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Why handmade silver jewellery is totally worth It

Ever wondered why handmade silver jewellery feels so much more special than mass-produced stuff? It’s not just about the look—it’s about the heart and soul poured into every piece.

What makes handmade silver jewellery so special?

When you buy handmade, you’re not just getting jewellery—you’re getting a story. Each piece is crafted by skilled hands, making it unique. No two pieces are exactly the same, which makes your jewellery feel like it was made just for you.

Crafted with love (and recycled silver!)

Here at Kysam in Southbourne, Dorset, all of our jewellery is made from 100% recycled silver using eco-friendly methods. That means you’re not only wearing something gorgeous, but you’re also helping the planet—win-win!  Each piece is patiently and lovingly created by Sam Martin-Bryan. Because of the handcrafted nature, differences in shape, size and colour occur making each piece uniquely individual.  In this way, handmade silver jewellery is so much more than a factory ‘assembly line’ created product.

Make it yours

The best part? You can personalise your jewellery with different finishes (think hammered or polished) and chain styles. It’s a chance to wear something that really reflects you.  Sam is also happy to work alongside you with any ideas you may have to adapt your silver jewellery.

Perfect for gifting (or just because)

Handmade silver jewellery makes the perfect gift. Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or a “just because” moment, giving someone (or yourself!) a handmade piece shows thoughtfulness and care.

Keep it shiny

To keep your silver looking fab, store it in a dry place and give it a gentle polish with a soft cloth. Avoid water and chemicals, and it’ll stay looking gorgeous.

Ready to find your perfect piece? Check out the silver jewellery collection at Kysam and treat yourself to something special!

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News from Kysam

Now I mentioned I had a big secret and the other poor excuse for not blogging…well we finally made it public….well we announced it on Facebook which is pretty much the same thing!

I am 30 weeks pregnant, its all very scary and exciting and a good excuse for me to start making “Baby themed items’…those of you that have been keeping an keen eye on my items may have noticed that!!

As well as finding out we were pregnant we have had a rather busy few months here at Kysam, we are now selling on:

Giggling Hedgehogs

http://www.gigglinghedgehogs.co.uk/kysam/products?s=&query=&section_id=0&count=24

Handmake Me

https://handmake.me/kysamsilver

& The Goldstone Boutique

http://www.thegoldstoneboutique.com/collections/vendors?q=Kysam%20Silver

And I have also been featured in Good Housekeeping

http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/money/money-and-work/how-to-run-a-successful-online-business

and most recently a lovely write up on my Vintage Silver Keys in the Chelmsford Weekly News, all of this as you can imagine is super exciting for us at Kysam and we are currently beavering away making all your lovely Christmas orders.

Hubby and I took a quick trip to NYC before the little one arrives for some much needed rest which culminated in long walks in Central Park and around the Antique and Flea Markets of Manhattan which gave me lots of inspiration for new jewellery ideas (do you think I could claim the NYC trip on my taxes????)….watch out for new pieces in the New Year!

And finally I am delighted to announce that I will once again be exhibiting at the Albert Mews Christmas Open House

https://www.facebook.com/albertmewsstudio?pnref=story

alongside some other wonderful artists (to be named and featured in my next blog!)

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Exciting News…

Well I want to say I have a good excuse for not blogging and I have…in fact I have TWO very big excuses but one is still a secret for now….the other is…

I’ve moved house, not just from another county but from another country!

I’m finally back in the UK and loving it, and it was great to see the sun came out to welcome me home!

I now have a new workshop in the back garden and am up and running again, its heaven to be able to find my tools without digging around in a variety of unmarked boxes….yes, yes….I realise I should have marked them but that’s a mistake I learnt too late!! And I’m sure hubby is pleased to have me out of the house and not constantly banging and bashing away in the spare room.

Now onto some BIG news…about six months ago a lovely lady called Mrs B tweeted me to ask if I could make her a Bee Hairstick, of course I welcomed the commission and between us we came up with this little design:

beeee

I posted it off to her and that’s when she told me it was for a little TV show that she might be in..…well lo and behold months later Mrs B emailed me to tell me that the said TV show was going to be called ‘This Old Thing’ and would be on Channel 4 and presented by Dawn Porter and would be on very soon!!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/this-old-thing-the-vintage-clothes-show/episode-guide

So I excitingly waited and waited and finally in June the show started!  It transpired that Mrs B was none other than Jax Black (Senior Technician for teaching and learning for Costume) at the London College of Fashion….now I don’t pretend to know what a Senior Technician is but anyone that teaches at the London College of Fashion is pretty cool in my eyes!!! So you can imagine at this point I was even more honoured to have been commissioned for a piece from this “lady in the know’.

Jax ‘s alter ego is Mrs Bee who is a bespoke vintage dressmaker/pattern cutter and sewing tutor who lives and breaths the days gone by especially 1940s, 50s and 60s.

https://www.facebook.com/MrsBeeVintageDressmaker/info

Now don’t get me wrong you have to keep a keen eye out to spot my little bee hair stick but its there and I’m privileged to have been asked and Mrs Bee assures me she wears it on a regular basis and loves it…..and for me that’s the most important thing…. my clients loving their items!!

On a final note, I have just received these wonderful hand printed tights through the post, they are….in the words of Perez Hilton AMAZEBALLS!

tightstights2

……now I realise the second pair are more suited to Winter and Christmas but as you may or may not know I am pretty much crazy about Christmas so anytime is a good time for Christmas themed tights in my eyes!

Go check out the website and if you sign up for the August newsletter there’s a special offer on till the end of the month and some rather fab Sale tights too…hurry or you’ll miss it!!!

http://www.hosetights.co.uk/collections/all

 

 

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Kysam in treasuries and ones we love…

Since the launch of the website I have been featured in many treasuries on Etsy suffice to say I am honoured and humbled so I felt like it was time for one of my own treasuries (as promised)…..today I’m going to do a “Open House’ treasury.

Every year the Artists Open Houses Festival in Brighton & Hove provide visitors the chance to meet a creative and talented bunch of artists in their own studios and to buy pieces directly from them. Work includes sculpture, jewellery, home-ware, paintings, textiles and ceramics.

 

http://www.aoh.org.uk/May-2013-home

 

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of Open House for the past two years but due to my imminent move I decided not to exhibit this year but am excited to see what is on offer this year….this is a taste of my favourite exhibitors so far…. (and my wish list if anyone is feeling generous!!)

bowl

This little bowl is labeled as a sugar bowl but I use mine as my breakfast bowl to keep my portions in checkJ…and clearly because it has all my favourite Brighton landmarks on it, its my fave!!

tights

These tights are a brilliant and simple way to brighten up any outfit, hand printed and locally made, they’re definitely on my Summer Wardrobe wish list.

silk flower

This headpiece from Lizzie Lock Millinery is sure to bring out the ‘inner diva’ in you all!! Perfect for Ascot and garden parties galore. Give it a whirl!! 

enamel ring

http://www.eanjewellery.com

As a fellow silversmith I love Elizabeth’s work and her enamelling skills are the best I have ever come across. I have coveted this ring for many months and hinted on several occasions to hubby to no avail….but fingers crossed for this year!!

 

brooch

https://www.etsy.com/shop/designedbybettyshek

Betty makes amazingly bright and tactile brooches that just scream ‘Brighton”…another perfect addition for your wardrobe to brighten up those cloudy days.

 

And last but most definitely not least…

 

‘Hove-Made’ – Handmade Pickles and Chutneys and lurvvvely Jams

chutney

These amazingly scrumptious pickles and chutneys are so yummy they make you want to eat them on the way home on the bus (not recommended as you get funny looks….or maybe that was just me!)

All of the above exhibitors are either at:

http://www.hovearts.co.uk/venues/albertmews.htm

http://www.aoh.org.uk/may-2013-houses?item=917&offset=0

 

And one final thing for this week…..I am super pleased to announce I had a commission from the Orkney Islands this week from a lovely lady who wanted to match her mothers ring…a challenge I look forward to, and my beloved fox cuff…

foxcuff

is currently winging its way to the US….farewell my lovely…time to make a replacement for you 🙂

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Our launch

The launch of the website last week exceeded all of our expectations! A huge thanks to the ‘ever patient Hayley’ from minkidesign.com and for my ever suffering husband, for not yelling at me working till 3am on Saturday because I was so excited about the orders 😉  There are still a few freebies left for those ‘quick off the mark’ customers and let’s be honest… who doesn’t love a freebie!  My home is full of stuff I didn’t actually need but convinced myself I did because it came with something free.

 

My passion for jewellery and all things shiny started at an early age wandering around the stalls of Camden and Spitalfield’s Markets but it was only after moving to the wonderful city of Brighton that I decided to take a leap of faith and study silversmithing and I can honestly say I’ve never looked back.

 

When my grandmother passed I discovered a treasure trove of old forgotten jewellery, most of the pieces were costume jewellery but the designs were still amazing and the detail exquisite, one of my favourite pieces is this old moon shaped brooch

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which brightens up any outfit!  Sometimes we don’t always need new stuff, just ‘undiscovered treasures left lonely at the bottom of a box’.  Go on have a root around your home this week, you never know what you might turn up!!

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Hello from Kysam!

This blog is a glimpse behind the scenes at Kysam, a visual diary to show our inspirations and share our creativity as it happens.  Kysam strives to produce jewellery and trinkets for lovers of all things quirky.

 

Every few weeks we will create a ‘Mini Treasury’ showcasing other handmade goodies we’ve found around the world that we admire and hope you will too.  We will also post sneaky pictures of new products and how they are made along with tips and the occasional tutorials (if the wonderful Hayley can teach me how to post photos on this blog!) along the way to help and inspire others who may be interested in the shiny, sparkly world of jewellery.

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Its been an exciting month for Kysam with the launch of the new website, thanks to the super talented Hayley over at minkidesign as well as being nominated as “Shop of the Week’ by Craft Britannia which resulted in Kysam being featured in a lot of treasuries here are just a few of my favourites: Gears Galore, A wholey appropriate treasury and As sweet as honey…  I also managed a cheeky mention on the lovely Laura’s blog.

 

I recently took part in a new Craft Fair for Sussex called Make Market, its great to see new craft markets popping up in Sussex and it means I get the chance to meet other crafty people and occasionally get featured in cool blogs: Space of mine own however, it also means I end up spending more than I’ve earnt!

 

Now as this is my first blog I won’t waffle on too much, but look forward to chatting to you all over time and feel free to post questions or comments for the Kysam team.