The Workshop
10 YEARS of Creativity !
The story of Princesse d'un Jour begins with a happy event... a wedding, my wedding, to be exact ! Desperately seeking for a necklace to wear on my wedding day and finding nothing absolutely perfect, I decided to make my own. I did of course have a precise idea of what I wanted and set out to work immediately. In the end, the necklace looked perfect and from then on the idea of creating my own brand dedicated to romantic and delicate bridal jewellery and hair accessories, stemmed.
The Designer
That's me ! Not easy to talk about myself... but, if you're reading this, then, you're probably wanting to know a bit about me. So here goes. As a chlid I was passionate about sewing, always making handbags, clothes, hair accessories and many other crafty kind of things. I knew I would eventually get to creating my own brand later on but first I had to get a bit of experience working for others. I therefore worked in Paris in the fashion industry for a couple of years working for brands such as Agnès b, Le Printemps and Cyrillus. I then went on to launch Princesse d'un Jour. My design style... romantic with lots of flowers, sometimes quite classic, not too heavy, rather delicate. I really love what I do and hope to share a bit of who I am, with you.
The Workshop
My workshop is located in the center of France close to the thermal town called Vichy. When I launched the brand, I lived in Paris, which explains the Princesse d'un Jour with the Paris at the end. Now I am in the countryside living close to nature, which inspires me the most. All the Princesse d'un Jour branded jewellery is handmade here. I also have on my website some products which are not made by me, and they are marked with a special stamp which says "Partner brands". I have chosen to sell a very small selection of products from other brands which complement my designs and which I wouldn't have time to make myself.
Design and Workmanship
Each design is the reflection of my inspiration at that moment. My inspiration mainly comes from the nature that surrounds me, especially flowers which I find beautiful and perfect. I do not design hundreds of pieces which all look alike. The designs you will discover on my website are the result of 10 years of work or should I say, 10 years of passion. Since the beginning, I make all the pieces myself, in that way, I am sure of the quality of my products. This explains that the jewellery and hair accessories sold on Princesse d'un Jour are not "in stock" as when you decide to place your order, I set to work to make it for you. This is why the delivery delay varies from 1 to 2 weeks depending on the season.
The Materials
Faceted glass seed beads
The quality of the material used in a piece of jewellery is very important. I am always searching for the best quality beads and crystals to make my designs. At Princesse d'un Jour, the speciality is the faceted glass seed bead. I discovered this tiny bead for the first time in Paris, in a specialized bead shop and we fell in love immediately ! It is a glass bead which is handmade since generations in a small mountainous village in the Bohemian Czech Republic. This bead can be made in a huge variety of colours, finishes and sizes. These beads bring to each design a very delicate finish. They have 3 facets which give them their unique shine. These quality handcrafted beads are used by the world famous Haute Couture brands to embroider the most beautiful dresses.
Imitation pearls
When designing for brides, pearls are very important. They match wedding dresses perfectly and add a touch of purity to the bride. At this time, I do not use freshwater pearls as often in my designs, I need many different sizes of the same coloured pearl. This brings me to use imitation wax pearls which are made of glass and covered with a shiny wax. I have a lot of pleasure using Swarovski imitation pearls which come in fabulous colours and are of the best quality.
Swarovski and Preciosa crystals
I work both with Swarovski and Preciosa for the crystal stones which I use. Swarovski beads and stones are of the highest quality and are available in a huge variety of colours and shapes. We are proud to have part of our collection certified by Swarovski for all the pieces which are many exclusively using Swarovski elements.
Metal parts
The metal parts we use for the clasps and earrings are of the finest quality. We use 3 different types of finishes: sterling silver, rhodiumplated sterling silver and silver plated brass. Rhodium is a fine metal which is similar to platinum, dark grey. It is tarnish free and non allergenic and of course nickel free. All of our metal parts are made in Italy.