Hope you enjoyed reading Part 1 A tale of two Tartans…
Here I share the designs for the bride, her maid of honour and bridesmaids, and a gift for the mother of the bride.
I mentioned before the process of meeting up to discuss designs, then working on prototypes. One of the things I love most about commissions is getting to know the client, building trusting relationships and really understanding what’s important for them about the pieces. Producing initial draft designs, then prototypes helps sense check that the designs are meetings the client’s needs and also provides the opportunity to demonstrate ideas that have come up for me in the design process.
Initial design ideas and Prototypes
Based on initial conversations and seeing photos of the tartans and dresses, I painted designs onto a balsa wood square. This was easy to take to meetings and could be picked up and examined by the bride and groom to be.
Around the tile are actual prototypes of painted designs; this was done as a second step to give a clearer idea of what the pieces would look like. From there we were able to agree on the painted designs.
Earrings for the Bridesmaids and Maid of Honour
Pink dresses were being worn and the bride was looking for a concept of sterling silver statement earrings with a vintage look.
The pastel palette of pale pink and green against a cream background (as shown in the protoype above) connected with the pink from the dresses, and introduced vintage tones in traditional ice cream shades of vanilla, strawberry and pistachio.
The petal and leaf design was consistent with the other pieces and to the art nouveau / Glasgow style of the venue.
Sterling Silver earrings with soft vintage tone colour palette of cream, pale pink and pale green.
(Credit to JHY Photography for the photos of the jewellery being worn)
Initially, the earrings were designed with a single pale pink Swarovski Crystal dangle, however on seeing the mock up, the bride had an idea to have strands with dangling crystals.
This was an exciting new development for me in earring design, so I had to source pre-made strands and work out a design to attach multiple strands to one earring. After much research, I found these gorgeous sterling silver hammered rings which really add to the shape of the earring and serve not only as a necessary connector, but also aesthetically; the round shape, smaller than the round earring, created a natural flow between the painted part of the earring and the crystals on the strands below.
The Statement Vintage Earrings in full!
Each earring having three strands with pale pink Swarovski crystals. Sparkling in the light and ideal for catching the eye on the dancfloor!
The use of lines; both straight and flowing were also key features of Margaret Macdonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s aesthetics. Therefore this emerging design for the earrings, connected strongly with the wedding venue too. One example below:
Sample of fabric replicated in House for an Art Lover, including the curtains in The Music Room
Gift for the Mother of the Bride
The cream background of the bridesmaids earrings also formed part of the design for earrings being gifted to the bride’s mum. Rather than strands a single drop for a classic look was chosen. I sourced genuine vintage pearls for this design, which made an authentic connection to the vintage theme.
The petal and leaf design, this time in gold and silver for a classic timeless look, perfectly complemented by the vintage pearls
Earrings for the Bride
The earring colour palette for the bride was drawn from the overskirt of her wedding dress which had embroidered pinky peach flowers and green leaves. The peach flower stands out beautifully against the darker green background.
What’s especially lovely about this design is how it connects to the other pieces:
the pastel green connecting with the green in the bridesmaids earring design,
the vintage pearls on the strands being the same as the pearls on the mother of the bride’s earrings
the tiny pearl coloured domes topping the leaves and serving as a stem, connects with the design on the groom’s cufflinks.
Connections within designs and between pieces are really special, particularly in wedding jewellery as they contribute to the memories made on that special day.
Pale pink flowers and vibrant green leaf impression
The beautiful strand of vintage pearl between two strands with Swarovski crystals matching those on the bridesmaids earrings.
(read on to hear more about the background image)
In addition to the ways the pieces connected to the venue, some further reflections on significant symbolism of the Hammered Rings in the Statement Earrings:
symbolising the wedding rings that are exchanged on the day
in holding components of the earrings together, the rings also symbolise strength and bonding of relationships;
between the newly married couple
between family members and two families coming together
ongoing friendships with bridesmaids, maid of honour, groomsmen and women
the circle shape as symbolic of balance, of the circle of life, of the interconnectedness of everything
circles are present in the design aesthetic of Margaret Macdonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, notably in the iconic round rose shape and also behind faces and figures providing a framing effect. Both can be seen in the example below:
Photographing the pieces
Before delivering the jewellery, I took photos at home. Finding the right background can sometimes be a challenge and after some attempts, my eye caught a framed print that I had in my workspace!
Glasgow Style inspriation at home! The colours were just ideal for taking photos of all the Vintage Vibe earrings!.
Gift Wrapping
The jewellery would not have been complete without lovely boxes and gift wrap…..colours chosen to match the tones of the various pieces.
The meeting to deliver the jewellery was very special; so near the wedding and all the long made plans coming to fruition. The couple were thrilled with the pieces which was emotional all round; and an honour for me indeed.
A massive thank you to the lovely couple for putting their trust in me to bring their ideas into reality!
Learning
This was the largest commission to date at sixteen pieces and I’ve learned a lot about the process of working on commissions; look out for a Commissions Page on the website coming later this year.
As well as developing my experimentation with paints (see Blog Part 1), another practical learning point was incorporating strands into the design of dangle earrings. I’ve since made some in the Sterling Silver Dusky Sky range - and look out for some exciting similar designs for release later in the year.
If you or someone you know is interested, I have space for one wedding commission for 2024 and space for initial conversations about wedding commissions for 2025 and beyond. Contact me here for an initial complementary chat about ideas:
Thank you so much for reading ~ I’d love to hear your thoughts!