Pleased to announce another new stockist – Charles Fish Boutique, Canary Wharf – London, UK.

Having designed a collection called The Love Story – see here http://www.pearlandqueenie.com/53-t its fair to say we are both old romantics at heart with a facination for jewellery given as love tokens to cherish, commit & as a sign of love. One of our favourite yet most simple items from our collection is called The Rose of Hearts ring. In our opinion, the perfect token of love!

The picture & design of a heart shape is the most recognised form of love. With Valentines Day just around the corner, we did a big of digging on the history of February the 14th…

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly known as Valentine’s Day,^[or the Feast of Saint Valentine,is observed on February 14 each year. Today Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, mostly in the West although it remains a working day in many of them.

St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. The most popular martyrology  associated with Saint Valentine was that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire; during his imprisonment, he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius. Legend states that before his execution he wrote “from your Valentine” as a farewell to her.Today, Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion as well as in the Lutheran Church.The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine’s Day, albeit on July 6th and July 30th the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer  in the High Middle Ages when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, jewellery and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“).Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid Since the 19th century.

Her jewellery is an evocation of death, mourning and divorce. Each pieces tells a story which is inspired by Victorian mourning jewellery, old and ethnic customs, urban legends and historical event. Gisele is French but based in London & graduated from the Royal College of Art. Having worked for several well known names such as Cacharel, Tatty Devine, Carolina Bucci and Stephen Webster her own collections have already featured in world wide press including Vogue, Elle, Wallpaper, I-D, Dazed&Confused, and seen on many celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Daisy Lowe, Yasmin and Eve.

Gisele

An international Art Gallery in the middle of Hastings Old Town for Modern British Art.

The guys at JG HQ wanted us to do something in keeping with Hastings, & asked for nautical, so we duley obligied. Lots of Anchors, Ropes & Seagulls in silver with  blue enamel.

Jerwood Gallery is a major initiative of the Jerwood Foundation, established to create a permanent, public home for the Jerwood Foundation’s Collection of Modern British Art, alongside a changing curated programme.

Jerwood Gallery has been sensitively and intuitively designed, by architects HAT Projects to complement the surrounding environment of Hastings’ Old Town. The building sits among the unique Hastings net shops, on the edge of the working fishing beach. The Gallery’s exterior is clad in over 8000 black ceramic tiles, hand-glazed a few miles away in Kent, which reflect the changing seaside light. The emphasis on sustainability is exemplary, with the building creating 60% less CO2 per m² than an average museum of a comparable size. It houses a range of Gallery spaces from intimate rooms through to a dramatic 180m² Gallery for the temporary exhibition programme.

The Gallery is part of a landmark £9 million redevelopment of the Stade, a historic area in Hastings Old Town, home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet. The £4 million Gallery, for which the capital and running costs will be funded by the Jerwood Foundation, is seen as an important catalyst in the cultural and economic regeneration of the area.

Since the Foundation’s purchase in 1993 of From my Window at Ditchling by Sir Frank Brangwyn, the Jerwood Foundation’s collection has grown steadily in stature and importance to include around two hundred British oil paintings and works on paper.

The Collection’s core areas are figurative and abstract works from between the First World War and the 1960s, and contemporary works by artists associated with Jerwood, including several winners of the Jerwood Painting Prize such as Craigie Aitchison, Maggi Hambling and Prunella Clough. The Collection includes works by well-known artists such as Sir Stanley Spencer, Lawrence Stephen Lowry, Walter Sickert and Augustus John, alongside works by artists of importance who may be less well-known to a general audience, such as Eliot Hodgkin and Dod Procter. Highlights include The Bather by Christopher Wood, Chrome and Yellow by Paul Feiler, Mainly Grey and White by Anne Redpath and a portrait by Stanley Spencer of his niece, Daphne. The Collection represents a personal rather than academic reading of Modern British Art, resulting in a selection that is accessible, surprising, and of sustained quality.

Hastings was and is a location that resonates with artists represented in the Collection, some of whom have strong links to the town, so it is a particularly appropriate location for the Gallery. The Collection continues to grow strongly with further purchases of Modern British works, together with paintings by exciting contemporary artists.

Current Exhibition: Gary Hume

Hume was the winner of the Jerwood Painting Prize in 1997 and was elected as a Royal Academician in 2001. The exhibition entitled Gary Hume: Flashback, organised by the Arts Council, features a range of paintings and sculptures produced by the Turner Prize-nominated artist. It traces a path from Gary Hume’s early works to the present day, charting the evolution of one of the most important figures in British art.

Jane is a big big lover of jewellery & when we first showed her our samples for Equestrian Treasures & The Love Story, she said she’d love to do our photographic campaign – we of course bit her hand right off! Coming up with the concept, Jane knew we wanted something very British, with a nod to our heritage.

Jane:-

“In order to photograph the Pearl and Queenie new
collection we tried to work with a concept where the Jewellery would
stand out but there would also be a sense of place and atmosphere too.

The perfect solution was to make the photographs look like paintings referencing the work of Vermeer. Vermeer’s portraits like  the ‘girl with the pearl earring’ were taken
with a beautiful window light which can be stunning. So I tried to replicate this feel and set up the model where the daylight was key. The model we chose was also referenced to this era, but keeping a contemporary feel as the collection dictated too.

The stylist used clothing that was contemporary but that
would disappear in the photograph so only the sitter and the
Jewels would stand out.

The P and Q collection is a total inspiration of classic
jewellerybut with a moderntwist.The photographs do the same.”

Credits:

Model: Lizzie from Tessa. Photographer: Jane Hilton. Make Up: Julie Thomas. Stylist: Nikki Black. Location: Phil Quarton @ The Junction Tavern, Kentish Town, London. Graphics & ReTouch: Adi Wright. Whippet: Olive. Jewellery: Pearl & Queenie