When I was little I was quite scared of dragonflies, mainly cos of the sound they made and that they never seemed to be able to fly straight. To this day I have problems with animals who don't walk or fly straight, generally, like crabs and spiders. Their problem would of course be that they have far too many feet and legs to control properly. Songololos, or millipedes, however have a lot more feet and seem to control them fine. I used to call the dragonflies helicopters, cos I thought they sounded like them. If one would sit still I liked looking at them though, and think they were really pretty. Cos they are very pretty, and jewellery-like, so it's no wonder they're a popular model for all sorts of things.
This beautiful necklace was custom made for me by a good friend for a wedding about 4 years ago. She makes very nice jewellery and I told her I wanted a set with earrings and a necklace, and if possible I'd very much like a dragonfly. Of course I was more than happy with the result and I have used it quite a lot for plenty of other occassions.
Visiting family in Ystad last December I discovered one of the most amazing antique shops I've ever been to. It's called Hemlängtan Antikt (Homesickness Antiques) and you'll find it at Stora Norregatan 15, just around the corner from the big church by the town square. I actually got dizzy in that store, cos everything looked so lovely and pretty and I just wanted to move in! But the greatest thing was the counter with jewellery, mostly brooches, my latest obsession. They were sorted by colour, and I think there was one tray for each colour. Even though I had to go back the next day, I didn't have time to check it all out, so I'm very much looking forward to more visits. In the end I bought 5 brooches for myself, and this little adorable dragonfly was the last that caught my eye, before we had to run cos the train was about to leave in 5 minutes. Luckily Ystad is a tiny town, so we made it. I think I paid 85 kronor for it, a bargain.
For christmas I was happily surprised by these cuties, and now they must be the most travelled earrings I've got. Originally they come from Australia, at least that's where they were bought, then flew back to Sweden, and has now followed me all the way back to the southern hemisphere to South Africa. I just love them, and the green gemstones are perfect. My sister-in-law who gave them to me said I would have loved the market they came from, I'm sure I would. Maybe one day I'll get to chance to go there, I wouldn't mind that at all. I also want to see live wallabys, like they did.
This is a very pretty Japanese origami paper I bought in a set with other black and red designs. I've also got a gorgeous tea jar with the same pattern, that I bought at the lovely museum store at Östasiatiska museet in Stockholm (East Asian Museum). I see now that they've finally finished their rebuilding and opened a new bigger store, can't wait to visit when I get back. It's a fantastic little place, and I've bought so many nice things there. The museum in itself is also well worth a visit of course, and don't miss the library upstairs. Just looking at the book spines is exhilirating for someone like me.
I've got lots more dragonflies in Stockholm, but since I didn't take pictures of everything I have before I left, I guess I'll just have to post those things at a later time when I have. Found this picture somewhere else though, and I've got a red dragonfly like this at home. It was also a christmas gift, maybe 7-8 years ago, and it's moved around in my apartment ever since, flying around if you will. Maybe I should get some more, they look very nice in a colourful bunch like this. They're Chinese toys that were first produced 400 years ago, it won't get more vintage than that, even if the one I've got probably is produced more recently.
Finally a stunning Chinese silk brocade, available in a lot of colours. One day I'll decide on one, and order a dress in it, I've dreamt about it for so long now. The problem with trying to decide on a Chinese silk brocade though is that I love all the designs too much: dragonflies, butterflies, dragons, peones, cranes, roses, calligraphy. How to choose? Maybe I'll just get one dress with each design.
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