Fashion

This jewellery is so beautiful it gave me a pain in my stomach

Marian Keyes and her Sudden Wild Enthusiasms. This week, Dinosaur Designs jewellery

Some of the chunky rings made from resin from Australian brand Dinosaur Designs.

Marian Keyes
Sat Dec 9 2017 - 06:00

I suffer from the disease of ‘More’ – if one of a thing is good, then 16 is even better. If a recipe says to add one level teaspoon of cinnamon, I fire in four heaped ones. If a painkiller box advises me to take two, I take four. Or maybe six. Just to be on the safe side.

I do everything to excess. It's a terrible day when a new Sudden Wild Enthusiasm is upon me because there's every chance it will bankrupt me. However, a goo for high-end jewellery has never got a grip on me, thus saving me from a debtor's prison.

A model wears Dinosaur designs

However, medium-spendy jewellery is a totally different matter. A few weeks ago I was in Australia and came across this fabaliss brand called Dinosaur Designs, which makes contemporary jewellery so beautiful it gave me a pain in my stomach.

The designer, Louise Olsen, uses both precious metals and resin, and her creations are inspired by the natural world. (But not in a bad way.)

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Dinosaur Designs makes contemporary jewellery so beautiful it gave me a pain in my stomach.

The metal jewellery is quietly exquisite: strings of shells dipped in silver; delicate chains weighted with smooth golden pebbles; a brass pendant shaped like an orchid.

But, for me, the most exciting pieces are made from resin. Oh my God, they’re beautiful – chunky bangles, giant rings, amazing earrings and statement necklaces that look like coral.

And the colours! The Blu collection looks like the Barrier Reef. Through some jiggery-pokery, several blues are often in the one piece – they can look tie-dyed or marbled or like a single drop of navy ink was dropped into a jar of turquoise water. Likewise, the Forest range has a multiplicity of greens. And if colour isn’t your thing (although, why not?) there’s a black-and-white line.

The Blu Collection from Dinosaur Designs

Every handmade piece is eye-catching, eclectic and stylish, the sort of thing that will have people who previously mocked me for my ‘style’, looking at me with new-found respect.

As soon as I got on the flight home, I started worrying about the cost of importing more to Ireland. But, great news! They’ve a shop in London. Dinosaurdesigns.co.uk

Dinosaur Designs