If any of you want Tidbits emailed directly, let me know and I'll take care of it. Tidbits may be reprinted without charge -- with attribution and without change. Additionally, if you know of anyone who you think would enjoy Tidbits, please make them aware of us. URL
Did you know that a butterfly was once called a flutterby. Made more sense that way ... but what do I know? And just to add another of these no-use bits of info ... an apple was once called a napple. I don't make this stuff up folks.
Of all the creatures we mimic in jewelry ... the cats, the dogs, the birds, and on and on ... the ones we mimic the most are the ones we most despise ... the bugs. Yes folks ... contrary to popular myth ... we just love our bugs. We make bees, we make dung beetles, we make dragonflies, we make moths, and of course ... we make butterflies. To say we are perverse would be a masterpiece of English understatement.
What we do not make when it comes to making jewelry ... is naked women. I assume the reason for this is that it just wouldn't be right for a woman to wear a naked woman. What would the world think? We all know that we all care what the world thinks ... why else would we wear jewelry in the first place?
And then there was the 1900's. The era of the Art Nouveau designers was upon us. René Lalique was in the forefront. He juxtaposed the woman and the butterfly ... as did many others. So ... what should we call that new creature? A Femme-Fluttalle? Or a Flutter-Femme? Or perhaps a Ladybug. No no. That one was taken.
And the Femme-Fluttalle I am about to show you ... is she a sensuous coquette trifling amorously with our hearts as she flits from manflower to manflower ... or is she one of nature's playthings ... darting about from colorful flower to colorful flower ... shining iridescent in the sunlight while sparking our lustful interests and sucking the honeyed nectar from our souls?
Or is she nothing but a whimsical figment born of someone's imagination serving no purpose other than beauty. My neighbor asks me what I thought of the ball game the other day. My friends are talking about their stock investments. Others talk about their new bridge lessons as they try to learn a rather complex new game. Me ... I stay awake at night pondering which of the muses it was that caused the creation of the Femme-Fluttalle.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I direct you to my home page at