It's been more than four months since I last showcased my Erstwilder brooch purchases on the blog (I know, shocking, right?), so I think it's time for a long over due brooch haul.
Since that last Erstwilder post during the festive season, I've collected five new Erstwilder brooches, and boy, have I scored some beauties.
First up is Life By the Horns, a lilac rhino brooch from last year's Out of Africa collection. I purchased it on sale with some Christmas money in December after coveting it for months, and I'm so glad I did because it's become one of my favourite brooches ever. She's so pretty that I can't stop wearing her. She has a lilac body, with two legs in a darker shade of purple, amazing glittery white horns, a pink ear, and even a little pink bird perched on her back hitching a ride. I think she's based on the white rhino, but I love how the segmented shape of her body makes her look like the armoured, pre-historic-looking one-horned rhinos of Asia, which basically look like living dinosaurs. (Google them; they're so cool!) It's the cutest rhino brooch I've ever seen. If you think so, too, you can find it on sale for £18.95 from Lottie & Lu here.
Next is Brave Burro, your friendly neighbourhood pack-mule, and the sweetest little ass in town. This little guy was part of the Spanish Fiesta collection and has more character than Donkey and Eeyore combined, with a hitch in his giddy up, and a cheeky glint in his innocent eyes. He may be exploited for hard labour, but that doesn't mean he can't look his best while he helps his humans earn a living. He's accessorised his grey coat with a rainbow beaded necklace, and a white saddle embellished with matching rainbow beads, and he looks fabulous. I knew I had to have him the second I saw him, and I'm glad I managed to snap him up before he sold out, because I can't get enough of this little guy.
Another brooch I couldn't resist treating myself to from the Spanish Fiesta collection was a beautiful Spanish rose called Rosa Española. It turned out to be even more stunning in real life than I was expecting, and it's now one of my favourite pieces of jewellery of all time. The star shaped red rose is made from the prettiest marbled cherry red resin, with the middle layer crafted from a glittery scarlet. (The reds aren't as dark as my photos would suggest; my camera hasn't captured them well at all. They're much brighter in real life). The flower sits on a bed of three forest-green leaves and one mint, which are each scored with veins and it. Is. Stunning. I haven't been able to stop wearing it since it arrived, and I can't help thinking the design would make an amazing tattoo... I'm tempted to get it done on my wrist. Rosa Española is still available from Erstwilder, and Glitterally in the UK.
A few months ago, Erstwilder released their In Full Bloom collection, a huge collection with dozens of pieces inspired by some of the world's most popular flowers and plants. It's easily one of my favourite Erstwilder collections to date, and every design was so beautiful I could've happily bought every single piece. I could only afford one on release day, though, so I chose the purple pansy brooch called On Sleeping Eyelids as pansies are one of my favourite flowers. On Sleeping Eyelids is the perfect purple pansy brooch made from the most amazing marbled, pearlescent resins, with a characteristic matte black face, a sparkly yellow nose, and two matte leaves in different shades of dark green. It is the pansy brooch of my dreams, and I've worn it so many times already. Unfortunately, like most of the collection, this brooch sold out incredibly quickly, so it's no longer available, but if you can hunt it down through a resale page, I would definitely recommend it.
As the range sold out so quickly, I wasn't able to collect more of my favourites from this collection, and I was particularly disappointed that I missed out on the lily brooch, Frilly Lily Frond. (I'm not sure why, as I would never consider lilies to be one of my favourite flowers, but there's just something about this brooch...) I kept hunting for it for months, and last month, I finally tracked it down via Collectif! I snapped it up immediately, and I couldn't be happier with it; I think it's absolutely stunning. It's made from pearlescent and shimmering pale pink resins with salmon pink detailing, yellow stamens, and green leaves, and it's the most beautiful, realistic lily brooch I've ever seen. I've only worn it a couple of times so far, but I know it's going to be worn to death as time goes on. It's perfect for pairing with florals in spring and summer.
The majority of my Erstwilder collection is made up of animal brooches, so I'm pleased to have finally added some flowers to the collection to mix things up a little. They are definitely proving to be some of my favourites at the moment. I'm loving the latest additions to my brooch zoo, too, though, and I couldn't be happier with my most recent jewellery purchases. I chose well!
I can't help wondering what designs I'll pick up next!
You can shop all of Erstwilder's available designs on their website here, and find stockists for them around the world here if you're outside Australia.
Have you bought any Erstwilder jewellery lately?
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