Yesterday when I walked into the gallery I was met by one of our favorite Trollies, YP, (in shopping at our special event, natch!), and her latest gorgeous Trollbeads creation… Would you believe she had just “tossed it together” that morning?! Mind you, if you knew this lady, you would know that she has an impeccable eye, owns a beautiful collection, and does not generally do things by half measure. So it is always inspiring to see what she has created…
YP is an accomplished gardener and plantswoman, and many of her compositions are reminiscent of garden designs and favorite flower combinations. In this case, I couldn’t help but see orchids in her design… The unusual shades of cranberry, amber, soft pink, deep purple and smattering of black immediately brought to mind a delicately coloured, Cymbidium Orchid. Even the golden throat of the blossom is echoed by the gold dust sprinkled into the “Pink Desert”
This particular “Pink Desert” is very rich, with hints of plum and even red in the pink. In addition, it is very generously endowed with gold shimmer, giving it even more life and vibrancy. It is beautifully balanced by a very translucent “Pink Agate”.
This small cored unique, with its subtle combination of lilac, plum, charcoal, and creamy white is a strong element in the composition. Its charcoal and white design packs a graphic punch and adds a punctuation mark to this tone-on-tone-on-tone bracelet.
However, the centerpiece of this bracelet is indisputably the “Triple Pearl, black”. This stunner of a bead has so much life – a gorgeous plum and olive shimmer that glows at the heart of this composition. Framed by two significant silvers, it draws the eye immediately.
I love the way the light catches this bead. It has an uncommon and unlikely combination of warm pink and medium toned amber glass. However, in person and particularly in this design, it is absolutely wonderful. It balances the warmer “Red Feather” and adds even more life to this bracelet.
Looking at the full circle of the bracelet it becomes apparent where the power of the design comes from – not one, not two, but three Rubies are sprinkled around the composition. One of them has a gold core, the other two have silver. These stones are generally very consistent, but YP has found the most extreme expressions of this pattern and they are represented here – from very deep, to medium and up to very bright and rich in colour. Together they lay a remarkable colour theme foundation for the bracelet.
Clockwise from clasp: “Large Flower Clasp”, “Hydrangea”, “Red-Pink Prism (retired)”, “Pink Agate”, “Ruby with silver core”, “Zanzibar”, Universal Unique”, “Purple Prism”, “Purple Bud”, “Spot (retired)”, “Triple Pearl, Black”, “Unity”, Ruby with Gold Core”, “Unique”, “Red Feather (retired”, “Jugend”, “Ruby with silver core”, “Pink Desert”, “Purple Prism”, “Bee on Hive (retired)”.
I can’t sign off without drawing your attention to the two prisms that finish the bracelet… (one of my favorite ways of tapering a design). Note the dramatic difference in colour between the two “Purple Prisms”! I used to think of the prisms as being largely the same from bead to bead, but over the years I have learned that in fact there are examples that almost qualify as uniques, as they are so very different from the usual. Both of these purples are very unusual – one extremely light and transparent, the other amazingly deep and brilliant.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to drop by and let us photograph this lovely design, YP!
C.
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