Jill Barber

Last Sunday was a very special day for me. One of my very favorite female musicians Jill Barber was out touring Australia from Canada and I was going to get to see her perform live so I was feeling pretty fortunate.

Jill Barber is a double Juno-nominated and multi-East Coast Award Winning singer songwriter from Canada. Her music is just about the prettiest thing you could ever hear.
I admire Jill's music, the feeling of being transported back in time by it and the romantic sentiment but I also love her sense of style and class. These are all things I am inspired by when I create my jewellery.
I decided that day that it would be a dream come true to have Jill Barber one day wear my jewellery.

And so off I went to her show...with a gift box of jewellery, and fingers tightly crossed...

A few hours later and to my absolute joy Jill enters the venue, having unpacked my box, wearing barton&bell earrings!

Jill wearing barton&bell carved bone heart earrings.

It was such a thrill to see someone I admire so much wearing my jewellery.

Jill told me how much she loved the jewellery and it just made my day.

On stage performing.

And the icing on the cake...

Yesterday I received an email from Jill thanking me for the jewellery and telling me again how much she loved it...

"I love your work... it is so intricate and beautiful... and totally my style!"

Now, treat your ears....

www.jillbarber.com

Little White Lie

One of the pieces I love this season and just can't seem to stop wearing is this double heart necklace.

Apart from the fact that I think it just looks beautiful, I have a few extra reasons for loving it...
1. I will forever be a romantic!
2. Every time I have worn it someone has asked me about it.
*No matter how many times I get asked about my jewellery I still can't help but blush when a complete stranger tells me how much they love it and asks where it is from.
3. The range that this necklace is from is named after my favourite man in the world - my Grandpa. It is named after a song he used to sing to my sisters and I when we were babies.
"Be sure it's true when you say "I love you"
It's a sin to tell a lie
Millions of heart have been broken
Just because these words were spoken

I love you, yes I do, I love you
If you break my heart I'll die
So be sure it's true when you say "I love you"
It's a sin to tell a lie"

Well cross my heart and hope to die
I'll never, never tell another white lie
Took a little doll out on a date last night
Next to Gravel Gertie would have looked all right
I'm between the devil and the deep blue sea
I said baby you look good to me
I told her I love her, but oh how I lied
Now she's set to be my blushing bride
If she gets me to the altar I'm sunk
Because I can't tell the preacher I was drunk
So Lord have mercy on a no-account sinner
Give me one more chance to let another guy win her
Cross my heart and hope to die
I'll never, never tell another white lie"

'Little White Lie Bracelets'

A worthy cause...

If you are interested in donating to The Cancer Council, or winning some great prizes, or even better again....both at once, below is the site to visit.
www.pagevinedesign.com/cancercouncil

One of the prizes is a selection of barton&bell jewellery to the value of $200.
Tickets are only $2 but you have to be quick the competition ends in 10 days.

As Seen In... Nine To Five

Our beautiful wooden heart necklace with sterling silver clovers has been featured in this week's Nine To Five Magazine.
As posted in an earlier blog post this series comes in a range of different symbols representing Love, Strength, Wisdom, Protection, Faith & Romance.
(It just so happens I am a Capricorn so perhaps a little Love is coming my way!)

As seen in... George Spring Summer 09

We are so thrilled to once again have had barton&bell selected by the lovely people at George fashion company for their catalogue. George have been an iconic Australian fashion label producing beautiful garments for many years.

The new George collection is stunning and we had a fantastic time at the shoot helping to style the jewellery.

George Spring Summer 09 Daywear

George Spring Summer 09 Evening

To view the entire collection visit
www.georgefashion.com.au
It is great to see just how versatile our new barton&bell collection is and get inspired for Summer!
Enjoy. x

Fingers Crossed

I would definitely consider myself superstitious. I carry a penny in my purse for good luck, won't cheers a drink without looking you in the eye, am petrified of black cats, refuse to open an umbrella indoors or walk under a ladder....the list goes on!

Along with this comes my love of lucky symbols so we created a range of wooden symbols with sterling silver studs to bring luck and good fortune.

Cross - FAITH . Shield - PROTECTION . Anchor - STRENGTH

Key - WISDOM . Heart - LOVE . Bow & Arrow - ROMANCE

As a beautiful friend taught me to say...
Wishing you 'enough'.
barton&bell x

A few of my favourite things....

A few years back a friend introduced me to the fashion illustrations of Kat MacLeod.

Many have been up on my pin board to inspire and be admired.

"Kat Macleod’s collage ladies will inspire confusing feelings of wardrobe envy, even though they are drawings and not people. She finds fashion, textiles, new art supplies and old books inspiring. Her clients include Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Collette Dinnigan, Harper’s Bazaar, Madison and Frankie. She has also illustrated two books, Bird and The Cocktail Book. She enjoys hot chips, talking on the phone and her cat. She hopes to continue working with good people on beautifully designed illustration projects". THE JACKY WINTER GROUP

Her work can also be seen at www.michigirl.com.au

And in the book "the cocktail 200 fabulous drinks" by Jane Rocca

* I can confidently report to you that all cocktails taste just as good as the illustrations look. Enjoy!

love & LOTUS

I love the Buddhist philosophy. I read it often to make my head clear and my heart happy.
The very first ring I ever made for myself I designed based on the lotus flower (a buddhist symbol of love). I since designed a range around this called love&LOTUS. Currently there are charm necklecaes with the love or lotus symbol on them and earrings that come as a mixed pair.
They are available in stores now.

love: Since the beginning of time people have searched for the meaning of love but even the greatest philosophers with their profound definintions could not fully touch it's true essence.

LOTUS: The lotus grows in the muddy water of still ponds and lakes. The magnificent blossom unfolds gradually, one petal at a time, till full-bloom in the morning when the sun's rays touch the flower. As the lotus awakens and blooms at the first rays of the morning sun, the interdependence between the lotus and the sun is a symbol of love.

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared". Buddhist quote

A great place to read about Buddhism online: www.buddhanet.net

Florence Broadhurst prints.

I am a huge fan of Florence Broadhurst prints and have collected quite a few over the years. I think they are timeless and beautiful and have never tired of admiring them.

This is one of my favourites.

You can view more at www.signatureprints.com.au

Recently I stumbled across artist Emma Hack's work. The images below are from a series she has done using body art to blend the human form into the background of iconic Florence Broadhurst wallpaper prints. The detail is incredible.

'Exotic Birds II'

'Wallpaper Egrets'

http://www.emmahackartist.com/

Melbourne: Exhibiting our new range.

We have spent the last week in Melbourne exhibiting our new barton&bell collection at the recent trade fair. We are so excited about this collection so we are thrilled to have new barton&bell stockists throughout Australia and internationally that will be stocking our label.

The upcoming collection is very diverse. You can expect to see new styles in our signature carved bone and wood pieces, lots of long necklaces to layer through summer and huge amounts of colour as well as clean summer whites.

Here is one of my favourite shots from the new range...

We had a fantastic time in Melbourne. One of the highlight being our visit to Fifteen restaurant.
Fifteen was a concept set up by Jamie Oliver in London in 2002 and exists to inspire disadvantaged young people to believe that they can create for themselves great careers in the restaurant industry. Every month funds from the restaurant are reinvested into the apprenticeship schemes so not only do you get to enjoy good food but you are helping to support people turn their lives around.

The Melbourne restaurant has a great feel, delicious food and warm friendly staff who made our night (which happened to be Mum's birthday) so enjoyable. We were seated in the 'White Room' which is in full view of the open kitchen where you can watch as the meals are being prepared.


I highly recommend a visit.
http://www.fifteen.net/restaurants/fifteenmelbourne/Pages/default.aspx

Where have all the poets gone?

When you discover something beautiful sometimes you feel like it just needs to be shared.
Gregory Page's music is one of those things.

I have loved his music since I first heard it some time ago. His new album is simply beautiful.
Music, poetry, inspiration...

Paisley Earring.

I have always been fascinated by paisley prints. The intricate lines all contained in the same teardrop shape but each with their own unique fingerprint according to the designer. At times when you see a paisley fabric the beauty of each little teardrop is lost and it's intricacy goes unnoticed.

It seems strange to say what I like about these earrings is their simplicity when they are so detailed, but I just love the appeal of that beautiful teardrop on it's own.

barton&bell 'Carved Bone Paisley Earrings' in store now.

I love this print by DaPino. I think it is one of my favourites I have seen.

Welcome.

Welcome and thank you for visiting the barton&bell blog.

barton&bell is a Sydney based jewellery label stocked in leading boutques throughout Australia and Internationally.

Our beautiful timeless pieces are crafted from a variety of materials sourced from around the world including semi-precious stones, wood, bone, Swarovski crystal and leather. We continue to develop new ideas and evolve ensuring we are always bringing something new and unique to our customers while staying true to our vision of cretaing timeless pieces that will be kept and treasured.

We hope you enjoy visiting our blog for updates on the latest collections, news and an insight into our label.

Enjoy...
barton&bell x

www.bartonandbell.com