What an awesome week it has been learning about Meditrina wine!  Everywhere I turned, this brand provided me with inspiration for a jewelry design.  From the day I saw the cork, labels and overall approach, I knew that only a necklace would tell the story I wanted to tell.  Future designs with this cork could take different turns, but the collection needs to start with a necklace.

I wanted to stay true to the red and light blue colors of the brand and I really, really wanted to incorporate the paper piece that covered the cork and said “raise a glass”.

While I haven’t tried this before, my thought was to decoupage the paper to a sliced cork.  I thought that could become the centerpiece of the design.  Once I saw the brand colors of Mediterina, I knew immediately a bead that would be the perfect compliment.

I purchased these beautiful little beads nearly a year ago from Elizabeth Revels – a fellow EcoEtsy seller who was “spring cleaning”.  One person’s trash is truly another’s treasure!   The design of these little floral porcelain hand painted beads has some of the lines and whimsy that I feel when I see Meditrina’s brand design.

Beth had a few other beads in the stash I purchased that should work well with the delicate florals.  I know I’ll add some recycled glass beads to the mix as well….and voila….I’ll have a necklace inspired by Meditrina.

As I started to create the necklace, I struggled a bit with the length.  I finally decided to go with a short piece that would sit right above a crew neck top.  The beads ended up changing up a bit from my original thoughts.  The blue beads with the swirl had a shimmer of yellow that just didn’t work well for me.  Instead, I swapped in some chunky blue recycled glass beads.  I love how they work in the overall design.  So, are you ready for the unveil?!  Here it is:

I’m really excited about how it turned out!  I think this piece could be worn for a night out or to meet a friend for a casual lunch.  Depending on where you work, this piece could also be paired nicely with a classic black outfit to add a pop of interest and color to your everyday.  If you’ve fallen in love with this one of a kind design, you can find it for sale over in my Etsy shop.  That is, if someone hasn’t scooped it up already!

The collage above shows the design process, the inspiration, and the final design.  A necklace inspired by the color and whimsy of Meditrina wine.  What do you think?  Did I capture the essence with this piece?