From Tanzania to Trinidad - Hand Crafted Jewellery from URU

They say 'less is more' and for me, in everyday life, this is true. Simple works. But simple does not have to be boring. Your 'less is more' can still be a  bold, personal statement.

That's why I absolutely love the URU concept and URU has come to Trinidad and Tobago. On a visit to Tanzania, Al Murray discovered these one-of-a-kind accessories and was immediately sold on the URU brand.

They are beautiful and I felt that there was a shortage of quality, non-garish jewellery in this country. I’ve always liked seeing women with simple yet classy pieces and this fits the bill. I’ve always lived by the mantra of less is more.

The pieces are absolutely gorgeous. but yet so effortless. For someone like me who sticks to simple pieces on a regular day running around town, hitting up Massy Stores or meeting the girls for drinks, URU is perfect.

This was made for me in mind - clearly!!

They aren't just for women though, as URU's simple elegance works on men as well. I for one, love simplicity when it comes to jewellry on a man. This is effortless, clean and yet, still trendy. Love.

So simple but yet so sexy

URU comes from an ancient Swahili word which can be best summed up as "an essence" - the mythological status of a diamond; the mystical attribute which fuels the age-old belief that these stones bring the wearer strength, prosperity and respect.

And when one thinks of diamonds, one immediately thinks such pieces would be way out of one's reach. But URU started actually as a hobby for a fisherman in Tanzania who made hand bands from fishing line and sold them on the highway. Fast forward to today and these handmade bands have been refined and the precious metal and stones added to create fashion accessories that are both simple and high quality.

There are pieces fitted with real diamonds. The beauty in the pieces comes from the uncut nature of the gems that the bands are fitted with. These gems are sourced in Tanzania and are bought from small scale miners there. It is important to note that all the gems are conflict free, and the bracelets are handmade by skilled artisans and tradesmen. The gems range from tanzanite, tsavorite, red spinel, emerald, and as mentioned earlier diamond. All the gems are bought and fitted into the pieces in their ‘rough’ state, which makes them more affordable than pieces featuring cut stones. The distinctive bracelet combines the URU stones in their moulded metal mounts with a handmade bangle, created using a wrapping and knotting method employed for centuries on the dhows of east Africa. The fisherman’s technique was refined to produce the bright, contemporary designs you see today including the elegant sliding clasp.

Every URU bracelet has 40-60 metres of thread, which is knotted by hand. It takes up to 5 hours for just one piece and no two bracelets are the same.

The URU bracelets are all made by hand - woven carefully by skilled artisans in Tanzania

They come in a variety of colours allowing you to match your bracelet to your mood or your outfit. Also because they are unisex,  if you have a significant other you can swap bands when your mood or outfit changes.I like that! There are also leather pieces, like this one.

For the girls (or guys) who love pink - Ostrich  leather/tanzanite

In fact you can do just about anything with your URU bracelets. You can wear them on a piece by piece basis, or in multi-coloured stacks. URU is about you really - your personal style.

URU under the bright Caribbean sun! Love.

Prices for the bracelets depend on the style of the bracelet as well as the type/size of the gem.

URU TT is currently based in Mount Hope, Trinidad but for enquiries or showings you can reach them via any of the following:

Mobile: 1-868-791-0525
Email:aleminc29@gmail.com 
Instagram: URUTrinidad 
Facebook: URUTT

Read more »

No Neck-idness Allowed!!

Over the past couple weeks, a few people have commented on various necklaces I have worn while out. Since I have not done a Fashion post in a while, I thought I would share these necklaces with you - just because I can. I love necklaces. Love. I think I have a pretty awesome neck. lol. So I like to dress it up ever so often. So here we go...

So first is this multi-hued necklace.

Multi-hued bead necklace

The photo probably does not do it justice, but this one is quite a conversation starter. Hmmm...you actually get a better look at it from this obviously cropped photo of me wearing it at a sporting event.

It really is pretty

Yeah. That's much better. Quite a few people like...no...love this necklace. Maybe because I see it all the time but I don't quite understand it. I mean I love it but I still smile at the reaction it gets. I typically pair this with black, blue or purple, with simple earrings and eyeshadow in various shades of blue. My mother actually bought me this necklace - one of the rare times her tastes and mine have been in happy alignment.

This one I bought when I got back from London...

Earth toned braided necklace

... and it is really gorgeous and goes well with my earth toned outfits. It's pretty great - I really love it - and it always gets compliments. I tend to wear it with brighter hues or earthy hues.

I don't like wearing yellow gold by itself cause I just love silver and platinum too much, so when I feel an outfit calls for gold accessories, I go for a two-toned accessory approach instead and this necklace is gorgeous and just perfect for that.

Two-toned flat necklace - great if you want a bit of pop!

It's great if the blouse or dress is a low scoop neck or strapless.

I bought this one for an edgier look so I tend to wear it more at night. It's silver and black leather - heavy-ish, but totally awesome.

Silver and black necklace - evening look

I am really lazy with earrings for everyday life. For evening - formal evening events, I will do a conversation piece type earring and go bare on the neck. For going to the movies or the bar, I buy larger earrings on occasion but on a regular day, I am happiest with my diamond studs and not much else. And rule of thumb really is - if you are doing a chunky necklace, keep the earrings really simple. There is nothing worse than seeing overdone accessories, with overdone makeup as well. Ugh.

Read more »

Just a Little Bit of Bling Porn

I heart bling!

Bling. I love bling. I also love shoes and handbags and really great clothes, but I love jewellery. It’s funny that when people think of bling, they think of some tricked out, overly frosted, overdone person. That being said, I really loathe that look – rings on every finger, thick, heavy chains, with obscenely large pendants. It’s a trend especially among black men and it really boils my corn. Note to guys: you look like a drug dealer. Don’t do it.

But back to me. I prefer classic, less intrusive, yet beautiful pieces. You can make a statement without being in-your-face and gaudy.

I also rarely only wear non-yellow pieces. Somehow I never liked the way yellow gold looked against my skin, and always preferred items in silver, white gold or platinum. I would do a 2-toned piece though,  which allows me to keep my other accessory options pretty open.

My favourite purchase was undoubtedly my bling ring, which I bought on a whim one Saturday morning while walking through the mall. It was a rough week at work. I was a bit tired, a bit underwhelmed and there it was. Waiting. For. Me. It was worth every penny. I had to get it sized but other than that, it was made for my finger.

I also love blue, and is it any wonder that my birthstone is blue? So I have been looking forward to my graduation present and in times of blueness (the irony – the colour that makes me happiest is also used to describe sadness), I troll sites looking for bling. I found these gems this morning at Effy – awesome store, guys. I also found the soon-to-be-mine watch, cause I could use a new one, from Macy's. 

The power of the bling! I feel better already!

Read more »