Plucked from the earth

In keeping with our nature theme, here are some natural materials in
the form of stone pendants, available at ShopCurious, photographed against tropical palm trees that curiously now grow rather well in central London. This one is an ammonite fossil - a stylish one of a kind piece that's a limited edition once in a lifetime find and a collectors' item.






To the right is a natural mixed wood sculpture, the sort of thing you can expect to pay oodles of money to have on display alongside your furniture in a stylish modern eclectic home. But if you simply go for a walk in the woods, or along the coast, you can appreciate the natural beauty of nature without paying a fortune - and you'll probably see all sorts of unique and fascinating curiosities.


Depending on which part of the world you're in, you might stumble upon labradorite - it's really unusual and rather overlooked - which means that it's not yet as expensive as some other stones. We have some extraordinary pendants made from this remarkably beautiful mineral - each an individually handcrafted work of art.




Labradorite was discovered in the late 18th century in Labrador in Canada and is sometimes called opaline feldspar, because depending on its type, it resemebles opal or moonstone in the way it reflects an array of colours: blue, green grey, purple occasionally even yellow and bronze. This unique iridescence is known as 'labradoresence'.

Labradorite is thought to have fallen from the Aurora Borealis. Eskimos believed that the Northern Lights were trapped in the rocks off the coast of Labrador, but were set free by their ancestors, who broke off the rocks with spears - however, some of the lights remained trapped in the stone (as labradorite). Labradorite is believed to be a protective stone and is said to help one 'hear the message of spirit guides'. It's also said to be able to help the wearer to realise and achieve his/her destiny. Whatever its properties, there's no doubt that this special rock has a very captivating appearance - and when fashioned into original jewellery pieces, the stone looks both stylish and highly individual.












As do these one of a kind natural wooden sculptures. You'd need to splash out quite a bit to have one of these in your sitting room. Alternatively, you could just camp out in the forest... and go and see what you can find.

Will you?

Preparing for Beijing

Only ten days to go to the Olympics, so I thought we should have a few blogs about getting ready for the big event. I'm afraid we aren't currently selling any respiratory masks, but wholesale suppliers are welcome to get in touch.

What we do have is a wonderfully unique ammonite pendant, which could come in very handy. Apparently, the original discus used by ancient Greeks in their Olympics was a fossilized ammonite. So, if your local pub is running an Olympic quiz offering a gold medal to the winner (might be worth a bob or two these days) then do remember this curious bit of trivia.

It's also worth noting that the pentathlon was introduced for the first time at the 18th Olympiad in 708 BC, probably by the Spartans as a method of training soldiers. It consisted of running the length of the stadium, throwing the spear, the discus and wrestling (did they miss one out?) Anyway, now we have the modern pentathlon and the throwing events seem to be reserved for the decathlon - if that's not too ancient an activity for this year's Olympic Games ... I can't spot it on the schedule of events can you?

I'm beginning to feel exhausted just thinking about all these sports. I hope the athletes are getting some good rest in before the competition begins. In preparation I'd recommend a long relaxing soak with an exotic bath salt infusion from ShopCurious.






Afterwards, they can pop on a stylish vintage embroidered Chinese silk dressing gown for a spot of meditation before bye-byes (not forgetting their hot water with honey and lemon of course).

Do you?