According to Semper Augustus, an Etsy artisan, a tweet on Twitter, the microblogging site (where I "met" her) said that feathers are in this season. I am of the opinion they've never really gone out of style! I am always charmed by the use of feathers so it was inevitable I was taken with Semper's feather and nest jewelry. Her dramatic and spectacular large feather barrette stands 9 inches tall and is decorated with 3 freshwater pearls below. I agree with her - feathers are just beautiful.


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Her wired nest brooch and necklace are adorable as they contain glass pearls as eggs! Her nest and eggs are the most realistic I've seen. Semper made the point that feathers and nests can be worn by women of all ages.




I put in that picture of a tulip for a reason - many jewelry artisans love flowers and likely gardening too. The picture is an old watercolor painting of a famous tulip called Semper Augustus, the name this artisan adopted for her shop and as her online persona. It was the most expensive tulip sold during Holland's tulip craze back in the 17th century. Bulbs could go for as much as a riverside mansion back then. Semper shared some of this flower's fascinating history with me. The Latin name means "always regal". It's easy to understand why the Dutch just went berserk over this flower for the glorious red streaks are so striking. But these were actually caused by a virus which split the flower's colour - a light pink became red on white. Semper added, "The flowers, although beautiful, were sick."

Semper Augustus really meant it when she said how much she is inspired by nature and this tulip in particular so much so she is considering changing her own name. She said, "I suppose I like it so much because it reminds me of a wild femme fatale, people helplessly falling in love with her, her beauty leaving people destroyed as she passes, and yet innocent: a flower."

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