The beauty of an unexpected material

Concrete.  It can be the ugliest thing.  Living in the ghetto, there is so much concrete.  There are few trees and it holds the heat in an excruciating way.  Squeezing an already squeezed populace.  Tempers flare easily when there is an abundance of this material covering the beautiful Earth.  But....  Concrete becomes something else under the hands of skilled artisans.  Taken out of context, used in an unexpected way, concrete is a thing of beauty.  It is particularly striking when used in simple, organic forms.  And, of course, it's gray, my new favorite color.  Here are some lovely uses of the material.

Stunning zen-like simplicity.  I am dying to touch these pieces.  Above three pieces designed by Berezki.  I think these would look fabulous with the clothes by Jenfashion in the post below.

I need this!  Love the purity of its form.  Via ConcreteRing.

Gorgeous minimal pendant by Marta Bialy.

These beautiful beads have been lovingly hand crafted.  Love the concrete combined with the shades of blue.    DanidotDesigns.  Of course, you need a cute organic vessel to hold your lovely piece of jewelry.  Any of these would do nicely, or would work well on a coffee table in a minimal room.

roughfusion

springhillstudio

Also roughfusion.  I am not participating in the holidays this year for many reasons (subject of a later post), but any of these would make a thoughtful and unique holiday gift.  Please consider supporting the hand made movement and artisans if you are buying gifts.  I am always interested in supporting artists, please let me know if you any items from Etsy as a result of this post.