Culture Shock: Bliensen & MaiTai

Plurabelle Laszlo, the creator behind the Bliensen & MaiTai, is a goddess. Nothing less describes her level of talent in jewelry making.  On a surface level her jewelry is gorgeous but what I particularly love about it is the humorous play on kink and the dark side that is evident in much of her work. Her charity items, of which 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Doctor's Without Borders, best exemplifies that aspect of her work.

Beware of Apples depicts scenes from the Prince's discovery of a dead Snow White.  Snow White, one of Grimm's collected Fairy Tales, is a story of jealousy, wish fulfillment and resurrection, as well as the polarization of women into evil and passive characters.

Beware of Wolves depicts Little Red Riding Hood alongside the wolf (Oh what big teeth you have!).  Most of are familiar with the Perrault  or Grimm version of the story about not talking to strangers, but this tale had been told in various forms as early as the the 14th Century about werewolf trials of the times.  In those versions the wolf leaves dead granny's meat and blood for poor Red to eat as well as disrobing her and throwing her cloak into the fire.  This story has so many levels of interpretation from naivity to sexual awakening to solar myths.

Geiko is a term for Geisha from the Kyoto districts, who is a woman trained to entertain men with conversation, dancing and singing.   Geisha are not prostitutes but often worked alongside the highest classes of courtesans. One primary way to tell the difference between geisha and maiko (courtesan) is that the makeup of a geisha is much more subtle.  Plurabelle offers two versions of Geiko in each set, a light and a bright pink, which I am guessing is a reference to this difference (or she might just say stfu). Anyways, they are simply stunning pieces with sublime texturing.

If you are still reading my text, you probably need a break from my thesis. Tomorrow's Cherries all depict cherry blossoms (viginity - lol).  What I love and you need to get close to the ads to really appreciate is Plurabelle's use of antique textures as the background for the blossoms.

The final piece she if offering at Culture Shock are the Yesterday's Bloom earrings.  I love this particular style of earring that she creates as it works so well with the mod style clothes I love to wear, especially with its starburst segment that could be interpreted as the skeletal remains of a spent blossom (you can take this from here by now, lol).  

Culture Shock remains open through May 22nd and is now very enjoyable to get through.  For a map of the event and a complete list of slurls visit here.  Each designer has provided at least 3 items where at least 50% of all proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.  

Credits:

All Jewlery: Bliensen & MaiTai: available exclusively at Culture Shock

Skin: Fall Out / Fall In: Deliciouz skin: Devin: available exclusively at Culture Shock

Hair: Photo 1: Elikatira: Comfort

         Photo 2: mikan: Melmo

         Photo 3: le salon: Anna May: has been closed forever

         Photo 4: lamb: Babys On Fire

         Photo 5: lamb: Lost