My wicked brooch collection

I have a weakness for accessories. Especially brooches. I was wearing 'em many moons before they became the hip thing: this is why all my original ones came from my great-grandmother's collection, before you could easily find super ones in the shops. I usually wear them two or three at a time, and I like to combine them by colour, material or shape, not necessarily by theme.

Anyway, like a total brooch victim, I have catalogued most of my collection. I realised in doing this that I own about forty brooches. There are some that didn't make it in here, because they are weird, lame or I don't like them. But the rest are here in all their broochal glory.


FABRICS
Left: fabric brooch made by me. I covered an old button with padding and retro floral fabric.
Right: my most recent addition, baby deer felt brooch from Nookart. You can order them online from Robio.





MODERN PLASTIC
Top left: plastic ghost brooch
Top right: oriental fan button
Bottom left: plastic apple brooch, all from Mombasa
Bottom right: Byzantine button, made by me. I painted an old button using designs from some old Middle-Eastern artwork, then sealed it.







PEARLIES
Left: Old mother-of-pearl art deco brooch (G-GM's collection)
Right: Shell and mother-of-pearl brooch with seed pearls in centre, from Galeries Lafayette in Paris





THE GREENS
Top left: round green enamel brooch from Equip
Top right: Square green enamel brooch from Cotton On
Bottom left: antique melted glass brooch (the red paint inside looks like poppies) from the Wynnum op-shop
Bottom right: Dark green and gold glass brooch (G-GM's collection)








THE BLUES
Top left: blue enamel, plastic and glass brooch
Bottom left: lavender and blue floral spray glass brooch (very fragile...)
Right: Blue, silver and gold floral bouquet brooch with safety chain
All G-GM's collection







BLACK AND GREY
Top left: metal silver frog brooch (gift)
Top right: Black and purple plastic flower brooch from Equip
Bottom left: silver metal dragonfly brooch from Diva
Bottom right: antique heavy metal and crystal grey brooch with safety chain, from G-GM's collection









CAMEOS
Top left: modern plastic cameo brooch in pink with metal diamante edge, from Equip
Bottom left: lavender enamel cameo brooch with scalloped metal edge, from Sportsgirl
Right: antique tangerine shell cameo brooch with original gold edging, G-GM's collection













BUTTERFLIES
Top left: brown plastic and metal butterfly brooch (gift)
Top right: small yellow enamel butterfly brooch with diamantes (gift)
Bottom left: gold wire and net butterfly brooch (G-GM's collection)
Bottom right: pink metal and enamel butterfly brooch with diamantes and pearls (gift)







BRIGHT AND SHINY
Left: "Paris Victory" brooch, enamel, chain, beading and crystal, from Mombasa
Right: metal, diamante and enamel toucan brooch, originally my mother's from the 80s











PLAIN SILVER
Top left: antique silver and metal brooch with centre crystal and safety chain, Peter's mother's collection
Top middle: antique silver floral spray brooch (G-GM's collection)
Top right: silver diamante snowflake brooch from Equip
Bottom left: marcasite bow brooch (G-GM's collection)
Bottom right: antique solid silver flower brooch
(G-GM's collection)


PINK AND ORANGE
Left: pink metal and crystal heavy flower brooch
(G-GM's collection)
Right: orange travelling ducks double-brooch in enamel, beads and ribbon, with linking chain, from Mombasa





OLDIES
Top: antique gold metal and enamel bead floral spray brooch (G-GM's collection)
Bottom: marcasite treble clef brooch, from the store underneath the Lyric Theatre