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Jewelry Trends for Spring 2014

I'm not really one to chase after trends, but I do find them to be inspiring every now and then. I did some digging and wanted to share my trendy finds. I did a quick jaunt through the websites of the big fashion magazines and fashion bloggers to round up these trends. And then I headed to Etsy to see how I would interpret the trends and did some sketching to get your wheels turning.


Materials:

Oversized and layered chains
Pearls, sparkly crystals, big gemstones
Metal - in particular gunmetal tones and bright gold (or raw brass for us mere mortals)

Colors:
White - as in all white, monochromatic designs
Bold colors: cobalt blue, emerald green, bright yellow, orange
Metallics

Shapes:
Triangles and chevrons
Big, bold geomtric designs
Matchstick pendants and earrings
Daggers

Styles & Motifs:
Bold pendants
Statement necklaces 
Tassels - fiber, beads and chain
Layered necklaces, lots of layered chains with geometric pendants
Bold cuff bracelets and layered bracelets are still strong this season 
Enthic inspirations - bright, colorful, lots of layers
Animals, birds, butterflies, bees and feathers
Climbing vines and leaves
Words

 

And now to my sketchbook - how would I channel these trends into jewelry pieces? First up, I was loving big chains, geometric shapes and the white jewelry trend. I decided to use my Gingko Leaf Pendant for all three designs, showing how one bead could fit several trends.

This design would take three of my Gingko leaf pendants, layered with hammered brass pendulums. I would drill the brass pendulums and attach them together to create a bid design.  I'd used a big, oversized decorative chain to work in between the pendant pieces. 

I hardly ever make statement necklaces, there were so predominantly in the trends that I saw that I thought I should tackle one.  For this design I would wire wrap bails on five Gingko Leave Pendants. I would use a chain for the structure of the necklace and create drops from pearls, crystals and rhinestone headpins, mixing warm and color tones in white. White and shimmer were big, so why not go big with them! This would be so fresh for Spring.
And now going a little simpler I'd pair geometric shapes to create a trend pendant. I'd start with an open brass triangle, layered with the Gingko Leaf Pendant.  On top of the two pendants, I would attach a green triangle bead and an orchid disk beads. I would use a brass ring to add another geometric element and use a delicate brass chain. This style would look great with several other small pendants on chains, all worn together.
I was so loving the gilded trend that I pulled out my patinas and worked up some golden editions of my favorite designs. You can see how I would pair of few of them in the treasury above.  I plan to play all weekend with metallics and geometric shapes.
 
Want more inspiration? Check out these Jewelry 2014 pins!