Wow the year has flashed by (yet again) and we are facing the end of another once again.  And now is the time we face the dreaded christmas shopping drama.

Now you might be much more organised than me and have the whole thing sewn up already.  But I’m still at the very early planning stages.  Two of my children have their birthdays between now and Christmas and until they are over I somehow can’t begin to think about the Christmas shopping.  My biggest dilemma is thinking what to buy.  Tell me a kid (or a grown up for that matter) that doesn’t really have it all.  My eldest was getting close to weepy as she couldn’t think of ANYTHING she really wanted for birthday and Christmas, so that means than anything bought well just be for the purposes of giving her something to unwrap! I have started to flick through those catalogues we are all deluged with at this time of year and one in particular that provides most of my stocking gifts, Hawkins Bazaar, when it occurred to me that given I’ve been buying their stuff for fourteen years means I have bought practically everything in the catalogue at least once!  God help me and given me some divine inspiration as I need to get into gear to sort our the overseas gifts as postal deadlines loom large.

And that got me thinking to tell you of a customer we had last Christmas who bought 32 bracelets from us to post overseas to various god children, nieces, cousins, friends etc.  They are such easy and cheap things to send.  So if you’re want something that will be appreciated by the recipient and easy to get in the post then visit our site and check our new collections.  Order before 5th December and we’ll give you a 15% discount.  Just used code xmas11 at the checkout.

Happy Shopping!

Well the sun might not be shining today but I hear we are promised fantastic weather from this weekend.  So that means wearing one’s summer wardrobe without freezing.  I just can’t do short sleeves in anything below 21 degrees and that’s not good for showing everyone our latest bracelets!

So sun and warmth equals short sleeves and exposing our fab new collections.

Sphera (named by my clever daughter as she was working her way through Latin homework) features the yummiest semi-precious beads.  This time we’ve gone big! These beads are 10mm in diameter, so make quite a statement.  They’re faceted and take on the most beautiful colours in the light.  There are six different stones to choose from with either gold vermeil or silver charms.  We are so in love with these charms. Oversized yet delicate; they look fantastic.  We love stacking the bracelets up for a maximum impact.

Summer 2011 - Sphera

See the whole collection at http://www.meltinghearts.co.uk/shop.php?cPath=53_85

Well we now have evidence that there is something in their power. A study conducted by the University of Cologne, concluded that there is power in positive superstitions, such as the belief in lucky charms or personal talismans. They can in fact boost confidence and abilities, resulting in improved overall performance. So, if you believe in the power of a charm or a stone, as people have for centuries, it may actually see you through a difficult moment or give you the confidence or self-belief you might be looking for.

Our favourite charms are the evil eye and hamsa hand. We love the idea that they guide and protect.

Let us know what your favourite charm is and if you believe it has helped you.

So a good end to a rather tiring weekend that started with too many cocktails on Friday night before dancing away to Soul II Soul at the Roundhouse. Bloody brilliant and rather tragically a life ambition fulfilled. Totally loved Soul II Soul back in the 90′s but never got to see them. Well finally made it and enjoyed every minute. Thank you Suzanne, great organising.

We’re really looking forward to being part of this amazing event and hope to get some good feedback on the new range. Details will follow soon.

As I am writing this I am also watching The Promise and struggling to come to terms with events past and present. A very brave series that gives such an amazing insight into the background that led to the events we hear reported today. Well done Channel 4 – great programming.

Oh and I am also reading an article about the accuracy of The Social Network. But haven’t got to the end of that yet. Perhaps I should just go to bed.

As an interim we created a Facebook store and had our first order within 24 hours.  So excited about that!  Did wonder if we needed a a website after all, but of course. we do.

We’ve had such a great response to our first collection, Faith.  But when we look back at our initial creations from this time last year, we squeal in horror.  Amazing, what we thought was so fab then, is just frankly, plain wrong now!

It’s been such a journey. Neither of us had any experience in jewellery, aside from being vast collectors and wearers.  Ever since we’ve known each other (probably over 20 years – yikes) we’ve always been mad about bracelets.  Desperate to show each other this season’s must have.  There always seems to be a bracelet of the moment, doesn’t there?  My devotion goes back years and I remember at one of my first jobs, sitting in my first big client meeting, taking notes whilst my array of bracelets jangled way to noisliy across the boardroom table.  Receiving daggers from my boss, I did my best the quietly remove them before dropping all six on the floor, then pretending it hadn’t happened.  Post meeting, my boss asked me to never to wear bracelets in a meeting again if I wanted to be taken seriously.  Well I’m glad to say that I am now old enough not to care whether I am taken seriously or not, so I now wear as many bracelets as I can and delight in the lovely janglely sound they make.

Our first collection took us nearly a year to finalise.  We’ve had so much fun sourcing elements from all over the world.  We now have friends in Thailand, Turkey, Morocco and many more much closer to home.  It’s be a voyage of discovery and we’ve learnt so much, about stones, precious metals and most fascinating of all, the meaning of the many charms the collection features.  The beauty in the meaning of both the charms and the stones is so inspiring.  Whatever you are feeling, there is stone or a charm to heal, guide and protect you.  The bracelets make such thoughtful presents, especially when the meaning relates to a particular situation.  We’ve tried to give some background to the stones and charms which we do hope customers will find interesting and helpful.  On the other hand (or arm) you can just wear them because you like them, and to hell with all that spiritual stuff!

We are now working on our spring/summer collection, which is fab.  Sneak preview coming soon!

Debbie