My Etsy favourites Tuesday/ Delicate neck pieces

• 1 & 3: kirstenann
• 2 & 4: BejewelledBespoke
• 5, 6 & 7: WHITE OWL

New in: the Magnolia clutch bag

Little Red Flowers Magnolia clutch bag

Little Pink Flowers Magnolia clutch bag

Multicoloured floral Liberty Magnolia clutch bag

Summer Flowers Magnolia clutch bag

Marigold Magnolia clutch bag

Golden Arabesque Magnolia clutch bag

These past weeks I have been working on a new design: the Magnolia clutch.

It is slightly smaller than the Ambrosia and fuller in volume. While browsing on the net for purse frames, I came across those very cute purse frames. I immediately fell in love with them : I love their shape as well as the chunky bobbles  feature. They are so cute! 

I called this style Magnolia because the bag shape reminded me of a flower in full bloom. For this line, I also use recycled linings, be it satin, Dupion silk or  two-tones twill acetate.

It also features an internal pocket for added practicality. And this frame makes the bag really roomy, I managed to really put plenty of things in it!

inside my bag...

bagatelles & co is now on facebook!

bagatelles & co is now on facebook!

Join me there for updates, special offers and discounts...

My Etsy favourites/ Poetic reminiscence

My "coup de coeur" of the week:  delightful reminiscence, poetic sensations, beauty...

MagnolijaDRESS

labokoff

A perfect day in a beautiful castle!

My mum and my little sister came to visit me last week, so I took some time off to be more with them...

I took them around London, lots of walk in parks, a bit of window shopping, tea time with lovely cupcakes at The Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill.

And we also took a day off to Leeds Castle, in Kent. It is so beautiful! A perfect scenery!

When we arrived in the park, we were greeted by an amazing view of green green gardens, little rivers undulating here and there, gorgeous flowers, and a splendid white peacock! I had never seen one before, WAW!!!!  Some say it is a symbol of good luck, let's hope so!

My Etsy favourites of the week/ Delicate blossom

• 1, 3 & 5:  thehoneycomb
• 2, 4 & 8: Kari Herer Photography
• 6, 7 & 9: katetowers

My Etsy favourites of the week

Hello!

I was talking about treasuries last time and I actually enjoy the process! I've decided to follow the principle of selecting products from different Etsy seller following a theme, colour or mood...

So from now on, I will post my Etsy favourites of the week every Tuesday... 

For this week, I was rather on a colourful mood, enjoy these summery finds!

• 1, 3 & 8:  ANORIGINALJEWELRY
• 2, 4 & 6:  andfurthermore
• 5, 7 & 9:  atelierBB

A dash of yellow

1, 3, 4, 6 & 7 from Bloom by Ron Van Dongen

2 & 5 from saipua

I have just updated my shop with new colours and fabrics. I found some lovely cream, ivory and yellow textiles that I had been looking for a long time. Perfect subtle tones for spring/summer, for a sunny garden party or a romantic wedding...

As I was searching the web for beautiful flowers, I came across saipua, beautiful blog by Sarah and Eric, based in Brooklyn. SAIPUA is specialised in handmade olive oil soap and custom flower arrangements. Their photos are so beautiful!

A lucky day!

My lucky day treasury and my Gigi purse

Another treasury where bagatelles & co was featured...

I was a bit worried to go away for such a long time when my shop was so new, but it was actually fine... While I was away, my little Liberty flowers Gigi purse was featured in a treasury and it managed to get to Etsy first page, yeah!!!

I got ton of views on that day, and quite a few sales! All that when I wasn't there to enjoy!

Luckily, monatelier kindly sent me a snapshot of the treasury...

That was really a nice surprise when I got back home:)

Weavers in Tunisia

I have a special interest in weaving, as it is what I studied during my first two years in Paris.

When traveling in Tunisia, we happened to walk past several weaver ateliers which I was very happy to visit!

The first one was a cooperative called Al Faouz, not far from the famous tourist destination Hammamet. They were very friendly and welcoming and explained us that most of them have been working there for over 30 years. Some of them were really very old, but still very alert. They work avery day but Friday, which is the "prayer day" for Muslims, and for very long hours as it is really labour intensive work. They do everything by hand, from spinning the wool to set up the loom to the actual weaving. Sadly, as not many young people are interested in that profession, they are less and less numerous and therefore it is more difficult for them to keep up with the amount of work they get. Apparently, they don't have time to do as many things as before, and mainly produce the fabric used for the traditional coat "burnous".

They work on big wooden loops that are activated by pedals, so their feet are in very bad condition. It was very impressive to see how fast they work and how quick are their movements!

There's a small shop in the basement where they sell the product of their work, there was still some nice cushion covers and cute little carpets.

Another wokshop we visited was in Mahdia, more in the south of the country. It is a town famous for its silk weavers, where it is said to be a loom in every home...

And indeed, in the old Medina, there were weavers in every corner. One was particularly nice and showed us his little workshop and even demonstrated how he was doing. He was in the middle of  weaving a traditional wedding fabric. He was selling some beautiful silk scarves made by him. One silk scarf like that takes him about a day to weave and it is so much more precious than those bought in shops! 

A good dose of sea, sun and farniente!

I know I said I was going away only for a long weekend, and it is now a long time since I haven't written anything... 

My weekend in Italy was very nice, it was warm and sunny, the wedding went quite well, and we even escaped for a while on the beautiful island of Ponza...

When I came back, I thought I would have time to post some photos but I had a lot of orders to work on in just a few days. For we went to Tunisia just a week later!

It was very long time since I had been there, and I was very happy to go back. As some of you may know, half of my family is from there and I spent some time there as a child.

As always, light is amazing there, so bright, and it is also accentuated by the whiteness of the walls which is beautiful contrasting with the traditional blue windows... The sea was so nice, so clear, so green, mmm...

I really like the architecture too, it is all roundness and sensuality. And all those superb patterns really remind me of textiles.

Well, well, it was a really nice break. It was good catching up on things I had been missing...

Weekend in Italy...

                  From LivingEtc - Gallery - Vintage suitcase

This quick message to say that I'm going away for a looong weekend tomorrow, destination Italy! Yeah! Apparently, it's already very warm there, I'm so happy, being so desperate for a bit of sun!!! An then I will go to a Napolitan wedding: it's gonna be so exciting!

Have a great weekend!

A nice way to wake up!

          My Liberty Cosmos brooch featured in a treasury!

This morning was definitely a good morning, despite the heavy rain and grey sky...

First, I got featured in an Etsy Treasury  by minnowbye. A treasury is a list of one's favorite items on Etsy, based on a special theme. One can choose any theme, as long as it's inspiring I guess, and anyone can do a treasury. It's also a nice way for shoppers to look for products.

And the Etsy team ( if they like it) might pick the treasury and features it on the Etsy front page, which is a great way to gain exposure!

I'm so happy!

Then, I got an email announcing that someone bought one of my Ambrosia clutch bag overnight: that's such a sweet surprise to wake up to this kind of news!

My green Ambrosia clutch

And finally, here are some pictures of the great afternoon we spent at Kew Gardens in London on Sunday. It was amazing! I didn't expect the park to be so big, and with such a great variety and it was so warm and sunny, mmm... I'll definitely go back...

An afternoon at Kew Gardens

A little Spring sale!!!

Isn't it strange that each country has different dates for Mother's Day?! I would have thought that it would have been institutionalized, like Labour Day/La Fete du Travail ( although they don't celebrate it over here in the UK!)... But, nope! I guess it's good for mums with multiple nationalities: they get celebrated several days in the year instead of just once! But, except that, I find it quite confusing. Now that I live in the UK, I tend to think about it when it happens here in March and then to skip it when it's the right time in France... My boyfriend is Italian, so we should also be thinking about the right time in Italy which is different again... very confusing all that!!!

Anyway, this time I remembered the French date, and given that it coincides almost with the launching of my little Etsy shop, let's celebrate it!!!

So, I'll be offering 15% off on all Ambrosia clutches and Gigi purses, and 20% off on all the rest, e.g. brooches, earrings, barrettes and necklaces ( I will add them to the shop over the weekend...).

The offer is valid until next Wednesday, the 27th of May, midnight... After that, I'll put prices back to normal as I will be off for a little weekend in Italy!

Isn't it a good way to end May?! :)

Exciting news: my Etsy shop!

Oh my god, what a week!

I set up my Etsy shop this week, and I didn't expect it to take me so long!  It took me 4 full days just taking pictures  of my products, editing them on Photoshop, then list them on my shop, and this takes quite a while I must say...

I'm quite happy though because it seems that some people liked my accessories so far... I was feeling so nervous...

I wanted to wait  a bit longer to post about it_, until I had more items in my shop, but I could not hold it any longer, naughty me! :)

So, that's the address for my shop: www.bagatellesandco.etsy.com

Go and have a look! I'd love to hear some feedback...:)

I must run now and go back to my photos!

Just made, just gone

Hello!

Here are some pictures of small purses I made for a special order. As my deadline was getting closer, I just had time to take these quick pictures. Pfffew!

Luckily, I have enough fabric to make more!

Freshly made accessories

I've been away in France last week, and it was nice to take a break...I have enjoyed seeing my family and my friends, and had lots of good food, yummy... Now, back to London!

This break has given me back my energy and my weekend has been quite productive! I eventually received my cards from MOO  and I'm going to use them to display my jewelry...

I also tried to adapt my vintage style pochette bag to a purse handbag, and I'm quite happy with the result. I must not have been the only one since I already sold it :))!

Je suis partie en vacances en France la semaine dernière. J’avais bien besoin d’une coupure…C’était bien agréable de passer du temps avec ma famille et mes amis, et j’ai aussi fait le plein de bonne nourriture, miam miam… 

Ces vacances m’ont permis de retrouver de l’énergie; mon week-end a été très productif!      J’ai enfin reçu mes cartes de MOO  et je vais les utiliser pour y accrocher mes bijoux…              

J’ai aussi fait un essai de sac à fermeture métallique partant de mon précédent sac pochette, et je suis plutôt contente du résultat. Je ne dois pas avoir été la seule car je l’ai déjà vendu :))!

Earrings

                        Flower buds earrings for spring!

Et voila, some more pictures of my accessories made from brass buttons and recycled fabrics. Most are silk and 100% cotton... Ear studs and scrolls are plated silver.

Easter in the English countryside

Happy Easter!

Yesterday, we decided to bet on a good weather and spend the day in the countryside. Of course, the weather forecast was wrong an it did rain in the afternoon, but it was more of a drizzle and the grass just seemed even greener... It also added a melancholic and romantic aspect to the scenery.

It was a very good day indeed... A nice walk through the fields, a visit to a beautiful medieval castle, Bodiam Castle , flowers, green green grass, and even some cute ( and others less cute) animals! And all that just over an hour train from London! Mmmm, I love England...

Candies in the hair

  playing around with buttons: they look like sweets! yummy...

As I had a fair stock of cover buttons, bought a long time ago and kept in a box, hoping to use them one day, I thought why not covering them with my pretty textiles?... So covering buttons I did and as I was playing around with them, I decided to try making hair slides with them, and here is the result. Because I like clean finishings, I covered the bottom part of the button as well, with printed cotton. It is much prettier than metal I think!

I tested it on my hair a few days, and so far it is sturdy enough and works properly...I'm quite pleased with the result :)... They look like little candies, yum yum!

Comme j’avais un bon stock de boutons à recouvrir que je gardais précieusement dans une boîte, pensant bien qu’ils me seraient utiles un jour, je me suis dit que je pourrais bien les couvrir avec ma collection de jolis tissus… Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait ! Et du coup, j’en ai aussi fait des barrettes, et voici le résultat. 

Bon, comme j’aime bien les finitions bien faites, j’en ai aussi  recouvert le dessous avec un coton imprimé. Comme ça, quand on regarde la barrette du dessous, on voit des fleurs et non le métal du bouton : bien plus joli, non ?!

J’ai essayé la barrette dans mes cheveux et l’ai porté quelques jours, et je dois dire que tout marche bien, sans problème et elle est solide ! Je suis assez contente du résultat, je dois bien avouer :)... ça me fait penser à des gourmandises, miam miam !