Guns and Poses

I was fully submerged in a creative rut flavoured milkshake when I couldn't take it anymore, so I jumped up and decided that I needed to:

1. Stop drinking creative rut flavoured milkshakes
2. Sit down and focus
3. Find some new shit to light a fire under my ass

And this, my friends is what I pulled out...and I'm so damn proud of my new jams!

Preview:


There is a good chance that when I came across these babies, I gasped and perhaps cursed out loud, alone, in my apartment. How could this be possible? An over-sized series of gun charms that lock and click and look awesome and they're screaming my name? I opened my arms and gave these guys a warm welcome.


I recently sat down and had a little chat with my new friends and they whispered that they didn't need much flash, just a long chain and someone to love them.


The revolver is my personal favourite, the barrel opens fully and each gun locks and fires. Every time I wear this out I get comments, smiles and sneers. It's a conversation starter!


These babies are going up in my Etsy shop this week! And as always, more to come.

xoxo
Amarina

It's Bracelets, Bitches!

I have this problem with jewellery supplies: I find them, covet them and then proceed to hoard and hoard, waiting for the "perfect" design to use them for. It gets to the point when I've accumulated so much stuff that I just fucking explode and quickly transform into Amarina-saurus. I sweep my cluttered work table with one arm, probably singing something upbeat like Diana Ross at a volume that may be disturbing to my neighbours, and proceed to whip up 20 or 25 pieces of jewellery in one go. In these moments, my cat Yma gets very jealous that I am no longer paying any attention to her and starts wrapping and wrapping herself around my ankles.

All of these bracelets are products of my last tornado production line. I started chopping up vintage chain necklaces and mixing and matching them with new and vintage charms to come up with what you see here and more. I've also decided that maybe I should be naming my pieces so I started with something simple: at the top we have "The Cowgirl" and just above is "The Schoolgirl". We'll see how whacked out the names get from here on in.

I usually use my friends as models and cut their heads off to protect their special, secret identities. I've decided that if I just model this stuff myself I could act completely ridiculous, be able to take pictures whenever I damn well pleased and show jewellery on non-decapitated bodies!

This bracelet is "The Biker Chick" and features a badass eagle with a gun charm amongst a cornucopia of beads and chain. I have to admit, I haven't taken it off since I made it.

Thanks for reading,

xoxo
Amarina

New Jams Comin-at-cha!

Lately I've been spending a boatload of time making jewellery and then taking my sweet, sweet time getting it up online. There are no excuses, but at least I've been having an awesome time in my absence! The guy and I spent too little time in Ottawa over Halloween checking out Strayotic, and you should check them out too! Click, click, click. We looked ridiculous in our sleazy 80's costumes (Ron ended up looking a little rape-y) and this was the only picture we managed to get:



When we got back from our mini road trip, I remembered that I make jewellery and it's not going to share itself!



I'm really not a skull person at all, despite my interest in dark things and taxidermy. These however, remind me of Day of the Dead celebrations and they really have a lot of character. I decided that they needed to be long, swingy and shoulder-sweeping, one of my favourite combinations. They would have been perfect in the time leading up to Halloween, but these are definitely all-season.



I've also been doing a serious amount of photographic experimentation, and I've been so happy with the results. After shelling out big bucks for a portable lighting studio and various plastic animal props, I've discovered that the best way to take pictures is first thing in the morning with natural light and some simple backdrops. It's funny, keeping things simple is never my first instinct, I always have to work backwards from completely overthinking everything to get there...but I'm finally happy with the quality!



This crystal wolf necklace is absolutely my new favourite thing. You can wear it double stranded or open it up and wear the necklace super long like so:



There's so much more on the way, so much!

xoxo
Amarina

Hibou Accessories now Available from Art Fire!

So I've decided to spend some time spreading my owl wings and selling my wears on another website in addition to my Etsy shop. Art Fire is still in it's beta phase which is good because I have some issues about how cluttered the front page is, but it has also earned some major points in it's favour. For one, a monthly fee allows me to put as many pieces into my shop as I like, as opposed to Etsy where I pay every time I list an item in my store. Also, I'm pretty sure yet not completely certain that customers do not have to create a profile in order to shop on Art Fire, as they would on Etsy. My last favourite new thing I've discovered on Art Fire is that every item that is listed makes it to the front page...check out my Crystal Bear Earrings that appeared on the front page the other day!



None of this is to say that I'm abandoning my Etsy shop, I'm just doing a little compare and contrast. I'm also curious to hear what other Etsy sellers and shoppers are thinking of the new competitor. Anyone?

xoxo
Amarina

Etsy Treasuries

I've been so lucky to have been featured in two Treasuries on Etsy this week! Click that hot necklace to check it out before it's over!

Thanks to my fellow Etsy ladies for that awesome surprise!

xoxo Amarina

Vintage Clip Ons from Hibou!

So I had my ears pierced when I was 7 or so and suffered from allergic reactions to pretty much every kind of metal. I didn't try to pierce my ears again until a few years ago when I learned that I had grown out of my metal sensitivities. Up until that point however, I had to get creative with the clip ons, which were difficult to find and often not my style.

I've been accumulating awesome vintage pairs to a point of hoarding, so I've decided to put up a bunch of really great ones on the ole Etsy store. Click on the pictures for the direct links to each piece.

Knowing that I love taking apart vintage jewellery and found objects to give them new life, dear friends and family sometimes share treasures, odds and ends with me. A jewellery fairy godmother dropped off these gorgeous Givenchy vintage clip ons from 1977 and a bunch of other amazing treats.

There's more to come where vintage goodies are concerned, as always!

xoxo Amarina

The Gossip - Heavy Cross

Have I mentioned that I'm in love with Beth Ditto and The Gossip? There are 6 million reasons why and here are two of them, in no order of significance:

1. Beth Ditto is hot, fat, rock & roll, and unapologetic. As a plus-sized girl, I often get irritated and ranty when it comes to fat & fashion, fat & beauty, fat & role-models, fat & fat-hate and fat & pretty much everything else in pop culture. I try to spare everyone from my long-winded rants with much success but I'm going to step out of that to say: Beth Ditto is hot AND fat AND awesome and it's about time that someone this wicked is finally breaking some molds.

2. When it comes to being fashionable (an extreme challenge for meaty ladies as we have limited options) Beth Ditto rocks that shit out, wearing whatever she feels like and looking hot. Did I mention she's hot?

Check out the new single from The Gossip, "Heavy Cross". Dripping in gold jewellery and spitting gold dust, this chick is after my heart. I've already concluded that this album is going to be one summer anthem after another and it'll be a new livingroom dance party fave.

Happy Pride Week everyone!

xoxo Amarina

Coming to a jewellery box near you...introducing the Clusterfuck Collection

So this is a wee taste of what I've been keeping myself busy with: The Clusterfuck Collection. I had two goals,

1. Create some jewellery that was eclectic and interesting and a bit of a mess...in a good way.
2. Throw the word fuck in there for significant reasons but also for some good cursing karma.

I should say, or maybe I shouldn't say that I fucking love swearing. It feels so fucking great to swear, mostly because I work a day job where it would not be the best idea to say fuck all the time but also because I just love to say fuck. I try not to swear in the blog too much, and I generally try not to swear all that often...but I fucking love it.



I'm not implying with the title of this collection that the necklaces are one big fucking mess. I put thought into each piece...more of a calculated clusterfuck than anything. The Steer Clusterfuck necklace is now up for grabs on Etsy. Click on the photos above for some Hibou Accessories on Etsy loving.



Now we have the Nautical Clusterfuck Necklace. I've mixed vintage charms, sodalite stone, a few charms I picked up last time I was in Santa Cruz and some sweet sweet chain. I love gun metal, but for some reason I only like it in bits and pieces. You know what that means? Paired with gold, this necklace and the rest of these guys go with mostly everything in the land of jewellery. We've got silver, gun metal and gold, so anything goes and I like that kind of versatility in my accessories. This piece has just been added to my Etsy shop, check it out!



This last teaser might end up being a permanent teaser. Above, I'm wearing the Bear Clusterfuck Necklace, which I have not taken off since I put it on for this picture last week. See that little flip in my hair? That's not usually there...this is the hair flip of someone who is going to tease you with awesome stuff and never sell it to you! Even though it's my job! I think I'll try to make something similarish (all of these babies are one of a kind), and I promise I won't taunt you with it.

There's more to come! Featuring all sorts of clusterfucky goodness: crystals! horses! Wild Bill Hickok! emroidered uniform name tags! Stay tuned...and let me know what you think. Is there anything you'd like to see thrown into a mess of charms and chain? Do tell.

Thanks for reading,
xoxo Amarina

More new jams and SALE!

Here's another new piece I've just put up on Etsy. I really love that my dear friend and model appears to be having the greatest standing solo orgasm of all time...in my necklace. The eggshell linen curtains in the back are working hard to make it seem as though I take photos of my jewellery on sexy ladies in an Ikea decorated bordello. I assure you dear friends, that this is completely true.




Also, I'm marking down a bunch of things in my shop (like the sexy eagle lovin' bracelet below) to clear out oldies but goodies and make room in my space for original resin pieces. Take advantage of my spring cleaning!

xoxo
Amarina

Things that are Great

What the hell is this, you ask?

Well this happens to be an awesome sterling silver Monkey's Paw charm from adorable NYC Jewelry shop Bittersweets. They have unique pieces that you're not going to come across everyday. I've been drooling over the Earthworm bangle for no particular reason other than the fact that I've never seen anything like it before in my life! And it's crazy amazing.

Also friends,

If you live in the Toronto area and are into reading, ephemera, exciting discoveries and the scent of old books I urge you to check out The Monkey's Paw on Dundas St. W at Dovercourt. They're currently having a February Clearance Sale - "Behind the Red Curtain" featuring hundreds of books and treats for $1-$3! Honestly I have no affiliation with this place, it's just a really fabulous store with great staff...and I have ALWAYS wanted to know what was behind the red curtain in the back! I've found countless inspirational books and magazines there, so check it out if you're in the neighbourhood.

That's enough gushing for one post.

xoxo Amarina

P.S. I've all of a sudden decided to unofficially declare The Monkey's Paw as the one store in Toronto that I would like to have a sleepover in. If I was a goldsmith, you could bet your bottom dollar I'd be making a gold medal right now!