Our Rowan Collection will be in store at 7pm tonight, so I wanted to show you the full collection here first and share a little more about the Rowan tree.
If you missed our last post introducing the Rowan tree, you can catch up here.
The growth rings are such a prominent feature in this collection and we hope the form of these pieces celebrate their beauty…
We also crafted 2 Rowan Moons for this collection, each with their own unique features…
You can find out more about how and why we create Wild Jewellery, and view our beautiful wearer’s gallery here:
We have just got back from a wonderful visit to the New Forest, where we were dropping off a collection of wild jewellery and prints to an art gallery for our very first exhibition!
Chalk’s is a beautifully curated craft & art gallery in Lymington and we feel very excited to have some pieces featured in their upcoming exhibition ‘Wonderland’ which will run from 2nd October until 30th January.
Here is a sneak peak of some of the pieces that we created especially for the exhibition.
Cedar, Birch & Hawthorn
The collection focuses on telling the stories of 10 different trees by celebrating unique features and markings that emerge from windfallen wood.
Cherry, Yew & Oak
These pieces will be available to view and buy from the gallery during the exhibition and online via the Chalk’s website.
Rowan Collection
In my last post, I shared that we had been feeling the call to work with the Rowan tree after a late Summer visit to Northumberland.
Here, the Rowan trees felt in their element, growing proudly atop mountain and moor.
These vibrant trees have the ability to not only survive but thrive in some of our most challenging landscapes where other trees simply cannot grow.
The Rowan tree can teach us much about resilience and the ability to nourish ourselves even and especially during challenging times.
Despite their wild sparks, Rowan trees often grow rather uniformly and considered. Unlike some of their sprawling relatives who shed branches more regularly, finding wood that has naturally fallen from these magical trees is relatively rare in our experience.
And so we were especially excited to be guided to a piece earlier this year!
It is a beautiful September afternoon. We are sat on a bench in a country park after a wander. Chris is sat opposite me, doing the final sand on some pendants that he has been working on, as I write this to you.
The light is low and golden, casting shadows of the tree leaves that dance overhead in the breeze.
This time of the year feels precious, nostalgic somehow. I like to get out for walks wherever possible and enjoy the green canopies that I know, in such a short time will be gone.
I love soaking in the new colours as they emerge too. Rich, deep and bright. Hot crimsons, orange and pinks. Inky blues and purples now strewn throughout the hedgerows and woodlands.
SpindleGlossy Elderberries
On our walk this morning we came across what first appeared to be some rather large Sloe berries, but on closer inspection were not. The leaves appeared larger than a Blackthorn leaf and the berries a fair amount bigger and much softer than a sloe…
That is when I realised that this was our first meeting with a Bullace, a wild plum that is larger than a sloe but usually smaller and rounder than a damson and very tasty when ripe!
Bullace
The sense of discovery and excitement never ceases when exploring the wild world.
Thresholds and Equinoxes
Something always feels special to me as we move between the thresholds of the year. The light changes, life seems to call for a change in pace. There feels like a rebalancing that occurs as we move close to the Equinoxes. An invitation to savour that which is ending, whilst welcoming that which is arriving. A dance in the in-between…
We came across this Alder tree recently. It reminded me that we were celebrating their energy back at the Spring Equinox earlier in the year. It now stood, holding last year’s cones alongside this years, and it reminded me of the points in life where we too seem to hold it all. That which is coming to an end, alongside that which is newly formed. We couldn’t resist creating an Alder Moon, this one is now in store.
Shop Update
It is the abundance of the hedgerows and the arrival of Autumn that has inspired our shop update this month.
As a very valued subscriber, you will receive 10% off any of these pendants when you use the code TREEMAGIC10 at the checkout.
Alternative you can click here and the discount will be added to your basket automatically.
The call of the Rowan Tree
After a long, hot Summer of events, we took a few weeks off in August. Alongside giving our van some much needed TLC, we headed off on an adventure, travelling up the Yorkshire coast to spend a few days in and around Northumberland.
I love travelling in late Summer. The land was swathed in the pink tones of Heather and Fireweed, providing the perfect backdrop for the orangey red berries of the Rowan tree.
These beautiful trees captured our attention everywhere we roamed. Whilst they grow happily in our towns and parks, there was something about seeing them in the wild lands they tend to favour, they felt in their element.
As soon as we returned, Chris knew he wanted to create a Rowan collection from a wild, windfallen piece of wood that he has been drying for sometime.
As always, we will be sharing these pieces with you first, so do keep an eye on your inbox for a first glimpse. In the meantime, you can read more about the magical Rowan tree here:
Rowan trees are sometimes known as ‘Mountain Ash’ or ‘Lady of the Mountains’ due to their ability to grow higher up mountain sides than any of our other native trees. They grow quite happily in our towns and parks too, but survive, and even thrive in some of our harshest landscapes. They protect and nurture other trees around them in those environments too by improving the fertility of the soil, similar to Birch trees, earning them the title of ‘nurse tree’.
Rowan trees symbolise protection, resilience and adaptability and bringing them into the home for protection is a long standing tradition. Due to them standing high on the top of mountains they have also been connected with magic, intuition and connecting to other realms.
Rowan blossom in the SpringRowan berries in the Autumn
Ancient Rowan traditions
Making and hanging Rowan berry garlands around the home is an ancient tradition, believed to protect the space and invite good luck. Berries are gathered and garlands made as we head towards the Autumn months, crossing the threshold to the darker half of the year. Once dried, the garlands keep for years, bringing a rich pop of colour and magic to the home.
