Wrapping up 2013

I have finally brushed off the last silver in my bench skin. The last orders for 2013 are wrapped and ready to go!

I will spend the next week getting my studio in order for a busy 2014! I have some ideas for a new range and hope to present new pieces at an exhibition early in the new year. I have some exciting new ideas for exhibitions next year - details to follow ; ) watch this space!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have played a role in getting my business off to such a great start this year! I have been so extremely blessed and give all the glory to God. He is good and so so faithful! A few months ago, I read somewhere, that the essential purpose of business, is to bring glory to God. I pray that that would always be my vision!

I have been blown away by the amazing support of friends and surprised by the positive reaction to my jewellery in Namibia! Whether you are wearing numerous items of my jewellery, have spoilt your wife or girlfriend to one of my pieces, visited my exhibitions and markets or enthusiastically followed my blog (...dankie papa!), THANK YOU.

The biggest thank you goes to my husband. This business is definitely a partnership! When I was just starting out, he would encourage me every evening when he got home by looking at my days work and getting excited with me for each and every item sold. He would spend evenings building display cases and coming up with new ideas for the business. Excel sheet upon excel sheet he designed for his technologically challenged wife...

2014 will be a year filled with exciting new adventures! I hope to keep you all interested for another awesome year with beautiful jewellery and exciting new ideas and projects. I will also finally have a room all to myself, just for my studio! No guests sleeping on the sleeper couch next to the acid pot ; )... just a side note: To all our friends and family who spent a night in the studio: whilst the sleeper couch might have felt like you were sleeping on a wooden floor, I think each one of you have been sprinkled with some 9ct gold dust! Count yourselves very special.

My work for the year is finally done and now I can dust off my files, do some final Christmas shopping, pack my bags for Mozambique and give my workshop assistant some TLC before he heads off for a month long holiday at the doggy lodge.

Friends in Swakopmund, I will be exhibiting at Oscar & Olive form 09h00 till 12h00. Come and pop in for a hello and some Christmas shopping! Final opportunity for my work to be on display for 2013.

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas and New Year! May the festive season refresh you and have you excited and ready for what 2014 holds! May you cherish the time with friends and family, and not take any moment for granted.

Here are some final pieces.

 

Wedding bands for a beautiful couple. Can't wait for their wedding!

 

18ct Rose gold and Blue Sapphire. This one took a lot of thought, for a very special aunt of mine.

 

Wedding bands to match.

 

Africa.

 

Daisy daisy...

 

A very special piece for a daughter.

 

Gold jewellery for a busy mom!

 

 

A BIG THANK YOU to the best assistant I could have ever asked for. Helping out at every market in the past month. Ek waardeer jou hulp so baie. Jy inspireer my met al jou mooie idees!

 

Happy holidays. Till next year. x

Countdown festivities!

The countdown has begun!

22 working days left
24 days till we are on our way to SA, driving in our bakkie, snacking on roadtrip sandwiches and looking forward to 4 glorious weeks of holiday : )
33 days left till Christmas

Those 22 working days are jam packed with exhibitions, Christmas markets and the last of my Christmas orders!

I apologise for the 'skimpy' post today, but I am on my way to a school to do a small jewellery exhibition for the teachers. I just thought I would share a few orders from the past week. 9ct yellow gold jewellery.

 

A pomegranate pendant. The pomegranate is the only fruit with a crown, she's the queen...

 

A pendant for a young gorgeous mum with the birthdates of her two kids.

 

9ct yellow gold earrings.

 

9ct yellow gold tear drop rings.

 

Hope to see you all at the Jenny's place market on Saturday! 09h00 till 12h00. Come an enjoy all the handmade products and Christmas goodies!

 

 

Orders...

Orders. What a grown up word! I can honestly say that these past few weeks have been the busiest I have ever been with work. Completing orders, organizing my Christmas orders and trying to squeeze them all in before my husband and I escape Windhoek for some beautiful beaches in Mozambique and some much anticipated family time in South Africa.

So, for the next few weeks I am enjoying using these very 'grown up' phrases..
"Sorry doll, I can't meet you for lunch today I'm so behind with orders"
"Dear Client, please take note that there is a waiting list for Christmas orders"
"Im going out for the morning to deliver some orders"
And when my husband calls in the mornings just to check what I'm up to, I can say "Ek bel jou later terug ek is gou besig met n klient"

Who would have thought ; )

It is a very peculiar feeling to be so busy when your work has always felt like a fun hoby you get to do everyday. Im not complaining! I have been so blessed this year with the new business. Thanks to you all!

Before I get too soppy with my 'seasons greatings thanks for the support blah blah blah' messages. lets how some orders I have been working on!

 

Lovely weekend to all of you!

 

Congratulations!

This past weekend was a weekend of engagements! I made two engagement rings this past month and was dying to share them with you all, but had to wait for the lucky engaged girls to see them first ; ). Luckily for me, I get to share them both with you on the same day as they both got engaged this past weekend!

The first ring I made was for a couple I got to know at our church in Windhoek. Paul and Saskia. Paul is sincere and has a heart of gold! Saskia has the most beautiful blonde curls, bubbly personality and gorgeous voice. The first time I met her she was playing guitar in the worship band - and she has the most amazing voice!

Paul en Saskia - Baie geluk! Wat n voorreg om die ring te kon maak vir jou prinses Paul. Julle is awesome saam en ons is saam met julle opgewonde vir die ongelooflike pad wat julle saam gaan stap!

 

18ct Rose gold and princess cut diamond

 

The next ring I made was for Dawid and Elske. Right from the start this was a tricky one, because we had to get Elske's ring size somehow without asking a friend and without giving her and indication that he had plans to get engaged. Top secret projects - my favourite! Dawid knew exactly what he wanted. A cognac cushion cut diamond. And let me tell you. Those aren't easy to come by!! We finally found the right stone, and it was gorgeous! I only recently met Elske but I knew this diamond was perfect for her.

 

Dawid en Elske - baie baie geluk! Ek is vreeslik bly vir julle! Elske, ek hoop jy kan ons vergewe vir al die geheime en wegsteek, maar ek glo jy sal saam stem dit was die emoeite werd! Mag julle lewe saam net ongelooflik geseend wees.

 

 

 

18ct rose gold and Cognac cushion cut diamond

 

Beautiful Tuesday to you all : )

Tente 2013: Tick!

What a week! Where to begin...

 

When starting a business - goals are essential. Just to keep you going, keep you motivated, and most importantly - keep you busy when business is a bit slower than usual!

 

Preparing for tente kept me super busy these past three months. There is nothing more satisfying than unwrapping boxes of weeks worth of handwork and finallybeing able to share them with your clients.

 

Tente was a great experience. Hard work packing up everyday, but I had the best company and sales assistant I could ever ask for. My very own Mama! She flew in to help me with tente, and spent a few extra days visiting. What a treat! After the craziness of 3 days of tente and all the prepping before, we could finally enjoy a few lazy days of coffee shops and long walks with my workshop assistant... (Who Im seriously considering 'letting-go'... since summer has arrived in Windhoek, he prefers the kitchen floor for snoozing to my studio upstairs where it is quite a bit hotter! )

 

The beautiful disply cases and ladders were built by my awesome husband! Weekends I spent working on jewellery, he worked in the garage on my display cases. I think he might be part german as well, the perfectionist streak is very prominent! He was such a great help with tente, I couldnt have done it without him.

 

Thanks so much to all our friends who came by to support! Our stall was bustling with 'ooo's' and 'aaaa's' all day, and thats thanks to all our supporters! Hope all the windhoek ladies are enjoying their jewellery : )

 

Tente 2013: tick! 

 

 

Brass bangles: last minute tente stock!

 

Table displays.

 

My Mama brought me a beautiful bunch of fynbos and proteas, fresh from Cape Town : ) What a spoil!

 

My beautiful ladder built by hubby (now serves as a very handy stand on the stoep for all my pots and herbs)

 

My gorgeous sales assistant!

 

 

Danke Mam. Lieb dich!

More

More jewellery to show, and plentttttttty more to make, so this is an illustrative post ; )

 

 

 

Small porcelain pendants.

 

Rings pendants with brass or copper.

 

Long chains with silver and brass nugget pendants.

 

Little petal studs.

 

Little petal pendant.

 

Brass cut out studs.

 

Brass studs.

 

Have a lovely weekend! Its almost friday : )

Babypearls

I received a very exciting parcel this past week... A box filled with the juciest, brightest candy coloured babypearls! Coral pinks, clover greens, zesty lime... Summer tones are here!

I consider myself a 'neautral - earthy- tone' girl, but these colours are just too delicious! Trust me, when it comes to these gorgeous beads for summer - the brighter the better : ). Colour matching was so much fun!

I decided to get in something extra for tente. Just to brighten up my stall. And these were the perfect choice.

These Necklaces and bracelets are called babypearls and are specially designed for moms. Thankfully not only for moms! They are the perfect accessory for the summer . Bright, light, fun and easy wear summer jewellery! They are imported from South Africa.

These beads are 100% silicon. They have a child friendly clasp, which means little fingers can tug and pull and the beadstrand wont come undone. The beads are soft and chewy for your little one's itchy gums. The beads can also be washed with some soap and water.

If you want to get a friend something different and special for her baby shower, throw in a bright strand of babypearls! They are the perfect gift for soon to be pretty moms : )

The new product will be launched at tente, 3 - 5 October. Hope to see you all there!

 

Just yum!

 

You wont be able to pick just one colour! Mix and match ; )

 

Pretty coral tones.

 

Lovely lilac-duo.

 

Clover green and lime.

 

Grey and baby blue.

'Sea' you next week!

I've packed our bags, made our sandwiches for the road, tidied the house and tripped over my workshop assistant numerous times! My puppy (well, outgrown labrador with puppy mentality), always knows when there is something exciting or out of the ordinary happening in the house, he picks up on all the details. He saw me pack his leash and bowl, and now he keeps following me around thinking we might leave any second. I have some bad news for him, he will be waiting for a good few hours before we leave...

Typical morning before we head off for a weekend away : ).

We haven't been down to the coast in quite a while. I am very excited to feel some sea sand between my toes, catch up with friends and stock up on slowtown roasted coffee beans! I'm also hoping my husband agrees to an early morning misty jog at the lagoon(chances...) and perhaps lunchtime fish and chips (chances very good) !

Before I head off, I still have a few pieces waiting in the studio. I'll finish them off next week and keep you posted!

In the meantime, have a look at the past weeks pendants.

 

Copper dome earrings

 

Back by popular demand ; ) Rechia Disc pendants.

 

Brass cut out pendants on silver chains.

 

The three above are all brass pendants on silver chains.

 

My little silver bow.

 

Brass pendants.

 

Brass and silver rings.

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Spring is in the air

The namibian winter here in Windhoek has been some what of a disapointment. Legwarmers, thick stocking, knee high boots, beautiful coats, chunky scarves... all left untouched in my closet. Icy cold nights and warm sunny days, that has been my experience of winter in Windhoek. By 11am the scarf and coat are no longer necessary.

As much as I love a snuggly winter, I am a spring baby and summer wins hands down! Favourite season. Windhoek suits me just perfectly : )

Even though it has been so warm this winter, there is definitely a 'springy' feeling in the air. The gardens are showing sure signs of spring blossoms, the days are getting longer and the evening strolls are no longer chilly.

Tente vol persente takes place in October, but I am feeling so inspired by Spring that I have decided to go with a brighter theme for our stall. I'm usually an 'earth tone' girl, but I've come across some very inspiring bright prints and am so looking foward to building up our stall in October. My husband is hard at work building awesome new displays for the jewellery - very exciting! I'll also be launching an awesome new product at tente - but thats my little secret. Gorgeously bright for summer and all the way from my favourite little town, Graaff-Reinet. My lips are sealed...

Hope you like the new stock.

Have a pretty-spring-build up week!

 

Sneak peak of what to expect at Tente...