5 things that have made me happy in the last week

It’s silly what makes us happy isn’t it?

Here are the five things that have given me happy moments:

1. Arrival of my shiny new black washing machine after being without one for two whole dirty weeks and having to resort to hand-washing

2. My orchid reflowering – I’ve never managed that before – and my Bromelia continuing to flower

3. A lovely book group evening with friends plus tapas and flowers reviewing The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4. The arrival of some new lampwork beads from Mona Sullivan in the States

5. Seeing a new collection come together...

What has given you happy moments in the last week?

re:designed for...Clare

Don't you just love friends?!  We do.  Ours are busy social butterflies who need accessories to complete their latest fashion looks for the next must-go-to event.  

Clare recently commissioned a necklace to wear at her son's christening, after seeing Karen's commissioned neckcandii on our blog.  Her brief: something special for the occasion, a unique necklace that you won't find on the high street, that you could wear again and that complimented her pink and orange Per Una dress.

We gave her 11 designs/colour-ways to chose from and this is the end result...

commissioned couture neckcandii

A unique hand knitted wire work necklace embellished with a vintage diamante bracelet, earring, vintage mother of pearl buttons, seed beads, white and dusky pink freshwater pearls on chain.

Commissions
We are more than happy to discuss commissions.  We can either re:design a vintage piece from our collection or a special piece of your own.  Get in touch via mail@armcandii.com and we'll take it from there.

What did we wear?

It’s all about weddings – we said it here. First the Royal Wedding, then a commission for a friend and now we’ve been to one – and what did we wear?

Apart from my red polka dot peep toe shoes, I wore one of our existing headbands. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to really dress up! Of course this wedding may not have been as grand as Will and Kate’s and there were no trees inside but the bride wore a piece of neckcandii too and looked lovely.

I also picked some simple armcandii neckcandii: two recycled diamante chains linked together to create a new piece and adorned with fresh water pearls.

A new heirloom

It’s over a week since Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge and in marrying Prince William (aka Duke of Cambridge) joined the realms of the Royal family.

In the weeks before the wedding, there was much speculation about the designer of her dress and whether or not she would wear a tiara.  Kate had already been gifted with her mother-in-law’s beautiful engagement ring – a symbolically touching gift but also quite spooky considering how Diana’s Royal marriage turned out!

She wore a tiara loaned by the Queen that showed the Cambridge lover’s knot.  This tiara made by Cartier in 1936 for George VI and given to his Queen (Elizabeth the Queen Mother) who passed it to her daughter on her 18^th birthday – our present Queen.

Thank goodness for new ‘Royals’!  Kate’s parents who bought themselves a coatof arms just weeks before the event (you too can buy one from a mere £400 I understand), gave Kate a beautiful pair of earrings inspired by their Coat of Arms.  A new heirloom for the Duchess, something that she can hand down.

re:designed for...Karen

It may come as a bit of a surprise, but apparently other people are getting married besides Will & Kate! Incredibly ordinary folk are doing it too. And with that comes guests with wedding outfit dilemmas.  

Our lovely friend Karen contacted us a couple of weeks ago and asked if we could design a necklace to compliment her outfit for a friend's wedding at the end of April. No not that wedding. Her brief: "I need something to stop it looking too safe and sloaney."

After further consultation we set about designing a necklace to do just that...

commissioned couture neckcandii

The end result: a unique hand knitted wire work necklace embellished with vintage earrings, brooch, violet and dusky pink freshwater pearls and seed beads on chain.

Commissions
We are more than happy to discuss commissions. We can either re:design a vintage piece from our own collection or a special piece of your own. Get in touch via mail@armcandii.com and we'll take it from there.

New royal jewellery trends?

Only a few days until Wills marries Kate, will it be another fairytale wedding like his mother’s? And what jewellery will adorn the bride on her big day?


We all know that Kate has Princess Di’s engagement ring – an 18 carat gold ring bearing a beautiful blue sapphire surrounded by white diamonds. Wills is quoted as wanting to keep her memory alive and all the good things and good work that she did.

The fairytale princess reigned until 1997 when she died tragically. We all hope Kate’s marriage will be happier and last much longer!

We eagerly await to see what trends and style-setting Kate will start with her wedding jewellery.

armcandii now showing at Fisherton Mill

Hooray, we're installed! You can now 'try before you buy' if you head over to Fisherton Mill in Salisbury...

couture necklace