One of my favourite poets was and will always be Rainer Maria Rilke.
Bohemian born in 1875 he is considered one of the German language`s greatest 20th century poets.
Working with the sculptor Auguste Rodin in the early 1900 he learned about the value of objective observation which led him to my personal fav poem which often comes to my mind while creating another tiger or African theme bead:

The Panther

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly--. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Normally I'm a very careful person.
But when it comes to passion in my life things are turning upside down and long-life experiences blew up in the air like silver foil in a hot flame.

I have two major passions in my life. At least to be honest I think I have several more but these two are main parts of my spirit.

The first passion which I grew up with are horses.
I started horse riding at the age of 8 and continued it ever since. There were parts in my life where my first priority was on other things but I always had to return to these beautiful creatures. Nothing is more enjoyable and relaxing than a long ride galloping over green pastures and feeling the wind in your face.

My second major passion is art.
It also started at a very early age and I can't remember doing something else during all this years which was not related to arts. My studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich even more opened my mind up to all unconventional ideas and being a free spirit myself I really enjoyed those years of experimenting and self-finding.
Since I discovered the art of working with hot glass many years ago, my long journey came to a very satisfying point. Finally I found myself a companion, a free-spirit, not always unpredictable, but sometimes surprisingly reacting in unexpected ways from day to day.
Glass, molten glass!
Don't think it's an easy way to express yourself. Glass is a very precious material which needs to be handled carefully and with respect. But once you have found the way to show its incomparable beauty you have discovered one of the most satisfying things on earth.

I think that one of the most exciting times in a young girl’s life is her first visit to a jewellery store.
Then again, I think that a lot of women never grow out of that feeling of excitement either!
There is something magical about looking at all of the sparkling pieces glittering in the jewellery store window and in the display cabinets, even if you cannot afford to buy everything that you see.

When she walks inside she may feel like a princess being able to try on all of the bracelets and necklaces with those cute designs.
It's certainly a joyful experience of watching her.

Of course, a jewellery store can also be an extremely romantic place.
Sound strange? Well, think about it
How many couples go to a jewellery store together to pick out their wedding rings? I know how electrifying it felt when my fiancé and I went to choose our wedding rings and finally found a jewellery store that had the perfect ones in their window. When we went inside we both had a feeling that this was going to symbolize the start of our new life together and the jewellery store played an important part in that.

I guess it doesn’t matter what you buy in a jewellery store, they always seem to have an air of something special about them.
It might be the fact that there are a lot of expensive items around and everything is shimmering with that newly-cleaned look that only new jewellery seems to have!

Sometimes it is easy to feel a little underdressed, especially when you enter some of the more exclusive types of jewellery store that you have to ring a bell to be let into.
I do like to take a look around the local jewellery store when I need cheering up. Mmmmmh, well, I cheer up as well when I look at our exhibition glass cabinet and the shelves with our own jewellery.
I enjoy the great feeling to not only look at some great jewellery, but to look at pieces of art made by myself.
It might sound silly but maybe you should try it too – all that brightness around me certainly seems to rub off and raise my spirits.

And should you visit us in our showroom which is much like a jewellery store as well I'll be delighted to show you everything.