be having a sale on both my etsy shops..

http://www.etsy.com/shop/starbrightgirl

http://www.etsy.com/shop/starbrightsilver

To qualify for 20% off anything in my shops (excl. shipping!), all you have to do is continue with the sale, then just copy & paste the following coupon code when asked for it:

SBGSALE7811

(Valid until 31 March 2011)

Happy shopping everyone – and thanks for your support 🙂 Megan xx

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