Monday, February 22, 2016

Moodboard Monday - Queen Bee

Good Monday morning to all of you!  Hope you had a great weekend.

As you regular followers of my posts know by now, I kind of like doing these moodboards on Monday.  I started out with moodboards from Veranda magazine and then I started saving some from other periodicals.  When I came upon this 'Queen Bee' moodboard in an English publication recently, I thought it might be fun to see what I could find that was 'bee related' while really thinking I probably wouldn't find much in fashion or decor.  Boy, was I wrong!  

As I googled and researched, I was surprised by all the other blogs on this subject, the history lessons I learned and the antiques, art, architecture, collectibles, fashion, needlework, books, home decor and gorgeous jewelry were beyond my expectations.  I could have gone on for days researching, but I had to condense what I found as much as possible.  

Among many tidbits, I found out that the 'love affair' with the bee motif began with Napoleon when he used it on his crest.  Napoleon and Josephine popularized the motif in France and that's why you see so much of it in that country - it's popularity originated there.  It became known as the 'Napoleonic bee'!

So, that's the history of it (in a nutshell) - hope you enjoy the art and creativity that has gone into the items you see below.  Those Guerlain bottles!! Stunning!  And the jewelry!! And everyone knows Alexander McQueen was a genius - who else would think of designing skep dresses! 

Strangely enough, as I was putting this post together yesterday, the 1957 song 'Honeycomb' came on the radio......

Have a great day!




Alexander McQueen's honeycomb hat and dress with skep peplum.
Also, the tortoise shell bee cuffs.

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen's gold honeycomb dress with skep shaped skirt.

Alexander McQueen's tortoise shell bee cuff.

Alexander McQueen

Giambattista Valli bee cuff.

This beautiful purse is a work of art by 
Judith Lieber

Cartier watch

Cartier watch
Works of art

Master Exclusive

Yellow topaz bee ring
Farah Khan

Joan Rivers

Diamond, ruby brooch
luciecampbell.com

Pearl, diamond, enamel brooch
Indulgy.com

Pearl and laurel wreath pocket watch owned by
Empress Marie Louise of France
Alain Truong

Guerlain

One of 47 Guerlain bottles of perfume
$19,000
Nine were sent to New York City 5 years ago and sold out immediately
Wall Street Journal

Guerlain designs

Another view of the crystal bee bottle
Go here to read more about these incredible works of art
by Guerlain
The article was written by Coty Farquhar

Eye for Design

Eye for Design

Fabric - Google

Eye for Design

Farrow & Ball Wallpaper

Door knob 
Pinterest

David Hicks Honeycomb Wallpaper

Cuddledown Linens

Honeycomb Flooring - Google

Honeycomb Chairs
Viacomit.net

Bee skep shaped lighting
Eye for Design

Esther Feinman

Elizabeth Staiger

Antique gold sewing kit
Holly Rison

Beautiful bee needlepoint
Katherine Duiguid

Bee Embroidery
Victoria and Albert Museum

Bee skep fireplace
Bee dishes at Le Carillon Hotel, Paris
Bee skep sculpture on Paris building
Paint + Pattern.com

Shangri La Hotel, Paris
Paint + Pattern

Kenneth Rougeau

Tumblr

Lovelypetcollections.com

W. H. Harris





























4 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I love the cuddledown linen. So many wonderful items really. Coincidentally I'm reading a book right now called If Not for a Bee. ( :

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  2. I'm in love with all of the Bee products. I, like you, didn't realise just how much Bee stuff there is out there. This is wonderful and has given me so many ideas.

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