No words, just flowers.............

We still love the recycled flowers from  http://www.forgetmeknot.co.za/. We have created an entire handmade collection around the recycled flower concept, we are just missing the birds and the bees.

Marzipan at Ambiente 2011 cont....

Majda and Jurgen in Mainz. Majda and I are sightseeing all the sales and Jurgen was trying to give us some history and proper sightseeing appreciation, we were tough customers..I think..

A street in the main centre of Mainz

 

Mainz is only 30 mins outside Frankfurt, it is  very charming and has more of the old world Europe feel with its cobbled streets and traditional buildings.

 Finally we round off the short sightseeing of Mainz at The Capehouse  www.the-capehouse.com/

Here are Christian and Jurgen outside their gorgeous store in the centre of Mainz. They specialize in South African wine and also ceramics, art, leather handbags and jewellery all from SA.

 

I was really proud as there is a window devoted to Marzipan jewellery too..

Inside The Capehouse store..

Marzipan at Ambiente 2011

Its a little more than a week since we got back from Frankfurt where Marzipan exhibited for the first time at Ambiente, an international trade fair showcasing products and trends for living, giving and dining. I think there were just over 42 companies from South Africa that went and represented South African Handmade at the fair. So I was very excited to be part of this event and also to be getting out of Simons Town and off to Europe! Yippee!!...(there would also be shopping!!) 

We had to organise our own accommodation and I found a little room to rent (you can imagine how expensive hotels in the city are) in an old part of the city where the streets are still cobbled and single lane.  My room looked onto Leipziger street, well known for its little shops restaurants and foodie stores. Opposite the entrance to the apartment was a little Illy coffee shop and bakery..heaven.

 

It was still a twenty minute walk to the fair from Leipziger street and I would enter the back of the exhibition grounds from a little bridge that took me straight over a busy main road and into hall 9 where the jewellery people were. I might add that there were 11 halls altogether, some of which had 3 floors and it took about half an hour at a fast pace to walk the length of the grounds. I only know this because on the first day I got lost in the grounds and ended up walking from one end to the other. Not fun!

Marzipan stand

 

 

 Once our stands were set up we had some time to go to the main shopping street in Frankfurt which was called the Zeil. Very cool name. I was amazed by the oak trees which were a distinct feature all over Frankfurt. They are oak trees but have had all their smaller branches trimmed off so they look strange but surreal.

The trimmed bare oaks in the Zeil

Happy shopper!!

Marzipan and Rosenwerth

The other day I reflected back over the last few years and realized that Marzipan had been collaborating with Rosenwerth in Fashion Week and other shows for quite a few years now. So I thought it would be nice to post some of the best catwalk shots as a sort of celebration and a nice way to round off to the end of the year.
Next year we are off to Frankfurt in Feb to take part in Ambiente which is a HUGE trade fair. We are so excited and I will hopefully be posting some interesting stuff about it from next year.

I know I am a lazy blogger and I have tried to change but leopards and spots and all...So this will probably be my last post until early next year. I hope we all have a good, restful december and I wish you all the best until then. Love Karyn.

Summer brights

Whoever said we were dull? OK.. no one ever said that, but some people say some very weird things to me when I go around and show our new collections. I am nearly always amazed at how different people really are based on their different reactions to the same necklace. You either love it or hate it! Sometimes buyers are embarrassed to say no, 'they don't like that one, its not my cup of tea or whatnot', but I've heard it all before and its never personal, how can it be when the very next buyer will do her nut for the very same piece! ....What is that age old saying? ..beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so whether or not you like this new addition to our summer range depends entirely on on what type of beholder you are!

Jewelry party JHB

The country mouse (that's me) is off to the big city! I decided that I needed to shift some of my idyllic( and sometimes boring) seaside village living into the rat race for a week or so. I will be in JHB from the the 15th of August and will be hosting a Marzipan jewelery party on the 19th which is a thursday. If you are in Jhb  for that week per chance and or didn't receive an invitation yet, please mail me for one, or see above for a copy of it. Hope to see you there and I promise more regular blogging from now on. Love country mouse Marzipan.x

Flowers for africa

We recently discovered a fabulous girl called Tanielle who has the most amazing talent for creating craft from what almost appears to be nothing. It is in fact that she has the eye to find something that would seem to be useless to an ordinary person and turn it into something of value. For example plastic bags become gorgeous little crochet flowers with the potential to decorate a lapel or a bag and for us a workable and unusual new element to use in our jewellery. So I found her website, you can find it too at www.forgetmeknot.co.za and we met up, drank yummy coffee and then started to get on with the business of craft or actually recycling... Tanielle is busy teaching previously disadvantaged ladies to crochet with her recyclable material and will most certainly develop a fabulous community project that can and will inspire others.

We have developed a new collection using Tanielles amazing recycled flowers and other goodies. (not only flowers) We are also using beautiful cotton crochet flowers from Projekt, another amazing and inspiring community project founded by Peta Becker in Hout Bay. So we are now proud to be part of and supporting two awesome community projects, so we call our range Flowers for Africa!