A ray of sun – finally!

...and the sun invites all the colors into life again.

Almost through a long, long winter time with only a few hours of sun during the day. Not only the darkness of this weary time for the sun, not rising much above the horizon but also the surprising lack of the whiteness of the snow made this winter a real hibernation for the whole body and mind.

If not having lived up in the north, it is maybe impossible to even imagine what the first truly sunny days of spring mean, what strength it gives to the soul. 

For me there has always been a deep-rising need for light and the color yellow at the end of this time of the year. However, I noticed that for some reason this color that we so desperately need is so little used in our clothes or accessories around me. We admire it if one dares to wear it but at the same time silently think that I never could or would. 

 Imagine how this would liven up your LBD?

I used to be one of those silent admirers until I finally bought my first bright yellow winter scarf because of someone suggesting it to me. To my astonishment, being a blond, the color fit me perfectly and even more, made me feel really warm and shine from the inside. I always thought that it would only look good on darker people. Ever since I’ve loved colors. They have become the outside reflection of my inner, bursting personality. Colors have more meaning to us in our everyday life than we dare to believe.

Why wouldn’t you try a color you so deeply feel for and be surprised what it can do to you!

See, what it did to me!

 

The 70s' souvenir reborn

When delivering an order to a customer she wanted to show me some old souvenir necklaces  from the 1970s. "Listen, the clasp is a wreck and I can't operate it anymore with my stiffening fingers, could you replace the clasp?"

Since it is not my ideology to just reproduce the piece, I suggested to refresh the necklace with some new sparkling beads. She agreed with my idea. This is what I then did to a couple of her southern souvenirs and when returning them ready, she suddenly asked, what I could do with the extra pieces that were now left over.

The lady had some ideas. She wanted these left-overs to be placed in front and then gave me instructions on the other beads.

A couple of days passed and suddenly she called me again and said she had watched French TV and the anchor had had a marvellous necklace with bright green and red in it. She said she wanted these colors to be added to the necklace since it had looked so energetic on TV.

First it seemed like an odd color combination. The shell pieces were delicate and light, salmon like bits. The green and red such a powerful contrast. I was also worried that the shell would look cheap. This is why I had to spend time figuring out what would be the best way to arrange the focal point in front.

What an adventure it was to start beading these together. Little by little the shell shreds were turning into fragile rose buds and the screaming red was like blood drops on the vibrant green stem.

What first seemed like an extra job in between other orders now turned out to be one of the most inspiring processes for a long time. Not only the visual experience but the dialogue and meeting with the customer really made my day.

So, next time you are about to toss an old piece of jewelry, think twice. What if you gave it another chance for life!

Want or Need Jewelry?

You can argue whether we need jewelry at all. You are even told that only vein people like to decorate themselves. It is, of course, true that you cannot eat your jewelry and housing bills always come first when deciding about spending your money. 

But when the basic needs are fulfilled, how do we decide what is the extra we want?

In a traditional way of thinking we only need jewelry as an accessory to a special occasion or as a symbol of a life's highlight moment. For some it is total waste of money.

Indeed, some of my customers used to say that they never wore any jewelry before wearing Lady R or they never thought they might NEED jewelry, and even more,  in a totally new way 

- as a means of self-expression

- supporting mental well-being.

- fulfilling their need for beauty

- feeling special

The human need for beauty around us is very deep rooted in our minds. For one it is a calm and familiar landscape, a painting, a music piece, for another it is dressing up in a personal way and enjoying beautiful and unique things. I remember my daughter who can't walk, buying an absolutely beautiful pair of high-heel shoes and displaying them on a shelf and enjoying the sight of them every single day. 

One of my customers also bought a piece of jewelry to put it on the living-room table, to remind her of positive and beautiful things in life.

Whose rule it is you always have to wear things in their original way?

When my sister wants bling, she also needs bling! Luckily she has this close connection to a person who can realize even her wildest needs. :) 

She first WANTED the crystal bracelet but soon after it was around her wrist, she NEEDED a pair of ear rings and a neckace to make the set complete.

So, then it is, when sister wants bling, she gets bling!

The same set looks totally different at day or night or when worn with different colors.

Without this bling my sister wouldn't be the person she now is.

When you can design the piece of jewelry together with the one who will realize it for you, the piece will definitely have a deeper meaning to you than when buying a trendy bulk product.

This way you can ask the jewelry maker to weave in your own personality and a specific story you want to tell. 

This is what Lady Renaissance is all about !

Remember - Friendship is like soap bubbles

Once upon a time there was a green field swarming with butterflies. Nearby there lived a little blond girl in a tiny, cozy cottage. The girl’s favorite pastime was blowing soap bubbles in her yard. 

Following these bubbles was also a passion for a Pink Lady butterfly. She had developed following and playing with the bubbles into a kind of art since, while doing that, she was able to forget how alone she was. 

The pink butterfly was not taken into the swarm+ of others since she had a peculiar color, different for the ones living in the green field. Others had a camouflage color and were scared that the pink color would attract the ever bullying magpie after them.

The charm of the soap bubbles was in the way they formed in different sizes and colors, their lightness and ease with which they sailed across the field. It was absolutely intoxicating. But then, in less than a twinkling of an eye the prism of colors and shiny surfaces disappeared, leaving behind only the memory of the past moment.

The Pink Lady had chased hundreds of balls, trying to catch them with the fragile wings, but time after time the balls popped into thousands of droplets and disappeared in air. Even so, she noticed that sometimes the balls were left whole, even on exceedingly sharp surfaces, and then it was possible to examine the beauty of this bubble for a moment before it disappeared. 

Because of this, the butterfly was thinking that there must be a way to gently catch a ball and why not, even collect the balls together and make a chain with them. So she decided to focus all of her energy on finding the way to do it and while doing that, she found her life to have yet one purpose. She didn’t mind being alone anymore because she was so busy. 

Having studied the art of catching the soap bubbles for the whole summer she finally was able to catch them with ease. She managed to make long chains with the bubbles and fly with them. First she had been on top of the world doing it but day by day it didn’t feel so special anymore. She didn’t have anyone to share her joy with.  How much more fun it would have been if only she could have raced the bubbles with friends!

She decided that she had to do something to overcome the loneliness and so one day she flew to the other butterflies and told them how much fun they could have together. First they weren’t anxious to try catching the bubbles because their leader said that it was impossible. After a long persuation the butterflies promised that the next time the girl would be blowing the bubbles they would give it a try. While waiting for the day to come the Pink Lady told them all she had learned about catching and chaining the bubbles. 

When the time came to put all this information into practice, the butterflies forgot all about the vicious magpie, the impossibility of catching the bubbles and even the fear of losing precious time from feeding themselves. 

Day by day they got almost as good as their new friend the Pink Lady and finally they were able to put the bubbles together and fly the chain that had a silvery glow in it. They played together whenever the bubbles were flying, no matter if the sun was coloring the sky red just before dropping close to the horizon. 

At this magic moment the chain became heavy turning into silver and agate… and the butterflies decided to fly it around a special girl’s neck to remind everyone that saw it of the power of friendship and how fragile friendship is, just like the soap bubbles, unless it is cherished together.

Nightless night at Midsummer

 

The symbol of Midsummer in Finland has always been the birch tree, at least to me. The old tradition is that on Midsummer Eve you go to the woods and take a couple of young birches and fix them standing on both sides of your porch. They look so new and fresh at that time of the year and the scent is absolutely beautiful. 

You also make a bundle of the fresh twigs to use them in the Midsummer night sauna to sofly slap your skin with it in the heat. It revives your circulation and relieves you of all the stress in the muscles. 

If you are not a Finn you might abhor even the idea of this ritual. 

But imagine, a clear light night in the countryside, the sun doesnt't set, at a crystal clear lake. Bathing in the silent sauna, only listening the the hiss of the hot rocks on the stove, the scent of the young birch and the relaxing heat that washes away all the worries from your mind... then dipping into the soft and cool lake water. 

I can assure you, this is the moment on my mind when I see a leaf of a birch tree...

When I first saw these agate leaves in a bead store, this is why I just had to buy them. I knew at the same time that I would use them together with the mountain crystals that I had.

The sand polished crystals were like dew drops and the shining silver chain as bright as the light summer night. Looking at the finished necklace, I can feel the scent and the coolness of the tiny drops in my mind.