Mother of Pearl Capsule collection

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Since the beginning of the year, I've been experimenting with some pieces of Mother of Pearl from my stash of goodies. Learning on how to cut/saw, polish, shape etc the material ('Nacre' in French). It's been a rather messy study though the results have been rewarding. It reverberated in just a small handful of earrings which I'd presented them briefly during my participation in JEMA (please see my previous Blog posts) at my studio.

I happy to say that a few of the designs will be available to purchase in the next few days. The quantity is very limited unfortunately so brace yourselves!

Here are just some which I'll be listing soon. Available in both Silver or oxidised.

Special Mother's Day Sale

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It's SALE TIME at Minicyn :)
It doesn't happen often since most of what I offer is made-to-order. But here it is, sales end 19th May 2017.
Discount code: ILoveMyMum
> There's no exchange or refunds on Sale orders <

C'est les soldes chez Minicyn :)
Fêtons la fête de L'Amour des Mamans.
Code de reduction -15% sur tout: ILoveMyMum
Jusqu'au 19 Mai 2017.
> Pas de retour ni échange sur les commandes en soldes <

Nuit étoilée Starry Night Lapis Lazuli silver necklaces

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I fell in love with these lozenge-like flat Lapis Lazuli cabochons and bought a few to try out last year. It seems interesting to set them as I usually would with my round Moonstone cabochons into ball-like pendants for one of them and the other in its "logical" extended cylindrical self.

Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense colour for many ancient cultures. I'd remembered being told at design school that it was not available in Europe until the end of the Middle Ages, where it was ground into powder and made into Ultramarine – the finest and most expensive of all blue pigments for paints! It was used by some of the most important artists of the Renaissance & Baroque often reserved for colouring in the clothing of the central figures of their paintings, especially the Virgin Mary. Let's keep an eye out next time we see her!

Pyrite (metallic yellow) is a mineral often found sprinkled throughout the blue (sodalite). Thus creating a Nuit étoilée / Starry Night indeed.

Here are pictures of the 2 necklaces I've made.

1.

2.

Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art' JEMA 2017 chez MInicyn!

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Je participe aux Journées Européennes des Métiers d’Art 2017 qui commence ce Vendredi 31 mars - Dimanche 2 avril.
C'est avec le plus grand plaisir que je vous accueille chez mon atelier dans 18éme (adresse ci-dessous).
Je présenterai également ma nouvelle collection en nacre.

à bientôt!

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Minicyn is part of the 'Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art', JEMA 2017. Her atelier will be open to the public as of next Friday for 3 days to the public. Come have a sneak preview of her new 'Reflections' Mother of Pearl collection in person! Opening hours and address is as below.
To learn more about JEMA (in French):
http://www.institut-metiersdart.org/les-journees-europeennes-des-metiers-d-art-0

Friday > Vendredi 31 mars - Sunday > Dimanche 2 avril 2017

Address:
Au 56 - chez Minicyn
56 Rue Labat
75018 Paris
France
Metro Marcadet Poissonniers 'Sortie Labat' (cross the road and head uphill, not down).

See you soon!

JEME 2017

Introducing some 2017 Minicyn newbies.

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Circle Square earrings.

Minicyn OPEN STUDIO Vente Noël

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Don't miss it!
Minicyn's 'Open Studio Vente de Noel' event is directly from her workshop between 13-21 December, hours are 12pm midday(12h) to 8pm (20h).
Vernissage starts at 6pm (18h), on the 13th of December.

Au 56
56 Rue Labat
75018 Paris
France

Just a 2 minute walk from Métro Marcadet Poissonniers! Sortie 'Rue Labat', cross the road after you exit and go uphill towards Montmartre.

Joining me are:
ChoseCommune.com - a unique publishing house dedicated to limited edition photography books. My personal favourite is 'Astres noirs'! Come check it out in person and be ready to be blown away.
http://www.chosecommune.com/book/astres-noirs-trade-edition/
&
philo-k.com - Who's secretly a long time practicing illustrator, but here she'll be presenting her NEW line of handmade ceramic wares. Still working hard at it as we speak.

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Achetez vos cadeaux de Noël en sachant d'où ils viennent et qui les a fabriqués!
Je vais ouvrir mes portes au public pour la première fois, venez voir toutes mes collections et le travail de 2 designers invités locaux:
Chose Commune – Maison d’édition indépendante dédiée aux livres de photographie.
Philo.K – une nouvelle créatrice pour présente son nouveau collection Céramique 'Petra' de pièces uniques et séries limitées.

Hope to see you there!
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Gros Bisou, Petit bisou?

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Ode to rings and kisses, big or small.

I've learned after living in Paris, France for 7 years now that the french has a number of different words for "kiss," which can be confusing for foreigners. The kind of kiss I'm referring to are the platonic ones exchanged between friends, families, and colleagues. It is an important and ritualistic gesture for all first immediate encounters, even in most workplaces. Note: Not to mention that they have over 40 different kinds of kisses, as Kristoffer Nyrop noted in his book The Kiss and its History. But let's not get sidetracked here!

The most widely used terms are bise and bisou, and while they are both informal with similar meanings and uses, they're not quite the same! Une Bise is a kiss on each side of the cheek as a gesture of friendship, used for hellos or goodbyes between friends or acquaintances. This version is often also used to sign off at the end of a letter and in the expression 'faire la bise'. Whereas Bisou has a more familiar tone, is a warmer, more playful version – referring to a kiss on the cheek or on the lips! Bisous(plural) can say good-bye to a good friends or families as well used to end a conversation on the phone often repetitively to emphasise closeness, love or warmth! Bisou bisou! Gros bisou!

Quickly jumping off to the topic of rings now....how much has the meaning of rings changed today in our community? Did you know that unlike in the medieval period and up until the present in some religion and high-class society that rank was often signified by the wearing of a ring – one would even kiss a person's ring to show submission to authority, quite the contrary to our contemporary setting today! It is thanks to the breakdown of the class system in majority of our population today, we all have the right to; regardless of age or class, both own and wear a ring.

Here is where I share with you some pictures of my latest fruition from these 2 insights. Also available to order (made-to-measure) at minicynbijoux.com

Bisous a tout le monde x