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NOVICA Floral Reverse Painted Mirror Best Gift Ideas

May 1, 2016 · Leave a Comment

REVIEW:

I am a huge fan of jewel tones. Rich, vibrant, saturated jewel tones. This is one of the reasons I love this small mirror from NOVICA.

What is the Novica Handcrafted Reverse Painted Mirror Purple Summer Garden?

Purple Summer Garden is an intricate and whimsical piece. It employs the reverse painted glass technique where the design is painted in reverse on the back of the glass and then displayed from the front. This technique makes the colors seem more vibrant, combining the visual qualities of painting and stained glass.

Why is Novica Handcrafted Reverse Painted Mirror Purple Summer Garden a good gift?

I find the versatility of this piece fascinating. I recently moved some art out of my office as were in the middle of construction and I didn’t want anything to get accidentally damaged.

As I looked around at the bare walls I started considering a decor reboot and wondered if Purple Summer Garden would fit in somewhere. I realized that it would work with any direction I chose to go, as the colors fit with both lighter and darker schemes.

While the purples and coppers are deep and saturated like autumn colors, they also take on the beautiful colors of a summer sunset. It wasnt until I realized that did I recognize how well named this piece is: it truly is reminiscent of a Summer Garden under the August sunlight as it ebbs towards twilight. Light blue dragonflies dance around the blossoms surrounding a clear and true diamond shaped mirror.

The back has a sturdy hook to securely hang the item and comes with the artists story and his thoughts on the piece in a lovely NOVICA booklet.

This is indeed a small piece: My biggest problem with this mirror is that people are so captivated by it that they inevitably touch the glass so you may have to clean some fingerprints off of it every once in awhile! But that is a small price to pay for a piece that garners so much attention.

About the Artist

The artist, Gelacio Giron, is located in Peru and trained as an accountant, and started pursuing his craft during school. He enjoys sharing Peruvian artistry with the world through NOVICA, and enjoys the thought that you and I are decorating our homes with his pieces. He works with his brothers in his workshop to bring us his stunning works.

NOVICA Handcrafted Floral Reverse Painted Glass and Wood Framed Wall Mirror, ‘Purple Summer Garden’

NOVICA Mohena Wood with Bronze Leaf Round Starburst Wall Mirror ‘Cuzco Sun’

April 24, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a showstopper of a decorating piece? NOVICA’s Cuzco Sun Bronze Leaf Round Starburst Wall Mirror is your shining answer.

NOVICA Bronze Leaf Starburst Wall Mirror ‘Cuzco Sun’

Its worth a few words as to the sizing of this mirror. This is considered the Medium Size of the design at 18 However, the depth and striking appearance of the mirror draws the eye far more than a larger and less detailed mirror would. So if you want to place the mirror as a centerpiece among other items, the Medium is the right size. If you want a stand alone large piece for a wall, then you might consider the larger version. But truly do not underestimate the impact of this mirror. As with all decorative pieces, think about the impact more than the specific size.

This gorgeous 18 mirror comes from Peru and is made of Mohena Wood, a Peruvian hardwood, and is intricately covered in bronze leaf. One of the things I love about this mirror is that the bronze leaf is a definite bronze color with indirect natural daylight, but takes on the most beautiful gold color at sunset, just as the sun does itself. The artist has truly made a study of light!

I chose to put it on the mantle above the Living Room fireplace as we have other bronze items around the fire and because the vibrant color of the piece is so striking against the dark wood. The mirror would look good against any background, but I think the depth of the detail especially lends itself towards a darker, richer wood background. It was a bit of a toss up for me between the Living Room and the smaller Dining Room fireplace mantle, but the grain of the wood in the Living Room and the grain of the Mohena Wood looked sharper to me.

The mirror itself is 7.8 but appears larger. It is an exceptionally true mirror and shines vividly. If you are looking for a central vanity mirror you might want to look for a piece that has a larger mirror, however the reflection is excellent and stands by itself as a good mirror apart from the incredible craftsmanship of the frame.

The ARTIST

The piece was made by Jose Marcos Luzalde Rosales, who taught himself his craft starting at 17 in his neighbor’s workshop. At the ripe age of 18 he decided to go out on his own and became known (with good reason, as you can see) for his incredible work. He has delighted in preserving Peruvian Woodwork Artistry for 35 years now, and thanks to NOVICA, we can delight in his work as well!

I absolutely adore this mirror. It adds light and depth to the room and has drawn gasps from anyone who has seen it.

Find this incredible piece at Amazon.com.

NOVICA Bronze Leaf Starburst Wall Mirror ‘Cuzco Sun’

I received this item at a discount for review purposes. If you have any questions about the mirror, leave me a comment below!

Tea Tuesday: Collect Teables Shakespearmint and AgathaChristea

April 5, 2016 · Leave a Comment

It is Tea Tuesday here at StyleChicks. I am a big tea fan, and always love to try new flavors and brands. I also find that tea is pretty popular and can often make a nice gift for either gender. I especially like when a tea gift can be combined with something else the gift recipient might love, such as music, literature, or art. So I was excited to see the themed series Collect Teables The Tea Book.

Aprilâ€™s theme is perfect for a tea loving bibliophile and makes a nice housewarming gift or for other occasions that your pithy bookworm friends would enjoy as a tasty treat while reading their favorite books. This line of CollectTeables teas are styled and named after famous literary authors, playing on alliterations of their pen names or actual names to entitle their teas. Each bag comes with illustrations of the author and a nod towards thematic elements from their most famous works depicted on Artistically Drawn Foils. And, for the especially clever, hidden references to their works are also seen in the images. Can you find them in the photo below?

I tried the two currently featured authors: AgathaChrisTEA and William ShakeSpearmint (see what they did there?) The beloved crime novel writer Agatha Christie/ChrisTEA is Earl Grey, and Shakespeare/ShakeSPEARMINT is, of course, a mint tea.

Every month a new themed series of Collect Teables will be released. They will include musicians, philosophers, politicians, or animals.

Haven’t heard of Collect Teables or theteabook.com? That’s because they are new, very new in fact. As in starting April 3rd and for a limited run kind of new. They are a new startup that is making some traction with their Kickstarter.

Check out the website at http://www.theteabook.com/collectteables/ and see their Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theteabook/the-teabook-the-smart-way-to-store-share-and-serve

Nice-to-know features:

The TeaBook and Collect Teables are zero waste companies. All Collect Teables are shipped box-less to reduce waste in shipping and packaging. (quoted from the Tea Book website).
All Collect Teables teas are Certified Organic by OCTO, and Certified Kosher by KSA.

I tried out both and think the Agatha Chris TEA makes for a fun inclusion to serve at a book party or mystery dinner themed night, they can help make for an easy decorating theme and conversation piece, as seen in the photo below.

Find these lovely teas at http://www.collectteables.com.

CollectTeables Agatha ChrisTeas

Collect Teables Shakespearmint Tea