Statement vs Subtle Jewellery

‘Delicate, elegant and timeless’  Subtle jewellery

or

‘Big, bold and beautiful’ Statement jewellery

Which one would you choose?

Christmas is getting closer each day and with it, so is the New Year.  Whether you are relaxing at home for the festive season or spending time with your family and friends out in the town, your choice of jewellery can go a long way.

In recent times, subtle jewellery has become overshadowed by statement pieces.  But it hasn’t been forgotten!  We believe subtle necklaces are the perfect item to wear this Christmas, as they are elegantly minimalist and very chic.  They remind us that Christmas is about spreading love and remembering the little things that bring us joy.

As for New Year’s Eve, try looking for an alternative outfit to the traditional sequinned dress and make a lasting impact with a simple black dress and a glamorous statement necklace.  Statement pieces are bold, attract instant attention and are a fantastic way to liven up any outfit.  Whether you choose earrings, necklaces or rings they will uniquely show off your personality.

Here at Gallardo & Blaine we recommend wearing a sleek, subtle necklace for Christmas and going the nontraditional route for that New Year’s Eve party, by bringing out a glamorous statement necklace.  After all, nothing says New Year’s like adding some sparkle and shimmer to your outfit!

What is your go-to jewellery for the winter holidays, statement or subtle?
G&B
 

For more details follow the links: Mystic topaz ring, Mystic topaz necklace, Blue topaz earrings, Blue topaz ring & Blue Topaz bangle.

“Where Nature Meets Art”

The Gemstones That Inspire Our Designs

Fifteen years ago, I set off towards the Southern mountains of Mexico where I began my journey as a jeweler. As I became enchanted by the beautiful landscape and vibrancy of the terrain, I soon found myself learning about semi-precious stones and an ancient technique of silver – something that would allow me to harmoniously craft the jewellery around the stone.

Precious gemstones have long been linked with astrology, the flow of energy and certain mystical powers. The meanings and associated benefits of the individual stones coupled with their natural appeal and beauty have led to these gemstones being considered valuable and popular throughout history.

While on my journey through Mexico, several of the gemstones I encountered became favourites of mine. Astrologers long ago attributed powers to certain gemstones and I thought it would be interesting to share the benefits and special powers of my most favored gemstones with you in this month’s blog post!

Labradorite is a highly mystical and protective gemstone that originates from the Labrador Peninsula in Canada. While wearing this it acts as a powerful guardian angel for your aura, and enhances the spiritual and mental prowess of the wearer. This extraordinary stone has a wide variety of calming and psychic benefits including alleviating the stresses from an overactive mind, easing insomnia, and helping to keep out those little insecurities.

White labradorite, also known as ‘moonstone’, is a key gemstone for boosting self-confidence and enhancing the connection to your higher self.Labradorite is a perfect piece for anyone born in July or who is a Gemini or Leo, who are all lucky enough to have this as their birthstone!

For more details follow the links: Mystic topaz ring, Mystic topaz necklace, Blue topaz earrings, Blue topaz ring & Blue Topaz bangle.

Mystic Topaz

Let’s talk about one of my favourite gems, Mystic Topaz.
Mystic Topaz is a pretty new gem, it was only introduced in 1998! Mystic Topaz has a unique film coat above its normally “white” exterior to turn it into a beautiful kaleidoscope of colour.

The colours most prominently features in Mystic Topaz are blue, green and purple, though there is the wealth of the rainbow to be found in this beauty.

Mystic Topaz can even go by many other names, such as Rainbow Topaz, Fire Topaz, Alaskan Ice and Caribbean Topaz. Mystic Topaz is prized for bright and clear colour, and is quite a hard gem (almost as hard as diamond!)
Mystic Topaz is a versatile gem that can be worn for all occasions!

Associations

While Mystic Topaz may be a new gem, Topaz is not, and it has a long history and associations that go along with it.
The Ancient Greeks believed topaz to be a powerful stone, one that could give strength to its wearer (and invisibility in times of need!). The Romans and Ancient Egyptians associated topaz with the Sun God. Traditional Indian belief systems associate topaz with the throat chakra, and that it unlocks the ability to communicate and express oneself. Because of this, topaz is beneficial to writers, artists and public speakers.

How to care for Mystic Topaz

Because of its hardness, Mystic Topaz doesn’t scratch easily and is very durable. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of it! If your Mystic Topaz needs cleaning, soap and water works best, with a soft cloth. Take care to rinse well, you don’t want soapy residue covering up the beauty of the gem! AVOID steamers! This could ruin the gems colour.
As usual, don’t wear jewellery if you’re cleaning or doing physical activity like playing sports.

For more details follow the links: Moonstone ring, Moonstone earrings, labradorite ring, Labradorite pendant & labradorite earrings.

Bloom!

Bloom in the Park is an event that is taking place this June Bank Holiday Weekend in Dublin!
Bloom will be host to a lot of wonderful events such as wall art to ceramics, candles to clothing, and jewellery to leather.  and even more amazingly, we’ll be there!

Yes that’s right, Maddy from Gallardo & Blaine is there at Bloom this weekend in Phoenix Park!
The event is in its 10th year and attracted over 100,000 people to the event last year and this year there is even more on offer.

Bloom debuted in 2007 and has since been a showcase for everything from horticulture, plants and garden design but has grown to involve many more things, such as a design stands, stalls and the Irish Craft Village. The Craft Village has been a major attraction of Bloom since they joined them and brought the event outside to the sunshine. It offers visitors a chance to see an exciting selection of work from some of Ireland’s most creative designers.

Craft demonstrations take place throughout the event, giving visitors a chance to experience the magic of seeing a skilled craftsperson transform raw materials into a finished object before their eyes. People crowd the stalls to see these artists at work. There are many amazing and varied artists in the Craft Village and people come from all over to watch them work their magic.

There’s something for everyone at Bloom. Food, flowers, fun, and it’s all family friendly! Be sure to pop on over, if you can!

We’d love to see you there. We are in the main shopping marquee, right in the centre. Come and say hi!
G&B

For more details follow the links: Moonstone ring, Moonstone earrings, labradorite ring, Labradorite pendant & labradorite earrings.

Henley on Thames – Craft & Design Festival

Maddy from Gallardo & Blaine will be at The Contemporary Craft & Deisgn Fair taking place at Henley Meadows this June, 24^th to 26^th!

The fair is on in the UK and features over 170 of the very best British contemporary craftmakers who showcase and sell their items.

This is an interesting fair as it one of the most relaxed and friendly fairs in both the guests and the exhibitors. It has everything from metalwork, jewellery and furniture to ceramics, glassware and textiles. Such a wide and varied range of creativity and art as well as workshops and stalls and exhibitions. One of the highest quality shows that we do, everything there is made in the UK and by hand. All the craftmakers are such hard workers and it shows in the quality of their work.

For more details follow the links: Blue druzy pendant, Titanium druzy pendant, Cubic zirconia pendant, Cubic zirconia ring & Moonstone pendant.

Cocktail Collection Launch at the Design House

The Design House is proud to announce that it will be hosting a cocktail inspired evening on Thursday November 3rd. The event will be hosted by jewellery designer Madeleine Blaine of Gallardo & Blaine Designs and hat designer Kate Betts.

Madeleine and Kate decided to collaborate on this event to promote the launch of a new cocktail style of hats and jewellery which will be available for sale in The Design House during the Christmas season. The event is open to all members of the public as well as the Irish blogging community where cocktail occasion wear will be available for viewing and for sale. Upon arrival, each guest will be greeted with a complementary cocktail and there is the possibility of a special celebrity guest appearance, so Madeleine and Kate encourage everyone to pop down for what is sure to be a wonderful evening!

For more information about the venue of the event visit www.thedesignhouse.ie

To learn more about the designs of Kate Betts visit her website at www.katebetts.eu or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/katebettshats/

For more details follow the links: Blue druzy pendant, Titanium druzy pendant, Cubic zirconia pendant, Cubic zirconia ring & Moonstone pendant.

Busy times ahead for Gallardo & Blaine Designs!

We have had a very busy and exciting couple of weeks here in the studio as of late! Our cocktail collection launch is happening this Thursday 3^rd of November and we can’t wait to show off the new jewellery designs that we have been working on. Now that Halloween is over, the Christmas buzz in Dublin city has officially begun and we hope to get our guests on Thursday into the festive spirit! We are offering a ten percent discount on all jewellery purchased on the evening, so we recommend popping down to the launch if you can.

Over the coming month, we will be featuring our jewellery designs in a number of shows across the UK and Ireland.

First up, from the 11^th – 13^th November, we have the Desire Winchester  exhibition in the UK, which is one of the highly esteemed mixed media jewellery and silversmithing consumer shows in England. Next, from the 17^th – 22^nd November, we will have a stand at the Living Crafts for Christmas Fair in Blenheim Palace. This fair is held in the beautiful grounds of a stately home and specialises in contemporary British crafts and will feature over 180 British designers. We will also be present at the contemporary Christmas Fair at RHS Garden Wisley from the 23^rd – 27^th November. This fair is guaranteed to provide a unique shopping experience for the consumer this Christmas, as it will be held in a heated marquee in a beautiful garden location.

Last but certainly not least, we will have a stand at the National Craft Fair in Ireland this Christmas in the RDS Dublin from the 30^th November – 4^th December. This craft fair will feature the unique work of over 500 designers, artists and craftspeople. The National Craft Fair has something for everyone, so it is a day not to be missed!

We hope to see you at one of these events over the Christmas season.
Happy shopping!

For more details follow the links: Mystic topaz ring, Mystic topaz necklace, Blue topaz earrings, Blue topaz ring & Blue Topaz bangle.

A Wonderful Evening

Our cocktail launch evening proved to be a very enjoyable event for all! Everyone at Gallardo & Blaine Designs were thrilled to see so many people stop by The Design House and take an interest in our new cocktail inspired pieces. The launch allowed us to get to know our customers more and spend time informing our guests about the thought and work that goes into every single piece that is designed and made by Madeleine Blaine herself! The success of the night has encouraged us to think about hosting similar launch evenings in the future.

For more details follow the links: Mystic topaz ring, Mystic topaz necklace, Blue topaz earrings, Blue topaz ring & Blue Topaz bangle.

New Year, New Designs!

Hoping everyone had a lovely Christmas break as well as having a positive start to their new year! Now that the holiday season is officially over we have been busy bees here at Gallardo & Blaine Designs. The start of a new year means it is time to get creative and start working on new jewellery design ideas for spring and summer 2017. Our pieces are often inspired through our love and respect for nature and this is reflected in pieces such as our bird bracelet and bee earrings. Madeleine will be spending a lot of time in the design workshop over the next couple of months working on fresh pieces for shows over the Easter holidays.

We would love to expand Gallardo & Blaine Designs as a business this year. A great start to this process will be the oh so important Irish trade fair. The fair is officially recognised as ‘Showcase – Ireland’s Creative Expo’ and runs in the RDS between January 22-25th 2017. This showcase demonstrates the best of Ireland’s creativity with over 450 home grown exhibitors showcasing their leading talent in terms of Irish craft and design. The Showcase will allow us to make a start in the broadening of Gallardo & Blaine Designs by selling our pieces to different gift shops and also overseas!
We definitely have a busy and exciting year ahead of us!

For more details follow the links: Ruby pendant, Emerald earrings, Rough ruby pendant, Emerald ring & Mystic topaz earrings.

About Gallardo & Blaine Designs ltd

Gallardo & Blaine Designs jewellery is designed and made in the UK and Ireland. Madeleine Blaine has been making her own jewellery for 15 years after her passion for design was ignited by travelling the world and witnessing the amazing variety of both the ancient and modern arts. This in turn sparked her interest in archetypal symbols, such as the heart, the dragonfly, the tree which feature in much of her work today.

Madeleine's other great inspiration is nature and this reflects in the organic and flowing forms she uses in her designs. Her love of colour has her using a mixture of both silver and gold plate which make her designs incredibly versatile to wear. The use of unusual and exquisite gemstones, hand picked by herself from around the world make her work stand out. She is careful to keep a balance, so that the flowing curves of the designs enhance the natural beauty of the stones without detracting from them. Her work has been described as magical, enchanting, and even branded ' art nouveau with a modern twist'. Works of art to wear.
Her designs range from statement pieces to classically beautiful - suitable for all ages, making them a timeless heirloom to be passed down for generations.

For more details follow the links: Ruby pendant, Emerald earrings, Rough ruby pendant, Emerald ring & Mystic topaz earrings.