A Little Bit Sentimental | Introducing This Material Culture

When I’m having a ‘fat day’ my jewellery never lets me down. It does not care that I’m not six foot tall or that my hair is a little frizzy sometimes, it just glints seductively from my dressing table. “Put me on” it says, “I’ll make you feel better!”

Jewellery means lots of different things to me too. It can be:

Just for fun – I love statement pieces of costume jewellery that transform the plainest outfit into something wonderful.
A special investment – my engagement ring was designed and made especially for me and I shall wear it with pride for the rest of my life.
Full of memories – there are certain pieces that always transport me back to when and where I got them, such as the handmade pendant given to me by N’s cousin the first Christmas that I spent with his family. I felt that I’d been truly welcomed into the fold with that gift.

So when This Material Culture contacted me a while back and asked if I would like to review a piece from their collection, I headed straight over to their website to see what they were all about!
They are a husband and wife team based in Liverpool and all of their items are handmade which I love. I do often buy jewellery from the high street and see nothing wrong in that, but I cherish the items I’ve picked up from craft fairs or jewellery markets over the years. It just always feels more special when you know that someone has put their love, time and effort into making something just for you.

As I browsed the collection I realised that This Material Culture are quirky and a little bit geeky, my perfect pairing! Their mission is to allow everybody to own a unique handmade piece of jewellery that reflects their personality. They have a ‘Mother Of Dragons’ bangle for goodness sake!! >>Game of Thrones Total Geek right here<<

(By the way I’m not really a bangle type of girl so I’m keeping my eye out for a Mother Of Dragons necklace…)

Of course there’s also the price. Most pendants are either £5 or £7, with top priced items at just £20. This puts them in just the right bracket for my friend’s birthday presents.

I loved the look of their Arrow and Camera charm pendants but as soon as I saw the Songbirds necklace* (£7) I knew it was ‘The One’. It’s dainty and delicate in bronze with a silver plated chain. The necklace itself is beautifully shaped with smooth lines and it feels nice and solid, whilst also being quite light and therefore easy to wear.

It works well with a buttoned up crisp white shirt or scoop necked top. My only wish is that the chain was just a few links shorter because I prefer necklaces to sit slightly under the collar bone level, whereas this falls a little lower.

This is definitely a sentimental piece for me. I had just reached a milestone with my blog when it arrived, which happened largely thanks to the awesome support of the friends that I have met through being part of the Twitter community. To me the two birds aren’t songbirds, they are two friends Twittering away to each other.

Here are a few of my other favourites from the collection:

clockwise l-r: Mother of Dragons Bangle (£10) | Camera Necklace (£5) | This Girl Can Sew Necklace (£7) | Rocketship Pendant (£5) | Arrow Pendant (£5) | Geisha Earrings (£5)

I must say a big thanks to This Material Culture for introducing me to their brand and for gifting me this lovely item to review. Please note though that all views expressed are honest and my own (see my disclaimer for more details on this!)