IL MARE ATELIER
{please visit il mare atelier here}
Here at the Bright Side Project, we are big fans of art. We are big fans of jewelry. We are super big fans of the melding of the two. Jewelry is, after all, wearable art and speaks to the core of each of us in regards to what we find beautiful about nature, color and ourselves.
Su Tan, artist and owner of Il Mare Atelier, draws upon this marriage of jewelry and art with her uniquely stunning and versatile collection of earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Tan is inspired by her Singapore environment. The rich pinks and reds on the Spring Blossoms earrings drop delicately like flowers and the bold, deep purple highlighted between glimmers of gold on the Violets necklace would look just as good with a formal dress as jeans and a t-shirt. Then there is the Posy necklace. I would wear this one with my birthday suit, it’s that stunning. The mission at Il Mare Atelier is to “create art you could hold in your hands.” Mission accomplished.
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Miss Krista, our Weekend Editor, is a mother, a lover and a big believer in the power of a cupcake. she loves double entendres but is not a fan of the high-five. She blogs about the corners of her heart at my life as i see it.
tiny emerald stud earrings that I got as a gift for my 6th birthday, when I had my ears pierced (still have hem!)
a beautiful broach from my grandmother. It was shaped like a snowflake and covered in sparkly clear “diamonds” (giggle- so I thought!).
Probably a plastic ring – I can’t remember! The first one that remember was a three diamond ring from my parents that were just tiny little chips.
The very first piece of jewelry I owned, was a gold Baby’s Ring that my Mother bought for me. The first piece I ever wore, was a gold and mother of pearl heart locket. It was my Grandma’s and it has a picture of my Dad and Grandpa in it. She passed away when I was three and I received it for Christmas, that was 23 years ago.
It was a sapphire ring that my dad bought me (at my prompting). Sapphire is my birthstone.. as well as being my favorite color (colbot blue)
It tore me apart when it was stolen by a friend of a former roommate. Especially since it was my first piece of “real jewelry”!
My first REAL piece was a gold ring with mine and my great aunt’s initial on it…it was hers and she gave it to me for my 16th bday!
My watch is the first piece of nice jewelry I’ve ever owned and I still wear it every day! My parents gave it to my the night before they moved me into my dorm at an out of state college. They told me that no matter what time it was, to remember that I they were always thinking of me and I could always come home.
My first jewelry was a pendant in the shape of a Cross, given by my grandmother when I was born. When my son was born I gave him this little gold pendant, so he can remember his grand-grandmother.
Yellow gold, bamboo-style adjustable bracelet and earring that both my grandmothers gave to me on the occasion of my christening. They had it blessed by the local priest and I still have it in a keepsake box my parents keep on my behalf in their house, with the intent to pass it along to my progeny.
An opal necklace.
My 1st piece of jewelry was a little gold cross given to me by my grandmother. I miss it, lost it in a lake on vacation many years ago…
My first real piece of jewelry was a pearl necklace from my Mom. Every June baby needs a pearl necklace.
A bezel set ruby ring. It’s my absolute favorite thing. And bezel set is the best.
a tiny gold bracelet with a heart locket…it’s from my baptism in November of 1975.
Small red crystal studs from when I got my ears pierced. Unfortunately, I don’t know where they are now. :(
A watch when I started school.
My mother was friends with an antique dealer when I was a very little girl and she would let me roam around the store, and there was one ring from her collection that fit my four-year old finger. She knew it was my favorite and on my fifth birthday she gave it to me, though I was only allowed to wear it at home or special occasions. I later in life found out that the ring was dated from the French Revolution!
it was a little silver ring with a turquise heart embedded in it – that thing turned my finger green all the time, but i bought it at an outdoor fesitval i nour town and i loved it!
I don’t know if it was the first piece I ever owned, but the first piece I remember was a little gold necklace with my birthstone on it.
My first piece of jewelry was a pair of gold cross-shaped studs they used to pierce my ears when I was 6 years old. I was so proud of them because my older sister had always been too scared to pierce her ears, and in fact didn’t work up the courage until she was 13 years old. They were doubly precious to me because I almost lost one; it got pulled out when my little brother and I were playing on a hammock in my grandmother’s back yard not long after I’d had them pierced. We searched for an hour to find it in the grass, then my grandmother had to clean it and put it back in my little red swollen ear. It hurt much worse the second time, but I was a brave little creature! I have loved earrings in all shapes and sizes ever since; they are always my signature piece of jewelry!
beautiful stuff. my first piece of jewelry (that i can remember) was a sterling silver ring in the shape of a dolphin – the dolphin was diving over my finger and its nose met its own tail. it was nothing short of awesome.
My first piece of jewelry was a tiny, silver ring, with a small opal in a simple, delicate setting. A friend of my dad made the ring for me when I was born. My parents held onto it for me until I was old enough to hold onto it myself. Now I wear in on a chain around my neck. It’s one of my favorite, most precious pieces.
I was too young to remember, but I had my ears pierced when i was a baby, not quite two yet. And my grandmother made them pierce them with the smallest diamond studs (my birthstone). Which I still have in a small box.
My dad gave me a gold ring with my birthstone when I was 10. I still have it to this day.
I had a baby ring, but the first piece that I remember being given to me was a necklace that had stones in the shape of a heart, and the first letter of each stone spelled out DEAREST – D-iamond, E-merald, A-methyst, R-uby, E-merald, S-aphire, T-opaz.
A ring my parents purschased for me when I was young. It had a large opal in the center and smaller ones on each side. Scroll type work with black accent. It was beautiful.
These pieces are so beautiful!!!
I love how colorful and cheerful they are.
I had to think back on this pretty hard. I know that the first piece I was ever given was a jade bracelet from my grandmother that was meant to fit me as a child but also on my wedding day. Sadly, my hands and wrists didn’t end up as dainty as my grandmother’s are :( but I still have the bracelet and have worn it around my neck hung with a ribbon.
The first piece I remember actually wearing was from a trip with my parents up the California coast to Solvang. It was a little adjustable mood ring in the shape of a heart. I thought it was so neat when I was just under four years old. I still don’t now anybody who isn’t truly at least a tad interested in trying on a mood ring to find out what it reveals about them :)
My mother gave me a pendant on a chain that was a tiny yellow flower captured in amber. The chain broke years ago…but I still have the pendant in my jewlery box.
I remember it well – it was one clip on earring, pinky-colored “pearls” all clustered together in an oval shape. My grandmother let me have it, when she lost the other one.
my mom bought me a beautiful silver charm bracelet when I was about 8 years old..I loved it so much..wore it every day when I got home from school..loved collecting and receiving different charms from family…so sad I lost it after one of our house moves :(
My parents gave me a gold ring when I was little, I can’t even remeber how old I was, maybe 9 or 10. It is a it has an aquamarine stone in the center (birthstone) and is flanked by two small diamonds. The band on either side of the stones is cut out to look like a heart. I remember thinking “this is really special.” Even though it doesn’t fit me anymore, I still keep it in my jewelery box.
a silver cross
Probably the very first piece was some necklace I made in kindergarten but the first real piece of jewelry was a pair of gold earrings in the shape of maple leaves. They were made from the gold coming from a ring and some other thing from one of my relatives (it wasn’t that easy to get gold things back in the USSR days) and they were given to me when my ears got pierced for the first time.
I no longer enjoy wearing gold earrings but I still have them safely stored and see them every single time I put in new earrings.
My mom bought me a tiny gold ring when I was a toddler, and of course I lost it.
The first piece of jewelry I owned was age appropriate: sticker earrings!
the first jewelry that I really remember are the gold pearl earrings I got the first time I got my ears pierced. :)
I was in 2nd grade and my mom let me wear this little cameo ring that could only fit a little girl. I loved it so much.
The first piece of jewelry I ever owned was a sterling silver bracelet with my name engraved on it. I believe they called it an ID bracelet :) I was given the bracelet when I was first born. My mom still has it to this day.
My parents had a silver ID tag bracelet made for me in preschool. It made me feel so grown up :)
A tiny gold locket with a diamond in it. My great-grandfather gave it to me because I was born on his birthday. I will always treasure it.
I believe it was a diamond heart necklace that my grandmother gave to me. It was from my grandfather and she passed it to me after he passed away.