Tribes Competition Challenge: Mountain

I am going to start off today's reveals with the Mountain Tribe.

...Or, as I've been calling it, the Purple Tribe.

...Interestingly enough, this is also one of the simplest of today's reveals. When I bought the kits, I thought that wasn't going to be the case--I thought I would see all the components and make a veritable mountain of jewelry. After all, purple is my favorite color--and this kit is gorgeous.

I mean, just look at the beautiful things I got to work with (pictures from the official listing):

Yet, when I had the components in front of me, I realized that was not going to be the case. Granted, that was partially due to a time crunch (I may have bitten more than I can actually do this month)--but that was not the main reason.

You see, I had started thinking about the nature of the Mountain Tribe itself. When these kits were put together, they were done so with a fantastical world and its various cultures in mind... And I wanted to portray that culture through what I made. After all, world-building and fantasy-writing-anthropology is what I do--bonus points when I get to connect it with jewelry!

So, as I thought about the people of the Mountains in this fantastical land, I came up with this:

It's a necklace made with the delicateness of crystal and Czech glass and vintage acrylic, paired with rugged leather and wire-wrapping. Almost all of the components are from the kit, with only the findings, leather, and violet rondelles being from my personal stash.

Using the deep purple donuts as connectors made me feel clever. Hah.

In making this design, I wanted to pair elements that were both elegant and simple--something that captured both the majesty of the mountains, as well as their ruggedness. 

...Just as I imagined the people who lived there.

Now, I don't know what sort of culture Andrew Thornton had in mind when he made this kit, but in my mind, the people of these fantastical mountains live in a kingdom carved into a cliffside. They have some of the best metal-smiths and jewel-cutters in the land, due to the abundance of natural materials nearby.

And why do they like purple? Because of sunsets, because of the lavender mists that settle in over the mountains, and because of the amethyst crystal caves found in the cliffs near their home.

So, that is what I made for the Mountain Tribe reveal: a combination of ruggedness and elegance, in the shades of mountain mists and amethyst. Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I made.

Next up: the Petal Tribe!