SAKURA
CHERRY BLOSSOM
COLLECTION
Some things should definitely
not be left in the past!
SOME THINGS ARE TOO GOOD TO BE LEFT IN THE PAST!
My first ever complete jewellery collection is perhaps one that has remained my most favourite of all time throughout the ages. It feels so strange saying that this collection was first created over a decade ago whilst I was finishing my final year at university, because it genuinely feels like just yesterday I was sitting in my bedroom at my parents home at my little workbench which lived at the bottom of my bed.
I would spend every hour I could at my workbench designing and creating beautiful things, teaching myself new and more advanced silversmithing skills, and I used to sit at the bench whilst my lovely mum sat at the foot of the bed watching and helping me with ideas. I have always been obsessed with cherry blossom and I even used it for inspiration to create my A level art painting during my 2 day exam. I loved cherry blossom so much that I even called my gorgeous furbaby pusskin, Blossom! My mum told me about the Japanese Sakura festival, and from the moment I learned about this gorgeous welcoming of Spring festival, I knew I just had to make my own ‘welcoming of Spring’ collection… And what better way than to bring these beautiful blossoms which are here and then gone to life so we could enjoy them all year round!
The collection was my first ever grown up collection, featuring necklaces, earrings, bracelet and tiny studs and rings and I loved it so much. My family members still wear their original pieces now and so it really does show that the masterpieces I create can be enjoyed for so many years, just like the day you first set eyes on them! I decided to bring this wonderful collection back because in my eyes, it really is too beautiful to be left in the past!
Suzi Perry wearing her bespoke necklace ‘blossom noir’, a statement version of our cherry blossom piece
Alyssa stands in her parents living room with her cherry blossom inspiration board which she put together before creating her first collection when she was 22.
IN KEEPING WITH TRADITIONS
Sometimes when I bring collections back from years past, I bring them back with a twist or significant changes to modernise them but I wanted to bring this beautiful collection back so it reflects the original collection as closely as possible. It has been so important to me to try to keep all of the magic that was originally incorporated into the collection so making sure I kept certain design features such as the delicately hammered and raised petals, the detailing around the stones and also the original style of gemstones which sit centre stage was important too.
Originally the pink centre stone was a Tourmaline, but to keep all of our new collection in line both design and price point wise I made the decision to change the pink Tourmaline for a gorgeous Rhodonite Garnet which is so gorgeously rich, I instantly fell in love with it when I was picking the perfect stones for this special collection. I did also design a welcome new addition of the Citrine, which was not in the original collection but I am so in love with yellow as a colour that I just had to bring this into our latest collection. It’s such a sunshiney, happy colour it only seemed right to introduce it!
I’ve made sure to keep the size very similar to our original collections too, apart from a bespoke piece which was made for my dear friend and tv broadcaster Suzi Perry which was my ‘blossom noir’- a statement version of our cherry blossom featuring a deep, dark black Onyx gemstone. When I first started Alyssa Smith Jewellery, Suzi actually wore this special piece time and time again whilst she presented the Gadget Show, and to have my special designs worn on tv at the very start of my career is a moment and a feeling I will always remember!
A COLLECTION TO CHERISH FOR YEARS TO COME!
I absolutely love the idea of being able to wear an ‘essence’ of something or a ‘moment’. I often describe my jewellery as ‘wearing the memories’ but I also believe we can wear moments. We can wear and enjoy moments in time that may not last long in reality, such as the beauty of a rose or the blooming of a cherry blossom but just because it doesn’t physically last long, it doesn’t mean we can’t remember the beauty and wear and enjoy it both now and for years to come.
Wearing moments is also important to me in the respect of marking a special moment for yourself with a gift to yourself, or to someone you love because the occasion in which the jewellery was gifted of self-gifted and the reason it marks stays with us too! I think this is one of the reasons I love creating jewellery the most, because it marks precious moments and the beautiful things I design and make really do mark occasions however big or small, and create memories just by gifting them!
My lovely mum still wears her original cherry blossom pieces to this day and it makes me so happy to see things being enjoyed not just for moments in time, but also for eternity! I hope you will cherish ‘Spring’, new beginnings and mark your own precious moments with this precious collection which really was too special to be left in the past!
Our incredible new Sakura collection honours Alyssa’s original hand-crafted beauties!
” I believe jewellery should tell a story. Where you have been, memories you have created along the way, where you are heading, as well as being a teaser to your personality too. “