Celtic Jewelry at the Sacramento Scottish Games

Gaelyn Bram's Unique Celtic jewelry will be offering their distinctive line of Celtic jewelry, including Celtic pendants, Celtic earrings, many Celtic rings, hand-carved woolly mammoth designs, and wedding tiaras and Celtic circlets at the 2009Scottish Games in Woodland, California.

If you're on our mailing list you will receive the secret word for a 15% discount off of any of the Celtic jewelry in our booth.

The weather is looking great, not too warm, so come on out and visit us for a day of great music (Golden Bough Molly's Revenge, and others), shopping and friends.

We hope to see you there.

Wedding Tiaras and Circlets & Celtic Wedding Jewelry

It is the time of year when many are thinking ahead to spring and summer weddings. We thought we should get some thoughts down for those of you who are considering a wedding tiara or circlet.

Often, when we do shows, someone will come up and look at our tiaras, and say, "I wish I knew about these BEFORE my wedding!"

We're doing our best to become easier to find on the web, so here's hoping those who are looking for our particular kind of tiara will find it in time. (By the way, you can subsitute circlet for tiara every time it's mentioned in this blog entry, our design qualifies as either.) Click here to read a short piece on crowns, tiaras and circlets.

We have written an article on weddings and tiaras, so feel free to check it out for helpful hints on how to wear one.

As weddings get more and more creative, tiaras and circlets become more common as adornment for the bride, and even at times the groom. Our Celtic heart tiara is bold enough to be worn by either a woman or a man. Adorning the bride's head with a tiara, in addition to a veil, is a way to create a distinctive look, while maintaining tradition.

We have also seen a rise in the demand for Celtic jewelry for the bride, groom, and others in the wedding party. Because of the Celtic knot theme in many Celtic jewelry designs, the bride can wear one style, the groom another, and the bridesmaids a third, with all of the unique Celtic jewelry designs complementing each other.

Another style of adornment we've seen, is to take a Celtic pendant, and sew or pin it onto the front of the veil so that is rests on the upper forehead of the bride. the silver and gem color adds a stunning bit of bling to the whole ensemble.

We also have made a new online friend that we'd like to introduce here. We are a featured jewelry designer at herecomestheguide.com, and they have a wealth of information and resources for every part of the wedding, including, planning, location, entertainment, and almost anything else you can think of. Thanks to Sharon for passing our info along after seeing us at the KVMR Celtic Festival, in Grass Valley, California the past few years. They have an informative and very entertaining blog as well.

We expect to get more helpful information up here on the topic of weddings and Celtic jewelry and head adornment, so check back. If you have any pictures of yourself in one of our tiaras, send it by email and we'll include it in a future post.

Unique Celtic Jewelry Free Drawing

We're having a Free drawing for the Phoenix Celtic Pendant with Carnelian shown to the left. Just fill in a little information so we can contact you if you win, and you're good to go.

Every so often we have a drawing for a jewelry item. We do this because we get some satisfaction out of all the responses from our faithful customers, and also because it keeps those of you on our email list on your toes.

Our new site at uniquecelticjewelry.com is growing as we add more photograph and add more items all the time. We're also putting up articles about Celtic symbol meanings, wedding tiaras and other historical and mythological stories and texts.

If you haven't visited our new site yet, please drop on by. In case you haven't heard, we are cutting back our travel schedule drastically this year, due to rising costs for gas, etc. We're putting more energy into the online store, so you don't have to wait to see us at a Celtic festival or Scottish Games to pick up find sterling silver Celtic Jewelry.

We are expanding our line of Celtic jewelry, including much more Claddagh jewelry, Celtic knots, Triquetra and Triskele jewelry, and many more styles in our very unique Celtic jewelry line of hand carved woolly mammoth tusk jewelry.

By the way, Gaelyn has put many of her fine art pieces up in her web site at artservingspirit.com. Please drop by and take a look.

For those who want some info on tiaras, here's a link to Wikipedia.

Unique Celtic Jewelry at the Sonora Celtic Faire

We just got approved for this year's Sonora Celtic Faire, being held March 8th & 9th at the Sonora County Fairgrounds, in California. This is the 22nd annual event, and being the first event of the year in Northern California, it is well attended, and a great time is had by all.

Primarily a music festival, the Sonora Celtic Faire has a great line-up of musical talent.

It can be a bit chilly, depending on the weather this year, so here's a chance to wear those bulky costumes that can be oppressive during the summer months.

We'll have our Celtic jewelry, Celtic tiaras & circlets, some new Celtic Mammoth jewelry, and all of our usual line of unique Celtic jewelry.

Sign up for our Discount Club and receive an email before the show with a secret password to say for instant discounts on anything in the booth.


Best wishes,

Bram

The History and Meaning of the Triskele Celtic Symbol

The triskele, also called the spiral of life, the triple spiral and the triple goddess, is three equal spirals radiating from a common center. It is an ancient symbol with versions that have been found in a number of cultures around the world, including Greece, pre-Columbian central america, and also the Hopi people of the south west United States.

The Celtic Triskele was found in the remnants of an ancient temple from the Bronze Age in Ireland. It is believed that it evolved from the triskellian, a symbol which looks like three legs
running.

The triskele came to be associated with the Triple Goddess (maiden, mother, crone) in pre-Christian times and has been found in illuminated manuscripts created by monks transcribing early Christian texts.

Also, the Celts believed that the most important things in life came in threes: birth, death, rebirth; body, mind, spirit; earth, water, sky; past, present, future; father, son, holy ghost; and the triskele is believed to represents these tripartite meanings. Some of the more current interpretations of the triskele are that it is a symbol for the cycles of life, personal growth, human development, and spiritual expansion.

Because, at times, it is drawn in one continuous line, the triskele represents a continuous movement of time. It is probably this unending quality of the spiral that attracts us so greatly, and has contributed to it remaining on of the most popular Celtic symbols.

Triskele pendants
Triskele earrings

Find Triskele jewelry, and other Celtic jewelry at our web site uniquecelticjewelry.com.

Until next time, best wishes...

The History and Meaning of the Triquetra, or Celtic Trinity Knot

The triquetra is an ancient symbol made up of three half circles connecting at the tips. This Celtic symbol is also known as the Celtic trinity knot or Celtic triangle. It origins have been attributed to the early Celtic people, various pagan groups and later to Christianity.

The triquetra has been found in northern Europe on large stones dating back to around 1,000 AD. The triquetra symbol has also been found in the Christian illustrated manuscript, the Book of Kells from the time period 800 AD. Earlier findings of the triquetra were on ancient rune stones in northern Europe, and on coins from early Germanic origins.

Celtic Symbol Meanings:

For Pagans, the triquetra represents the threefold nature of reality in its various forms. The Divine Feminine - maiden, mother & crone; life, death and rebirth, and the three forces of nature represented as water, air and earth.

For Christians, the triquetra has always been believed to symbolize the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because the three arcs of the circles are equal, it represents the equality of the three.

The triquetra has taken on a bit of pop symbolism, due to its use on the television show "Charmed." The symbol represented the Power of Three, much as it does in early traditions.

Today the triquetra symbol is one of the most popular Celtic symbols, and versions of it are made into Celtic pendants, Celtic earrings, Celtic necklaces and many other Celtic designs including stained glass, soap, etched glass and more.

Visit: Unique Celtic Jewelry for a greater selection of unique Celtic jewelry of all kinds.

Unique Celtic Jewelry Gifts at uniquecelticjewelry.com

We're taking lots of orders lately for unique gifts. Celtic knots, Triskeles, Triquetras, Claddaghs, Celtic jewelry in hand carved mammoth tusk and more. Celtic earrings, pendants, necklaces, brooches and rings can be found for your special someone.

Celtic jewelry is the perfect gift for your Irish, Scottish and English friends, or for anyone who appreciates the sharp graphic lines and intrigue of Celtic knot designs.

Look for our 10% Off discount club link, and save on your first order!

Loriah Celtic Necklace - overstocked and drastically discounted

Greetings, In December of 2006, one of the major freight services lost a order of 40 necklaces we had shipped out to a vendor. After many phone calls trying to track them down, we gave up on it, and eventually produced the same necklaces again. Here's a photo to the left.

Fast forward to last week. They showed up with no explanation.

So, here we are with about twice as many of these beautiful Tribal-Celtic necklaces, in sterling silver and black onyx, than we would normally carry in stock.

What this means to you, is that we are drastically discounting them for the next few weeks.

We normally sell this necklace at shows, and in our online store for $129.00. We have lowered the price to $99. You can Click Here for a link to this necklace on our uniquecelticjewelry.com site.

Stay tuned for more specials as we get closer to the holidays.

Also check out a new Celtic Jewelry site.

Celtic Fest in Chicago - Celtic Jewelry Post Show

Thanks to all our Celtic jewelry clients, and others, who we're pulling for no rain this weekend. It's rained two out of the last three years, and needless to say, it puts a damper on things at an outdoor show when buckets of rain are coming down.

We shipped 200 lbs. of booth gear, and dragged 6 suitcases full of other Celtic Fest neccessities along on the plane. It's always a crap shoot as to whether everything will show up, and if it does, will it be in one piece?

It did, and it was.

We enjoyed seeing those Celtic jewelry customers from past years that came by to check out the latest designs, and thanks for wearing our jewelry to the event. If you've purchased Celtic jewelry from us in the past, and don't receive our emails, get in touch. We offer a 15% discount off of anything we sell to those who can repeat the secret password we email out before each show. You can find the signup box at the bottom of our home page at uniquecelticjewelry.com.

Our new Hand Carved Mammoth Tusk Celtic Jewelry was very well received in Chicago. We unveiled several new designs including a Celtic dragon, Celtic knotwork, Tree of Life, Rose, and some new versions of old favorites such as the Twin Goddesses and Three Celtic Horses. We're working at getting all of these up on our new site.

We discovered a Thai restaurant we didn't know about right around the corner from the Congress Hotel, the Thai Spoon. Good food, including Sushi, at great prices.

We look forward to seeing our Chicago friends again next year if all goes as planned. Until then we hope to see you online.

Celtic Fest in Chicago - Celtic Jewelry pre show

Anyone who has any pull with the weather divas, please put in a good word. We've had rain the past two years at Celtic Fest Chicago, and the weather report is looking threatening again this year. Last year we had one foot of water in the back of our booth after hours of downpour, and it's less fun showing our Celtic jewelry to soaked Celts.

On the up side, Celtic Fest Chicago rocks as a show for crafters. The people of Chicago recognize quality and are willing to pay a fair price for it.

Chicago is also one of the best cities I've ever been in for Food. We'll be dropping in at Vong's Thai Kitchen for some Asian Fusion cuisine, and some others of Chicago's finest food establishments as well.

So, come on out, hear some great Celtic music, have a brew or two, and peruse the fine craft booths. You'll find silver Celtic jewelry (Sean's Celtic Creations, Michael Hayman & Reflective Images are our favorite "other" jewelers), clothing, art, photos and some other very unique Celtic items.

If you can't make it to the show, kindly visit us at uniquecelticjewelry.com and see what we stuffed our luggage with for the 6 hour flight from Ashland, Oregon to Chicago.

I'll be posting about the show next week, so if you miss it, tune in then for all the news.

Scottish Highland Games in Pleasanton 2007

We had a new booth location at the Pleasanton Scottish Highland Games this year, hoping to reach a few more people with our Celtic jewelry line, but the heat kept many people away. It was nice being in an air conditioned building for the first time, but when it's over 100 degrees out, many Scottish folk stay home.

The musical entertainment was great again this year with the Tribal Celtic band Wicked Tinkers, and the eclectic Celtic band Brother, from Australia.

Due to an intense lightening and hail storm as we were packing up the RV, I left 25% of our Celtic jewelry stock at home. All of the hand carved woolly mammoth designs I had just finished were left by the electric door in the studio. After a lot of kicking myself in the ass over it, I drove 6 hours and picked it up after the games closed down on Saturday evening.

Such is the life of a traveling crafter. There are so many things to keep track of, deal with, handle and anticipate. I guess it beats having a day job, but at times like that I'm not always sure.

It was good to see some of our faithful clients again in person, which is one of the main reasons we enjoy the shows. Many show up wearing some of the designer Celtic jewelry pieces we've produced, and check to see some of the new designs.

The Pleasanton Scottish Games is the largest Scottish Games in the world I'm told. If you haven't attended, it's worth a visit, but, try and make it when the weather is a bit more mild.

Until then, as always, you can find us at uniquecelticjewelry.com.

The True Meaning of Celtic Jewelry Symbols

I realize that this title is a little, shall we say, provocative. I do confess, right now, that I don't have the definitive line on ancient meanings. As a designer of Celtic jewelry for many years, I have several thoughts on how the meaning of these designs can be reconciled, in the present time, with regard to the history of Celtic jewelry symbols.

Perhaps now more than ever, people are searching for meaning in all aspects of their lives.

The first question one usually hears about Celtic jewelry is, "What does it mean?"

To even begin to answer that question you must ask one of your own; "From what era would you prefer your meaning?"

It's wise to remember that, as with all things, meanings change over time. Gold and silver Celtic jewelry dates back to 2000 B.C.E., so it is highly likely that their meanings have evolved over time. The ancestral meaning ascribed to Celtic interlace, or other symbols, is likely to differ from those inferred by modern interpreters of Celtic designs due to the time frames and context of their assessments.

Celtic art is unique in the sense that it is a living tradition that also allows us to connect with our distant past. Trying to find a single meaning in a piece of Celtic jewelry ignores much of its history, and is probably impossible in any event. The fact that this is a living tradition that can veer from original meaning, means it need not wait for official interpretation of what it all means before new designs are created. If a new artist claims that his heart shaped pendant design with knotwork stands for endless love, then it does.

The new designs may not meet with academic appreciation, but when there is no real evidence to the contrary, the Celtic symbol meanings of today's creations should merit some validity in our modern context.

There is solid evidence of Celtic spirals and other symbols used in ancient days, but little evidence of them predates the first Christian Celtic art which appeared in about 450 C.E.

Monks transcribing sacred texts in 7th century have documented Celtic interlace, also known as knotwork, in their illustrated manuscripts. The greatest examples of high Celtic art that gave growth to Celtic design today are The Book of Kells, Lindisfarne Gospels, and the Book of Durrow. All three are exquisitely adorned books. Even these manuscripts tell us little directly, leaving each reader to interpret them for themselves.

The definitive original meaning of many Celtic symbols remain unclear in the thoughts of many historians and scholars, as there are few hard facts pertaining to their time line and origin. (Note: The meaning that we have found to be most believable, and most often repeated is "The interconnectedness of all things".)

Celtic jewelry and art appreciators do not have to stick to academics for the meanings of Celtic jewelry. The creative and emotional appeal of these designs attract us. Their importance is in how they reflect our individuality and how they make us feel.

The potential revelation of a secret significance ,contained within the shape of Celtic symbols, adds to their mystery. And a manuscript may be interpreted correctly some day, once and for all, to reveal all the mysteries.

I recommend that until that day, we accept that the meanings of Celtic symbols in jewelry are those that we currently hold in our hearts and in our minds. Celtic jewelry will probably gain new meanings in the future thanks to the continuing evolution of consensus among those of us who care, so, perhaps those in the distant future looking for meaning will have more to go on.