An around the world jewellery haul

I landed back in England 14th April 2015. Hearing the accentuated British accent, seeing patch-worked green land and feeling a crisp freeze in the air were strange feelings I had to come to terms with after exploring the world and acclimatising to at least 30 degrees Celsius.

This was 2 weeks ago now, and I thought it was about time I updated my blog on some of the timeless trinkets I bought home with me. I wanted to buy something meaningful in every country I visited. This consisted mostly of jewellery as I find jewellery a very personal ornament that I know I will always treasure carefully.

In my photo’s showing my trinket haul I have souvinirs from…

Japan (the mini lucky cats). These were bought in the cutest trinket shop, it was hidden at the bottom of some stairs on the main shopping high street in Ginza, Tokyo.

Laos (Elephant chain necklace). Luang Prabang was my first stop in the beautiful Laos. Every evening the high street becomes a vibrant night market. With canopied tent roofs filling the main street I managed to weave around the stools to the path and I found a majestic jewellery shop selling necklaces with all kinds of animals like this one.

Fiji (Shell bracelet). I stayed at Octopus resort on the Yasawa Islands and on Wednesdays they held  a jewellery making workshop. I took part in the workshop with the local Fijian villagers.

Thailand (Elephant ring). Whilst in Chang Mai I volunteered at Rang Tong elephant camp. There is a very sweet old Thai lady at the camp selling lovely jewellery to raise money for the elephants. I decided to buy this ring with imprints of the elephants.

New Zealand (Feather). I found a bead shop in Nelson on the south island. i bought this as a charm. it resembles the kiwi fern to me.

Vietnam (doll). I fell in love with this colourful little doll key ring. I was going to buy myself one but my boyfriend surprised me and bought me the red doll.

Thailand (Bangle). Chang Mai night market is one of the best places to shop. I bought so many things from this place, included this elephant printed bangle.

Fiji (Wooden turtle). I travelled around the Yasawa Islands in Fiji. This turtle necklace is from the Blue Lagoon resorts village. I visited the village to see their town hall market. The local villagers were selling many crafty goodies. I chose this turtle.

Mexico (green turtle). I bought another turtle in Puerto Morelos. Whilst here I visited the most wonderful beach I have ever been to. It’s not particularly pretty but there are about 20 turtles feeding on the sea grass not far from the shore. I swam with so many turtles it was an unbelievable experience.

And lastly, my rings. I now wear 3 rings. They are from Brisbane in Australia, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Solvang, USA. I don’t think I will ever forget where I bought these delights from.

Hoi An fruit market and my paint

This post, unfortunately isn’t about trinkets or jewellery. I thought i would post something i have been working on whilst on my travels.

I was a bit of a geek and brought a mini water colour painting set with me in my backpack. Whilst on the stunning beach in Nah Trang, Vietnam i decided to paint one of my favourite pictures i have taken so far. It’s of the Vietnamese fruit market in Hoi An. I’m so glad i saw this place. Markets are everywhere but i love Vietnamese markets as the stall owners pile their fruit up high and sit behind it with their traditional cone hats. You can hardly see them as they are all so tiny.

Whilst writing this I am sitting on another beach, this time in Mui ne, Vietnam. The waves are so high and violent here, i am a little worried about braving the sea in a few moments.

The beach a am sitting at right now;)

Arashiyama town and it’s trinkets (Kyoto, Japan)

I am now in Kyoto and words cannot describe how true to Japanese tradition and scenery it is expected to be. Whilst in Tokyo I was slightly disappointed with the lack of blossoms, scenic rivers with tiny bridges and cute paper guest houses. Kyoto on the other hand is this exact image. It is very japanese cultured and a beautiful little city. I have bumped into many Geisha’s, spotted many picturesque streets full of paper tea houses and have found some real trinkets.

I visted a cute little town called Arashiyama. This town is home to the Tenryuji temple and path of bamboo. It is a real tourist area but the shops that line the streets are very traditional and the creativity inside was a breathe of fresh air. Its hard to find symbolic and beautiful trinkets in tourist hotspots.

Many of the shops had miniture geisha’s, cats and other creatures made with a textured material. They were like soft toys but more sophisticated. Very cute.

Like in Uk, charm bracelets are popular over here. Their charm braclets are more bands that you pin your charms to. Not as expensive as brands such as Pandora but just as personal.

I found one shop that sold jewellery made with glass beads. The beads were decorated with intricate detail and pretty patterns inside, they were quite large in size and heavy. I really wanted to buy the light blue bead that replicated a japanese river with swimming fishes. Part of me wishes I had just bought it but it was priced at ¥1,600 (around £10) which I think is reasonable for such a well crafted jewel but my travel fund needs to see me round the world.
The stones in the rings were also a symbol of elegance with flowers in the middle, something I have never seen before. The rings looked like they were made with glass but could have been resin.

Japan is a mega hot country, and Kyoto seems particularly hot compared to Tokyo. the perfectly posed Japanese woman have the sweaty heat sussed. They carry wet handkerchiefs with them and swiftly hydrate their neck and forehead with it. The handkerchiefs are sold in most souvenir shops but they are very pretty. Most of them have embroidered geisha’s using metallic and gold threads. They are all mostly priced under ¥1000 so they are quite cheap.

Arashiyama was one of my favourite places I visited in Japan and definetely the beat for trinket shopping.

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.