From one tool to another and wearable to boot

A while back, I was given a pair of solid Mother of Pearl(MOP) Salad servers by a lovely client. They were both broken in parts that enabled further use from its original purpose. Being familiar with my previous MOP line she gave me permission to repurpose these magnificently thick MOP parts into jewellery. Between a long period of pondering in & out of what justice I could do with them and my recent visit to an exhibition at Galerie La Joaillerie pa Mazlo call 'Holy Tools' a light-bulb went off! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am for these to be finally reunited with their initial objective as tools AND be given an additional new life as art jewellery.

Two have been made thus far, one as a comb and the other a paper knife. The further left chunky piece is yet to be transformed.

Here are some in between pictures below or just simply follow my Instagram for regular updates. https://www.instagram.com/minicyn_/

Recent newbies for the month of August.

One of the many things that stood out like a sore thumb for me as a non-European living in Paris is how seriously the French take their holidays. Concordant to popular belief multiply by 100, it is still beyond words even after 8 years. I would liken it to a calm before a storm so to speak and it makes me laugh a little each time how sudden the evacuation can be. The streets are so empty you can hear a pigeon drop its poop, 9out of 10 shops are closed, services are mostly out for the whole complete month, the 'Punk à Chien' aka 'Ferals' are out from the woods, thieves are on the loose, break-ins are as popular as Deliveroo. There ain't no such thing as shift work no part-timers taking over, NADA.

We're lucky that this social/historical construct does not affect me directly nor am I obligated to take my kids away. Hence, it's play time for us Minicyn and Devocite, where we put our heads down and focus on our personal projects. Here are just a few new unique pieces in the shop though I haven't forgotten. Enjoy.

New Stella capsule collection is now available!

You'll find a small series of delicious earrings (and a necklace) as part of my new 'Stella' capsule collection. Available now click here for the entire collection.

The pieces resonate my love for both the old world elegance & clean modern simplicity.
Every piece is handcrafted, from the eco-friendly Sterling solid silver pieces right down to the petite morsels of Mother of Pearl ('Nacre' in French)!

The origins of the MOP are of vintage French gaming coins which I'd hand-sawed, carved & polished specifically for this collection – they've been securely riveted onto the silver sheet where you see the dots are. The silver's surface textures are made from real linen cloth, the results echo the tactility of the far away world some of us once knew.

A limited edition of 2 pairs per design, some unique!

Mother of Pearl Capsule collection

Since the beginning of the year, I've been experimenting with some pieces of Mother of Pearl from my stash of goodies. Learning on how to cut/saw, polish, shape etc the material ('Nacre' in French). It's been a rather messy study though the results have been rewarding. It reverberated in just a small handful of earrings which I'd presented them briefly during my participation in JEMA (please see my previous Blog posts) at my studio.

I happy to say that a few of the designs will be available to purchase in the next few days. The quantity is very limited unfortunately so brace yourselves!

Here are just some which I'll be listing soon. They'll be available oxidised or not as an option.

See you soon for the update!

Mother's Day SALE!

It's SALE TIME at Minicyn :)
It doesn't happen often since most of what I offer is made-to-order. But here it is, sales end 19th May 2017.
Discount code: ILoveMyMum
> There's no exchange or refunds on Sale orders <

....... FRENCH ........
C'est les soldes chez Minicyn :)
Fêtons la fête de L'Amour des Mamans.
Code de reduction -15% sur tout: ILoveMyMum
Jusqu'au 19 Mai 2017.
> Pas de retour ni échange sur les commandes en soldes <

Merci!

Ovalular silver bangle bracelet

Introducing Ovalular, who comes from the marriage of both oval & rectangular, and my love for modernist & minimalist design. Hand crafted from eco-friendly square silver wire.

Nuit étoilée Lapis Lazuli silver necklaces

I fell in love with these lozenge-like flat Lapis Lazuli cabochons and bought a few to try out last year. It seems interesting to set them as I usually would with my round Moonstone cabochons into ball-like pendants for one of them and the other in its "logical" extended cylindrical self.

Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense colour for many ancient cultures. I'd remembered being told at design school that it was not available in Europe until the end of the Middle Ages, where it was ground into powder and made into Ultramarine – the finest and most expensive of all blue pigments for paints! It was used by some of the most important artists of the Renaissance & Baroque often reserved for colouring in the clothing of the central figures of their paintings, especially the Virgin Mary. Let's keep an eye out next time we see her!

Pyrite (metallic yellow) is a mineral often found sprinkled throughout the blue (sodalite). Thus creating a Nuit étoilée / Starry Night indeed.

Here are the 2 necklaces I've made.