I aM by jeweller Ileana Makri

Ever since I discovered jewellery designer ILEANA MAKRI (Link) in a store in Mykonos a few summers ago, I have been obsessed with her. Her fine jewellery line comprises of delicate gold chains with creatures like snakes, beetles, hands of fatima that  are encrusted with tiny diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. She also makes larger stunning pieces like earrings and rings. Most of her delicate jewellery can be worn everyday and always catch lots of attention. I bought a snake necklace and still love it. The only problem? Her items tend to be quite expensive and have gotten so much more so over the years!

Typical jewellery designs by ILEANA MAKRI (Link) 

I was thrilled when she recently launched a contemporary line called I aM. It contains items that are below $1000 and are made with the same fine craftsmanship and attention to detail as her regular line. The only difference is that the pieces are gold-plated sterling silver, titanium, and bronze. Everything is still stunning, is a statement piece, and would make a perfect EID gift! 

Here are a few of my favourites from the collection:

Chantilly Earrings (Link) 

Dice Snake Ring (Link)

You can still own a piece of her signature collection with this great alternative. 

Made of rose gold plated silver, this ring has ruby encrusted eyes

Gold Plated Antoinette Earrings (Link) 

These SCREAM attention! 

Maple Bud Cuff (Link) 

Bronze Beetle Cuff (Link) 

To view the full collection, CLICK HERE 

Statement Jewellery at TOPSHOP

I was browsing through TOPSHOP's (Link) website looking for a 'Get the Look for Less' post and I discovered a whole NEW collection of recently launched jewellery! Everything is amazing, affordable, and really tasteful. Happy Browsing ladies :)

Here are a few of my favourite picks

Triangle Rhinestone Earrings (Link)

Mixed Chain Draped Collar (Link)

This is a great accessory to complete a boho-chic look - 

Team it with a maxi dress and summer sandals

Spike Triangle Bracelet (Link)

Flower Stud Spike Earrings (Link)

Tusk Chain Collar (Link)

Three Row Bolt Spike Collar (Link)

Which of these items is your favourite?

DANNIJO's 5th Anniversary Collection

The creators of DANNIJO - Sisters Danielle & Jodie

(Source: luvshells.com)

Even if you THINK you never heard of the jewellery brand DANNIJO - I am almost certain that you have seen it while shopping or worn by someone. It is a Jewellery brand based out of New York that is designed by sister duo Danielle and Jodie. They design stand out statement necklaces, vinetage-y cocktail rings, bracelets, earrings, and funky accessories. DANNIJO has been worn by almost every single celebrity and is sold in 120 stores worldwide including online retailes like Shopbop.com,  StyleBop.com, and matchesfashion.com. In the U.A.E, DANNIJO is sold at S*uce, Bloomingdales, Harvey Nichols, Boom & Mellow and SophiesCloset.com (Link).  

In honor of their 5th Anniversary, DANNIJO have created a 6-piece limited edition capsule collection. It includes their most popular necklaces, earrings, and bracelets which have been tweaked into different colours and materials. Each of these beautiful pieces falls in the range of $295 to $425 (AED 1085 - AED 1560) which is cheaper than the original pieces. I am absolutely OBSESSED with them ALL! 

ETTA Gold Bib Necklace (Link)

This is a no-fuss statement piece that can be re-worn with ALL your favourite outfits well into Fall!

AVA white & Pastel drop earrings (Link)

Perfect for summer

DARBY Swarovski necklace (Link)

MARGAUX Swarovski Crystal Bracelet (Link)

LAINEY Black & White drop Earrings (Link)

ELENA Necklace (Link)

This is DANNIJO's signature Cappuccino necklace remade with colourful Swarovski crystals

This Capsule 5 Year Anniversary Collection can only be purchased on the DANNIJO website (Link Here)

Which of these pieces is your Favourite? Mine are the AVA earrings!

ABSOLUTE Madness!

So I was browsing a website called The Editorialist (link) which sells really cool accessories and I came across this diamond necklace. 

JENNIFER FISCHER GOLD & DIAMOND NECKLACE (Link)

It's a nice necklace and is designed by a finalist of the CDFA/VOGUE Fashion Fund- Jennifer Fischer. Then I looked at the price tag and FREAKED!! It is $250,000!!!

Apparently this necklace was designed for the Tiffany Design Challenge under the guidance of Anna Wintour. It is 18 carat gold and has 20.35 carat diamonds. No description of what kind of diamonds they are, their clarity, if they are certified - NOTHING! Also, to make matters worse - the necklace is on a drawing of a model and not a real person so there is no way of knowing how it looks worn in reality! 

I shop online quite a lot but I would never spend this amount of money simply by clicking a button and entering my credit card details. IF you could buy such a necklace, wouldn't you need to try it on and love it? How crazy would it be to receive a $250,000 package from the Aramex guy? Finally, if your credit card had such a large limit - would you actually put its details online for all kinds of hackers and thieves to steal it?

I am really interested in your thoughts on this.... is it just me or is this ABSOLUTE MADNESS? Should there be a limit to how much we can spend on items online?

D Jewellery by Dalia Hamdallah

The great thing about events like Fashion Forward (Link) is that you get introduced to amazing designers and brands that are not widely available. One of these designers is Dalia Hamdallah. From the pop up store at the event, I bought two items. One was a By Sophie bracelet and the other was a really cool wire necklace by a brand D Jewellery (Link). On the last day of the event, we were invited to a lunch and out of pure coincidence, I was seated on the same table as the designer of the piece I bought! She was wearing STUNNING earrings and so naturally, I had to ask where they were from!! 

Dalia Hamdallah is Palestinian and lived in Egypt and Sudan for most of her life. From there, she grew to love ethnic jewellery and semi-precious stones, and gained "a passion for jewellery, stones, and the passion to create." She started her jewellery line D Jewellery in 2002 which consists of costume jewellery made out of wire and stones. The pieces are incredible and really stood out to me. 

Take a look at some pieces in her collection below: 

The amount of work in each of these pieces is very impressive and they are sure to grab TONS of attention! 

You can find D Jewellery at O de Rose boutique in Dubai, For the Love of Vintage in Amman, Sinwan in Jeddah and on www.style-treasure.com in Cairo. 

For more details, visit her Facebook Page HERE 

Statement Necklaces at ASOS

While in Paris, I noticed that all of the stores were selling statement necklaces but they were mostly very expensive. So I searched around and found these GREAT ALTERNATIVES at ASOS.com (link) - they look great and won't make a dent to your credit card. Some of them even LOOK expensive that no-one would ever know the difference! Here are a few of my favourites:

Spring Stone Necklace (link)

(This looks like a TOM BINNS necklace at a fraction of the price)

ASOS PREMIUM Golden Girl Choker (link)

Floral Bug Necklace (link)

(This could easily pass for an Anton Heunis necklace!)

Jewelled Punk Spike Necklace (link)

Crocodile Queen Necklace (link)

Which one is your favourite??

Sparkles and Fun at Sophie's Closet

Imagine a place where everything is sparkly, girly, flowery, pink, and 'rare and pretty'. That would be Sophie's Closet's showroom. Sophie's Closet is an online jewellery store based out of Dubai that sells a beautiful selection of accessories from brands like Shourouk, Kenneth Jay Lane, Erickson Beamon, Mawi London, Vintage YSL and Chanel, to name a few. 

A few days ago, I was invited to visit their showroom and preview their collection- all I can say is WOW! Everywhere I turned where items that I just HAD to try on and I spent over an hour putting on necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and headbands. The owner Sophie is an extremely sweet woman who genuinely adores jewellery and you can tell that every single piece was hand-picked lovingly and expertly by her. Each item has a story - either someone famous wore it (Olivia Polermo, one of the cast members of Gossip Girl) or it is a vintage piece. Most importantly, everything is STUNNING! I could live there if I had the chance :) 

Here is a sneak peak into Sophie's Closet...

 Greeting you at the door is a statue welcoming you into a world of 'all things rare & pretty'

 The showroom has the most beautiful pieces that make you stop and think    

'I MUST have that!' 

There are jewellery cases, stands, cabinets and drawers FILLED with opulence! 

 There is a section dedicated to all things Vintage 

I tried on a FABULOUS pair of Vintage YSL - 

these would look good even if you wore a sack of potatoes! 

The Team at Sophie's Closet and I 

For the first time ever, Sophie's Closet is opening it's doors to the public and is inviting you to a trunk show to preview all of their newest collections. The showroom is located at Sheikh Zayed Road, Single Business Tower, Unit 1101. For more info on the event, please CLICK HERE. 

If you can't make it, visit www.sophiescloset.com and start adding glamourous accessories into your wardrobe. They ship all over the world. 

Beirut Art Beat

Last night I attended the opening of Beirut Art Beat in Dubai. It is a 4 day exhibition with 30 stalls from Beirut selling jewellery, furniture and funky art. They had a really nice selection of hand-picked items and there was lots to see! The best part about it was that the designers themselves are here so you can discuss your pieces, get advice and order custom-made designs. I found the experience of buying from the designer himself/herself much more intimate and made my purchases all that more special! I met designers like Ghida El Zein, Sarah's Bag, Sally K, Mademe Reve, Hania Reyess and Nada Zeineh to name a few. Here are a few of the items that caught my attention:

 Really cool and authentic seating areas- I felt like I was in the heart of Beirut!

Designer Hady Beydoun had some of the most original art on display with wooden coke cans and toilet seats made of graffiti art 

These light installations by Hania Reyess were my favourite pieces in the whole exhibition 

Outdoor furniture made out of wooden crates!  

Everything being sold is very original, very different and for lack of a better description- very BEIRUT! I highly recommend you go see it :)

The exhibition will be held from March 18 to 21 at DIFC Atrium Building 5 from 11 am - 8 pm

For more info, click HERE