Swanning around in ballet bling

In the fast moving world of fashion, black swans are already passé. But ballet inspired clothing and accessories are still very much in evidence.

In a new twist on an old idea, Annie Sherburne has created these fabulous ballerina brooches. Their elegant classic swan-style ballet dresses have been upcycled from scraps of original vintage jewellery. The brooches are available from ShopCurious in a range of colours and each brooch is totally unique.



Meantime, here’s some inspiration for later in the year: Ballet dancers not so much swanning as sailing down the catwalk - with balloons as rigging, and billowing, acid bright chiffon dresses as flapping sails...

Dancing en pointe looks a rather precarious business to me… I think it’s curiously clever that none of the girls got into a nasty tangle.

Do you?

PS Check out the crazy new fashion in headwear at my latest Curious Trends post.

Ancient style: found and upcycled

As fate would have it, ancient Egyptian style accessories are all the rage this season. And, if you’re after original Egyptian inspired jewellery, then look no further than ShopCurious. We’ve some lovely pieces that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day and won’t break the bank. What’s more, they’re also curiously collectable, and might even turn into family heirlooms. You never know...









Anyway, these stunningly unusual Nefertiti necklaces have been handmade by acclaimed designer, Annie Sherburne, by upcycling ‘found’ scraps of old jewellery to create an arty mosaic effect. You may not have heard of her, but Annie designed and made jewellery and accessories for Jean Muir for nearly 20 years. A pioneer of contemproary feltmaking, examples of her patterned felt hats can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Musee Des Modes in the Louvre in Paris.




Oh, and if you’re searching high and low for a Valentine gift for the man in your life, we’ve some unique vintage silver and turquoise scarab beetle cufflinks too. The scarab was used extensively on jewellery in ancient Egypt, as a good luck charm to ward off evil - it was seen as a symbol of hope and the restoration of life...

Let's hope that a peaceful resolution to the current unrest in Egypt is achievable.

Will you?