Welcome 2016 !

Sharing a couple of beaded projects I made some time ago . Can be used as brooch or pendant .

motidana

Resplendent in Pearls - A vintage inspired necklace

                                   

        Here`s a  necklace I made recently using seed beads , glass pearls and amethyst beads .It was for a challenge hosted by Perles Dent`Elles..You can see the most magnificent entries at the blog by other participants too . Here`s the link .    But while making this necklace , I had to write  about the memories it brought back . Nostalgic memories of  a very beautiful and Royal lady- my "Mom-in-law"

   She was very fashionable for her times , very fond of  dressing up.  I always used to marvel at the way she  maintained herself , no less than a Maharani (queen)   Her love for style and fashion , apart for her beautiful collection of pearls was inherited  from  her mother she often told me  . In the early days of my marriage, we both used to spend hours together chatting about our days in Bombay . We both were Bombayites ( from Mumbai) , and had to settle down in Chennai after marriage .  In her, I found a friend in a strange place away from home and my small family . She too had missed her family , so I think she understood how homesick I used to feel back then . There was no way to communicate with the family except a long distance call once a week , which had to be pre-booked and a letter occasionally.  And so both of us would spend hours in the afternoon ( no cable tv those days ) talking about our life in Bombay before marriage  and one such time she started talking her fondness for  pearls . And this is what I remember her telling me .

        The Maharanis  loved pearls which came all the way from Basra , and wore breathtakingly beautiful pearl necklaces strung with a number of precious stone embellishments . Diamonds , emeralds , rubies , sapphires and other precious stones carefully selected ,  added color to the luminescent pearls . Each necklace was designed and strung carefully by the master craftsman or Patwa of the royal court using silk as the stringing material .  The needles finer than human hair was used to string the pearls . It was so difficult to thread such a fine needle , that it took only the experienced patwa to add new thread if it snapped during the weaving . The pearls had very fine holes and so there was no way in which a thicker needle could be used. Therefore some bit of a string ( made from a single strand of silk ) was always kept threaded ( sometimes for years , till it frayed and broke ) and the new string was always added with a joint a few inches away from the needle .

materials used for stringing Pearls

An array of beading needles. Notice how fine the needle for pearl weaving is. The eye of the needle is round unlike the long eye of the size 16 beading needle. These needles are at least half a century old and have been preserved carefully . The silk floss is untwisted to facilitate easy threading .

  Carefully hand twisting the silk floss ,  the patwa ( the pearl weaver ) made the string on a flat table covered with velvet rolling it in such a way that the separate strands merged together and obtained a tight twist . This prevented the jewellery from breaking during wear and tear. Before stringing the patwa carefully washed the pearls in a herbal solution of soapnut ( aritha ) carefully and dried the pearls .

Grading pearls .

    The grading came next , and depending on the design to be woven , the sorting was done . If the pattern was intricate , it took days for the jewellery to be completed. Once it was made , the remaining pearls were stored in a white muslin cloth to prevent any damage ad the finished piece kept stored in velvet lined boxes. If not worn for sometime , the jewellery was aired , to preserve the luster of pearls , to prevent yellowing or discoloration , and also to prevent the string from fraying. Once in every few years the jewellery would be re-strung to prevent the loss of pearls by breakage of frayed threads. And after wearing , pearls always had to be carefully wiped with chamoise leather to wipe off perspiration which yellowed and damaged the pearls .

Pearls, all shiny and lustrous after washing with soap nut solution

   Her fondness of pearls had grown because of her father , she said . Having  a friend who came all the way from Basra to sell pearls in Bombay, her father bought pearls from him .  Being a frequent guest at their house, whenever he had a good collection , he would urge her parents to buy them for the family . Being one of the eight children , no doubt the collection got divided , but still she did inherit a small lot from her mother , which she lovingly wore on every occasion . And to ensure  that I too looked after the pearls with the same reverence , she repeatedly emphasized the care and handling pearls required . Here is the Necklace , she coveted the most, which she gifted me .

  

It is now four years since she passed away but I still miss her and whenever I look at her pictures , I am reminded by the words of advice she gave me . Each time I write a post , I  remember her love for jewellery . And the priceless advice she gave me .

She was no less than a Maharani in my eyes!

motidana

Pink-n-Pearls , latest in the wedding collection.

Pink seems to be the color I`m obsessed with these days. Moving away from the usual greens and reds, so popular in the Indian wedding scene, my choice for this season is pretty pastels and subdued shades of  reds.

    Here`s a set I`ve created with lovely pink seed beads and accentuated with cultured pearls . Trendy jhumkhi`s perfectly match the lovely pendant and can be worn with a simple gold chain during daytime or can be worn with a single strand of pearls for a formal evening.... a  gift for a soon-tobe -Bride 

 So what do you think? Do you think she would like it ? I have kept it as a surprise for her ,so just waiting to see what her reaction will be ,

signing off for now,

motidana

My bracelet Maharani - an inspiration from the bygone Era

A couple of years ago , I happened to come across this beautiful pendant by Amrapali . They specialize in creating the most beautiful jewellery inspired by traditional motifs and designs . Being a great fan of all things traditional and ethnic , I loved it at the first instant .  It was beautiful and in my mind , I started imagining  how I could showcase it in the best possible way .And so I started thinking " Should it be a simple chain added to the pendant , (..too simple for my liking ... I would prefer something more elaborate ....) or should it be a multistrand chain of pearls ?  ( no no .... it has become very common now- a-days ; every other woman seems to be wearing one .). ...." and so my imagination ran but I discarded these ideas one by one . What I wanted was to make the piece different from the usual yet something that was traditional .But since there was no occasion in the near future , I put it away , with a thought of creating something when an occasion did come up .

 
             Recently when I was deciding on what to wear for the wedding that was comming up soon , I remembered the pendant and took it out . I just knew what I would make for this beauty! It would be a bracelet and not a necklace as I was planning earlier. It would be something to match my necklace and earrings that were bought some time ago from Amrapali . I had`nt purchased anything for my hand as I had already overshot my budget buying that lovely necklace .

 So using left over  ruby beads that I have used in my earlier  Mahalakshmi Necklace. , I created this bracelet . The RAW is fairly easy to do , but anchoring the pendant to the beads took a little bit of adjusting . I wanted the piece secure so that it would not dangle and get caught in my saree .

adding the clasps was a bit of a dilemma but I have settled for magnetic clasps  and outlined the the RAW with fresh water pearls .  The pearl border not only outlines the piece but also acts as a protection to the pendant .

                                             Princess Krishna Kumari of Marwar and Jodhpur.
                                              photo courtsey http://vintageindia.tumblr.com/page/5

And as for naming this piece .... I think Maharani  would be the perfect name for it ... specially since I happened to see this beautiful photo ,after creating my bracelet ,  much to my surprise and amazement ! ( was my imagination  a reality some years ago ?? )
  A beautiful reminder of the bygone era ! Isn`t it ?

regards

motidana .

A Penchant For Pearls !

          Beautiful pearl accessories made by weaving tiny little seed pearls  and precious stones together is an ancient craft that has been practiced in India for centuries. The Rajputs , Mughals , Nawabs ,  Gaikwads all had a passion for wearing lovely pearl jewelry.

  It is said that the Nizams of Hyderabad were so partial to pearls , that they set up the Pearl Industry in Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh . And till today this city  prides itself in being called the Pearl City Of India    Inspite of the fact that Hyderabad is neither a coastal area,  or  near a coastal area. it has the a wide variety of pearls from all over the world being sold in hundreds of shops scattered around the city.  which dates back to 400 years .  Nizams in Hyderabad lead a rich life,  inviting craftsman from all over the world especially from the Middle East, where  rare pearls were in abundance. And these craftsmen drilled , polished and beautified the pearls still more to make intricate jewellery from pearls , which was a pride of every  woman.
 But like all other ancient crafts the pearl weaving too dwindled  and today not many craftsmen ( called patwa in gujarati )  can create intricate designs like the bygone era. Now only a handful of these craftsmen ( patwa )  are ready to twist the fine silk thread and interweave the pearls with holes so small that it takes a needle finer than a human hair to string it!. 

Rare and unique designs sometimes surface in family heirlooms , and , sometimes sadly broken strings due to unavailability of a patwa surface in discarded and forgotten jewel boxes of some Indians.
  The Bhatia community from Kutch region of Gujarat still wear  traditional pearl jewellery  . No auspicious occasion is complete without the family pearls comming out of the family jewel boxes . A feast to the eyes , the Bhatia women adorn themselves in the traditional gharchola ( a typical tie and dye bandhani saree with zari (gold thread )  checks that all the married women in the family wear , along with lots and lots of pearl jewellery .

Wow , dressed in the traditional best

A happy friend indeed!

henna and pearl bangles adorn the brides hands

 Keeping this traditional art of the Bhatia community  in mind , I had created the  Frill And Lace collar in my earlier post. As using real basra pearls is still out of question , ( I have a lot of practice to do before I even get around to stringing the needle , let alone weave the design ! ) I have used seed beads instead .
  And my joy knew no bounds,  because , at least to look at , my creation appeared in the same level as the other pieces worn in the photos. And ofcourse not to forget the heart felt thanks of a satisfied friend when she wore it at the wedding !

motidana

My latest project - earrings - Anant Chakra !

Restoring  jewelry fashion from the past , has been a subject that  interests  me lately . If you have viewed my earlier posts , you will find that in many of pieces that I have created, I have  drawn inspiration from classic styles to create  jewelry that is one of a kind and unique .
    These pair of earrings , that I have named Anant Chakra  , ( or the infinite wheel ) is made to match the victorian  frill and lace collar  from my earlier post .
     The center earrings can be changed according to the color desired. I have used solitaire earrings in this one . And being light in weight these earring are a joy to wear.

What do you think?


regards

motidana 

Frill`n`Lace - a bridal collar ,victorian style

Recently I got a custom order from a friend . The request was to transform the small 1" inch pendant that she had into something elaborate , that would be visible with our  colourful and flashy wedding clothes, something that was eye-catching and more visible !

   I kept mulling  over what to do with the piece for weeks trying to find ways to make the miniscule little eye shaped pendant a little bigger. Working around the tiny ruby and diamond pendant , my first goal was to give it a classic Victorian look . Having no pattern at hand I had to make several attempts to get the circle of seed beads and crystals to fit the circumference of the pendant .



After having the pendant design approved from her , I completed the collar , happy that I had accomplished my goal .

If you notice I have given the traditional cord tassel at the end ( a prevelant closure in indian jewellery , as it allows the wearer to adjust the collar according to the neck size and the length of the necklace can be controlled according to what size the person wants - tight like collar or loose as in necklace )

I am eagerly awaiting her comment .

 Do you think she will like it ? and more important will I get more such challenging custom orders?

Do drop in a line,

till then , happily beading

motidana 

The Mahalakshmi Necklace.

At Indian weddings , there is always , without doubt , an ocean of ideas and inspiration for a keen observer. And what more do I want! Always the one to enjoy wearing  a  piece of  recreated and redesigned jewellery , I was full of  ideas to make something new when I attended a South Indian wedding . Drooling over the Kanjeevaram sarees , the traditional jewellery  , I could`nt wait to get back home and make something.

Mahalakshmi , the goddess of wealth.

  Rummaging through my jewellery box I found the perfect Temple Jewellery necklace that I wanted to redesign .

the necklace that I dis-assembled

Using ruby beads that I had , I made the necklace in square stitch .

Attaching the pieces to the finished necklace , I found a Mahalakshmi hair ornament to match the peacock pieces . And my necklace was ready .

 Looking at the assembled necklace I found that each of the peacocks are of a different pattern , and the hair ornament also doubles over as a pendant and can be worn seperately. But the backing of the pendant is silver and is filled with lac ( a type of resin ) to hold its shape .

Each peacock is designed slightly different from the other , beautiful artistry is`nt it ?

( Temple Jewellery , a traditional style of  South Indian jewellery , is handcrafted in the repousse technique of jewellery making. For an in depth article on this jewellery making technique visit this link )http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/repousse.htm

so what do you think of this necklace , Is the name Mahalakshmi ( The Goddess Of Wealth ) befitting this creation?

Looking forward to your comments

Motidana.

Rani Haar - The Queens Necklace

Jewellery has a  great significance  in  the life of every  Indian .  Traditional Indian Jewellery dates back to an era of Royalty and Maharajas . Though the techniques of making jewellery are vast and varied in this country , the traditional designs are still popular among the Indian brides.
 Be it a family heirloom or a new purchase the Indian bride is resplendent with all the  finery , looking like a Royal Princess on her wedding day !


 Taking inspiration from the traditional haveli`s of Rajasthan ( the royal dwellings ) , I have created this Rani Haar  literally meaning  - The Queen`s Necklace .

basing my design on the carved windows or Jharokhas ; in other words  a viewing gallery which I used as my focal theme . 



making the central chain



adding the line of scallops



tried to see how the pendant would look




completed the outer lines and added the topaz drops in the fringe

Since gold is considered as auspicious (   the hindus regard Gold as a  symbol of the warm sun , ) I have used seed beads , rubies emerald beads   ,  drop shaped Topaz and a gold pendant from Gujarat 

 

Here`s the completed Rani Haar . Do you think it captures the essence of the royal havelis of Rajasthan?

looking forward to your comments

motidana .