In 2023, Paleis het Loo in Apeldoorn reopened its doors. A year earlier during the lock-down I walked through the gardens that had just reopened and were also partly renovated. What stood out were the beautiful restored 17th century garden vases by Mary Stuart including accompanying exotic plants. They were the inspiration for this new collection!
This collection had been haunting my mind for a while. And when I was asked by Holland Design & Gifts to create a unique collection for their webshop, I actually already knew what I was going to do. Well, the design was still vaguely in my head and had yet to become reality in a bead design. But the big picture was set.
Stadtholder Willem II built Paleis het Loo and its beautiful gardens. And although he chose this location mainly for the peace and the hunt, it was his wife who brought the gardens to life, the English Mary Stuart.
There is something about Mary...
Mary Stuart was a true influencer in her time (1662-1695). As one of the trendsetters, she placed handmade Delft blue vases in her garden at Paleis het Loo, filled with the most exotic plants such as pineapple and orange. In addition to plants, she collected These gardens contain a rich collection of art and objects from all over the world that can still be admired today.
The Delft blue patterns in this jewelry line are inspired by the beautiful 17th century garden vases that Mary Stuart. I incorporated the characteristic Dutch tulip in deep blue tones and also made 1 variant with a red tulip.
In addition, I also made a number of smaller designs inspired by the 17th century jewelry, Eliza & Louisa, in which symmetry and pearls are central.
And I couldn't resist to also pop with color. Dutch Glory!
Find out for yourself!