Madmen at 30000 feet?

Yes Pan Am, a mega stylish American series set around commercial jet planes in the early 60's, any fans?

Well it seems to be running through the same style vein as the heavily vintage Madmen series.  So think big hair, hour glass figures and pearls!  

Christina Ricci

Classic, feminine and chic we love pearls, they just add something to the whole scene, they are just kind of effortless.  

Margot Robbie

Pearl Necklace

As much as I love the whole look of Christina Ricci & Margot Robbie, I want to make clear just how much I love the whole pearl set look when teamed with skinny jeans, a plain vets top and cardi or or or with a simple LBD now that is something!

Lana - Swarovski pearl necklace

They are timeless and versatile and although they demand attention they don't detract from your outfit merely they compliment it....kind of like a piece of rocky road with your latte, they add a kick!

Would love to hear your thoughts on pearls or indeed the Pan Am series, speak soon folks!

Little Update

I know certain people are going to dislike me for saying this, but Christmas is coming!  I am not sure of the actual figures but it is on its way and if the rest of the year is anything to go by it will be approaching like a massive red freight train with white fluffy edges and 'Jingle Bells' on the radio.

Who has started their shopping?

Before that though we have Halloween & Bonfire Night to endure.  I do like the darker nights, I think I prefer this time of year to Spring/Summer...yeah I think so.  Unless we get the snow again, I'm not fussed for snow.

We have a busy few months ahead, we have been asked to put forward some images for 2 gift guides coming out in November and will also have a page in the UK Beauty Guide, again out in November.  I'm looking forward to sharing the pics with you all.

We have a little Christmasy offer running at the moment,

Special Offer click here 

Oh more exciting news, you can now find Ruby & Rose Jewellery in Rodeo Drive Boutique  and also From The Wilde .

Speak soon folks!

Asiana Magazine Editorial Pictures

At the beginning of August we were approached by this beautiful glossy magazine, 'Asiana'. They wanted to use some of our jewellery in their magazine for some editorial shots. We were over the moon!

Here are the long awaited results, (click on pics to enlarge)

Our Loretta Necklace

Necklace on 1st model

Ellen Necklace

It is such a beautifully compiled magazine, we were hyper active when we saw it on the shelves on Friday morning and realised we had one piece in it.  So you can imagine how hyper we got later on when we realised we actually had 3 pieces featured in the magazine and we are listed in the back 'stockists page'

I cannot describe how honoured we feel to have been approached by Asiana and to have our jewellery endorsed on the same page as the likes of New Look, Fiorelli & Dune.  We now have these beautiful pictures to treasure.  Hope you like them too!

speak to you all soon

Swarovski Sulking

My 4 year old has just had a major strop, she 'cannot ever even build a slide'.  To be fair to her I don't think it is something many people can do.  I'm sure the angle has to be correct to obtain maximum slideage and you must need some pretty specialised tools and material too.  I mean if it was that easy everyone would do it huh?  Ava's choice of materials are 2 packets of Tescos Ultra Dry Nappies, I think there are about 55 in a packet.  This is important, the 55 nappy packets are long, good for slide creation.

We take a lot of time sourcing our materials too, well mum does.  Luckily for us she has slightly less tantrums than Ava and again luckily her materials of choice are super luxurious rather than super absorbent.    Our latest delivery was gorgeous sterling silver flake style beads out of which our 'Love our Crystal Collection' is being created.  The website is already being jazzed up with shiny white, purple & black glitzy crystal and sterling silver, it is after all nearly party season!

As I'm typing this Ava's nappy slide has come on very well, she is a wee creative genius.  Packets of wipes are being added as steps....

speak soon

Miranda Cuff

If adults behaved like toddlers, we would all be locked up!

Today is kind of like a half day off, not as in I ll work in the morning and be off in the afternoon but more  I'll do a bit less through the whole day....maybe like instead of doing 100% all day I ll do 50% all day, you know?


I sometimes get days like that where really there is no way I will be giving 100% all day, its usually caused by 2andahalfyearolditis. '2andahalfyearolditis' will cause extremely late nights and extremely early mornings, you will be unable to sit for more than 30 seconds at a time, it also causes your house to be extremely messy and makes nothing safe, it makes your food cold before you can eat it and covers your magnolia walls in plum juice and chocolate.  The only known cure for 2andahalfyearolditis is time, so we wait! He can't be 2 and a half for ever!


So today I have had to accept 2andahalfyearolditis has well and truly kicked in and this horrible weather fairly aggravates it, so 50% it is.


It is Sunday so my 'To do' list isn't really that long, a few online things to catch up on, a wee bit of SEO and the obvious houseworky things.  Now our packaging is all complete its one less thing to be thinking about.  It takes a fair amount of brain power to think what you like in terms of colour & design and then to collaborate with someone else about it, then to see what is actually achievable.  But we got there, luckily 2andahalfyearolditis doesn't affect packaging design too much...

Our new branded packaging

Our front page on website has been changed also, hope you like!

Now off to nurse this headache, yes you guessed it 2andahalfyearolditis....

Speak soon

A snip from our world as it stands today

So its August, where did July go? Its been a blur! Is it the older you get the faster time goes past? Not sure but anyway we have been so busy and the annoying thing is that most of it has to be kept under wraps at the moment. I am literally bursting at the seams to tell someone all our news but rules are rules and thems the rules.

I'll level with you, this post is probably going to be pretty boring and I wasn't going to blog today but I just cannot put up with the 'oh have you given up with the blog?' comments any longer, the shouts, the grumping the tantrums, the rolling of the eyes, the stomping about and the big sighs.........so mum this ones for you!

Yes it is funny having your mum as your business partner.  It doesn't matter how old you are your mums your mum and she can drive you just as batty when you are 28 as when you are 15 and of course as the 'child' in this relationship I still bring so much joy, make a lot of mess and spend a bit of time on the naughty step.  Yes our office is fun!

One thing I can tell you about is our exciting new packaging, some of it has arrived.  We have gone for gorgeous purple boxes which are (get this) made using recycled and partly recycled paper which comes from sustainable sources Yup we are doing our bit to reduce our carbon footprint on this earth.

I am hoping I ll be able to reveal some more of our news very soon.  Mostly because I am really excited about it and also a little bit because I have a big mouth and cannot be trusted to stay quiet for long.

I need to add a bit of sparkle to this blog so here is Bessie, goldstone with a mother of pearl flower

Bessie

Speak soon

Stick to Stacking

I posted a few weeks back about how we love to stack and how stacking or layering as its sometimes known is a huge trend just now.  Well our newest piece or should I say pieces are created to stack perfectly, this is the Judy Stacking Bracelet collection

Judy 

It is stacked full of gemstone goodies; turquoise, carnelian, onyx, brown goldstone & red jasper and if you didn't feel like stacking it then you could wear the pieces individually.  There are so many possibilities with our Judy Collection.

Must say we do love working with goldstone, do you have any favourite gemstones?

Speak soon 

Little Bit of Big Excitement

We are working hard behind the scenes at Ruby & Rose Jewellery and we are very excited about our newest piece,

Veronica

The Veronica bracelet is a very opulent piece of jewellery, made using carnelian and blue goldstone gemstones and sterling silver.

The uber exciting thing with this bracelet is that it can take on so many forms; remove the sterling silver heart charms and replace with the gemstone hearts or mix and match gemstones and sterling silver.  This ability gives it the ultimate day to night appeal, the perfect piece of 18 hour jewellery.

Speak soon

Strike a Pose.....

VOGUE, VOGUE, VOGUE, VOGUE.....

Yes that is right, we have 2 pieces of jewellery on print in the actual Vogue Magazine (August edition out now!)
Its kind of surreal to know that something you have created has now been printed and preserved on paper by the same machine that printed Kate Moss' face!  I'm so excited to be in Vogue as the magazines that enter this house usually come with free glitter, stickers and plastic tools.  But this is a huge deal to us, we are pretty much on cloud 9.  Pictures of the 2 pieces featured can be seen below...

Hayworth Bracelet

Florence in Goldstone

So imagine our delight when we get a call from Glamour Magazine asking us if we would like to appear in their mag! .....um let me think? Yes please! We will be in their September edition (out August 2011)

Don't forget our giveaway! at 50 followers we will giveaway our Taylor bracelet to one lucky follower at random.  We are so close to our target, can you help?

speak soon

Citrus Fruity Fashion, Get Your 5 a day

After my post on 'yellow' the other day I have started to notice loads of things in this world that sport the refreshing colour. Mostly fruit & flowers, general lovely things, I mean who doesn't like those?  Then on TV today I noticed a piece on fruity fashion, while watching it not only did I realised I was craving a fruit salad but I also started thinking about many of our jewellery pieces which fit the fruity mould.

Citrusy.... Ava in Yellow

Cherry-like 'Gardner in Jasper'

Very Berry 'Gloria'

Watermelon 'Rosa in Green'

So if going fresh & fruity is your idea of summer, then it so simple to add it in with accessories.

Cherry-Berry 'Mia'

Super Fruits 'Pauline in Strawberry'

That is one of the huge appeals of accessories for me, you can carry on wearing what you like, what suits you and be all grown up and dress for the weather but you can still follow trends just simply by adding in one little piece.  A new bracelet does not require the whole wardrobe revamp that a new skirt would.  If I buy a new skirt I need to make sure I have flats and heels to go with it, tights both thick and thin, a variety of tops to make it dressed up or down and also there is no predicting this Scottish weather, so I may even need to purchase a bigger, warmer jacket to makes sure it wasn't too cold to wear my new skirt.....I think I have made my point ;)

So what do you think of juicy fashion, sweet idea? or full of pips?

Speak soon

www.rubyandrosejewellery.com

The Stacking Effect

One trend for this year that I love is 'bracelet stacking' and I ll tell you why....I am indecisive!  Bracelet stacking allows me to be this way but to still get out of the house real early for the school run, if I could only choose one bracelet I would still be there at lunchtime and that really wouldn't be fair on my handsome boy's education now would it?

So bracelet stacking is when you wear a few bracelets on one wrist, simples!  Yes there are general rules, but like with any fashion statement you don't have to follow them religiously, infact pick the rules you like and then make it your own.  


A few ideas to try and have fun with

• choose colours that really go well together they don't have to be obvious ones but if they are linked in some way e.g all pastelly or all autumnal then it helps give them a reason for being there.  Some people prefer to have 1 focal point, but in this picture I like the multiple rose quartz hearts as it adds a depth and texture.

Ava Bracelets stacked
Ava Bracelets on our site

• Mix your stack up with a variation of bead sizes, I love this idea!  They are all linked as floral  but by using the different sizes it gives more drama to the look

A mix of our Florals stacked

• OK so you've tried mixing it up, now how about going on repeat!  This is 2 of our Valentina cuffs stacked together to give a thick band of bling.  Incidentally, a cuff would be an ideal focal point in a stack, you could mix it in with other bracelets, the cuff could happily sit in the middle of some chain.

Valentina Cuff

• If you like charm bracelets they will happily be stacked too.  I like keeping the colour similar and changing the charm.  

Crystal Stacking

The main point though is to have fun with it, a stacked wrist will get you comments, it is bang on trend.  In my world it also means if one little bracelet should accidentally go 'ping!' there will be numerous little bracelets still hanging on my wrist (I have a 2 yr old after all 'pinging' is a daily occurrence!)

Life in Colour

'What is your favourite colour mummy?' I get asked this a lot.  Its must be a very important question to a 4 year old girl.  To be honest I had never really given it much thought but now when faced with the question I have my answers ready.  I say answers because I now have a real answer and an expected answer....my real answer is yellow, my expected answer is pink because when you are a 4 year old girl pink is the only colour you need!  My little girl is obsessed with pink, pink and glitter...blue is her archenemy and should be worn 'by boys only!' Its 'stinky' and 'yuk'.  I admitted to her one day (must have been feeling brave) that I actually really like blue, there are so many shades apparently its almost impossible to not like at least one shade.  In that same article I read that purple is the most accepted colour, the colour least likely to offend...

I mentioned yellow was my favourite colour but I have no idea why, I'm not 100% sure it is actually my favourite colour, I mean I don't think I own any yellow clothes, no yellow shoes or bags, nail varnish is my favourite thing just now but yet I don't own any shades of yellow ??

Do you have a favourite colour? Is colour a big deal in your life? I don't really think it is in mine, I know it probably should be but in R&R Jewellery mum does really take care of that side of things, she is the creative/design-y one, I tend to deal more in words and facts, I'm more of a scientist than an artist, I like knowing a right and wrong in things, with art it is all subjective isn't it?

So I am going to post a picture of Ava's favourite R&R bracelet and yes you guessed it its pink...incidentally its also called Ava ...Goodnight folks! x

Ava in Pink

P.s For Holly 

An interview with Marion Paterson

Hey folks! 
I think I am vocal enough that most of you know a little about me but what about the other half of Ruby & Rose Jewellery? Marion Paterson is the creator of all our pieces, she sources the gorgeous materials we use, researches trends and comes up with ideas which we then collaborate on to build our collection.


So todays post is a little interview with Marion, we have done the newspaper articles but this one is by me, so wont be a work of literary genius but should be fun!
When making jewellery what inspires you?
firstly season as much as anything, I do like seeing whats new in the big cities, Paris, Rome, London, New York.  I love visiting Paris and people watching, Parisian women encapsulate style and it seems effortless.  This is what I try to achieve with our collections, this timeless and effortless style.  


Do you have favourite colours?
These change with seasons, I love pastels for spring and summer and more bronze and gold for autumn and winter.  I also love monochrome I'm very excited with this actually as I am working on some ideas just now with black and white.


Do you have any style icons?
Well the usual suspects Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly and I also like Kate & Pippa Middleton. I admire their relaxed but timelessly classic style and that they aren't afraid to mix and match from the high street.  I also like Coco Chanel for the simplicity of the lines and colour she uses.  Christina Hendricks and January Jones (from the very stylish 'Mad Men') really inspire me,    
they show that style is something you can be in and be comfortable with, not something you have to be.


Are you an organised person?
um...no, I try to be organised but I get bored and the organisation makes things harder to find.  When things are unorganised I sometimes do my best work, as I put things together that I might not usually have.


What are your favourite pieces from the collection and why?
I like, all the Florences, Sofias and Rosas are I feel they are timeless.

Florence in Quartz

Sofia in Black & Red

Rose in Black 

The florals I feel are fun and will go with anything. 

Floral Adele Bracelet

I do love pearls and our Lana collection is a favourite of mine, the shell pearls and turquoise is beautiful.

Lana necklace, Swarovski and Turquoise gemstone heart

What pieces from the collection do you have for yourself?
The Rosa in Pink, Rosa in Black and Florence in Goldstone.  I make wear anything I wouldn't wear myself so if I could I would have them all!

Florence in Goldstone

What's it like working with your extremely talented, funny and intellegent daughter Emily?
Emily really keeps me on my  toes, I love working with her, OK we don't always agree (In our business there are 2 opinions, the wrong opinion and my one!) But seriously we do alright between us.  Although this question was written tongue in cheek, I do agree with everything she has written in the question, we work very well together and it is extremely good fun! 

Marion & Emily, Daily Record 12th May 2011

Thanks for reading and remember our giveaway at 50 followers, 

The Taylor Bracelet, Aventurine gemstones with sterling silver heart

The Taylor bracelet is worth £25, more details can be found here 


We would really appreciate your help to get us to the magical 50 followers, thank you to all who have helped so far.