Accessories of love?

I was going to talk about the forthcoming celebration of Burns Night, of revelry and all sorts of quirky, fun accessories like sporrans, kilt pins and brooches. However, the horrors in Haiti have thrown me completely off kilter (excuse the pun). This sort of occurrence makes us reassess our lives. What really matters – our family, our friends, our material worth? It makes me wonder if even our clothes are important, let alone the concept of fashion, or jewellery.

Why isn’t there a universal set of rules in the event of a natural disaster? Why should anyone be reduced to an anarchic, Lord of the Flies type, scenario? How about a job for everyone in an emergency situation – and some guidance as to what to do if everyone else around us dies? Meantime, we're left feeling pretty powerless, after being told there’s nothing we can do to help survivors across the sea - apart from sending money - when what we’d like to offer is tangible love and support like hugs, food, water, shelter and hot baths.

Of course, a few decades ago, we wouldn’t even have known about distant seismic activity, until it was far too late to be of any assistance. The problem now is that, despite all our economic and technical progress, and all the power of modern communications, we’re still at the mercy of our geography and the earth’s basic elements. The best we can do is to educate and co-ordinate ourselves to try to cope as effectively as humanly possible in natural disasters – though, surely, more could be done in the way of teaching, organization and self-sufficiency?

Which brings me back to the ancient Celts. They coped with adverse weather conditions and difficult terrain and survived long before and after the Romans left our shores. Their society was based upon class and kinship, on tribes and clans – the very structures that seem to be neglected today. Hardly surprising then, that gang culture should be emerging out of the fragments of our former society?





I’ve digressed quite a lot, so I’ll get back to my main point, that the embellishment of clothes is a luxury. Accessories aren’t essential, so why not recycle them and invest in vintage bags, belts, jewellery and adornments? For instance, I can recommend this stylishly-plumed, old-fashioned Scottish kilt pin from ShopCurious, if you’re planning a bit of a highland fling on the 25th, and you don’t want your kilt flying open all over the place.







Anyway, I’ll leave you to slope off to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond for a spot of haggis to consider this food for thought. I expect you’ll be taking the high road…

Will you?

Fool's gold?

Just thought I’d better point out that, in addition to bona fide pure and unadulterated gold, there also exists what is commonly known as ‘fool’s gold’. Take what seems to be a curiously generous proposition - add some disclaimers, plus a wadge of small print - and it's probably not nearly as genuine an offer as you originally anticipated ...





It’s worth taking a look at the gold rush phenomenon, which happened in various parts of the world in the mid-late 19th century. For instance, gold was first discovered in California on 24th January 1848 at Sutter’s Mill on American Fork River, when James W Marshall had the curiosity to examine some quartz rock lying in his mill stream. Shortly thereafter, immigrants were travelling from all over the world to San Francisco to dig for gold – however, as soon as winter 1850, the time for making fortunes was already almost over.




The events of the Californian gold rush prompted San Franciso born David Belasco to write a play, which in turn inspired Puccini to write one of his most dramatic operas, La Fanciulla del West – an abject lesson in the perils of speculation and a tragic tale of innocent lives lost in the pursuit of fool’s gold.







It used to be the streets of London that were considered to be paved with gold, but perhaps now it’s a city somewhere in the Middle East. I recently visited Dubai and, outside the entrance to my hotel (the highly recommended Royal Mirage), were these incredible hand painted gold camels (above) – curiously cool, if a tad over the top. Gold seekers who are into such conspicuous consumption might like to consider this rather unique gold plated baby pram, left.



I also heard that it’s possible to eat gold. I found this fascinating blog about edible gold and ten different ways to eat it – if you’re so inclined you can even feed 24 carat gold caviar to your dog! By the way, I also noticed that Waitrose’s brand spanking new branch in the Dubai Mall has what looks like gold leaf lettering instead of their usual green corporate logo …I suppose it blends in with the surroundings, but personally, I prefer the more authentic approach of the Organic Foods and Cafe, which seems to stand out as being altogether more original – and it’s much more eco-friendly and natural too.




Which leads us on to fool’s gold: it’s probably not a great idea to be taken in by the dazzling glitz of gold - and it’s definitely best to know about the provenance of any piece of jewellery you are buying. All of the stylish gold accessories in Sarah Bond’s Saretta collections, currently available at ShopCurious, are not only ethically sound, but have been hallmarked at the London Assay office.






Of course, these days, even with a relatively small amount of money, you can also invest quite sensibly in gold ETFs or buy gold coins with a value that is recognized the world over. I know what sort of gold I’d prefer to invest in though – I simply love this exquisite gold arm cuff...

Do you?

Marco Polo's Silk Road

The Silk Road was a network of ancient caravan routes that opened commerce between the great civilisations of east and west. From the capital city of ancient China, Chang'an, the caravans crossed the deserts, mountains and steppes of Central Asia, all the way to the Mediterranean port cities of Byzantium (Constantinople) and Venice.

In addition to being a commercial trade route for silk and other curiosities, the Silk Route was also a means of spreading new ideas and religions as well as stimulating cultural and technological development.


The Silk Road reached its peak during the Monglian Empire in the 13th century, when China and central Asia were controlled by Mongol Khans. During the Middle Ages, the Venetians and Genoese controlled the bulk of Mediterranean trade, connected to the major trading centres of Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria. The trading relationship between Europe and China was greatly strengthened by the voyages of Marco Polo.



Marco Polo was born to a wealthy, privileged family in Venice in 1254 and became one of the most famous merchants to travel the Silk Road. At the age of 17, he set out with his father and uncle for the court of Kublai Khan, returning 24 years later with many fantastical tales to tell of trips to places such as Ceylon, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. He also reported on the incredible luxury and amazing wonders of the court of Kublia Khan, such as a palace built of marble and precious stones, a stable of 10,000 snow white horse, robes made entirely from gold thread and magicians who used spells to keep bad weather away.



On his return to Venice, Marco Polo was imprisoned during a war with Genoa, where he told fellow prisoner Rustichello of Pisa of his adventures in exotic lands. Rustichello published the stories in a book originally entitled Il Millione, but later named The Travels of Marco Polo. Later, as European powers developed their maritime fleets from the 15th century onwards, they put an end to the Arab control of the lucrative trade route and the ability of ships to transport commodities much faster and cheaper than camel trains resulted in the demise of the Silk Road by the 16th century.








We have a unique range of vintage silk scarf cushions at ShopCurious, some of which feature Venice - the 'Queen of the Adriatic' and major host to merchant ships of the Silk Route.




The cushions are beautifully handmade, each with an individual contrasting trim. These are great for the home in a fashion-meets-art-meets-furnishing sort of way and they also make a really unusual gift. Maybe you'll be inspired to invest in a piece of history?

Will you?