Pearls and pearly wisdom

I was recently asked to review one of Antoinette Matlins' latest books -

The Pearl Book - The Definitive Buying Guide, 4th Edition.

It was an especially interesting read, especially as Matlins takes readers through the history of the pearl and describes how and why it became such an important element in jewellery.

The book also includes chapters dedicated to expert advice on how to choose pearls, how to get the best value for your money, how to store pearls and how to care for them properly.

I especially enjoyed reading the chapter dedicated to what varied pearl experts have to say about their own experiences with pearls - how they got involved in dealing with pearls, or which was the most extraordinary pearl they ever saw.

The book includes several full colour images with exceptional pictures of some of the world's most beautiful pearls and some especially exciting jewellery designs including pearls of varied shapes, sizes and colours.

The Pearl Book by Antoinette Matlins, PG, is published by Gemstone Press.

For more information visit http://www.gemstonepress.com/

Retro Love



Exactly one hour after this polka dot bangle went into my Etsy shop, somebody noticed it and it landed in a Treasury. Thanks Lanova Creations!.

Cupcakes and Jewels

Thought you might fancy a visit to this pretty new shop on Etsy - get in the mood for making cupcakes this weekend.....or simply choose to display your jewels in an original way.....

Raindrops on Roses

My vintage buttons on Etsy are featured on this lovely new Etsy Treasury by ThreeChicksVintage. Check it out here...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d5b579596c88eef5a0caee1/raindrops-on-roses

The Heavenly Dress

Over the past months I have been creating numerous Treasuries on Etsy and have had much fun discovering several new exciting sellers there. One of the FairyFiligree vintage dresses available in my Etsy shop made it into... wait for it.... some 6 Treasuries created by other Etsy sellers over a matter of days. The dress is surprisingly still available. Don't you think it's simply heavenly?

You can find more details about it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65298120/heavenly-vintage-maxi-dress-1970s-lace

I'm Back

'At the Sculpture Exhibition' - Lucien Metivet 1863-1930

FairyFiligree is officially back after a 3-month 'sabbatical'. I needed the break. The lack of feedback and response from followers had been getting me down but when I disappeared from the scene I repeatedly go the same question - why have you given it up? So many people encouraged me to take up this blog again that I decided to come back and start sharing beautiful stuff with you all once more.

So much has been going on. At the moment I am curating a collective exhibition of 63 artists here on the Mediterranean island where I live. The exhibition is welcoming 63 different works - one work from each artist and includes paintings, sculptures, mixed media artwork, jewellery..... This is the second of a series of exhibitons which I hold on an annual basis - the scope is to encourage new artists to exhibit their work alongside that of seasoned artists. All work is very low to moderately priced and this is an added challenge to artists - to produce art that does not cost a bomb to produce, but which is still exciting for somebody to take back home or to give away as a gift.

What do you think of the poster I am featuring with this post - incidentally my first post for 2011? It shows a front cover of the celebrated Parisian magazine called 'Le Rire', meaning laughter in French. The magazine was a humour magazine, much sought and therefore extremely successful between 1894 and the 1950s. The satire on this magazine was backed by drawings from some of the best artists of the era - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, one of my favourite artists is one of them.