Reflections on: Long Live Cowgirls

Hello! 👋

It’s been a while since my last blog post (of which there were only 2 anyway, so this is far from being a regular thing!) but with the launch of my new Long Live Cowgirls mini collection I wanted to check in and talk a bit about what this collection means and how it came about.

Long Live Cowgirls is a collection I’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m a huge country music fan and spend a lot of time and energy in that space - listening to my favourite music on the daily, going to gigs, getting my money’s worth from my (quite small) collection of cowboy boots! For me, this collection represents a space I feel very comfortable in. The thought behind the new styles came from the popularity of my Betty earrings really, named after my own nickname! Betty were the first earrings I felt really confident in; I made a few different styles from the same cutter right at the start and nothing felt right until I tried the foiled effect and loved how they came out. Luckily, you did too! To this day, it’s rare I do a market or craft fair where I don’t sell at least one pair of Betty earrings. I offer them in 4 different colours and they all have their fans - but the denim shade is definitely the most popular recently. Do you have a pair yourself?

When I thought about making more western-themed earrings, I first of all wanted a new boot design that gave me the space to play with more patterns, colours and textures. I found one, and then Ella, Miranda and Carrie quickly followed! I can’t decide which I love more, but I’m especially proud of Miranda and Ella - the cow print is something I wasn’t sure about at first, and now I probably wear them at least once a week. Don’t worry, Betty won’t be going anywhere. She just has more friends now!

The Studs

The styles I worked on for the longest were the new Long Live Cowgirls studs, which are available separately or as a stud pack of two pairs. For ages I’ve been trying to find the perfect size and shape for boot and hat earrings, and when I found these I just knew they would be great. I love the simplicity of the hats, and the small swirly pattern on the boots. Once I made them though, I thought they needed just a bit of something special. The taupe boots and hats are now finished with gold varnish detail, and the bubblegum are finished with silver varnish/glitter. Perfect for a party, gift or just a pop of country sparkle!

The Dangles

When it came to giving the new dangly earring styles names, I knew I needed to pick ones that gave me all the country vibes. A friend suggested Ella for the cow print and it fit straight away! I’d love to say there are amazing reasons behind all the names of my earrings, but that’d be a lie. I go off vibes and vibes alone. The name I went back and forth on the most in this collection was Carrie - they’re bright red boots with sparkly silver stars, so definitely not the usual Minimalish vibe! In the end, I decided they reminded me of some Ariat boots I love called Casanovas, bright red with metallic stars up each side. Now I probably could’ve called them Casanova and be done with it, but did I? Course not. It reminded me of the song Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood, hence Carrie was the perfect match! I hope you love Carrie and all her friends from this collection, please do tag me in your photos on social media, I’d love to see them out and about!

The last style I developed for Long Live Cowgirls is Sara (named after the great Sara Evans - A Little Bit Stronger, anyone?). I already have my Carly cowboy hat earrings, albeit they’re due an upgrade, but I wanted something a bit more fun. I also wanted to challenge myself; working with clay can be tricky, especially in the heat, but it can be tricky when you’re limited by your cutters. I thought about the shapes a hat might be formed from, used some of my own hats for reference, and created Sara. I want to improve my flower work, but a dusty rose flower felt like the perfect addition. I’d love to create more shades of Sara in the future, so stay tuned for updates. 

What’s Next

I’m so glad to finally get these earrings into your hands (well, ears)! From next month I’ll be turning my attention to Halloween and, dare I say it, Christmas. I love the last few months of the year, where people seem a little bit cheerier and wearing giant Christmas puddings on your ears is somewhat to be expected… Speaking of, you can still catch my Christmas in July sale for a few more days, so grab yourself a bargain now ready for the festive season!

I can’t wait to see my new earrings out in the wild. I hope you all love them as much as I do! Until next time…

Bethany x