earrings – Craftzy

Real India: Etsy Finds

I love Etsy.com …I’ve never made any secret of that fact 🙂 but I’ve always wished we Indians could do more for our little crafty shops on Etsy…OK…so I thought I’d do a little bit of scouting around using Etsy’s Shop Local feature…I was looking for products made by Indians, creations that reflect our rich culture, items that feature our insane love of color and beauty in all possible ways…Here’s what I found…head over to these shops and get a feel of India – real India and Indianness…Enjoy!

First stop- The Home Centric

Urvi, a qualified Fashion and Textile designer, has been designing for 5 years…I have no ‘one’ favorite that I can point out in her shop…all her cushions and pillow cases are unique and beautiful..No one can stop with one, I say!! The metallic ones really tempt me- must be the Indian love of ‘bling’ that’s making me want each one!

Gold Dreams Throw Pillow Cover by The Home Centric on Etsy

Plum Beauty - Throw Pillow Cover by The Home Centric on Etsy

Marigolds - Throw Pillow Covers by The Home Centric on Etsy

The Marigold one is my favorite!!! Such a lovely, bright splash of color…reminds me of saffron and garam masala 🙂

Second Shop for the day-Mayaruhi

Pearl Bhasin, a stay-at-home Mom, makes limited design earrings from semi-precious stones, crystal, cut glass, pearls, shell, 925 silver and 24-karat gold-plated 925 silver. (Her shop is based out of her home in Singapore but cos she’s Indian and her pieces are inspired by Mughal paintings she deserves to be in this list!)

Rainbow of Agates in big gold hoop by Mayaruhi

Now, onto the next shop – HippieKingdom

Devi, an Accessory Designer, makes bright and happy jewelry that’s both eco-friendly and recycled- she uses thread, jute, hemp, cardboard and paper in her creations-playful and fun!

Coconut Shell and Colorful Tassel Earrings by Hippie Kingdom on Etsy

Eco friendly Hemp Bangle by Hippie Kingdom on Etsy

Cute Turtle Couple Earrings by Hippie Kigdom on Etsy

Eco-friendly Paper Weave Earrings by Hippie Kingdom on Etsy

I simply love these earrings!!! They look just right for an afternoon out with friends, while drinking filter kaapi (coffee) 🙂 Nirvana!

Next shop – Bootika

Shruti hand paints her products – Tees, Tank Tops, Bags, Belts, Headbands and Cushion Covers!! Her creations use graphics that reflect India- images that every Indian can identify with…Stop by her shop with some chai!

Handpainted Tote Bag with Chai Glasses by Bootika on Etsy

Handpainted Tee with White Auto rickshaw by Bootika on Etsy

Handpainted Tote Bag with Matkas (Indian Pots) by Bootika on Etsy

The Last Shops for the day- Art by susmitha and Veganosaurus

Susmitha from Bangalore makes Art Beads, Miniature Sculptures and exculsive Artisan Jewelry. She also makes cute little creatures to celebrate Veganism on her other shop-Veganosaurus.

LOVE carnelian copper clay pendant by Susmitha

Spiral Dance chunky copper wire necklace by Susmitha

oooohhh…the colors are gorgeous-they remind me of peacock feathers for some reason!

Mommy and Baby Turtleclopses by Veganosaurus on Etsy

(the second turtle item I picked-anyone notice a theme here?)

Miniature Froggy Family -terrarium decor by Veganosaurus on Etsy

Puffy - smart little cyclops monster clay sculpture — Little cyclops monster clay sculpture by Veganosaurus on Etsy

Oh how I’d like a terrarium with these lil monsters on my desk at work!! I specially love the froggies (such an awesome orange) and of course, I love the blue cyclops’ tie (he’s a smartie!).

Which one’s your favorite product?? Which one would you buy? Stop by these shops and share your love…Promote Indian crafters and Indian crafts…

NOTE: All images in this post are the properties of the shop sellers featured in the post.

Romantic Nostalgia – Etsy finds

No. I haven’t fallen prey to Valentines Day hype… yet. What I have fallen in love with is the whole concept of romanticism and nostalgic whimsy in design and handmade goods.

I have never been a “girly” girl ever but the past few days I have gotten so hooked to romantic, Victorian and vintage style finds on Etsy. Some of the creations are so gorgeous it just hurts my brain to even think about them.

Like these earrings on Etsy by missficklemedia

Filigree wreath and lime green chalcedony earrings

and these earrings by serendipity2twenty2

Isle of Capri.. gorgeous Amazonite earrings

Suddenly I find that I LIKE flowers! A whole lot of them! Blooms all over the place.

These just drive me nuts:

Sweet Indecision earrings by bombalurina

Sweet Indecision earrings - with roses and bows

And guess what else? I am into lockets now!! I have ordered from these great sellers :

Vintage Silver Waffle locket from PeppermintSoda

and Antique Brass filigree round lockets (Nickel Free) from Beadsupplies

Hang around for some more time and I’ll put up pics of the lockets after they arrive and after I can get to working on them. Till then visit these shops to see how they will inspire you!

I love these dainty ballet shoes- locket by seaunicorn

French Blue ballet shoes and locket necklace

For Valentines Day gifts I think the Amour locket by MiaBeads is perfect!

Isn’t this Thumbelina Locket Necklace by KristinFriesen simply beautiful?

Oh! I almost forgot! I like Steam-punk too these days. Some awesome steam-punk jewelery for you to feast your eyes on and sigh hopelessly that they are yours.

Clockwork Sparrow locket by TheGoldBug

Clockwork Sparrow Copper Locket- Steampunk — Clockwork Sparrow Copper Locket- Steam-punk

Mother of Gear earrings by Wenchie

Am I the only one who likes vintage chic? Do any of you share my current addiction?? Can Steam-punk and Vintage Chic be the next big thing Indian Jewelery needs?

Which is your favorite piece from this list?

My First Handmade Earrings

After 2 months of hard work, I am in a rut again…jobless and “benching”. As a result I have developed a new hobby – making what is referred to as “junk” jewelry. I made around 22 pairs of earrings in two nights simply because the wire wrapping bug bit me late at night..All thanks to S who so sweetly took me to Raja Thread Stores(RTS) in crowded Ranganathan Street and took care to see that I wasn’t trampled….

I was inspired to start making earrings by two people-

My friend Methodless Madness returned from the US bringing chocolates and even yummier Beads!!!She got me 3 packets, each one more awesome than the other, costing almost 10 $ (approx 441.391 Rs) worth of beads from San Jose. The deep brown hexagonal beads were so gorgeous I can’t tell you…I gifted one pair of earrings made from them to my friend, I am keeping one and am going to give the last one away to another friend. She got me some lovely irregular shaped beads that she calls “pomegranate” and some Moroccan-blue ceramic beads with lime green Chinese dragons on them. I have used 3/4^ths of the pomegranate ones and they have been a huge hit so far. I haven’t used the blue ceramic beads cos I couldn’t get headpins/eye pins long enough to go through them with ample space to knot up.

The other person who inspired me does not know me and I do not know her personally…I stumbled on this post by Iaminchennai when I googled…She has a beautiful blog showcasing her many talents that include knitting and making ceramic beads. Thank you Iaminchennai- without your directions I would never have found the beads when I did.

Coming back to my earrings, I gave away about 5 pairs to my friends including S..

I took the rest of the earrings to my office on 1st September and my boss saw them..The next 5 minutes went by in a whirl as ALL of my earrings except the ones already booked for my friends were bought..Such an amazing feeling to have SOLD your designs however juvenile and amateurish they may be!And to think that the sale happened only because of your boss’ curiosity!
Here are some of the earrings I made.

Just a Note: I haven’t had any professional training in Jewelry design. I watched some videos on You Tube and decided to try my hand at making wire jewelry..Of course it helped that I always had a thing for beads.

P.S: I went to Parry’s Corner this weekend to pick up more beads cos I used almost all the beads I bought from RTS. will post the shop details soon. Any idea about the best shops in Parry’s Corner for bead buying??

Comments on my work and directions to places where I can buy more beads are very welcome.