Thursday, August 26, 2010

Another Night at the Alcázar...

With such impressive monuments in our city how could I not show you a few photos..?

These are from the other night at the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos here in Cordoba (a Fortress of the Christian Monarchs). It was built in the 8th century as a caliphate residence, and later became a residential palace for the Christian Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella.

In August they open the Alcázar at night, and since it’s located so close to the store, Marcos and I have gone there sometimes after closing, to enjoy the gardens and fountains and the occasional live music.
It’s an oasis in a boiling hot city!






Oh, and for those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Marcos – he’s my partner, professionally and personally.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

An Angel Gets Its Wings…

Meet the newest member of the AGAVANZA team! We haven’t named this little angel because we prefer people to name their own angel – and that they choose its gender as well.
Here you can see part of the process of making the prototype. The angel will soon be available in the store and online, and with different gemstones. The gemstone on the angel below is rock crystal.






Thursday, August 12, 2010

We Love a Good Challenge!

One of the great things about having a work bench with all my tools in the store is that we can adjust almost any piece of jewellery so that it fits you perfectly; a bracelet can be shortened, a necklace can get a longer chain, perhaps you prefer an oxidized finish or maybe you would like the piece with a different gemstone? If it can be done, we’ll do it!

Some people come to us with an idea of something they would like for a gift or for themselves and we design the piece together. Others have already designed it and would like us to make it. And others already have the jewellery but would like to give it new life changing it into something else. You can see an example of this in the photos below.

Our client had a ring with a large stone, and wanted me to make it into a pendant. This is not a complicated task. The only thing tricky about it was that the stone was very thick with a peak back. I had to leave a great part of the original structure on the back of the ring, so the peak on the stone wouldn’t touch the skin when wearing the necklace…