SO much more than just a clever girl

I have been just itching to introduce you - my faithful two and a half regular readers - to Clever Girl Bek for weeks now. But I didn't want to do so until the earrings I bought from her had arrived. And they got stuck for ages in the postal strike backlog. Which has been just the teensiest bit frustrating: after all, I am not noted for my patience. Not where jewellery is concerned.


As if it's not enough that Bek's store-front strap-line includes trigger words like, "bakelite", "lucite" and "vintage meets modern", she's also one of us. Both diabetic and has back problems which make my own look like the work of a rank amateur, quite frankly. (There probably aren't all that many people who, on realising that a particular artisan is disabled, rush to purchase his or her wares for reasons which have Nothing Whatsoever to do with pity, and Everything to do with solidarity, but I'm one of 'em.)



And what wares...



Ok, so what Bek produces isn't going to be to everyone's taste. It's about as far away from safe, mass-produced, anodyne, crowd-pleasing, tiny-bits-of-precious-stones-attached-to-wafer-thin-slices-of-gold tedium as it is possible to get. It's distinctive; it's dramatic; and it's very probably addictive.



Bek's sense of humour is very similar to my own: that fact comes across loud and clear not only in the pieces themselves, but also in what she writes about them. Honestly, whether you heart the jewellery or not, it's worth browsing her listings just for the giggles.


But, if you want a nostalgic reminder of what Christmas morning was like when you were still young enough to get really excited about presents, then I strongly recommend you place an order. Dear little matchbox-style boxes; filled with shredded paper; wrapped in brightly-coloured tissue paper; and finished off with "grass" and a hand-made flower. Just delightful.


Bek has her own blog, as well. Now, as anyone who knows me will confirm, it's rare for me to view small children as cute, but Bek's little boy in his gnome outfit makes even me come over a tad maternal. (Click on the picture and enlarge it for the full cuteness-blast.)

The Editor

PS I must, at this juncture, offer a formal apology to Kate. It is All My Fault that she is no longer an Etsy virgin. I have tempted her beyond her capacity to resist. (Although she does now - or will shortly - have one very spiffy pair of gloves.)

PPS I don't usually do this but, if you're not a regular Ouch reader, please take a look at my new, illustrated blog entry. And comment. Assuming you have any views on the subject in question. Ta.