Hippy Trippy. Floral Pendant. 25/25.

Hippy Trippy. Sterling silver, leather cord.

A very simple one tonight. About an hour from concept to finished piece. Well, it was a single length of wire after all. I haven't even put a clasp on the cord, but have done a double slip knot arrangement so that it is possible to lengthen or shorten the dangle by sliding the cord back along itself. This is a large piece, spanning about 12cm across the flower at the widest points.

I started with 1.2mm round wire and after bending and soldering it, spent most of the hour in the studio adding texture by employing my chasing hammer on both sides of the piece, which also flattened and hardened it. I was going to use black leather, but opted for the red brown on a whim. This would look great on a dark, plain background like a black or navy skivvy or a simple shift.

I quite enjoy the simplicity of it. Sometimes less is more. I can't think where the idea came from. Maybe it was seeing a couple of episodes of The Young Ones on DVD while having dinner tonight. Nigel Planer as Neil the hippy always amused me back in the day. Still does. So perhaps it was a sub-conscious nod to hippiedom and flower power and the retro style of big pendants worn low on the body. It wasn't just me looking for a quick way out of the challenge today. Honest!