Welcome to our blog, dear friends! We are thrilled to be sharing our MEL barcelona blog with you! Summer collapsed into fall and a cascade of new colors fell upon us: gold, warm orange, amber. The scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cider replaced the fragrance of the summer roses and as we watch the trees that line our streets set ablaze, the nostalgic beauty of the faded blossoms fills our hearts. The new colors, the new scents, the new cool wintery light, is our inspiration as we design our Fall-Winter 2020 collection, and with the magic of fall exploding all around us, we feel the warmth itself. Come with us as we discover the beauty of autumn! Join us as we hold close a little bit of summer and its brightness, even in the midst of winter!
In this post, you can read about:
Purple Haze, the new MEL bag that we are introducing today.
Emilie Bliguet Ethical Jewelry, and her handmade jewelry created in the heart of Barcelona.
Mary Jaeger, and her gorgeous scarves designed in New York.
Style Crone, a blog that will inspire you in ways you cannot imagine.
Albert Camus wrote that autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. Another fall, another turned page. And a chance to create some new beauty, inspired by the leaves as they spark into wild colors just before they die and come floating down to the ground, inspired by the mellow, golden sun on our skin, inspired by the last fading blossoms, inspired by the nostalgic feeling that comes with each autumn, all the more beautiful because we know it cannot last. Autumn has arrived; we feel poetry in the air, and our imagination takes flight to create bags that reflect this season of warmth and nostalgia. Explore with us our world filled with small bags that become big fashion statements.
Our Big Fashion Statement!
Each month on our blog we will highlight a MEL bag from our latest collection.
Introducing our Fall-Winter 2020 collection! Autumn has arrived, and so have our new bags, radiating the warmth of fall. We are thrilled to share with you today the newest bag from our latest collection! Follow us into our autumn garden and discover a world bursting with its last beauty, its last dazzling display, the year's last, most beautiful smile.
Today we are very pleased to introduce Purple Haze, handmade and designed exclusively by MEL barcelona!
Our bag defines the essence of fall and also solidifies our vision as designers. We wished to create a bag that was unique, bold, beautiful and elegant all at once; a small bag that made a big fashion statement, a little thing of art and beauty you can hold in your hand. So we did... and we called it Purple Haze. This bag, with its intricate design and whimsical patterns, ceases to be an accessory and instantly becomes the focal point of your look!
It features a delicate embroidery in light green and deep purple in a soft lilac canvas. The stunning embroidered patterns, in the shape of a big, dreamy, whimsical blossom, are different in each side of the bag, which makes it even more unique and bold.
Purple Haze, in its purple glory, embodies the beauty of autumn, reminding us of the glorious final blossoms of the year and the bright, intense colors that we won't see again until spring. It's like nature wishes to fill up this bag with color, to saturate it, so you can hold on to it when winter wipes away the deep vibrancy from our gardens. A cascade of purple beauty to brighten your fall look!
What's in my MEL today?
Each month we will highlight the faces and stories behind the products we are proud to carry in our bag.
Today our MEL bag is filled with precious, shinny treasures! The golden hues of the autumn sun filled our little bag to the brim and made it shimmer even more. Art and beauty are also inside our bags and if you lean in closer you will see the shimmer coming through.
So...what's in my MEL today? Look carefully and you will be dazzled by the exquisite jewelry created by Emilie Bliguet in the heart of Barcelona.
Emilie Bliguet, born and raised in Bretagne, France, moved to Barcelona years ago and soon found herself in the midst of an ethical dilemma. She loved the art of jewelry making but could not reconcile creating beautiful pieces out of gold, silver, and diamonds extracted in unethical ways.
"Emilie Bliguet became Emilie Bliguet Ethical Jewelry, and I changed the way I worked to embrace an ethical way to create jewelry", she tells us. "It was very important to me to work with responsibly sourced raw material, with mining communities that are free of exploitation, human rights violations, child labor abuses, and also health risks and environmental inequalities". So Emilie started working only with fairminded ethical gold, gems, and diamonds.
Emilie finds her inspiration in nature, "in a flower, or the sea, or the fields in France where I grew up". She tells us her pieces are "irregular and perfect at the same time, just like everything in nature. Eternal and ephemeral all at once, light but powerful, beautiful in their imperfection". Emilie's soul is in very single one of her pieces, highly personal, and handcrafted by her from beginning to end in her workshop in Barcelona. "I create jewelry I love, jewelry I want to wear, jewelry that means something special to me. And I love the idea that someone else, my customers, will create new memories around my pieces". Emilie views her rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings as little charms that will create magic every day. "My rings, for example, are designed to be worn every day, not just to a special party. I hope that you look at the ring you are wearing and it takes you to a special place, or to a special moment, or to a special person. The magic of my ring can bring a memory, a feeling of love, and it is a privilege for me to create that feeling".
Emilie's latest collection, Photosynthesis, explores the balance between imperfection and harmony that we see in nature, and aims to design pieces that capture the extreme lightness of a blossom, delicate in its strength. All her pieces are one-of-a-kind and handcrafted with certified fairminded gold and diamonds ethically sourced, "because fair gold is more precious", Emilie tell us, "and responsible diamonds more sparkling". Unique, eclectic, bold, and responsibly created...A MEL bag could not have a better friend.
Emilie Bliguet Ethical Jewelry
Instagram: @emiliebliguet
Website: emiliebliguetethicaljewellery.com
MEL and Our Friends Around the World!
Each month we will introduce you to the best design pieces of the fabulous world we live in.
MEL barcelona is proud to be a global brand that values the exquisite beauty created around the world every day. With this blog we wish to join forces with great designers all over the world creating bold wearable art that celebrates their unique vision and also the culture they live in. Art and beauty unite us and sharing them brings us together.
Each of our bags sends a strong message, a message that it's shared by our many friends around the world: daring is beauty, unique is beauty, art is beauty.
But a MEL bag needs a best friend so you can shine even brighter, a thing of beauty filled with color and texture, a unique piece unlike anything else in the world...a unique bag meets a unique scarf and it is a perfect match!
Please allow us to introduce you to the world of Mary Jaeger and the stunning scarves she creates in New York.
Fresh out of grad school, Mary designed corporately in the New York Garment Center for five years, and then she followed her dream and moved to Japan to study traditional Japanese dyeing techniques. After working in Asia, South-East Asia and Europe for over eight years, she came back to NYC ready to launch her collection. Mary's scarves are unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, an accessory that becomes a fashion statement and defines your look.
"All my scarves begin with hand-dyed and manipulated textile work done with natural fibers, conscious of sustainability and circular fashion", Mary tells us. She is enchanted by the photographic technologies of her ever-present iPhone, which gives her "the ability to easily record various stages of dye and construction processes. I enlarge intimate images of the textiles at various stages of production, play with collaging patterns and colors, then digitally print them on diaphanous lightweight silk, wool and cotton fabrics for scarves". These original textile designs have multi-dimensional and illusionary
qualities that could not be achieved with hand-dyeing or screen-printing because of the scale of the work, design details, and tonal color variations. And this is what gives her scarves the uniqueness of their look. Mary tells us that these days she is wearing her OVAL FOR COURAGE in honor of Honorable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "The silk chiffon scarf is large (84” x 42”) and can be worn as a traditional scarf or shawl as well as wrapped as a sarong. The edges are all hand-rolled, so it pays homage to hand-crafted sensibilities and thought-processes", Mary explains. Her pieces meld together ancient eastern techniques and textile history with
tomorrow’s vibe.
Mary tells us that she chose seven words of hope "to embroider or print or name each accessory, to communicate a deeper need for humanity". LOVE JOY PEACE COURAGE COMPASSION EMPATHY HAPPINESS. Each of her pieces honors one of these words, and her vision becomes a statement you can wear. Eclectic, bold, and stylish...a Mary Jaeger scarf will tell the world who you are without speaking a single word.
Mary Jaeger
Instagram: @maryjaeger_ny
Website: maryjaeger.com
A Blog in the Bag
Each month we will bring to you a special blog that we are sure you will enjoy. We love discovering new blogs so we hope our suggested little gems will bring a smile to your face.
A blog, a little gem just like a gorgeous pendant or a fabulous scarf, is a tiny thing of beauty that can be a huge source of inspiration, encouragement, or creativity. A blog, an open door into magical worlds and interesting minds, can make our lives a little richer, a little brighter, and maybe even a little more committed to the values or believes we stand for.
Today we are honored to bring to you a blog we have loved for years. Please allow us to introduce Style Crone to all of you, as she talks to us about style, hats, aging, grieving, evolving, and the power of fighting for what's important to us.
Judith Boyd, creator of Style Crone, started her blog in 2010 as a way to focus on something other than devastation. It was a lifeline and a platform which connected her to many wonderful people who were supportive, creative, and fun. "I started my blog during the time that my beloved husband Nelson was dying of cancer", she tells us. "I was inspired to start by Ari Seth Cohen of Advanced Style. Nelson was my first photographer. I loved to compose ensembles, as I do to this day. I would put together an outfit, usually including headwear and he would take my photo. I would publish the images on my blog and write about what was happening in our lives during Nelson’s journey through the last nine months of his life" After his death, Judith continued to blog about grief and then her reinvention. "It was a project which was created by the two of us during the most painful transition of my life. I plan to continue until I wear my last hat".
At the age of 77, Judith is passionate about showing her readers that there is not an expiration date on style and creativity. She believes that "remaining visible is a political act with a touch of defiance". "Confronting ageism has always been part of what I do. I have a love for millinery, so I include information about headwear and milliners. For me, dressing up is a meditation, a form of art, and self expression", she adds. In her blog, Style Crone shares her love of yoga, her passion for vintage clothes, thrift shops, consignment stores, yard sales, and enjoys the idea that the treasures she finds there had a previous life and walked a different path. "I believe that Style Crone is a reflection of who I am", she says. "I am involved in activism around climate change and racial justice, so that is part of what I transmit on my blog. Climate change is real, and buying second hand reduces the destructive impact that the fast fashion industry has on our planet". Judith is honest in her blog and often shares sadness, fear, and overwhelm. But all these feelings, she says, pass through and deepen our lives, allowing us to feel joy, inner peace and a deeper appreciation for all we have.
Judith tells us that it is important to her "to support artisans who create wearable art, which meets the criteria of sustainability. I love your unique and stunning handmade handbags and have enjoyed my polka dot MEL Bag immensely", she says. "I am definitely a MEL girl!", she adds, and we couldn't be happier!
Judith's strength, empathy, and love of life shine in each of her posts, and you can't help but being inspired by her powerful message: always be passionate, never stop evolving, embrace the passing of time. "When I started there wasn’t anyone blogging about style, death, grief, and reinvention", she tells us. "My blog is unique in terms of its roots. However, many bloggers are now addressing ageism, aging with style, sustainability, and other topics that I cover. Blogging evolves as I do, and contributes to my health and my purpose. What could be better?" As we all evolve, Style Crone offers us a bright and inspiring path for us, her readers, to follow.
Style Crone
Instagram: @stylecrone
Website: stylecrone.com
Our Style your MEL Guide will land in the inbox of all our subscribers in one week! Stay tuned for our monthly guide on how to style your look around your MEL bag! This month we style you for a perfect fall day, with stylish, unique clothes for the crisp, gorgeous autumn days. Subscribe to our blog and get our guide once a month!
With love,
Elena and Isabel