Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Sea Life Collection

Of all the collections Erstwilder has done, the Pete Cromer collabs have been my favourites, so I was so excited when they reunited for their fifth collection together this August.

This time, Erstwilder has immortalised many of Cromer's Australian Sea Life designs in resin, and they might just be some of their best pieces yet. 

There are sharks and dolphins, penguins and pelicans, seals and seahorses, and all kinds of obscure sea creatures reimagined as brooches, necklaces, earrings, pins, and even keyrings. It's a large collection and everything is amazing, so I had the hardest time choosing which pieces to buy. Luckily, I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so I was able to buy four brooches (and got a free one!), but I'm still mourning half a dozen other favourites I had to leave behind.

Who wants to see what I got?

I'm going to start with one of my favourites from the collection- The Dutiful Dugong. In fact, I think it might just be one of my favourite brooches ever. It's just so ridiculously cute, and it's perfect down to the last detail. This little guy is made from a beautiful stormy-grey ripple resin with iridescent streaks of pistachio-green, rose-pink, and metallic cobalt running through it. His flippers are a marbled light blue that look like ocean waves, and he has the most amazing, iridescent grey and silver muzzle offset with rainbow glitter. And as it's a Pete Cromer design, he's finished off with a variety of colourful shapes, including a cute purple heart on his flippers. There's nothing I don't love about this brooch, and I'm so glad I managed to snag one before it sold out. I would've been so sad if I hadn't.

When I was trying to narrow down my very long list of favourites, I found I couldn't resist The Halcyon Humpback Whale brooch. It's a beautiful black and grey humpback whale breaching the waves, and he's far prettier than I was expecting. At first glance, its body looks like plain black and grey, but the black is a ripple resin streaked with grey, and the light grey is an incredible, shimmery iridescent resin with pink streaming through it- like an Aurora Borealis effect. It also has a little sparkly yellow teardrop on its flipper with a dot of pink at the end. The water is then crafted from ripple resins in cobalt blue and teal, broken up by some iridescent grey and white. It's quite a large brooch and a good statement piece, so it would be ideal for converting into a necklace with a brooch convertor, too. It's still available from Erstwilder, plus Lottie and Lu, and Lovely Boutique in the UK.

I already had a sea turtle brooch in my brooch zoo (or should that be brooch aquarium?), but I was unable to resist The Graceful Green Sea Turtle brooch. It has so much detail and texture, and it's sooo beautiful. It's head and flippers are made from a mix of ripple, iridescent, and plain glossy resins in three shades of green and patterned with little markings in a variety of blues and earthy colours, and its shell? Its shell has been so cleverly designed to give it depth and texture, and in the middle is a stunning tortoiseshell-like resin with yellow-gold, maple-leaf-red, and olive-green layered over dark smoky-grey. It's one of the coolest resins I've ever seen, and combined with the other details, it's definitely one of the best turtle designs I've come across, too. I can't stop wearing it.

Another favourite of mine from the Sea Life collection is definitely The Blissful Blobfish brooch. It shouldn't make me laugh considering the image of the blobfish we all know and love is how the fish looks after it's decompressed from the change of pressure when it's brought up from the deep sea, but this brooch does make me chuckle, anyway. It's sad little face is hilarious. And he's pink! His body is made from pearlescent resins in pretty rose pink and pink-so-pale-its-almost-white, and his fins and lips are a plain, glossy hot pink. He's then finished with little detailing in navy, grey, dark red, and white, which contrast nicely against the pretty pinks. Definitely the prettiest ugliest fish ever. I'm surprised Erstwilder currently still have some available.

I was also lucky enough to get the free gift with purchase, The Sacred Starfish, for purchasing two brooches from the same stockist. It's a simple, two-layer, five-limbed, red, gold, and white sea star with a shimmery light-gold background, gorgeous ripple resin markings in three shades of red, and a smaller iridescent white star layered on top decorated with plain matte wine-red markings. I think it's an unusual colour-choice for a starfish, and would've been cuter if the colours were softer and more typically ocean-like, such as coral, yellow, or blue. Don't get me wrong, it's really pretty, but I'm not sure I'll get much wear out of this one, so it's likely to go to my Mum who has already called dibs.

And that's my little Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Sea Life haul.

There is still a great selection of designs available direct from Erstwilder here, and a handful still in stock through UK stockists, so be sure to snap them up while you can.

Have you bought anything from the Sea Life collection yet? Which piece is your favourite?

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Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Collection One 

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Erstwilder x Pete Cromer 4.0: Wildlife Jewellery Collection

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. 

It took me a while to narrow down my short list of favourites- which also included the tiger, macaw, and giraffe- to pick my final piece, but in the end, I just couldn't resist the meerkat brooch, The Masterful Meerkat. Whether they're comparing meerkats or singing Hakuna Matata with a warthog, everyone loves a meerkat, right? I think this little guy is adorable, and its cute little feet, layered on top of the body, won me over. He's made from a mesmerising pearlescent taupe resin, with plain buff, black, tan, and taupe markings on his face and chest, and decorated with a variety of shapes in shades of blue, white, yellow, and black, all inlaid in to the resin. I'm not often drawn to neutral-coloured accessories as I prefer things a little more colourful, but Master meerkat doesn't blend in to the background. It's a great statement piece, sure to be a great conversation starter, and will be perfect for trips to the zoo. Now I just need Pete Cromer and Erstwilder to make a warthog brooch for the ultimate brooch pairing.

There are still quite a few pieces available from the collection, so if you've fallen in love with these designs as much as I have, be sure to check out the selection from Erstwilder and their stockists.

Did you buy anything from  the Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Wildlife collection? Which piece is your favourite?

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Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Brooch Collection 3.0

About two months and five jewellery collections ago, Erstwilder, surprised us all by releasing its third collection with the Australian artist, Pete Cromer. It had only been a few months since they'd last teamed up for a Christmas collection, so I sure didn't see this one coming. 

The Erstwilder collaborations with Pete Cromer have been some of my favourite collections because his colourful, contemporary designs make the coolest jewellery, and the third range has been no exception. It's easily one of their best collections yet. It's an incredible twenty-five piece collection of brooches, earrings, and cardi-clips, and features many of his Australian animal designs brought to life as wearable art, along with a few other animals from around the world, and some of his adorable Druids, too.

As soon as I saw the live reveal, I fell in love with everything, and seriously considered selling a kidney so I could buy it all. Luckily, for my kidneys, I had a perfectly-timed online bingo win, and was able to buy six of my favourite pieces without losing any vital organs, or feeling too guilty for splurging this time. I love it when things work out! The only hard part was choosing which brooches to buy because each design was incredible, but boy, did I pick some beauties.

Would you like to see what I bought?

Let's start with one of my favourites from the collection- The Quaint Eastern Quoll brooch. I'm sure some of you are wondering what the hell a quoll is. A quoll is a spotted, carnivorous marsupial that looks like a cross between a Tasmanian devil and an Australian possum, and it's super cute. There are six different species, and this brooch is based on the Eastern quoll, which is widespread across Tasmania, and has recently been reintroduced back in to Australia after going extinct in the country in the 1960s. This gorgeous little guy instantly caught my eye, and despite already having a quoll brooch in my collection from another brand, I just couldn't resist adding it to my brooch zoo. It was too pretty to leave behind. I think I'm just a sucker for anything freckled like me! He's made from a stunning textured black and grey resin, with white bubble resin spots across his coat, taupe and caramel accents, and some bubblegum-pink and teal markings to his ear and eye. He's such a little cutie, and probably my favourite piece from the entire collection. I just love this design so much.

There was one brooch that caught my eye simply because of how colourful it was, and that was The Radiant Rainbow Lorikeet brooch. Just like the real Aussie parrots, it's so vibrant and eye-catching, and it's a great statement piece with both colourful and monochrome outfits. I love wearing it with black clothes to make the colours pop. This lovely little lorikeet is made up of about eighteen different colours with a vivid cobalt blue for it's head and an amazing ombre yellow and orange bubble resin for it's body that basically looks like a Tequila Sunrise. It's also decorated with a variety of shapes in Cromer's distinct style, ranging in colour from pink to teal, and it's truly a work of art. The resins Erstwilder used to make it are stunning. 

As a big animal lover, I always find myself drawn to brooches of unusual animals (the weirder the better!) so naturally, The Notorious Numbat brooch was an instant favourite of mine from this collection. If you're not familiar, a numbat is an insectivorous marsupial from Western Australia that kind of looks like a cross between a yellow mongoose and a chipmunk, and it's pretty darn cute. Pete Cromer's numbat design has so much character, and Erstwilder have done a fabulous job of bringing it to life with a mixture of textured and bubble resins in shades of caramel, white, black, mint, and more. I love the monochrome stripes on it's back and leg, and it's unique little zig-zag tail, It's such a great design, and one that will definitely keep people guessing. Fun fact: Notorious isn't the first numbat in my brooch collection; I also have a hot pink numbat brooch from an old Australiana Erstwilder collection, which was one of the first Erstwilder pieces I ever bought! 

Before this collection was released, one of the first brooches that caught my eye in the spoilers was The Rare Red Tail Cockatoo brooch; a black cockatoo that looks like it's going through it's emo phase. It was one of those pieces I instantly knew I'd be buying, even before I'd seen the whole collection. The design is just so unique and striking, and so different to the usual white cockatoo designs. (There was actually a pastel Major Mitchell Cockatoo brooch in this collection, too, which I was so tempted by, but it looked too similar to the Galah brooch I bought from the first collection, so I reluctantly chose a different design instead). Erstwilder spoiled us by releasing this brooch in two sizes; mini and standard, and I stuck to the standard size as sometimes bigger really is better- more space to show off all the incredible details! Details like it's ebony textured-resin face and crest with delicate silver glitter running through it, that's topped with a generous helping of yellow-gold freckles. It's body is a gorgeous marbled navy blue, and it's decorated with little shapes in red, orange, yellow, and black bubble and marbled resins. Who says black and navy have to be boring?

Not all of the designs in the Pete Cromer collection were Australian animal inspired. There were also some creatures from closer to home, like a rabbit, a French bulldog, and  couple of red foxes. With foxes being one of my favourite animals, I've never been able to resist anything fox related, and while I have a few Erstwilder fox brooches in my collection, I just had to have The Footloose Fox brooch in my life, too. (I went for the standard size, but there was also a mini brooch to choose from). It's a beautiful brooch made from orange, black, and white bubble resins, and a mesmerising glittery marbled orange resin for it's body, ear, and eye, which I absolutely love. It's finished off with marbled grey shapes with glitter flecks running through them, a gorgeous marbled red tear drop on it's brush, and a couple of white bubble resin hearts on it's chest and tail. It's one of the most beautiful fox brooches I've ever seen, and I know I'm going to be wearing this one to death for a long time to come.

And the final piece I chose was The Wondrous Wombat. Wombats have always been one of my favourite Aussie animals, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a wombat to my brooch zoo- especially when it was as cute as this one. I mean, just look at that chunky round body, and those gorgeous earthy colours! He's the sweetest little wombat brooch ever. He's been crafted from two shades of coffee coloured bubble resin, with grey bubble and marbled resins for his nose and cheek. and simple black and orange features. I think my favourite parts are the two green leaves on one of his front legs, and the sun-like pattern of mini triangles and concentric semi-circles in burnt orange, peach, brown, and lime on his side. Isn't he beautiful? 

It's been a couple of months since I bought these brooches, but I still love this collection so much. I've been getting so much wear out of them already, and they always make me smile when I catch a glimpse of them pinned to my outfits.

Sadly, (for you, not for Erstwilder and Pete Cromer) many of these brooches sold out on release day because they were unsurprisingly popular, but I've linked to what's still available in the UK above, and there are several other designs still available from Erstwilder and their stockists. If you want to hunt down a sold out piece, try eBay or Erstwilder fan resale sites. I'd still love to get my hands on the emu and cockatiel brooches, and wish I'd bought the fairy wren. 

Did you buy anything from the third Erstwilder x Pete Cromer collection? Which piece is your favourite?

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Erstwilder x Pete Cromer 2020 Christmas Brooches

Last December, Erstwilder collaborated with the Australian artist Pete Cromer, and released one of their most popular jewellery collections to date. (I was lucky enough to collect six pieces, which I reviewed here). Everything sold out in record time, and the beautiful designs left Erstwildians begging for an encore- myself included.

I never imagined that Erstwilder would actually team up with Cromer again so soon, or that their second collaboration would include this year's Christmas collection, as well as a redesigned range of Australian animal designs. I was so excited when I heard the news and saw the spoilers that it felt like all my Christmases had come at once. 

The new collection included eighteen brooches, two necklaces, five pairs of earrings, and three sets of collar clips, plus a range of Essentials earrings in complimenting resins.

Luckily, for my bank balance, the collection included several designs that were only slightly different from the originals I purchased last year, or I could've gone crazy with this collection. While I wanted all the new variations, I managed to restrain myself and only bought four brooches- the snowman, robin, Santa, and koala- although, I put Santa on lay-buy for a month, so I won't be able to show him to you until closer to Christmas. 

I am, however, here to show you the other three brooches I recently acquired. I know some of you will love them as much as I do.

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without some snowmen, so let's start with the sparkliest snowman brooch in town, Snuggy Snowman. Snuggy Snowman was the first piece that caught my eye in the previews on Instagram, and one of the pieces I was most determined to add to my collection- partly because there was a snowman-shaped hole in my brooch collection, but mostly because it was one of the cutest snowmen brooches I'd ever seen.

Snuggy is a perfectly-formed three-tier snowman, made from glittery white resin snowballs that shimmer like a frozen diamond mine when the light hits them. The resin is so sparkly that I can't help playing with it, and showing everyone how much it sparkles! Naturally, a good snowman is all about the finishing touches, and Snuggy has been brought to life with a carrot nose and four coal buttons, and finished with a red and blue scarf, and a dapper black and red top hot using a mix of marbled and bubble resins. He's the perfect Christmas brooch, and has been getting so much wear already this month.

Next up is probably my favourite piece from the Christmas collection this year- a glittery red robin brooch creatively named 'Red Robbin.' Red Robbin is a festive little guy all dressed up for Christmas with a glittery ruby red breast to rival Dorothy's slippers. He's so sparkly! (I'm such a magpie!) The rest of his plump little body is made from a beautiful marbled white, and  caramel-coloured wood-effect resins, with a tear-drop shaped duck-egg blue, black, and ruby red wing. He's so beautiful, and easily one of my favourite brooches ever. I've always loved robins, and this is the perfect robin brooch I never knew I needed. I wore him over the weekend, and he'll definitely be on circulation until at least the New Year for many Christmases to come.

Moving away from Christmas and on to Australian animals, I was so excited to see some koala designs in this collection, as I missed out on last year's koala brooch, and have been sad about it ever since. Erstwilder and Pete Cromer spoiled us for choice this year with koala earrings, a koala necklace, and two Kuddly Koala brooches- including a new mini brooch, as well as the standard size we're more familiar with. The mini brooch was cuter than a bush full of koalas munching on eucalyptus, but I made a snap decision and went with the standard Kuddly Koala brooch because sometimes you just have to super size.

Unlike last year's sleeping Kindhearted Koala, this year's koala is bright eyed and bushy-tailed, watching intently as it sits clinging to an invisible tree. He's made from a beautiful grey marbled resin, and decorated with shapes in shades of white, teal, emerald green, lime, pink, black and grey in Cromer's distinct style. I particularly love the teardrop detailing on his left ear, and his cute little claws. It's a truly beautiful brooch, and I love it even more than last year's koala, so I'm pleased I waited, and so happy to finally have a koala in my brooch zoo. I know I'll be wearing this little guy to death from now on.

The majority of the Erstwilder x Pete Cromer collection sold out in minutes, so unfortunately, I haven't been able to find most of these brooches for sale anywhere. I'd recommend trying Erstwilder fan resale sites and eBay if you want to try to track one down. There are a few pieces from the collection still available from Erstwilder, Pete Cromer, and some of their stockists, though, so be sure to check them out. The collection is amazing!

Keep an eye out for a review of the Erstwilder x Pete Cromer Santa brooch in a couple of weeks.

Did you buy anything from the Erstwilder x Pete Cromer collection?

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