Let's Go Shopping

The Vintage Pink Treasures Etsy Shop is open for business!

The shop includes a curated selection of necklaces, earrings and bracelets inspired by classic gold and silver elements, oceanic hues, candy colours and pink sunsets. 

All of the pieces were designed for both everyday wear and dress-up occasions. My favorites include the triple-layer bangles (which are chunky and perfect for stacking with other bracelets) and the classic gold and silver necklaces (which go with everything - I wear mine constantly). 

Note: these items are also available at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market on Saturdays. Check out the market map for the Vintage Pink Treasures Jewellery table location. 

Here's a peek at what's in store:

all images by me via Instagram

Thoughts and Inspiration

The wonderful thing about most of my jewellery designs is that they are one-of-a-kind: created from vintage, one-off and limited quantity elements such as charms, beads and chains that I come across almost everywhere. It's great to offer my customers truly unique pieces, while at the same time it makes creating them that much more fun as a Designer because I'm always working on something new and different. 

When I first started by business I had items listed on Etsy, which is a fantastic forum for artisans selling handmade creations. Shortly thereafter I began selling my jewellery at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market. The challenge I encountered from selling via both platforms simultaneously was that the jewellery I had previously spent time listing online would then end up selling at the Market that weekend, making my online work redundant.

The Market has been a fantastic and worthwhile venue for selling Vintage Pink Treasures and I endeavor to continue selling there for the foreseeable future. As a self-described newcomer in the jewellery business, it has provided me with invaluable experience in allowing me to interact directly with my target customers and tailor my business accordingly. 

Concurrently, I frequently receive inquiries about selling my jewellery online and have maintained in my mind that I would once again reunite with that platform. In order to make it work with my current business model, I needed to create a curated selection of pieces that I could maintain and recreate on an ongoing basis. 

In saying that, one of my latest projects has been putting together a collection of jewellery for the Etsy shop. The idea is to have a specific collection of pieces that can be recreated, while maintaining their individuality. So although the design will remain the same, the elements used (such as beads, chains, etc.) will vary slightly from one piece to the next. 

My goal is to have the shop up-and-running over the next couple of weeks, at which time I'll obviously write a blog post about it. 

In the meantime, here is some of my inspiration for the upcoming collection:

:: classic gold elements ::

:: classic silver elements ::

:: oceanic hues ::

:: candy colours ::

:: pink sunsets ::

images via Pinterest

Vintage Pink Treasures Chandelier

I love arts and crafts of the grown-up variety so when we moved into our house last year I made a list of home decor items that I wanted to create. Slowly but surely I checked most of the items off of the list such as the "Live Laugh Love" wall art, mosaic mirror, rainbow kitchen dining set, mirror wall arrangement, Mexican serape couch cushions, etc. (see most of them in my Rainbow Land post). 

One item that I still longed to create but had not yet found the right materials for was a colourful chandelier for our kitchen. I had several ideas on how I would accomplish the project and the main part consisted of finding an old chandelier frame that I could revamp. I kept my eyes open and checked on Kijiji and eBay every so often, but had yet to find the perfect frame at the perfect price point - until a few weeks ago. As a pro arts & crafter (self-appointed title) I'm always looking for ways to transform ordinary items, so when I spotted a simple black iron chandelier on Kijiji for a killer price I knew it would do the trick.

I wanted the chandelier to be the focal point of the room so I painted it in a white gloss so it would pop against the dark grey kitchen walls. I decided that I would make a fabric slip cover for the chain because trying to paint it was super annoying and the electrical cord was black which was also annoying. I then had to figure out a) what kind of crystal strands I would use (I would probably have to order them online like my turquoise crystals) and b) how I would attach them to the chandelier which did not currently have any crystals or hooks to attach them.

One afternoon while creating jewellery my mind started to wander and all of a sudden worlds collided and a light bulb went off - I could make the strands out of bright coloured beads in the same format as my multi-colour jewellery!!!!!! (Extra exclamation marks there because that's seriously how excited I got). 

The most challenging part was that I wanted each strand to be different from the next with only one of each colour yet all the same length, so it took a lot of meticulous bead sizing and sorting. Once I had the beads organized I created the 24 different strands I required. I then decided to hang the chandelier first and attach the strands afterwards to ensure the best placement (special thanks to my handyman Dad for his electrical skills). 

Finally as I attached each strand to the chandelier my heart beat a little faster as I realized how awesome it was turning out. Once it was done I literally sat and stared at it from every angle and have made my husband and every visitor since do the same. I am so in love with my new chandelier and could not be more pleased with the result.

Introducing, the original Vintage Pink Treasures chandelier:

:: chain cover I quickly sewed using white & silver fabric I already had ::

  :: although pretty, the pictures don't even do it justice :: 

:: before shot of previous (boring) kitchen light fixture & chandelier in black before the paint job::

:: chandelier inspiration: Vintage Pink Treasures multi-colour necklace ::

all photos by me

Arm Candy

Arm candy, arm party, arm art - whatever you call it, stacked bracelets are making an appearance everywhere, from fashion mags to blogs and beyond. I currently have an assortment of colourful bracelets from Mexico adorning my left arm which I sometimes pair with a watch, while my right arm remains free to experiment with different combinations of arm candy. Right now I'm loving bracelets in various colours and textures: natural pearls, hot pink agate, bright turquoise, dark wood, carved horn and charms - stacked and layered to create an eclectic work of arm art.

Here are a couple of arm parties I created using Vintage Pink Treasures bracelets:

:: agate, pearl, glass, dyed jade, shell, coral, horn beads ::

:: wood, glass, horn, shell, quartz, howlite & shell beads ::

Each bracelet is created by combining carefully selected elements to suit a variety of different styles, from the trendy girl on the town to the polished career woman. Check them out at the Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market on Saturdays in Pavilion 20 to create some arm art of your own!

::  prices range from $18 (single-strand bracelet)

to $35 (double-strand bracelet) ::

The key to successful arm candy is mixing, matching and layering until you get the perfect combination. Here is a collection of more arm art/party/candy to inspire you!

photos 1 - 2 by me
all other images via we heart it