charming

madame fortuna (aka allison nowlin ward) is one of my favorite jewelry designers, and thankfully for me she maintains a bountiful etsy shop. this is jewelry that, in her own words, "is made up of bits and baubles that have been hunted, unearthed, reinvented, repurposed, recycled, revived, salvaged, discovered, celebrated, forgotten and remembered. usually they have had a past life and so they have a history, which only makes them more interesting. each piece has a story to tell..."

after lovingly collecting hordes of antique and vintage findings, ward assembles them into beautiful collages meant to be worn. in addition to the many one of a kind pieces that populate her shop, she also has several "collections" worth checking out.

each of her "storyville" necklaces is named after a famous lady of the night from new orleans' legendary storyville district, and a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of one of these antique lockets goes to two new orleans charities.



her "relic" necklaces are simple, elegant glass bubbles that may contain anything from a peacock feather to a lock of hair-- you can buy one ready-made from her shop, or request your very own custom relic and hold something special of yours close to your heart.



and for the mother of all custom designed jewelry pieces, madame fortuna offers custom "magical charm" necklaces, designed after the client responds to several questions from the madame herself. the result is a totally unique piece tailor-made to reflect the wearer's personality and goals. these are truly stunning talismans, loaded heavy with antique charms and unexpected surprises like vintage combs, perfume bottles, and padlocks.

after ogling her shop for a good six months, i finally caved in and placed an order for a "deluxe" magical charm necklace. and after a wonderful in-depth exchange with the charming (ha!) designer, i've finally received the preview pics. apparently there are a couple more charms still to be added, but i'm absolutely thrilled with the outcome so far!

my custom magical charm necklace (i'll post more pics later, when it's finished):


(that's alabama soil in the glass globe! ward currently resides in my home state, so this particular charm was a lucky break...)



some of the beauties currently for sale in her shop:

bold soul sister


marvelous mandala


relic sacred feather necklace


bakelite buckle bracelet


and some of my favorites from the "sold" gallery:

flapper necklace


crescent moon lariat


any which way compass chandelier bracelet


raising the bar bracelet



to see more madame fortuna, visit her website here.