Gili T’s horse shoe

 

My boyfriend and i were not sure whether to buy tickets for the boat over to Gili Trawangan from Ubud in Bali. We were not one hundred percent sure if it was a malaria free zone and we had ran out of our anti-Malaria tablets. So if we were going to go, it would be a risk. 

I was desperate to go, i had heard the island was paradise. I had to find out for myself. So with a large amount of persuasion, eventually my boyfriend agreed to get on the back of our Ubud homestay host’s moped and buy two boat tickets to Gili T. They cost us about £50 each which was slightly more than i expected but still very cheap compared to home, plus i was too excited to think of a more reasonable budget.

After a long, and rocky four hour boat journey across the ocean that seemed to have the biggest swell ever (thank god i do not suffer with bad sea sickness) we made it to Gili Trawangan. We found out later that only the Indonesian island named Lombok required anti-Malaria tablets, so my boyfriend could relax and lay off the deet.

We stepped off the boat on to soft, golden sand and we were greeted by a pony and cart. There are no cars, moped or trucks on this jolly little island, so transportation is old school. It is one of my favourite parts of the island. Hearing shaking bells and trotting ponies make their way down the little narrow lanes. The characteristics of this tiny place are one of a kind.

I spent four days on the island and did not want to leave. I’m not sure what it was about Gili T that made me love it so much. I have been lucky enough to  visit most of  Thailand’s tranquil islands, including Phi Phi which is the most similar, but i wasn’t cast under the wonderlust spell like i am with Gili T. I thought Phi Phi was a bit too commercial. Gilli T has not been ruined, so it still has its rustic natural charm. The Indonesians that live on the island are witty, gentle people who really surface a jolly, relaxed and happy aroma to the place.

As we were set to leave the island i found an old horse shoe buried in the sand. I was just walking down a land from my hotel to the main road. I decided to take it with me, so i have a little bit of Gili T alaways with me. It’s rusting quite a lotbut surviving well in my backpack. Once i am back in England i shall frame my Gili T trinket so i will always remember that jolly little island that has become my favourite place.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I have not played this game since i was back in school. It was quite nostalgic remembering the tactics and practising my mental quick hand.

I am sitting in a restaurant in Pnom Penh, Cambodia about to dig into my khmer curry when i am approached by a fresh skinned, sweet looking eight year old local Cambodian girl. She has a wire hanger slung over her shoulder with many home made braided bangles and bracelets tied on to it. The hanger looks bright, colourful and full of culture. She is confident, cheeky and very smart. She approaches me speaking clear and complicated english for her age. She asks me where i am from And repeats some classic british quotes in a witty manor ‘lovely jubbly’. She tells me she learns her englih by speaking to us tourists and at her sunday classes.

I am expecting her to persuade me to buy a bracelet off her hanger for a very expensive $5 (the same price as my curry and Angor beer) and then battle a negotiation just so i can eat my curry before it gets cold.

She surprised me. instead she asked me if i wanted to challenge her to a game of rock, paper, scissors. I knew that this would only end in her favour but i was quite intrigued with her sales approach. ” if i win, you have to buy a bracelet off me, if you win then i’ll give you one for free”.

I will warn you now, never challenge a Cambodian child to a game of rock, paper, scissors. You will lose every time and end up spending near $20 on bracelets as it’s addictive trying to win and suss out how they do it. Many games later and i have spent my weekly budget on rock, paper, scissors.

In the end, i didn’t mind. It was a fun dinner and she was good company. I was probably owed about 5 bracelets but i only chose one. It isn’t elaborate or anything special, just a red band with the word Cambodia stitched onto it. However, This bracelet, is special to me and will remind me of my time spent in this amazingly strong country and their culture.

The lucky cat charms – Jen

I met Jen whilst in Singapore. My boyfriend wanted to get a tattoo whilst we were travelling, he had the idea of getting it done here. We were walking down the trendy Haji lane and spotted a tattoo parlour named ‘Visual Orgasm’. Jen is a very talented tattoo artist who took on the task of drawing my boyfriends very detailed tattoo idea.

A few days later, my boyfriend and I were sitting at Jen’s creative desk ready for the tattoo creation to commence. Whilst my boyfriend was sitting in the hot seat, bravely fighting the vibrating needle i couldn’t help but notice Jen’s colourful, creative desk space. The shelves were filled with tiny ornaments of the Chinese lucky cats, pictures of cats and cards with cats on them. I realised that Jen might be a cat lover.

Around Jen’s neck was a hand made necklace. A simple chain with two tiny porcelain cat charms hanging freely. These charms traditionally mean good fortune and luck. She has a blue and a red cat. Jen wears her culture and her love of cats around her neck. I love her idea of accessorising her favourite thing; it shows her creativity and keeps what she loves close.

Before Jen was a tattoo artist she was a veterinary assistant. Although she adores animals and loved working with them she urged to be more creative in her career. Being naturally very talented in drawing she joined Visual Orgasm’s apprenticeship scheme and begun her journey to becoming a successful tattoo artist.

War medals found in the Vietnamese jungle – Quang

I was on my way to visit the Vietnamese castle Citadel. It was my second day in Hue, Vietnam. Occasionally along the paths in this city are laid out rugs with china pots, souvenirs and various other trinkets to buy from the Vietnamese locals. I was walking past one particular arrangement of little metal coins on the floor, for some reason i was curious enough to stop and take a closer look. It wasnt rusting coins like i thought it was but badges and medals. I guessed they were war related so i asked Quang, who owned the little street stall for more information.

My story isn’t just about the trinkets he sold but also about his passion for the medals and the history of his country. I was with him for hours on the side of the road while he told me about each individual medal and what it meant. He had medals from the Vietnam war In 1972 between the south (with USA) and the north. He had medals belonging to US soldiers too, from when they invaded North Vietnam.

Quang had many dog tags and medals that belonged to US soldiers, these were found in the jungle so they were not in great condition. I felt Strange reading the names and the information off the dog tags that belonged to the soldiers. I did a bit of research on how the US army coped in Vietnam as many of them lost their lives. They call it Guerrilla Warfare as it took place in the jungle. The vietnamese soldiers knew how to fight on their land, hiding in the trees and using traditional tactics gave them a better chance. The medals Quang had found in the jungle were quite heavy. Some were deformed and the markings on the medals were barely readable. The medals belonged to the US army, navy and Marine.

The trinkets Quang was most excited about belonged to the north Vietnam soldiers. He was so cute and his eyes lit up when he was telling me about these, he would grab my arm and excitedly hurry me to the next rug on the floor full of these medals. He had many trinkets in good and bad condition. He told me that the one’s in good condition were found in houses. The one’s in bad condition were found in the jungle.

I bought 2 from him as he gave me a deal. They belong to North Vietnam. The US medals were quite expensive as they are probably more rare so i stuck to the Vietnamese historic trinkets.

My first trinket was a badge from 1972 which means North Vietnam won the war as its labelled with Chien Thang. Quang was telling me what all of the sayings on the medals meant. I got him to write them down for me as the language barrier was causing confusion.

Chien thang- victory
Quyet thang – corps with determination to win, part of of Ho Chi Minh campaign
Khang chien- resistance (war against America)
Toan thang- attempting to scale

I also bought a medal which was found in the jungle, it belonged to the north Vietnamese army. It is very fragile so i hope it doesn’t break in my huge backpack. Engraved on the medal is the saying Giai Phong, which means its a liberation medal and also means “release the south”.

These trinkets are special as they are a part of history and Quan is a person from my travels who i will never forget.

A cross brought back from D-Day- Uncle Tom

It’s the Second World War and my great, great Uncle Tom (real name; Ivan Henry Hollebon) has landed in Normandy, France 1944. Tom served England as a soldier in the Royal Horse Artillery.

I can’t imagine what France must have been like at that particular time years ago, but this tiny gold cross is a token of that historic time and a resemblance of the major D-Day and Normandy landings. My great, great Uncle Tom brought this back from France after he travelled over seas to fight, before going on to Italy in 1945. It was a gift for my Grandma Peggy Davis.

For the young men and Uncle Tom, I’m sure going over to France for this occasion was the first time the men had left England. It must have been both exciting and frightening for them. Seeing many different shops in France with Trinkets and wanting to bring gifts back for their friends and family must have been pretty normal.

My Grandma now treasures this little cross and remembers the story that came with it, it is a tribute to Uncle Tom and his bravery during World War 2. Uncle Tom was awarded a Military Medal which was given to non-commissioned officers and soldiers ‘for individual and associated acts of bravery brought to notice by the recommendation of the commander-in-chief in the field’. He won this whilst in Italy. His troop were heavily shelled and Uncle Tom walked calmly from  from gun pit to gun pit cheering the gun crews to keep them going and in action.  He saw to the wounded and carried them to the ambulance. His GPO was killed and Tom took charge of the gun position. This act of bravery was inspirational and recognised. This piece of jewellery has been on a huge historic journey. It is so elegant looking with small blue tear drops on the tips of the cross.

 

Tangerine Dreams first handmade ring- Antonia

A trip down memory lane can sometimes show your age, but I love remembering the 90’s toys I used to play with. Barbie was the classic and reading all about Peter Rabbits adventures. I wanted to draw and paint just like Beatrix Potter when I was younger, of course I then put pen to paper and realised it wasn’t my forte (despite choosing fashion illustration as a study option) I was indeed a determined kid! So when I came across the most nostalgic jewellery ever with a Beatrix Potter illustration in a necklace and ring I had to make friends with the talented jewellery designer and find out about her trinkets.

Antonia Corke is founder of Tangerine Dreams. She makes by hand, all of her jewellery sold on Asos Market place. At first jewellery making was a hobby for Antonia but her first few designs were so popular she decided to create Tangerine Dreams and make more vintage treasures. “The jewellery I was making at this time was all made out of things I’d found – old toys, game parts and vintage bits. There was a lot of trial and error at first but once I started with a few pieces I just couldn’t stop thinking of new things to make!”

Antonia tells me that she wears one particular piece of jewellery everyday. It symbolises her perfect vision and success of Tangerine Dreams. Antonia had no training or experience in jewellery making so she took two short courses to expand her product range. The short courses were silver and resin jewellery making. Antonia’s special trinket is a hand-made special silver ring “This ring was the first thing I designed and made on my silver course. When you make something out of silver the concept in your head can be hard to turn into a physical piece of jewellery but this ring turned out exactly how I pictured and that’s why it is so special to me. I couldn’t bare to sell it (which can often be a problem when I make something I love!)”

Literally, Tangerine Dreams is a once loved childhood trunk filled with Barbie shoes, ring Donuts, Ice gems, Monopoly, Lego, Scrabble and gingerbread men. It is a heavenly brand of 90’s inspired jewellery that is just perfect for us nostalgic gals that don’t want to fully grow up.

A lost childhood trinket inspires London jewellers – Nikki

A love affair with jewellery can begin at any time. For Nikki hers started before she turned seven, with a heartbreaking loss of her silver kissing boy and girl pendant in the school playground. She has since studied jewellery design at art college and when graduated she opened her very own independent jewellery shop in Mayfair, London. Nikki Galloway has owned Nude Jewellery boutique for over eleven years. I have introduced myself to the lovely Nikki to find out about her jewellers and special trinkets.

Nikki wears a mesmerising geometric inspired ring by Radek Szwed from her boutique which is gold plated silver and holds a statement orange crystal, it is stunning! The ring was a birthday gift to Nikki from her partner. Being a jewellery boutique owner and amongst the sparkles, intriguing shapes and encapsulating silversmithing, Nikki revealed her love of wearing as much jewellery as she can “We get new collections in all of the time and there are many pieces that I love, the problem is as soon as I decide to keep something and wear it people want to buy it, I have in the past had to sell something just as I’ve fallen in love with it whilst wearing it. Luckily I’ll probably have a love affair with a another piece the following week which often happens!” of course Nikki’s special ring is never replaced. She has worn her ring for a little over a year and she tells me that’s quite a long time for her with the choice of enchanting jewels and new collections around her. 

 

As well as owner to the beautiful little London boutique Nikki is also a talented award winning jewellery designer. I love her handmade glitter ball necklace and ring that Nikki wears to match her outfits. The textured silver discs have such personality. Nude jewellery boutique features many different jewels by designers, Nikki tells me her boutique is a showcase of many talents. “I wish I could take credit for all of the beautiful jewellery in-store but the amazing, varied creations and ideas would be too much for any one person. Hence the reason we showcase other designers, I just love unusual and innovative jewellery and am constantly amazed by some new designs that I see. So instead of settling for just a few pieces of jewellery I have the luxury of the whole store to choose from.”

 

Nude jewellery in Shepherd Market, Mayfair is a must visit even just to take a look at her beautiful collections. 

 

Wedding flower trinkets- Ashley

I’m definetely not at the marriage stage of my life yet, but the bells have already started to ring within my friendship group so glamorous dresses, cake and flowers are occurring more regularly. For every girl, I know if there could be one thing they wished they could keep from their wedding (apart from their other half) it would be the gorgeous flowers. So much effort goes into flower arrangements and they just get thrown in the bin at the end, or thrown in the air hoping the next bride to be will catch them, at least with the cake you get to eat it. Ashley Church is our wedding trinket saviour. She owns flower preservation business Delicate Designs and can preserve flower bouquets to create a wedding keepsake.

Ashley found out her husbands high school friend Allison was getting married and knew she had the perfect gift “I was even more excited about the wedding because I knew I could preserve her bouquet and I knew it would be beautiful” Allison’s wedding flower arrangement was a gorgeous yellow, which is good colour to preserve as it doesn’t change too much. The end result of Ashley’s work is stunning and such a thoughtful idea. Ashley explains her thought on flower preservation “No girl wants to see her wedding day come to an end and preserving your wedding bouquet allows you to have a part of that day forever.”

Ashley preserves the flowers with silica gel and the process takes about 6 weeks. The gel absorbs the moisture from the flowers. She has shown all of her trinket creations on her blog and they look so lovely.

 

A paper aeroplane to say goodbye- Sam

 As I have mentioned a few times on my blog, I am going travelling around the world next month until next year. The time has come where I need to start saying my goodbyes to special people in my life.

Saying goodbye to my family a friends will be hard but I know that they will always be on the other end of the phone line and I’ll be back with them before I know it. Saying goodbye to certain other things in my life which may not return will be hard.

I fell in love with a sport whilst at university and it has grown to be part of me and who I am. I joined my university cheerleading team, and when I graduated I joined a competitive cheer program in London. Sparks Allstars is a sport I love, my friends, my escape from stressful times and my ultimate challenge. This years season comes to and end 13th July and I fly out to my first backpacking destination a few days after. I will be ending my season at a national competition and this could possibly be the last time I ever compete as a cheerleader.

 I joined Sparks Allstars level 2 team as a flyer, and I know my coach didn’t have the easiest time with me. I was previously a base on my university team, which means I was the one underneath the stunt group lifting the flyer. So I was pretty inexperienced when it came to flying for Sparks Wildfire. My coach trained me up with her skills to be ready for competition and I have loved learning to fly, I am so grateful that she believed in me when I tried out as a flyer instead of a base. she gave me the opportunity to challenge myself and put on a show. A few seasons later she promoted me and my stunt group to centre point. This was actually pretty nerve-racking!

After being with Sparks Allstars  for two and a half years, the time has come to prepare to say my goodbyes. I hope I will return after travelling but I will be nearing the back end of the 20’s so it depends if my body will cope with it:/ I have decided to get my coach a little charm necklace to resemble my journey and as a thank you for my time with Sparks. Its a paper aeroplane pendant from Gracie Collins (Not on the high street). The obvious symbol is the flying, and the paper side of it symbolises the time, effort, patience and coaching she has put into making me a centre point flyer for Sparks Wildfire.

The green angel inside the pendant- Maria

-Maria, Designer from Romania

I’m one of those people that gets really excited when I find something I love and feel inspired by. I found some amazing handmade crafts and illustrations. I am also probably one of those annoying people who are too curious for their own good, I wanted to find out more so I have introduced myself to the lovely Maria Raita Sabina from Romania. She is a designer with a passion for paper crafting, scrapbooking, art and sewing. I love meeting crafty people, they are always so full of cool ideas. She writes about her work on her blog Lollyrot scrapbooking and sells her stamps on stampotique. Of course, I wanted to know all about her jewellery stories too:/ and she told me about the most unusual and beautiful pendant she has which has a vey special meaning to her. For any jewellery designers, this pendant is seriously enchanting.

Maria finished high school with the common question what shall I do now? She decided to take a break and focus on what she really wants to achieve in life. During her long summer break she travelled to Spain. Here she took on a challenging job role to care for baby triplets, two boys and one girl. Maria explains “It was a non-stop job with only one day off, on a Sunday. I spent more time with the babies then their parents did. It was like my own family for a while” she was a young girl at this time so this was a demanding role with huge responsibilities. This is a challenge I don’t think I would be able to handle, especially looking after three young babies and two dogs in a different country. Maria’s payment was very small so she didn’t do this job for the money but for the experience and she emphasises that she loved it.

Maria tells me that she got particularly attached to one of the triplets “He was such a sweet, quiet and peaceful baby, he was special to me” this baby was different to the other two as he had to have heart surgery after birth but there was something more special about this baby. Each child had his own clothing colour. Green, blue and pink. Maria got attached to the green baby. Before Maria decided it was time for her to return back home to Romania, the triplets Mother gave her the most beautiful special pendant and said some words that Maria will never forget.

”When you are alone and sad and you need an angel, remember you have three angels but one of them will always keep the love you gave in this green ball”

 

The green ball is protected by a detailed metal shell. It is truly a beautiful piece of jewellery with maria’s experience and love inside. An absolute treasure. Maria has such a wonderful story and she is an amazing designer and crafter. Her scrapbook can be seen here> http://lollyrot-scrapbooking.blogspot.ro/