Pssst! Got a cute baby? (sp)

I just have to tell you this. After buying a Claire Aristides gift for a very good friend recently, I've become a bit obsessed with her jewellery. Claire's. Not my friend's. Although her jewellery is very beautiful too. 

However I got chatting to Claire, which in turn led to the Yo Mama! interview. And me being all crazy in love with her.

If you have a cute baby (man, I wish I did!), you simply must enter your wee one in the Claire Aristides Baby Face competition. 

It closes on Monday, so get your snaps in pronto and enter - all you have to do is share a pic on Facebook or Instagram, and hashtag #ClaireAristidesBabyFace #CABabyFace and tag @clairearistidesjewelry.

For more details, head here where you can find the very impressive list of prizes. 

Yo Mama! An Interview with Claire Aristides

Imagine your day surrounded by diamonds, sapphires, gold, silver, (no myrrh), all manner of 
luxe beauty. Swoon. I can't imagine the ecstasy. Let's imagine really, really hard, because it sounds pretty fabulous.

Today's Yo Mama! interview is with Claire Aristides. She doesn't need to imagine all that 
sparkly fun because she is amidst it every day. A jewellery designer with a minimalist, luxury approach to jewellery. SO up my alley. 

She reinterprets classic designs for modern women, and I've spent waaaaay too much time
over on her website and Instagram feed drooling over just about everything. So between her time designing new collections, and being a busy mama, she was able to answer a few
about what it's like to be Claire Aristides. 

Let's do this!

PMM: Claire Aristides. Tell me about a normal day in your life. (Is there such a thing?)

CA: Yes, no. No normal day ever. Which has its pluses and minuses. I think most people's 
days are really mixed up as we all seem to be so busy! 

You create beautiful jewellery that's highly covetable. How did you get started? 

It's a cliche but my mum passed down the passion for jewellery to me. I have vivid memories of her trying on fabulous shiny jewels in the 70s when we lived in Singapore. I started down the corporate track for a bit but then took the leap of faith to start my own line. I first started in fashion jewellery then branched out into the real thing! Diamonds and precious gems!  And I've never looked back.

What did you dream of being when you were little? What were you going to be when you grew up?

I'm not sure. I just remember always enjoying making things, being creative expressing myself etc.  Isn't it so hard to know what you want to do? I feel so lucky that I found something I love. 

Where do you seek inspiration?

Travel definitely. For many reasons - the obvious being different sights, sounds, smells. The 

senses are completely stimulated. But also because you 'get away' from day to day and that's when your mind 'thinks - and creates. Going for a big long walk, run, or swim can bring out my creative juices as well. My main inspirations are always redefining classic fine jewellery in a modern context. I love stones too, so seeing a beautiful gem set simply yet stunningly always makes me happy. 

How do you juggle motherhood with your work? 

I have the best husband. I honestly could not do what I do without him.  He is an incredible help. I do get very stressed juggling it all, but it's my choice to do so much. So you've just got to be happy, be as relaxed as you can. I think what you don't realise with motherhood is how little 'alone' time you get - and I'm very much a person that recharges when I have some alone time. You also just have to prioritise whats important, you can't do it all.

What's one tip you'd love to share with another mother?

Everyone finds it tough on different levels at different stages over different things. So don't 
judge! Don't think someone else has it super easy - and you've got it tough all the time. 

Do you have certain pieces of jewellery that you wear every day?

Ha - this is going to be a blog post soon. Diamond Hoops. Some people say they live in jeans I live in Diamond Hoops.

What's your favourite part of your job?

Seeing other people happy. Again it's a cliche, but my job is making people happy - with 
something sparkly, precious, sentimental!

And do you have a worst bit?

Filling in forms. Admin. Paperwork bits and bobs... Can't stand it.

Juggling work-life is tricky. How do you take time out for yourself?

I have neglected myself. And this resulted in being sick this year. So I am trying really hard to look after myself more. I started with the basics - like eight hours of sleep, taking vitamins, not checking my phone every minute of the day! I'm hoping for a sisters getaway in January.

What's coming up next for Claire Aristides?

We just launched our search for the babyface of my Bambino Diamonds collection. So after 
Christmas madness it's shooting the winner with Tiny Tribe Magazine.



Make sure you enter Claire's new competition to see if your baby could be the new face of the Bambino Diamonds Collection. 

Shop the Claire Aristides collection here. 

Follow Claire on Instagram.

Or hop onto Facebook for more inspiration.

This is the 12th interview in my Yo Mama! series. Interviews with creative working mamas. Look out for them weekly. 

Victoria Mason Is Awesome. And Teaching You How To Make

If I lived in Melbourne, and if I were you, I would totally sign up for this class with uber awesome contemporary jeweller Victoria Mason.

I've long been a fan of her work, and now I see you can learn first-hand. 

Anyway. I can't do it. But you could. 

Sign up now - there's only 6 spots available which means you'll get plenty of attention. It will be amazeballs. Learn from a leading light in Australian handmade jewellery, and take home a ring. It's all win:win:win:win:win.

image via Victoria Mason

Yo Mama! An Interview With Jennifer Loiselle

Life is funny how it dishes things up. Kooky even. Once upon a time, perhaps three or so years ago, I posted about some fabulous earrings I had discovered on Etsy. I loved them so much, and wanted to share them. 

A day after that post I received an email from Jennifer Loiselle. Creator of the earrings I was salivating over. She was emailing me to tell me we knew each other. And that she'd married, changed her surname (which was why I didn't initially twig) and was now in my inbox. And indeed, we did know each other. Jennifer had been working at The Sydney Morning Herald's (sadly) now defunct Good Living fashion pages. I worked in PR. We chatted quite often. And when she left our bonny shores, I distinctly remember feeling a pit of sadness that a kindred spirit was now a bit further away.

This, my friends, is serendipity.

So it's with pleasure that I serve up for you, an interview with the beautiful, intelligent and super creative talent behind the eponymous jewellery label - Jennifer Loiselle. 

PMM: When and why did you make the move to the UK?

JL: I moved to the UK 8 years ago (almost to this day!). Before that I had been working and backpacking through India and before that living in Tokyo . I had big time wanderlust in my 20s and that very Antipodean need to travel.

You started your professional life as a stylist, how did you make the transition to creating jewellery? 

I was a fashion journalist and assistant stylist at the Sydney Morning Herald, so I think I've always had a creative eye, even if it wasn't as hands on as what I'm doing now. Much later I went on to  study footwear design at Cordwainers college in London but after that took a sideways step and ended up as  creating content at a fashion website for a while. When I was pregnant with my daughter I went on maternity leave and felt like I needed a creative outlet of some kind  and had a real urge to  create something with my hands. I initially started crafting and making headbands for myself to jazz up my maternity wardrobe(!!), then started getting requests from friends and the occasional fashion blogger and then started selling them on etsy which was actually a great way to start a small business and test out products. The jewellery line came from there - it was all pretty pretty organic.

In my (humble and non-pro) experience, getting crafty can be therapeutic. But getting crafty when the smalls are around can be - er - difficult. How do you manage it? 

Oh super difficult, but I made a decision early on to make sure that my daughter was in some kind of of part time childcare from when she was quite tiny, even if it was just for a few hours a week (for my sanity, really) so I've always had some time to myself from early on - plus I spend a lot of my night hours making jewellery.  She's also  been taught from a very young age that she's not allowed to go near mummy's "work stuff" that's scattered all over the house - in fact when other kids come over to play, she gets very territorial about my things! 

As a mum, what are your tips to manage the juggle of work - and home-life?

It's hard work and I don't always feel like I get the balance right! I think trying to make sure that work doesn't bleed into home life too much, that you set aside proper time for family and that there are strict boundaries (I have a huge problem with this as I work from home). 

Where do you seek inspiration?  

London - so many museums and galleries, more exhibitions than it's possible to keep up with and it's full of incredibly creative people and genuinely original talents - I'm very lucky to live here!

What's been the highlight of your career to date?  

I still get a huge thrill seeing my designs on people I don't know in the street, it's a real buzz; way more exciting than any press endorsement.

What's next for Jennifer Loiselle?

I try not to plan too far ahead but more of the same but on a bigger scale and working towards reaching a bigger audience but still maintaining my strictly hand made to order ethos.

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Jen has recently launched her new website - don't take my word for it - it's a visual haven for those who love beautiful and unique pieces that will be treasured for a lifetime. 

Shop here in time for Christmas!

This is the first of my Yo Mama! series - interviews with creative working mamas.  Look out for them weekly. 

Class OR Crass?

Kim Kardashian. I've not much clue what you do, except that you have curves, you romp on the beach a lot, you've got sisters - I don't know how many, and now you've got a 20.5 carat diamond ring worth $2 million.

That's a heck of a lot of coal sitting on your hand, sister.

Fantasy Island Friday::

Another Friday, another Fantasy Island. I've travelled around the world (actually I shopped local and kept my eco footprint and bank balance in check) to find some fantasies this week. Commes des Garcons Series 5: Sherbet from Mecca Cosmetica

Elke Kramer Blush Stud bracelet from Off The Runway

Well Spotted tee

Christina Lowry 'Away with the clouds' silver pendant

Have you had any fantasies this week? You can keep your filthy little mind out of the gutter! Shame on you!

Coveting

I will try and talk less Lego soon, promise, but right now, it's become a household obsession.

After we bought the Doctor's Lego the other day, Tiny and I went to a cafe where the guy there was enquiring about our Lego purchase. He wanted a look, so we showed him the box and set to jive-talking. Whatever jive-talking is. Cafe Man told me how much he LOVED Lego and then showed me his pendant - a heart made of Lego blocks. Pretty darn cool. And he also mentioned rings that Lego had made. So I came home and hit Google to find said rings. Et voila! You can mix them up with different blocks - my favourite are the flowers. They're not new (from what I see, they were released circa 2007) - but new to me.

Lego makes parenting super duper fun. It's something for the Doctor and I to enjoy together (except I'm always being instructed what to make and how to make it. Yes boss!).

I found them via Like Cool.

Deco-licious

To save you any more of my terrible photos from this week I'm posting from Fantasy Island.

I'm renaming Friday, it's Fantasy Island Friday. Every Friday I'll post something that I LOVE!

mmm, this one?

or this one?

maybe this one?

Today it is these awesome Holly Fulton perspex necklaces from offtherunway. They are - phwoar - highly coveted by moi!

It's Me: Day 5

I didn't 'it's me' myself over the weekend or yesterday because Matt was home, and where would the fun be in that, he can already see me, so it was redundant peeps.

Today I am probably going to make Victoria Mason's tummy churn because I am wearing her delicious sharpening necklace (that my sister gave me for my birthday) with track pants. Illegal. Highly illegal. A grade A felony. Illegal in seven countries. My only redemption? I am wearing a grandpa style cardi.

It's a sad world we live in, when five days in, I'm already wearing fleecy track pants. Forgive me.

Pretty New Things

For my birthday my dearly beloved gave me a beautiful Lisa Leonard necklace. How lucky am I? Well truth be known, Matt's not that into computers, so I had to order it myself, which isn't so bad. I got to choose what each of the charms said.. With his direction of course.. And since my birthday it's worn almost daily. I love it. I love the sound it makes. I love my little family being close to me. I think it's going to be one of those things I wear all the time, a sort of signature piece.