GG's editor received this beautiful brooch from super-generous artist Tina Tarnoff in early summer. We'd hoped to have a camera by now to show how great it looks on Giulia's organic cotton collar. (Kidding. Her editor wore it all summer to hold together the top of two linen tunics. Currently the pin takes turns on two winter jackets.)Tina is busier by the minute with holiday orders & so we can't wait for a camera. If you would like this lovely pendant on bow pin (based on an antique pin watch), you still have a chance to order it. Remember that Tina has stunning large paper-cuts, lots more elegant & romantic jewelry (see her Marie Antoinette necklaces & chokers), & 18 sets of cards based on her original paper-cuts.Make sure you check out Tina's always-inspiring blog, Thought Patterns & also her novelist husband Terry Tarnoff's site. Here's a recent English Muse Polaroid Profile: Artist Tina Tarnoff in San Francisco.We're off to a cookie bake today; we hope you have nice plans. Giulia is only interested in listening to Christmas music so she will stay home. (image via Thought Patterns/Tina Tarnoff/all rights reserved)
[repeat from 17 September 2008... but with additional photo & new collage. Still love these earrings & boots & still read Flamenco World. The power struggle with the cat is mostly over; we give up. We won't give up on the causes on this site, though. But we do need to rest...so more repeats this week. Apologies.]GG & her editor love these accessories from Flamenco World. We've read the online magazine for years & still can only daydream about a flamenco class. GG likes to stomp around on her pink paw-pads, & has done so for several hours. GG covets a pair of Spanish earrings. Honestly, can you see how she would be able to wear them? No? Didn't think so. The GG vs. editor power struggle continues...
Ciao-meow,
GG Central Mgmt.
[Additional photograph to original post: Portrait of flamenco dancer Maria Albaicin by Dean Loomis, Madrid, 1960. Go here to view full-size print. Wow.]
We saw these on Paris-based Glynnis Ritchie's blog. (Here is our November post about Glynnis.) This is a nearly instant-gratification DIY project: fast, pretty, clever. These photos are from Italy-based Alice Pleasance's Cupcake Diary. She has generously laid out clear steps (with more photos) for the entire project.
merry ciao-meow,
GG's editor
GG's editor has had a lamb-sheep fixation forever. Her paternal grandparents had lambs-for-wool on their farm. Sofia Barão's l'oiseau rare shop has some charming handmade petit mouton-themed accessories. Inspiration for holiday gifts? Oui. [For those disinclined, or with no time, to make their own, Sofia's prices are very reasonable. But contact her soon as she lives in France.] One wonders if GG fancies a little lamb (as a pet!)...we think yes, absolutely.
bisou, ciao-meow!
A departure for a scarf series, yes...but a fabric necklace is hard to resist as a twist. The charming necklace is by Sofia Sbarão of Paris. Her accessories shop, l'oiseau rare, is on Etsy. The necklace sold quickly--no surprise--but Mlle. Sofia has many unique pieces & is open to custom work. Contact her through her shop site's email.
These illustrated kittens are enjoying their new collars. GG resembles the ginger kitten; her friend Hermione is a brunette gattina. GG would love a dress-up holiday collar. Her editor has lengths of Belgian lace (yes!) squirreled away. Hmmm. A new Christmas lace collar-necklace for GG? C'est bien possible.
ciao-meow, bisou
Isn't she lovely? This is the allegorical figure of Autumn (in Italian, Cammeo su conchiglia raffigurante testa femminile allegoria dell'autunno) carved into shell. [Generously offered to the public by Italian photographer Matteo Pedani under a Creative Commons license. There is no other link.]GG's editor is fond of southern Italian cameos (where the art form originated). Along with seashell cameos, Campania is well-known for coral jewellry. We treasure dainty earrings with tiny coral oval drops surrounded by simple gold filigree, 'dropping' from little gold seashells. (Oh, we do need a camera; how frustrating.) The miniature earrings were waiting for us in a neglected Neapolitan church charity shop more than 20 years ago. They are not valuable to anyone but GG's editor.
Why cameos today? We are listening to Italian opera (at night) on the radio. Then we thought about decorative material representations of Autumn, the Palazzo Reale in Caserta (in Campania) with its huge ceiling "seasons" paintings, while we took off our costume cameo earrings. That is how a disorganized, overwhelmed mind works!
Ciao.
GG Central
