The Blog

Oh, Canada! Not just the opening line of the national anthem but how we feel every time we hear the latest Justin Bieber bop, ski Whistler, or order up some poutine. Happy birthday to the friendliest place on earth.       

Irish folklore says there’s a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. JSC likes to add a little silver to the mix. Today we bust out our green, cook up some corned beef, and celebrate all things Irish. St. Patrick’s Day Irish Soda Bread Recipe INGREDIENTS: 2 cups flour 1/3 cup sugar  1 tsp. salt ¾ tsp. baking soda ½ seedless raisins (or substitute with chocolate chips!) ¾ cup buttermilk ¼ cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten   DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350℉ Sift the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a bowl Slowly stir in raisins (or chocolate chips) Add remaining ingredients Spread evenly in a greased 8” round cake pan Bake for 30-35 minutes Bain taitneamh as do bhéile! (that’s “bon appétit” in Gaelic)    

It’s September and you know that that means. Fashion! And lots of it! Fashion week is that magical time of year when the world’s top designers release their latest collections in the “Big Four” fashion capitals of New York, London, Milan, and Paris.   There are runway shows, and store openings, presentations, and parties. Sounds like torture, right? :) We’re tipping our stylish hats to the amazing cities and trend setters out there keeping fashion fun, innovative, and alive.     EXPLORE

Since we’re celebrating all things British and royal this week in honor of Meghan and Harry’s forthcoming Royal Wedding at Windsor Castle, we thought it would be fun to feature some of our favorite travel charms from our British and London charm collection. I love England and have been many times so it is no surprise that we included many London charms and also charms for the United Kingdom when we launched our travel charm collection back in October 2014. Below is a British charm bracelet featuring a variety of travel charms for both London as well as charms representing the U.K. 1. MARMITE CHARM (A.K.A. CHARMITE)   I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite pieces not just for our British charms but for the entire Jet Set Candy travel charm collection—and I’m not even an avid Marmite eater! My personal favorite charms are often the most quirky charms and this one is quite quirky. For all of the non-Brits reading this, if you aren’t familiar, Marmite is a savory spread often consumed at breakfast and is a national obsession in U.K. Many Brits (maybe most) grow up with a jar of Marmite on their breakfast table so this iconic staple resonates with many. Australia has a similar but different spread called Vegemite and Aussies are passionate about Vegemite the way Brits are passionate about Marmite (I’m married to one so I can confirm this!). So I designed the Charmite charm as our tribute to this British favorite because Marmite is so inherently British. It made me start thinking of quintessential British traits and characteristics which I then incorporated into the very tiny Ingredient List etched in the back of the charm (this is a very detailed charm!). The ingredients listed on the back of our two-tone sterling silver and gold vermeil Marmite charm are: 100% British Ingredients: dry humour, dash of quirk, dollop of wit, touch of cheekiness, properness, pomp & circumstance  While I would normally hesitate to generalize so broadly, the Brits as a whole are known for having a great sense of humor so I took a risk and included the “ingredient list” …plus it was crafted out of nothing but love and admiration. Brits I’ve chatted with who have purchased this charm seem to get a kick out of the list of British traits when I read them off to them. P.S. Note the British spelling of “humour”…it’s all about the details! Meghan Markle was quizzed on her knowledge of all things British a while back and she flubbed her answer regarding Marmite (mistaking it for Vegemite, whoops!). By now I’m sure she’s well aware of Marmite’s place in Britain’s national fabric so I really think Meghan needs this charm to symbolize her new place in Britain as well! 2. BRITISH CANDY CHARM If you're British, you’ll almost certainly be familiar with British Smarties, candies that are kind of like over-sized M&Ms and are very different from American Smarties (which are a chalky type of sugar candy). Our British Smarties Candy Charm is one of our most intricate charms that opens (we call these movable charms by the way). Inside the sterling silver (or gold vermeil) tube are seven different colors of enamel Smarties—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and pink. Each enameled delight is joined to the next via a small, chain link.  This charm is so fun and can be worn on either a charm bracelet or a charm necklace (in fact, I actually love wearing it open with the enamel “candy” pieces hanging out of the metal tube).    3. MARRY BRITISH ROYALTY SPINNER CHARM I go into more detail about this British Charm over hereThis too is a fave charm of mine (again because it’s so so quirky) and has been covered by the Daily Mail, Carly Heitlinger, Vanity Fair, and others. I’m truly sad that we are going to be retiring this version since the charm has Prince Harry as one of the options for “Future Husband” and he will be off the market after Saturday. This charm counts as a Royal Wedding Souvenir IMO so if you are thinking of treating yourself to only one souvenir then probably start soon since time is running out to buy it! 4. LONDON TAXI CHARM     London has its own unique style and London just wouldn’t be the same without the black London Cabs and the great London Cabbies who drive them. Our London taxi charm has moving wheels and a ton of detail...the license plate even says “London” on it!   5. LONDON LHR LUGGAGE TAG CHARM  Our luggage tag charms feature airport codes on them and are a great place to start when you are beginning your travel charm collection. This London charm features the airport code for Heathrow, the largest airport in London and also has the Union Jack (British Flag) engraved on it. This airport tag charm looks equally great on a charm necklace or on a charm bracelet. Because our charm bracelets feature links that open for instant attachment you can sometimes wear your travel charms as a charm necklace or sometimes on a charm bracelet.   All of our travel charms (meaning all of our charms since everything we offer is related to travel) feature slightly oversized jump rings so they can fit on to our chains as well as most chains from other brands. We love our chains and they feature our adorable signature tiny airplane charm but if you already own a chain then our charms will likely fit on them too. 6. LONDON IS MY CUP OF TEA CHARM   There are other tea charms on the market but we think ours is the cutest, not to mention the most detailed. And, as we mentioned before, there is nothing more British than tea. If you have been looking for the perfect tea charm to add to your travel charm collection then look no further.  The Jet Set Candy London Tea Cup charm features a matching cup and scallop-edged saucer with an attached, miniature spoon (it’s so so cute). You’ll find the words “London is My Cup of Tea” engraved on the saucer’s underside.   7. DOUBLE BOBBY POLICE HAT CHARM This is the perfect charm for the Anglophile who has pretty much every other British charm out there. The sleek design looks great on it’s own or layered with other charms on a charm necklace.   Police in Britain are nicknamed “Bobbies” and are rarely seen without their familiar conical helmets. Our London Double Bobby Police Hat Charm represents two inverted replicas using 925 solid sterling silver and 14k vermeil gold.   8. INFINITY CHARM BRACELET  If you only buy one charm bracelet in your life it should be this link bracelet. Every link in our Infinity Charm Bracelet has a spring hinge that opens so you can instantly attach your Jet Set Candy travel charms (or any other charms for that matter). Because you can move around your charms, you can change up your stories and also sometimes move the charms off the bracelet and add to a chain to make a chain necklace. The possibilities are endless (in fact, the clasp is easily removable so you can take two or even three bracelets and combine them for the ultimate charm necklace).RELATED PRODUCTS

Happy 4th July! xoxo

O Canada! Happy Canada Day to our Northern neighbors!