I've been so excited in the run up to this release, you can't tell can't you?
Or did you guess because I don't usually use an extended Squee in blog posts, let alone a title?
Lately the full collection releases have become increasingly less interesting to me, however this one proved very different; and coming so soon after the wonderful Summer Stones Collection; a tad worrying for my Boiler Fund!
I'd been hoovering up every snippet of information about the new release prior to yesterday (Release Day was the 6th September) and my usual go to blogs have not disappointed, particularly Leann (Charms Addict) and Victoria (Endangered Trolls). In fact late Thursday night I interrupted a very good film as soon as Victoria published live shots of the collection; I love different time zones!
On release day I
eventually went to visit my LD.
I had originally arranged to take a couple of hours off work in the morning, slight problem, the beads were being shipped overnight and arriving in the morning... given that I do have a day job, I couldn't justify taking the time off on the off chance the delivery was on time - argh!! So whilst Pauline & co went for the morning "session", I arranged to meet them in the afternoon instead, but as the texts and photos started to come through early on; I started to question my decision - would there be anything left? Pauline is VERY KEEN on the new collection!
The day whizzed by, and I whizzed with it as fast as I professionally could, picking up my new glasses on the way and multi-tasking like only a bead obsessed Trollie can do. Argh, next problem, TRAFFIC, oh yeah there's a major festival taking place this weekend, and it's Friday afternoon, you couldn't make this up! Finally I arrived
and I think I locked the car before heading up through the Car Park to the shop... Hugs all round and then a cuppa, my first one since leaving the house that morning, boy did I need it!
Right where are the beads? Ooh there they are!!
Special thanks must go to
Beaverbrooks, I really can't praise the staff enough in our local branch - we are always looked after to such an amazing standard, they're very patient with us (as we like to take our time over our shopping), the lovely Manager, Lizzie, actually ended yesterday empty handed as I walked out with a bead she had ordered for herself, as only 1 had arrived instead of 2, it just sets the bar so high for other shops.
Although in fairness nearly every Trollbeads retailer I've dealt with has been absolutely lovely, responding patiently to "Can I have another photo please?", "Can you hang on to that bead for me?", "Oops I've forgotten I'd bagged that, can I include it in the Trunk Show?" not to mention the lovely Sales, Trunk Shows and Gifts With Purchase.
I'm rambling again, back to the Fall Collection...
2 glass kits, 4 special glass beads, 1 stone, lots of silvers, 1 new lock and 2 new leather bracelets... where to begin?
The New Lock
First things first, I definitely wanted the Water Lock, woo-hoo it's not floral! As explained elsewhere it's very small and perfect for us folks with wee wrists! Beautifully detailed and quite gnarly, someone said it reminded them of tree bark, I can see elements of natural wood as well as water in this one, it's just lovely!
For those who are disappointed it wasn't another large lock, I really think there would be mileage in Trollbeads producing both small and large versions of popular locks to suit both wrist sizes and preferences for smaller/larger locks... if they did a large version of this I would definitely buy both!
The New Leather Bracelets
I was very pleased to hear about two new 2-tone colours entering the range; as you all know
I love my leather bracelets. However I won't be buying these anytime soon, unless I have a specific idea for the new colours, as they are somewhat "safe", Black/Grey and Light/Dark Brown. However for those collectors who've yet to indulge in a leather - it's really great to see new colours come out - more choice to start with!
What I really would love to see is some really rich colours, deep purples, hot pinks, dark green for example, now that would make me add to my already rather extensive leather bracelet collection (well okay, extensive is perhaps an exaggeration, I only have 5; but give me hot new colours and I'd have a lot more) .
Skeleton Spirit
Silver wise, what really stood out for me from the start was the Skeleton bead.
I hoped it was as good in real life as the stock photo and campaign images. I love my Bead of Fortune because of the skull; and because it's a really clever 2 part bead; and I'd adore the skeleton necklace (should a wealthy benefactor wish to gift me one).
The new Skeleton Spirit didn't disappoint and this one was most certainly coming home with me - thanks actually to an incredibly lovely Manager who opted to wait for hers a bit longer so I could have the one that arrived yesterday, thank you Lizzie!
Thanks also to Pauline who also wanted one!
Purple Heaven Glass Kit
The first glass kit, Purple Heaven, is a more typical Trollbeads release, I was super keen to see Aurora Stripe, along with I think every other trollbead collector on the planet. I love my
Aurora Bead and would happily have more of these but I already have
3 bangles so it's looking a bit unlikely...
Aurora Flower is floral (duh) so I wasn't sure I'd like it. Guess what, I left Stripe in the shop (it's lovely but I can wait) and brought Flower home with me! It's a lovely example and I really don't do flowers unless I *love* a specific example of a flower bead.
The other 2 flowers (Ivory Violets and Amber Violets) were unsurprisingly not my cup of tea at all, however Pauline loved them! There are some beads we just don't need to do that "Who's taking this one home today then and who's ordering it in?". I should probably practice being more gracious, as I've definitely had more than my fair share of bring them home on the day beads!!
The final two beads in the kit were nice, Purple Rippling Bubbles (on the left) and Moonlight Bubbles (on the right), but I want different examples of them than those I saw on the day; there's quite a lot of variation in these.
You can see that they compliment the Aurora Stripe quite nicely in the photos above and I can really see Purple Rippling Bubbles working well with
some of the Small and Beautiful Beads.
So much like my Amethysts and Red Mud Jaspers from the
Summer Stones Kit, I'll be looking at more of these 2 designs, but I really don't mind waiting for the right ones to come along. At least with them being production beads, unlike the Special Edition Summer Stones, I won't have to search for these in a hurry and I can take my time.
Native Elements Glass Kit
On to the Native Elements, what a kit!! Having only scant hours before said I like the design of the Pod Beads but I don't think they're for me... I came home with 2!!!
Red and Orange Pod, and, er, I think I need multiples of these two... one of my friends has already ordered 2 sets for herself... popular was an understatement. Note again that
I came home with them *makes mental note to buy an extra round in next time we have a boozy lunch* There wasn't a Green Pod Bead to see so the jury is still out on that one as I can't tell from the stock photos what colour the "bumps / petals / leaves / lips / things" are.
The other 3 beads from this kit, after seeing the live shots I also thought were lovely but not for me and first impressions yesterday didn't change my mind... until I looked at them more closely that is.
Aqua Edge Pumpkin (top 2 photos) has an amazing effect, it looks like one of those juicers encased in glass, stunning! Aqua Edge Triangle is cool just because it's a triangle!
Again we didn't have the 6th bead (Aqua Edge Petals) to see so I'm not sure about that one either - I am so tempted to buy a full kit as I think I may want at least 5 out of the 6 on top of the 2 Pods I brought home yesterday... eek, my poor old boilers!!
Both glass kits are nice in their own way, but the Native Elements Kit is fresh and exciting for Trollbeads. If I were to buy a Native Elements Kit this would only be my 3rd full glass kit. Summer Stones and Rocky Beach Kit are the other 2 exceptions I've made in this direction since I've been collecting.
As amazing as the glass kits were, what I really wanted to see were the 2 engraved glass beads and the 2 faceted glass beads.
Faceted Glass Beads
The 2 faceted Glass beads are called Saffron Facet (left) and Masala Facet (right) and you can see why from the colours, they're so rich in the all the photos I've seen and look just as good in real life.
I was 100% certain I would love both faceted glass beads and I did, unlike Royal Orange which I wanted to love but didn't, I adore these and I've now been able to finally figure out why I didn't love Royal Orange; it was encased in clear glass, whilst these 2 are encased in coloured glass - mystery solved! They both came home with me *clocks up another lunchtime round of drinks* and I am most certainly getting multiples at a later date, and maybe not too much of a later date, a'hem, it will be a mild winter won't it?
Engraved Glass Beads
Equally as show stopping were the 2 engraved beads, Engraved Fuchsia (left) and Engraved Azure (right), you can see that the engraving is actually quite deep and on the surface of the glass, and I suspect may have a habit of getting dusty, perhaps a couple of beads you may need to pay more attention to keeping clean!
These two didn't disappoint either, very lovely and it was a difficult to make a choice as to what was coming home with me and what was staying in the shop yesterday, but the faceted beads just pipped these at the post. I will be ordering some of these in the not too distant future... maybe the next Trunk Show perhaps? Which by a happy co-incidence is happening all over the US this weekend!
Sapphire Bead
Whilst I love the variations I've seen so far in the Sapphire Bead this is currently way out of my price range as it's the same price as a full glass kit. I actually prefer the ones that look more rock than traditional Sapphire so it just wouldn't make sense for me to buy this.
What I'm really hoping is for Trollbeads to bring out a Sapphire Rock similar to Ruby Rock, now that would be just perfect!
Mr and Ms Ghost Fighter
I loved quirky Mr & Ms Ghost Fighter (aka Pac Man as we all know what they remind us of) but I couldn't see me personally wearing these on a bracelet, um, until I saw these in person yesterday.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE them, they are so much better in real life than the photos. They didn't come home with me but it was close, actually until my total spend was added up and my conscience kicked in and I put some beads back! Thankfully they didn't need to spend a lonely night in the shop as they went home with Pauline! We were doing a really good job of trying to buy all the stock in the shop on Day 1.
Flowers of the Month Beads
The charms I wanted to see most, just to see whether or not I liked them weren't there, the 12 Flowers of the Month, all set with a pearl. I did see June's Rose shortly before it disappeared into my friend's bag (she did pay for it I hasten to add, it didn't disappear in a shoplifting sense) but the 2 I really wanted to see were September's Bindweed, and May's Buckthorn. I shall have fun searching these out in person over the next few weeks and months.
Love and Family and other beads
Finally the silver charms to do with family and love I have no interest in at all.
I think Grandma and Grandpa are beautifully executed for those where this would have some meaning to the wearer and I suspect they will be very popular much like Maternity and Paternity are. It will be interesting to see if these appear in silver and gold in the future if they sell well in silver.
The buggy/pram (officially Baby Buggy) is a lovely design and beautifully detailed but hangs weirdly on a bracelet (in my humble opinion) as it goes through where the baby would be, and the Diamond in the Rough, well I personally really dislike this bead but I took some photos for you anyway so you can make up your own minds. Thankfully we don't all like the same beads so there is something for everyone.
The crown is small (officially Prince and Princess) but cute (again not for me but I can see the appeal) and I didn't like the I Luv U charm at all. When I saw stock photos I thought it was a slightly different version of other heart beads but it really does spell out I <3 U, only to me the sideways I looks like a H, or maybe that's just my new glasses bedding in - in fairness they were crushing my skull at this point so I'm not sure I was feeling that patient with harder to love charms.
So as my first impressions of the new Collection are laid out for your reading pleasure, here's the final tally of what I brought home with me yesterday... now to start writing out and whittling down my Trunk Show lists!!
In summary I LOVE THIS COLLECTION!!
P.S. - I owe the girls a few drinks for my "Bring it home on the Day" Beads
and I must remember to retweet Beaverbrooks to tell them how awesome their staff are!
Till receipts and June Flower photo courtesy of Pauline, all others by Mars (as usual)
