10 Mar

Ordering bespoke jewellery / Special Gift / Commission process

Do you love wearing unique jewellery that no one else owns? Does jewellery hold a deeper meaning or sentimental value for you?

 If you are considering having a Bespoke piece made then how about getting in touch and visit me in my workshop for a chat? I’m based in Brighton (UK) but you don’t have to be!  If you can’t make it in person then email exchanges or a telephone conversation work absolutely fine…

I love working one-on-one with my clients to create the “perfect” piece of jewellery. It’s all about combining your personality with my vision and bringing to life a piece that tells your story and compliments your personal style.

My desire is to create something you will really cherish. My style influences come from art, illustration, nature… I like to create jewellery by playing with lots of different techniques, textures and colours. When I am designing a piece for you, all these elements inspire me, however, it’s really you that I am focusing on. It’s very much a collaborative process. 

You are considering ordering a bespoke piece and you are not sure where to start?

The following guide will help you imagine a brief so I can create the perfect gift for you or your loved one:

The story

First of all you need to decide of a theme or the story you want to tell. I can work from an anecdote, a shape, a stone, an animal, a passion,  a country, a season… The origins of a design can be virtually anything ! Think about the person’s personality, lifestyle, hobbies, career, interest, inspirations, taste, fashion style, colours…  You can provide any images that inspire you.

A PIECE OF JEWELLERY? AN OBJECT? OR BOTH?

I’m trained and experienced as a jeweller, I create rings of all kinds, wedding bands, engagement rings*, pendants, bracelets and much more. I also love to work on small scale objects/sculptures, such as keepsake boxes* made of wood and silver, I have also made fun silver spoons* for christening presents… I like challenging work and I’m always open to creating something unusual!

A few years ago, I started making what I called “Jewel-objets” *. They make perfect presents, as they can really tell any stories! They combines three disciplines: jewellery, illustration and woodwork. The idea is to give life to a jewel when nobody is wearing it, the jewel can fit in a painted wooden scuplpture  and it becomes the heart of a colourful world or the missing fragment of the story.

GEMSTONES

There are so many beautiful gemstones available, each with their own unique story. She/He might have a favourite colour ? you can chose her/his birthstone? You could combine a few stones to represent each  members of a family?

RECYCLING

Think outside the box!  I can use a small sentimental object or element by mounting it into a piece of jewellery, or incorporating it into a “Jewel-Objet” *  or Keepsake box …

METAL CHOICE

I work in a lot of different metals such a silver, palladium, white gold, yellow gold and rose gold… Your budget may guide your choice of metal. You might want to choose a certain metal for its symbolic meaning, its colour, or durability .

TRANSFORMING

If you have some old precious jewellery with sentimental value, I can transform it into something  more contemporary. I can also melt precious jewellery, re-use the metal to give a new life to outdated pieces and make something completely different that she/he will love wearing!

When you are ready for an initial discussion, I will help clarify things by sketching out a few ideas for you to respond to. Then, after further discussion, I will require a few days to put together a more complete selection of designs to be presented to you for consideration.
Once agreed upon, I will then calculate a cost for your choice and request a 50% deposit to begin making your piece.

Normally, four weeks are required for the making process . It can be shorter or longer depending on the commission. I will keep you updated on progress.
Finally, I will contact you to arrange final payment followed by either collection or delivery. (All work will be posted using Royal Mail Special delivery or Airsure. )

 

When you are ready to begin making your idea into reality please get in touch by email or telephone to start the discussion.

past commissions

Another article about Bespoke jewellery! :
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19 Fév

INSPIRATIONS / Illustrator : Rébecca Dautremer

The art of French illustrator Rebecca Dautremer is like stepping through paper windows into miniature, rouge accented worlds of wonder. Her picture books are very poetic, with a hint of humour. Inspired by fairy tales, Rébecca’s recipe is : warm colours and precise drawings.  Inspired by photography, framing, colors and light, she works as a photographer, reflecting on composition, depth of field, blur …She tries to propose in her illustrations several degrees of reading, in order to touch small and big, her books are a real success for children as well as for adults.

Rébecca Dautremer works mainly with gouache on watercolor paper on large scales .Photographic collages and textures can also be found in her  illustrations.

She Illustrated dozens of books :The secret lives of Princesses, Cyrano, Alice in wonderland, L’amoureux, Nasredine ,Babayaya, Soie, Yéti, Le bois dormait…) Dautremer has recently brought her design talents and also her love of folklore to life in the animated movie Kerity : la maison des contes (the English title is Eleanor’s secret)
She exhibited more than fifteen years of work in two Artbooks (2009 and 2015) which are like ‘behind the scenes’ books where you can discover sketches, work in progress, and go through the different albums and projects she worked on through the years.

 BIOGRAPHY

Rébecca Dautremer was born in 1971 in Gap in the South of France . She attended classes in the ENSAD of Paris and got a degree in graphic edition in 1995. She afterwards became a graphic editor and illustrator for Gautier-Languereau. Now living in Paris with her husband Taï-Marc Lethanh and their three children,. In addition to the youth illustration, Rébecca Dautremer works punctually for advertising (perfume kenzo2), and illustrated album covers (Wax Tailor, Romain Humeau, Milca), In addition, some of her albums, adapted in plays, led her to conceive the costumes and scenography of other shows.

http://www.rebeccadautremer.com/

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03 Fév

« Where does your inspiration comes from? »

Inspiration mood board Sylvaine Frouin jewellery blogPeople ask me, ‘Where does your inspiration comes from?, – the truth is I’m inspired by so many things! Especially childhood, nature and dreams but it doesn’t stop there…

I’ve always been a true Art & Craft lover, I have tried my hands at many different kinds of media before finding a real passion for jewellery making. Today, I still love discovering and following the work of many artists, illustrators, designers, ceramicists and other makers. Their work gives me inspiration and I admire that they turned their passion into their business.

I make jewellery that tells stories and I don’t follow fashion and trends. I appreciate the uniqueness of a piece of art or object and appreciate it when the personality of a ‘maker’ shines through,

In my blog I will highlight the work of these artists I hope you will be inspired too!

First « Inspirations » post coming soon 🙂

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27 Mai

Bespoke #1 : Brooch Jewel-Object / Commission – handmade personalised gift

handmade silver broochlapiz-lazuli brooch

 

Here is my last commission, a brooch, handmade in silver, with lapis-lazuli and 18ct gold. It fits into a hand-painted wooden display.

This was a birthday present from a brother and sister to their mum, I created this design after a conversation with the birthday lady, she explained that she wanted a very special brooch made using some lapis-lazuli that belonged to her mother. She was after  something modern , organic and dynamic with leaves and weaving (one of her passion being willow basket making) .

I got quickly inspired with the brief and tried to draw what was already quiet clear in my mind, I wanted to play with all these elements and combine them together like an abstract painting. Playing with juxtaposition and layers, Positive/negative  spaces. Find the right balance and harmony with the dark blue  stones /flower /leaves/ weaving.

I wanted the wooden display to add something new to the brooch. On it’s own, the brooch has an abstract feel ( apart of the flower in the middle), when it sits in the middle of the painting it becomes the heart of a wild bouquet, the lapis-lazuli become petals, the leaves and the weaving flow  from the surface of the silver to the wood.

 

brooch drawings

 

I took a few picture of the work in progress. Here is a quick retrospective of the main steps : Cutting the base into silver sheet; Trimming and reshaping  the 5 lapis-lazuli ;  Creating all the different elements from scratch and soldering them together , cutting out the leaves ; making and fixing the pin on the back; oxidising; polishing, stone setting . Then comes the wood carving in a piece of yew and painting with acrylic and ink.

 

wip brooch

wip brooch 2

wip brooch3

wip brooch 4

wip brooch 5

brooch jewel-object

I hope you enjoyed discovering the evolution of this commission from the 1st sketches to the finished object.

Big Thanks to Jenny and Joanna for ordering this fun yet challenging  piece from me!

bespoke brooch

back brooch handmade pin

 

I love working from someone’s brief and create objects which will really match someone’s taste. Jewel-Object is a truly original present , it is made to order so the possibilities are endless to incorporate personal and meaningful messages into a unique present for a loved one.

Discover more Jewel-Object : https://sylvaineart.com/categorie-produit/jewel-objects/

 

If you are interested in ordering a bespoke piece of jewellery or Jewel-Object, find out more on my website’s Bespoke page : http://sylvaineart.com/bespoke/

 

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25 Avr

Behind the scenes #1 – Unique ring collection with recycled objects

mechanical rings

Valve stems are not only for your car. I will explain you how I upcycled these pieces.

It all started when my father gave me a bag of valve stems used for car’s motors in order to create a sculpture for a project during my art studies when I was about 17. After this project I didn’t  know what to do with these strange pieces. One day I created a keyring just to play …

Years later, when I started to design jewellery, I came across this bag of strange valves stems and got inspired. They came in different sizes and colours. The unique collection called “Mechanical rings” was born with 6 ethnic style designs with a steampunk edge. The rings are handmade in silver using techniques such as engraving and some wood inlays. Various gemstones are set in the center of the rubber piece…. These timeless designs can be interpreted in many different ways and are meant to interact with the imagination of anyone wearing it or looking at it.

Discover the collection :  http://sylvaineart.com/categorie-produit/ethnic/ 

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