Earlier this year while I was preparing to teach a seminar for my colleagues on Trend research, I came across a story called the “Shire” on Goodmoods. I was fascinated by the colours, the moods, and the products inspired by the same. Only when reading the concept note, I figured out that the shire is from “Lord of the rings.” Fast forward a couple of months and I saw the trailer of Power of rings on Prime. I decided to go down the hobbit hole and learn more about that universe. This motivated me to create a latch necklace inspired by the Shire.
While I have recommended the LOR film series to my costume design students for several years, I am ashamed to admit that I only watched the films this year. Worse still, I am yet to read the books, but maybe that is a good thing that I saw the films before reading the books. The only bit I had read earlier from LORT is the poem “All that glitters is not gold;” which I incorporated into a mixed media collage for my workspace around 6 years ago. It is one that I read whenever the going gets tough.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The universe of Lord of the rings
The Lord of the rings cinematic universe consists of 6 motion pictures (2001-2014), one animated TV series in the 1970s, and the recent rings of power series on OTT. Situated in Middle Earth, it is a universe habited by dwarves, elves, harfoots, hobbits, human beings, orcs and other creatures. They are all based on the books written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J.R.R Tolkien). While the narrative structure is that of a typical Hero’s journey – be it that of Bilbo Baggins or Frodo, the highlight are the descriptions. The movies and the present series are great examples of filming a descriptive narrative. If you are yet to read the books or watch the films/shows, I definitely recommend you to do so.
Latch necklace inspired by the Shire
My inspiration for my latch necklace begins with Bilbo Baggins’ house in the Shire. It is in beige and brown with a green door that has a single doorknob. While it had a locking system in the back, there was no latch in the front. Therefore, I came up with a latch that in my mind fit the door. The rest of the necklace is based on the grasslands – bag’s end surrounding the house.
The latch is a scrapbooking finding. I have altered it using Vintaj patina inks. I have looped glass beads together with dyed agates and howlite beads to create the necklace. The Latch necklace inspired by the Shire has an openable latch. It can be worn with the latch locked or open. The necklace is available for sale.
For those of you who are unaware of Goodmoods, it is an excellent web resource for design aspirants. They present themes by linking moodboards to probable products. Here is the Green Fairy tale report by Goodmoods that inspired me.
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
Leave a Reply