Inspired Image: Sarah of Navare Jewelry

Today's Inspired Image (well images, since Sarah chose two!) comes from Sarah Jess, who makes completely lovely one of a kind jewelry made from found objects, vintage pieces, and repurposed thrift store finds. Read on to find out more about these images, and scroll down to see some of Sarah's work. And if you want to submit your own inspired image, email me at thingswemake at gmail dot com.

Hello, my name is Sarah Jess.

You can find me at Navare.etsy.com and facebook.com/NavareJewelry

This image comes from "Circe Invidiosa" was painted by John William Waterhouse; "Berengaria's Alarm" was painted by Charles Allston Collins.

It inspires me because "Circe Invidiosa" encourages my imagination because it deals with mythology.  "Berengaria's Alarm" inspires me because Berengaria originated in Navarre, an ancient kingdom between France and Spain.  I have done a lot of reading about her and other royals throughout history, and I find the customs and the lavish lifestyle fascinating, as well as the fine quality and interesting color palettes of clothing and jewelry from the past. Navare is also the name of my company, inspired by Berengaria's Navarre.

I particularly love the deep blues and greens in the sea and the dress, and own an oil painting reproduction of "Circe Invidiosa" that I gaze at every day. There is such drama and force in the painting, with Circe's emotions and the natural temperament of the sea!  I am intrigued by the mystery behind Berengaria and the kingdom of Navarre.  There isn't a lot of information available about Berengaria, but I adore her unusual name, and the fact that she was passionately in love with Richard the Lionhearted, and followed her dream to  marry him and no one else, depite the fact that her relationship with him brought about much disappointment, loneliness and pain.  With some of the same fervor, I hope to continue pursuing success with my business, inspired by these two heroic females.

It makes me feel passionate, with a deep longing to explore and investigate history, old fairy tales, other cultures, and mythology. Thus, my love of vintage jewelry, and the challenge of reusing and repurposing pieces that were created a long time ago, and giving them a new life in our modern world, contrasting their timeless beauty and quality with the disposable merchandise of these times.

The 3 words it conjures up are rich, suspenseful, expressive.




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I am totally in love with Sarah's jewelry and I think hearing about why she choose her images gives her work some nice context. Here are some of my favorite pieces of hers, but you can see more of the pieces available here.