A beautiful Shoot...

House of Istria; We make pieces for dreamers. A lot of brides to-be- are dreamers; the little girl with princess- dress- dreams somehow refuses to leave, and remains tucked away somewhere, lightly sleeping until the big day becomes reality and she stirs, awakens.

That is what this shoot by All In The Image for The White Rose boutique reminds us of. Part classic bride, part secret fairytale; or, the tale of the girl in the white dress.


For more on this shoot read the beautiful shoot report here 

 Sahara headdress by House of Istria

House of Istria xx

House of Istria update....

I have not posted since the last week of September, which is quite frankly, shocking. Though I am hoping that first ever House of Istria bridal hair accessory collection launch is definitely worth it! :)

Shot beautifully by Ali Lomas this collection has taken uncountable hours to come from dream to reality, from sketches on random pieces of paper to the actual, final finished items being photographed and the website being overhauled and redesigned.

These are some of my favourite images, some of which didn't even make the 'final cut'






Aren't they all gorgeous? Ali really does need to have her work picked up by a magazine like Lula or Purple Journal... to see the rest of the new collection click here

So although I haven't been sat at my keyboard that doesn't mean I haven't found a whole world of gorgeous things for you to look at - mostly all wedding related of course. These will be coming on to the blog in the next few weeks so please do keep popping back for some beautiful inspiration.

In the meantime, I am feeling a bit poorly today so this is just a quick post, time for me to have some more tea, toast, and sleep :) Oh and in the meantime, if anyone wants to send me a prayer that this baby pops out soon, that would be great.

Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful autumn weather

Charlie xx

Sunday Sweetness

I came across the work of a beautiful photographer today- it almost made me want to pick up my own cameras and start shooting again. Almost. I feel I am getting closer to that day when I do start to shoot again but for now I am very happy lost in the beauty of the work of others...

I would love one of these images for my home. Irene Suchoki is based in Canada and sells her work on Etsy... but her images take me to a world of daydreams and memories. I think I would hang them in my studio... but I would love to put a series up in my little girl's nursery too so that she might have sweet dreams.

Visit her shop here

Happy Sunday

Charlie @ House of Istria xx

A BIG WELCOME BACK TO US!

Welcome

Well we finally got here! After what seems like an age polishing our new site www.houseofistria.com and creating our new collection and working on a little redesign of our new blog, we are finally back with our gorgeous new wedding accessories blog! I am just so excited about bringing all of the beautiful bridal accessories out there in the world to you; and this is why we think this blog is different. Our focus is purely on accessories only. Although we might feature the odd dress we lust after, or a couple of snaps from a truly dreamy location, primarily this blog exists to help you find those tricky to locate but essential items, those that perfect your big day look and leave you feeling like a princess from top to toe.

Welcome to the new bridal accessories blog by House of Istria!

Re-introducing...

... US! While we have been away we have been busy at work creating our pretty new lines. As we grow we are discovering new inspiration sources all the time; right now we are drawing our inspiration from rambling old rose gardens and the book The Secret Garden, plus two old pictures we stumbled upon (more about those later). We have created beautiful new floral pieces, and vintage inspired pieces which suit so many styles of wedding; have a look at this board we created over at Style Me Pretty which features our Little Rose vintage earrings, Tilly headband, and Sweetness & Light hair pins...



I hope you like it! There will be a lot more inspiration boards on the way- and we won't always be showcasing our own pieces; our mission is to find the best accessories out there and bring them right here to you.

House of Istria x

Resolutions (and how to keep them)

we found the most amazing website, 43things.com

Have you tried it yet? It is a way of keeping your goals and resolutions written down in one place, and it will remind you whenever you choose of the person you are, and who you would like to become

You can what others would like to do too, our favourites;

*wake up in another country

*plant 100 trees

*read a book a week

*grow wings

*have a little vegetable garden

*appreciate what I have

*take a picture every day

*live life as I would dream

*get married


*stay in a tipi

*dance in the rain


Good luck with your resolutions, and dont forget to check us out on the amazing

Whimsical Wonderland Weddings blog- a great start to the New Year for us.

We love the New Year and all the promise it holds.

House of Istria xx

the truth is in the dirt

love this by Karen Elson;



enjoy

House of Istria

xx

House of Istria's helping hand...

Hello sweet readers, so sorry for lack of blog posts this past few weeks! Have been busy planning our very own wedding which takes place August 28th... but House of Istria has not stopped making. We have painted and moved into our studio, and have one more small local fair this week before we take the big step this coming autumn... our work will is heading for the starts! More about this later...

In the meantime, FINALLY our website will be up and running by the end of this weekend if all goes to plan.

And finally, we thought we should share something we found with you. If you have purchased a piece of House of Istria vintage, or you just have a little piece of old or antique jewellery at home, look after it! That way it will stay beautiful for years to come.

Here is how;

How to clean & care for Vintage & Antique Jewelry
You have a nice collection of vintage or antique jewelry. It's lovely...it sparkles...it's a heirloom...and it will need to be stored, cared for, and cleaned so that it stays that way. This page is devoted to tips for taking care of, and cleaning, your precious jewelry.

Care

There are several things to remember when thinking about caring for vintage and antique jewelry. These are all elements which could cause deterioration over time:
1. Scratching. Be careful that your jewelry isn't stored so that the pieces rub against each other. General scratching, at best, and scratching and loss of stones at worst could be the result. Leave room between the pieces and, if they are especially treasured, a soft pouch or cloth around them might be considered.
2. Temperature changes. Any increases or decreases in temperature can affect the glue and cause stones to fall out.
3. Moisture Jewelry's biggest enemy. Moisture can be the breeding ground for Verdigris damage or rust damage, and pitting of metals. Also...all rhinestone jewelry is at risk of losing the foil backing of the rhinestones and loss of their luster if moisture comes in contact with them. For this reason, it is especially important to be careful wearing jewelry in moist places, i.e. the beach, saunas, pools, even in very rainy weather. Chlorine is particularly damaging to stones and metals. Also important is to make sure that the jewelry is completely dry after any cleaning is done before putting them away.
4. Household jobs. It is important to remove jewelry when doing household cleaning and other jobs, and particularly when doing any heavier cleaning or yard work or gardening.
5. Containers. A container is a container is a container. Right? Unfortunately, no. Not all containers are equal when it comes to storing jewelry. Oak cabinets give off fumes that can damage jewelry, so an oak jewelry box may not be the best bet. Many jewelry pieces come in small boxes, designed to store the piece. Even these can cause damage, in time, because they probably contain sulphur, which can damage the metal in gold and silver jewelry. As stated above, soft pouches or cloths around special pieces are a good choice. Other good choices are metal or plastic containers and zip lock bags. (Zip locks are especially good for rhinestone jewelry...if a stone gets dislodged...it stays in the bag!) If you have a large collection of display vintage jewelry, a curio cabinet is fine for storage.
6. General storing tips. Keep items separate from each other, and be sure to store beaded jewelry flat, especially if it is strung on silk, because silk stretches over time. Keep jewelry away from sunlight, heat vents, and hot car interiors.
Cleaning

Okay...you know how to store your jewelry...but no matter how well you do this, some dust will eventually get into the storage area and into the jewelry. How do you do this safely? The following will give you some cleaning advice:
1. There are many products available to clean vintage jewelry. Make sure that the one you choose does not contain alcohol, acids or ammonia. If you decide to use a product designed for cleaning jewelry, please read the label and make sure that the product matches the piece. i.e...don't use sterling silver cleaner to clean rhinestone jewelry, for instance.
2. Windex, sprayed onto a soft cloth is a good choice if you do not go the jewelry cleaner route. BE SURE, in either case, not to spray the cleaner directly onto the jewelry, but rather onto a soft cloth first, in a very small amount...just enough to do the job. Soapy water is not suggested because it can leave a residue on the jewelry and can make stones look dull.
3. Before cleaning inspect the jewelry for dust and other grit. Use a magnifying glass or loupe. It will help to see if there are any loose stones or settings, which can be tightened before attempting to clean. In all cases, the softest toothbrush (or make up brush) you can find is a good choice to lightly dust first before attempting to clean the item. (Be VERY careful when cleaning aurora borealis stones, since they will scratch very easily.) For specific tips on cleaning rhinestone jewelry, see this page.
4. Once you have lightly dusted the jewelry, spray a little Windex, or jewelry cleaner on a very soft cloth. Make sure that it is not too wet. It should be just damp enough to get the job done. If there is dirt in small places, a little cleaner on a Q tip will be useful.
5. In all cases, be sure that the jewelry is completely dry before putting it away. Remember that moisture is jewelry's biggest enemy. Why bother cleaning it, if you are going to put it away wet, just to find out that you've damaged it yourself through carelessness. I suggest drying for at least 15 minutes UPSIDE DOWN so that any moisture will flow away from the jewelry, not into the settings.
6. Finally, a soft polish with a special polishing cloth, like a Sunshine Polishing cloth. (can be purchased at many places online, and some jewelry shops.) They are inexpensive cloths and do a wonderful job of polishing a jewelry piece to make it look almost new.
7. How often to clean? There is no general rule of thumb. If it is a piece that you wear often, you could clean it every week or two. If it is a special piece that is used only occasionally, you might just clean it right before wearing it, or when putting it away again for storage. With a little care in storage and cleaning, your precious vintage and antique jewelry will give you years of enjoyment, and will be able to be passed down to your descendents.


Article courtesy of http://vintagejewelrylane.com

dont forget to pop along to www.houseofistria.com over the weekend!

Lots of love

House of Istria

xx