Value.

So while sitting down I glanced at the back of my long length heart necklace. It was gifted to me from from my mum about ten months ago and since then I've worn it pretty much every day! it's definitely had its ware!! I tend to love jewellery that is versatile & pretty and having dabbled in jewellery making where I used a mixture of semi precious stones and sterling silver I know the industry mark up & have trouble spending money on items unless I truly really love them. I find accessorise great! I love the eclectic & ever changing contemporary ranges that they offer. Their shops are amazing and I can get lost easily looking at trinkets. Put it this way (for anyone not knowing) Imagine walking into Aladdin's cave! they have cute stylish little earrings, bracelets, bags, rings, scarfs etc. all bright rich colours and trendy metals. For me one of the best bits I think is that when you "buy" they wrap your item in a soft tissue paper with a fancy little sticker holding it all together.. no cello tape in sight. And you know what, I walk away looking forward to getting home to unwrapping my purchase.

Now i feel pretty much bare when I'm not wearing this "heart chain" it's slowly worked its way into one of my wardrobe staples, it's actually begun to become a part of me. How often do you slow down enough to look at something, really look at it. Well I'm sat looking at this necklace hanging around my neck, and it's suddenly aged.. its missing some shiny clear mini crystals on the front of it and when turned over as I look on the back I can see that the silver has started to wear away & where it once was is now a large patch of shiny orange copper colour metal staring right back at me. You can smell the sharp pungent smell from the exposed metal. Have you ever put a coin in your mouth (yes I've done this as a kid) one word "nasty!" So imagine that "metal smell/taste" that's there. My necklace is wayy more hygienic than a random coin tho.. i routinely wash it & most recently with coconut shower gel. I like to keep it fresh!

So as I'm looking at this necklace i have a random thought.. how all of our "new shiny things fade away with time" this necklace was, when bought "shiny & new" now its still shiny but shining with a very different colour.

So moral of an otherwise strange necklace story! I bet your dying to know hey?.. Well, for so many of us, and I'm high up in this list! We are all chasing that "something shiny" But nothing ever lasts forever. So I ask you.. what can actually get better with age? A nice bottle of red wine?. A marriage?.. Or should the message be that all in all.. shiny things fade.

But does that really make them any less shiny? I suppose it depends on the value of something. Or the beauty in the eyes of the beholder more so. And by value I don't mean the price I mean the deeper sense of the word. Something that is valued, that is cherished.

Something that is just "bought" can be thrown aside and doesn't really warrant the same charm as something valued.

So what am I saying? I know that I really want my photography work to be "valued" and to be "cherished" I want my clients to have something special, to give them a bit more.. Something that they look forward to opening & viewing. Something that leaves a lasting impression of love and quality.. Something that even with time, they will cherish the same. Something Ageless maybe.

One of the most important things to know is what "you want" for then you have your aim. Here's to every persons individual aim in 2015. Let it be full of value.

YJ X