Waiting to find out what Erstwilder's next collecton will be is part of the fun of collecting their awesome jewellery, and I could not have been more surprised when a new Pete Cromer collection dropped last month.
After three fantastic collaborations, I never expected we'd get a fourth from them, but the best surprises are the ones we don't see coming. The Pete Cromer collections, which see the Australian artist's colourful contemporary artwork reimagined as resin jewellery, have been some of my favourite ranges to date, and the latest collection has been no exception.
The new Wildlife collection has, unsurprisingly, been inspired by Cromer's Wildlife series, which is made up of beautiful paintings of wild animals from around the world. There are lions and tigers, toucans and macaws, crocodiles and pandas, and so much more, with the designs reproduced as brooches, necklaces, rings, earrings, and even scarves.
The collection was split in to two parts, with a smaller first release in late June, and a larger second drop in mid-July. There were soooo many pieces I would've loved to have collected, but I had to limit myself to one piece from the first release, and bought three from the second. Narrowing down my favourites took forever- especially with the second release- as I fell in love with everything.
Who'd like to see what I got?
So, even though I could only afford one piece from part one of the collection, there was no doubt in my mind which brooch it was going to be. I needed the toucan brooch in my life. I've always loved toucans, and The Tactful Toucan brooch is a little work of art, bringing Cromer's toucan painting to life with startling accuracy. It's amazing how Erstwilder are able to translate his art in to resin, including all of the little details and pops of colour that make Cromer's work so distinctive, but on a much smaller scale. Some of the detailing is tiny, but they've recreated it all flawlessly. The end result is a striking toucan brooch with a body made from textured black and silver resin, and an impressive beak crafted from plain orange and glittery raspberry. It's been embellished with colourful shapes in a mix of different plain and textured resins, including little pops of blue, green, yellow, pink, silver, and more. It's an amazing piece, and I love it so much. I can't help thinking it would make a great tattoo.
My favourite piece from the second part of the collection has to be The Cautious Camel brooch. I don't know what it is about it exactly, but I think it has so much character, and it's cute face just makes me smile. It's body is made up of buff, camel, grey and taupe bubble and pearlescent resins, but as you'd expect from Pete Cromer, it's anything but plain and boring. It's decorated with a bridle of colourful dots and scallops in a variety of jewel colours, as if it's dressed up for a fun parade instead of leading a caravan through the desert, and the colours make it such a fun piece to pin to a summer outfit. It's so pretty.
Another piece I found myself instantly drawn to was The Learned Lemur, which I partly chose because I have a dress with lemurs on it that it will go perfectly with, and also because it reminded me of the time I did work experience with ruffed lemurs when I was at college. The Learned Lemur is a fantastic ringtailed lemur brooch, crafted from the most amazing galaxy-effect resin that appears grey from a distance, but is actually a beautiful mix of grey, green, blue, and purple. It's tail has the characteristic ringtailed stripes in pops of black, white, green, blue, and grey, and it has gorgeous light grey pearlescent markings on its face and chest. And as you'd expect, it's finished with a scattering of colourful little shapes in true Pete Cromer style.
How amazing are the Pete Cromer collections! I got the Meerkat brooch because it reminded me of my Mum and the giraffe earrings! I've been trying to buy some of the designs that aren't broches cause I have so many already!
ReplyDeleteThey're always incredible. His designs are the best. I love the two you bought. I was so tempted by the giraffes, but couldn't afford to get them, too. I really want to collect more of the earrings, and would love to own the necklaces, but I think they'd be too short on my plus size neck. :(
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