Vurchoo Ghana Malachite Drop Bar Earrings in Silver

 In my last blog post  I wrote about the history and philanthropic ethos behind the Vurchoo jewellery brand. In this post I am going to review the Ghana Malachite Drop Bar Earrings in Sterling Silver  (£36). As they are sold out in the Vurchoo website I purchased these earrings from CollenandClaire. 

 The Ghana Malachite Drop Bar Earrings are minimalistic in style and each earring features a beautifully cut malachite column, showing the stone to its best advantage. The earrings aren’t heavy to wear and don’t pull at the ear lobes. They measure 24mm in height and 3mm in width. Malachite is supposed to encourage risk taking and change so I will see if that happens when I wear them! 

 I purchased the earrings from CollenandClare. the customer service was great and I received my package within 2 working days which is  great delivery time, especially in the run up to Christmas!

I would and will continue to buy these earrings. They support an excellent cause, the designs  are unique and minimalistic and are well made. 

             

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own 

Vurchoo Studs of Hope Mandala Earrings

 Alex Angel-Benscher, the founder and designer for Vurchoo, an ethical jewellery company, started his artistic journey as a graffiti artist. He travelled the world for just over a year in 2009 volunteering and working in various countries. During this time he realised he could help people through his artistry and creativity. Whilst in Cambodia he saw the street children having to use their ingenuity and determination to survive and so he was inspired to create Vurchoo. He decided to work with children and schools across the world asking them to draw pictures of what meant the most to them. He used theses drawings as inspiration for his jewellery designs.  He launched Vurchoo in 2015 with funds received from the Prince’s Trust.  

Vurchoo donates between 10-25% of profits from each sale to charities both in the U.K. and overseas via their charity partnership with the charity Teach a man to Fish. The initiative not only helps and empowers students but also their communities, helping to improve and change all their lives. 

 I chose to purchase and review two sets of earrings from the Studs of Hope range. Each pair of earrings sold supporting schools around the world to help children get off the streets and into education and hopefully build a better life for themselves. The earrings are reasonably priced (around £36) and made from silver and gold plate. 

 The mixed metal (sterling silver and 18k gold plated) Floral Mandala studs  are £36 and support Children in India. They measure 7x7mm. The mandala earrings represent meditation, guidance and focus. They an elegant and minimalistic pair of stud earrings which look comfortable to wear. I bought these as a gift so don’t want to put them in my own ears. They came packaged in a Studs of Hope branded white cardboard box accompanied with a Vurchoo card. 

 These earrings make a lovely ethical gift for yourself or someone else. The earrings are beautifully designed and made but they also have a purpose - to help children back into education, something that most of us in the Western world take for granted. I will continue to purchase these earrings both for me and as gifts as I appreciate and admire both the design of the earrings and the purpose behind them. 

I purchased the earrings myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own. 

 

Review: Disneyland Paris Mickey Mouse & Train Hanging Ornament and Anacompany.co.uk

Last year I was looking for a Sketchbook Disney hanging ornament which I had missed out on and I came across anacompany.co.uk (Ana & Co.), a reseller company that specialises in Disney ShopDisney and Disney Parks’ merchandise. In this blog I am going to review a hanging ornament which I purchased from them and review the company themselves. 

 The Disneyland Paris Mickey Mouse and train hanging ornament is a sparkly red and pastel coloured train with Mickey driving it. The ornament is part of the Fantasyland Once Upon a Time series which is exclusive to DLP. The train is inspired by the Casey Jr Le Petit Train du Cirque Ride. As it isn’t particularly Christmassy/ festive it would look great displayed throughout the year. The ornament measures 6.5x7x3cm and can be either free standing or hung from its chiffon ribbon. It is a cute ornament with lots of detailing. 

I have used Ana & Co. on several occasions and have been pleased with my items. Their website doesn’t look particularly inspiring. It is clunky and hard to navigate but there are lots of items to see/buy. The first time I used them I purchased several items and was concerned I wouldn’t receive my parcel. I did, each item wrapped in copious amounts of bubble wrap and none broken (unlike shopDisney). The online payment system doesn’t look great but there is a phone number you can ring if you feel iffy about using it. The My Accounts section is also temperamental. They are a reseller so you will pay more than if you had bought the product direct, but in some cases it is still cheaper than eBay and shipping is free over £100. 

I enjoy looking at the Disney Parks items - it is fun to seee what is new now that it is so much harder to visit Mickey. Despite the draw backs to the website I will continue to use it and would recommend it. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own. 

Stand4Socks Blue Optical Office Socks

I always purchase some charity gifts as Christmas presents for close friends. As I am still shielding I needed gifts which could easily fit through letter boxes. These socks come in a flat envelope so they certainly will. I first saw the Stand4Socks charity advertised on my Instagram feed. The brightly coloured Manchester skyline option caught my attention and I was intrigued by the concept so clicked on the link.

The charity’s idea is simple yet effective. For each pair of socks they sell, they will donate a pair to a homeless person. The donated socks aren’t just any old socks. These socks have been designed by the charity. Socks are the most requested item by homeless shelters. Socks wear out quickly, especially if the wearer is on their feet a lot. They are very rarely donated as they wear out or become smelly/ holey. Who wants to wear or donate a second hand pair of socks that could infect feet with verrucas or athletes foot etc. The socks designed by S4S are thick and durable, so will keep feet toasty warm in cold Winter months and antibacterial so less chance of foot infections or potential  foot issues.  They have a seamless toe closure so the sock won’t rub the toes creating blisters, infections which could lead to bigger health problems. 

The socks I purchased are the suitable for the office blue optical office sock (£11.99). There are lots of fun vibrant designs but I know the recipient will get the most use out of these. They are pricey compared to some chain store brands, but these use ethically sourced materials, have unusual designs, are a one for one charity and although I haven’t tried the socks on they do feel warm and as though they will hug your feet!

I will buy some more pairs of these socks to use as presents throughout the year. There are bundles of socks available to purchase and it does look as though new designs are regularly added to their website.  I have already mentioned this charity on a mumsnet charity gift discussion thread and it would be great even if you don’t purchase a pair yourself if you would mention this charity to friends or leave a link on discussion forums. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own 

Accessorize Vermeil Constellation Capricorn Necklace

The Z Gold Vermeil is a relatively new range to be stocked/ sold at Accessorize. It is an off shoot of their Z for Accessorize range, which created gold plated/ semi precious stone jewellery at reasonable prices. This new range has taken the jewellery game one step further and uses vermeil as its base metal. Sterling silver coated with 14k gold. Prices range from £25-£50ish. The items are packaged in embossed drawer gift boxes with matching cleaning clothes. 

 I chose the Capricorn Constellation pendant (£50 reduced to £15). The stones marking out the constellation pattern are tiny topaz chips. The clasp is a lobster fastening and their is a extender on the chain. It is a nice pendant, one that could be worn all the time. As someone who wears fentanyl patches I found I couldn’t wear gold plated jewellery as the fentanyl comes back through my skin and kept discolouring my jewellery very quickly. This doesn’t happen as quickly with vermeil jewellery. I do, however, feel their vermeil jewellery is overpriced for what it is. Looking at comparable prices/ pieces at Monica Vinader etc their pieces are more unusual, use larger semi precious stones and don’t seem as generic in design. The Accessorize pieces don’t stand out, constellation pieces have Glenn done over and over. I already have the Capricorn vermeil design in the gold plate Z for Accessorize version from several years ago. 

 To conclude: I love the packaging but the jewellery design needs to be more innovative and different as the vermeil jewellery market is saturated with similar designs. 

I purchased the item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own.

ShopDisney: Tinkerbell Hanging Ornament

 

I’m not a fan of Tinkerbell or Peter Pan. I bought this Tinkerbell Hanging Ornament to use as a Twitter Competition prize. Designed exclusively for ShopDisney, tiny Tink is lying back against a map of Neverland. Her wings do glitter in a bright light and there is a lot of detail, the pom poms on her shoes are cute. The ornament is made from resin and measures 10x7x6cm. It can be hung from the chiffon tie or free standing. It’s not particularly Christmassy or festive so could be displayed all the year round. 

Review: Little Silver Hedgehog, Sterling Silver Hedgehog Necklace

Continuing my charity giveaways, this month’s prize can be found on my Twitter account @susan1375. This month I chose a sterling silver hedgehog necklace (£42) from Little Silver Hedgehog an Etsy seller. She designs and makes all her jewellery in her tiny design studio in York. All her jewellery is inspired by nature and wildlife but most importantly of all at least 10% of all profits is donated to helping preserve and save hedgehogs. She also runs a hedgehog rescue. 

The hedgehog population is in decline thanks to humans encroaching on their turf and it is estimated there will be none left in the U.K. within 20 years! It is important to support rescues as a lot of them are self financing and ill hedgehogs or rescued baby hedgehogs are expensive in terms of medication, food and accommodation! 

 

So on to the necklace. Beautifully packaged (and the outer packaging is designed to fit through letterboxes) the pendant measures 1.3 cm in with and the chain is a 16” snake chain. The pendant is very discreet and elegant, perfect to wear all the time.  I’m sure any nature lover or hoggie supporter would love it or any other of her hand made beautiful items. 

She also runs online wildlife/ hedgehog care courses and COVID permitting jewellery courses at her York studio. I’m planning to go and do a 1 day course hopefully next year. If you want to find out more the Twitter, which is the easiest way to access her blog, Etsy, Facebook is Littlesilverhedgehog. 

I purchased this item myself and the views expressed in my blog are my own. 

#Win Jana Reinhardt Sterling Silver Baby Elephant Necklace

This month’s blog prize is another piece of Jana Reinhardt’s beautiful animal themed jewellery- the teeny tiny sterling silver elephant necklace. Made out of sterling silver the baby elephant measures 8x10mm and is hung from a 16-18inch trace chain which fastens with a 5mm spring chain. He is so detailed, especially his trunk and eyes. He is 3D, I just didn’t want to remove him from his packaging and risk tangling the chain. 

 The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the packaging has now changed! The box is now plastic free and made from recyclable cardboard. The pouch and pad are made from decomposable cotton. The ribbon from the gift wrap is now made from bamboo rather than polyester. I love the forest green jewellery drawer with the gold embossed Jana Reinhardt signature across the top, it is so elegant.

Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Competition Rules:

Competition opens on 02 Dec and closes on 31 Dec 12AM 2021.

Entrants must complete the mandatory Rafflecopter option:

Competition is open internationally;

This competition is not affiliated in any way with Jana Reinhardt Jewellery.