Jo Caps

This type of findings make my day... on my bed scrolling down my messages and then "bam!!!" someone sends me the link to Jo Caps work... And all I would like to do is pick up my phone, call Jo and let him know how great his work is!! Beautiful esthetics, craftsmanship, finishing and you can feel how rich each piece is in travels, stories, work. I wouldn't mind owning several of his creations... Discrete, nearly mysterious in his own presentation. I like it.. I like it a lot! And I will tell him so in an email asap. Good night you all.

jocaps.com

If you want to go fast, go alone...

If you want to go far, go together (African proverb)

And because I don't really have a network in the jewelry industry (yet) I have for the first time in my life visited a Forum on the web. The forum is called Bijoux a la Cheville http://bijouxalacheville.forumactif.org. Last night I "presented myself" on the forum and I am amased by the number of people who actually read what I posted and REACTED, with tips and numbers to call etc. It is a time consuming thing, scrolling through messages and reading interesting posts... where to start? I realise that I am too impatient and would prefer meeting these people or talking to them on the phone... maybe I will?

Inspiration

I have spend my first full week as unemployed, to-be student, and it wasn't as relaxing and inspiring as I hoped it to be... I have been running around like crazy, sorting my visa for Cameroon, taking my old car to the technical revision (and I failed), sorting administrative stuff, and taking care of Mila. So far little time has been spend on reflecting on my goldsmith adventure. Next up is gathering all info and preparing for my work bench. I am thinking of designing it myself and having it realised in Cameroon, then shipped to Brussels. Any suggestions are welcome!!

Why Jewelry?

Because it defines who we are, where we come from, and carries so many messages within: cultural, personal. Each piece should mean something to the person who carries it: it might be to affirm your tribe, your social level, or simply style or a special occasion or person. It is designed to survive several generations, to be able to be passed on from mother to daughter, father to son. The materials that jewelry is made of can be millions of years old, the precious metals or stones, pearls, nacre... but also wood, leather... As long as people can remember women and men have spend time and means to make themselves look pretty and the pretty always have been favoured within their clan; and wearing jewelry has played a major part in this... I would be honoured to design someone's special piece of jewelry, to mark a specific event in their lives. I personally have found strength in some of the pieces I own, in difficult times. Nearly every earring, ring, bracelet has a story to it. These stories will be embedded in my creations but it will be up to the owner of the piece to finish it...

30 years of passion

Those who have been asking me lately why I have decided to study for goldsmith... don't know me. Those who do know me know that I am obsessed with jewelry and that I have always been creating pieces. And now I have found some proof too! As I was scrolling through some old pictures, I found this one of the jewelry shop I would hang out at in Cameroon in 1994. I am going back there for the first time in like 16 years and hope to spend more time with in the back of a jewelers shop. Did you know nearly all jewelers in Cameroon are Senegalese? I will also try to have my bench custom made there and shipped to Brussels ;-)