31 Mar 2015

Thank You, Coco, for Trousers!


Coco Chanel was much more than just a fashion designer. She was an influental, uncompromising visionary with revolutionary ideas. She gave the modern woman a freedom to dress up practical and comfortable, yet classy and elegant. Christian Dior said "she revolutionarised fashion with a black sweater and white pearls".


Did you know that Coco Chanel was a passionate horseback rider? 

Among the other things, she was a mistress of a French socialite, heir and playboy Etienne Balsan who was obsessed with horses. To compete the other mistresses, more beautiful she thought, she spent time with him where his other mistresses would not, in his stable, and she became an accomplished horsewoman.

Coco Chanel thought that sitting in the saddle in a dress, on the side with legs together, was too uncomfortable and limiting. She wanted to ride as wild and free as men! She designed riding trousers for women, so that they could ride in a normal position. This was unprecedented, some people thought it was even blatant, but there was no way back to the riding skirts.... Or what do you think?

Chanel is still in riding fashion. On the bottom right a vintage riding jacket.


The perfume Chanel no 5 was launched in 1920. Coco Chanel´s favorite sample scent happened to be in a bottle number 5 and she said:

"I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck."

While dreaming of a perfect Chanel wardrobe for riding lessons, keep up your appearances with the three things most important: black sweaters, pearls and perfume.



Perfume by Chanel.

Ring Cassiopeia, custom made with your own horse´s hair. 
Custom made pearl necklace with white gold horse shoe motive by Nanna Salmi
(made by request).


Enquieries and orders also by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com



30 Mar 2015

Allah Jabek, Saudia, Al-Saad Khaled...

It is always exciting to get an order: what kind of a customer, what kind of a horse... Is there a special story behind the order and - most exciting - what kind of tail hair is in the envelope! But if there is "HRH" in front of the name in the order form, you might get super excited!

The Arabs are well known for their love of horses and the Saudia Arabian Royal Family is famous for their dedication in riding, breeding, promoting and developing the riding culture in
Saudi Arabia. They have a world class show jumping team and many of the riders are also
members of the royal family.

His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Miteb Abdullah Al-saud is one of the top riders in the team. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, in front of 23,000 spectators, he and his team mates made history: Saudi Equestrian team won it's first ever Team Jumping medal! The fellow riders were Kamal Bahamdan, Ramzy Al Duhami and Abdullah Al Sharbatly.



Big moment for the team in Sunny London 2012.


If you take a good look at HRH´s little finger, you can see the ring Saudia by nannasalmi. 


The first one ever was made for him in 2007. The ribbon for HRH's ring was 
black and contained hair of six of his favourite horses: 
Allah Jabek, Al-Saad Khaled, Poco Loco, Lil Majd, Obelix and 
- Saudia.

Nanna Salmi thought that the name "Saudia" would be perfect for this simple and elegant ring. The new design had a name, a beautiful name.

The woven ribbon is 6 mm wide and Saudia suits both men and women very well. The ring
is available in silver, gold and white gold. The ribbon is sheltered and covered on the palm side and that makes the ribbon more durable - you can wear it as your lucky charm when riding!


Read more about the team at saudiequestrian.com
Like their page in Facebook Saudi Equestrian
Follow them in Twitter @SaudiEquestrian


Enquiries and orders by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com



26 Mar 2015

Elisabeth Panepinto - Her Camera Loves Horses





Elisabeth and Matsi by Prettyhorse Photography

I bought my first camera in 2008, it was a Nikon D60. I discovered a passion for photography when I began to take pictures with my brother’s little compact camera during school travels.

I was born in Liège, Belgium, 1991. I’ve been riding since I was 4,5 years old. I soon wanted to take pictures of horses I loved, which I did. I’m completely self-educated when it comes to photography or photoshop stuff. I never followed any workshops or courses.

At the age of 17 I went to Antwerpen to learn Dutch & Bray (Ireland) and English. That time I was still wondering if I was going to study photography or veterinary medicine. I followed my childhood dream and I’m now a vet student of the fourth year. It goes without saying that I’m planning to become a horse vet...



Mostly I take pictures of my beloved dog, cats and horses and sometimes I dosome shootings as a student job. Most of those shootings are based on the relationship between horses/dogs and their owners. My favorite subjects are horses but I learned to enjoy dog photography when I adopted my lovely dog Matsi (border collie x germand shepherd).




What I like about horses is that you can find in each one a different personality, and I try to capture that the best I can. I find horses simply majestic. They don’t fake any emotion.

I love how they move, how they can hypnotize you, I love their curves. Horses are a very important part of my life.





As a little girl I practiced ballet and horse riding… I mean Shetland pony riding. The only thing I was thinking about when I danced was “dam*** I wish I was with ponies and could just forget about the ballet tutu!

I had a break with riding for five years and was more focused on horse photography, but I started again this year. I don’t have a horse of my own but I have the chance to ride really good ones who teach me a lot of things.

I want to thank Nanna Salmi for being someone involved in my work and for introducing me to her clientele around the world.





Elisabeth Panepinto´s home page HERE
Elisabeth Panepinto in Facebook HERE


Nanna Salmi found Elisabeth Panepinto and her photos in Facebook. 
Since then she has used her photographs in her advertising material, website etc. 
The horse above, in the label, is also photographed by Elisabeth. 
We want to thank her for these beautiful pictures! 



25 Mar 2015

In memoriam N.G. Cherokee 1.7.1997 - 7.10.2014

N.G. Cherokee, ”Elmeri”, was our first own horse - he became to us in the age of 13 after he had completed an honorable career in dressage riding in Finland. Elmeri was everything you could hope from a schoolmaster. Intelligent, noble, kind, challenging and fair. He taught us so much about horses and people. Best moments were in the competitions when he walked to the arena proud and helped me through the course - as I was only starting in the easiest competitions and really nervous. It’s like he would have whispered to me ”don’t worry - I got this”. My father was always as a groom in the competitions and shared a special bond with Elmeri. Those were such a special moments. Elmeri was something special.



Elmeri passed away in the age of 17 due to a difficult hoof cancer after a sick leave of almost a year. He left a huge empty space in our family. With my mom we ordered ourselves nannasalmi Cassandra plastrons to remind us about Elmeri. It helped to get through the process of sorrow.



When my dad had his 60th birthday nannasalmi horsehair jewellery was certainly a perfect gift idea! We ordered him the tie bar Poco Loco and cufflinks Polo. The gift was especially moving and stylish in all it’s simplicity and something he would have never expected. Dad was really touched by this gift.



In a way having these jewelries made of Elmeri's hair helped us to move on from his memory, which is still present in our daily lives. But more like a beautiful dream than a haunting sorrow.

Thank you, Nanna Salmi, for your meaningful and timeless design - it’s truly a jewellery with a thought.

Irene Häggkvist
Helsinki Finland




Irene herself is very talented fashion designer.
Please, visit her website to read and see more!




Enquieries and orders by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com





23 Mar 2015

Cedric - Small Horse, Big Jump


U.S. Equestrian Team show jumping rider Laura Kraut rode this amazing horse
in Olympics 2008 and won a gold medal.

photo www.laurakraut.com

Visit Laura´s official web site and learn more about her: laurakraut.com
Read more about Cedric HERE and on Laura´s page HERE

cedric by nannasalmi

nannasalmi bracelet Cedric is named after this horse.
Cedric has two luck bringing horse shoes, 
the weave is 9 mm broad and it´s very suitable for men, too. 

What ever colour your horse is the horsehair bracelet Cedric 
will look amazing.

horsehairbracelet by nannasalmi

horsehairbracelet with horse shoes


Would you like to have one?


Enquiries and orders by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com




21 Mar 2015

Shaman Wedding - Welcome! Part II


In the Shaman Wedding the most common and well known ceremony is "Handfasting". It is an ancient, Norweigian tradition. Hands are put together as a sign of an agreement. The agreement can be made for a day or a year, for life, forever or for that long there is love.
This union represents a spiritual and love agreement. From this tradition comes an everyday, common habit to shake hands as a sign of an agreement.




In handfasting a couple designs three ribbons: One ribbon to represent each one of them and
one to represent their journey together. In the ritual they hold each others hands and the ribbons are wrapped around their arms. Knots are not made, that symbolizes that the two are there for their free will. While wrapping the vows are said. Also rings can be changed.


This couple decided to make brands, too. The sign is a swan and this beautiful bird is a symbol for a monogamy and a marriage that will last for a lifetime. It is also the national bird of Finland.


The wedding bands are rings Amate from the 
nannasalmi collection.


After eating, drinking, singing and dancing the guests went to sleep in "kotas", tipi-like huts. 
The moon was full and the night was like magic. 


If you wish to have engagement rings or wedding bands by nannasalmi,
please, be in touch! Orders and enquiries by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com



20 Mar 2015

Shaman Wedding - Welcome! Part I


It's early September morning in Carelia, East-Finland, in Juuka wilderness.


The forest is quiet, horses are fast asleep. A laika dog is snoozing, nothing seems to disturb the peace of the nature.

But - something is in the air...



There are signs of a big celebration!

It's a chilly morning. Some guests have stayed overnight in tipi-like huts and are gathered around the fire having their morning coffee. There are decorations, piles of firewood ready for sauna...

Something is going on.


A Shaman Wedding in a Finnish forest! 

Very often animistic wedding ceremonies takes place in a forest. Decoration is organic and
natural, like decorated wedding canopies and poles. 

Let´s get closer!

As the sun gets higher in the sky, the fun starts.
In this wedding the pole is built by guests. All men, women and children
give their helping hand.


The happy couple seems to be very satisfied with the pole.


The bride's necklace is made of reindeer bone. 


The bride giving last instructions


The Shaman


Sometimes there is a ritual circle with compass points and different elements, and 
many devices for a ceremony can be found on the shrine. The ceremony master is usually 
a priest / priestess of a religion or a shaman.



Are we ready? Can we start now?



All the photos by Nanna Salmi 
Source for traditions Lehto ry


Wish to have the wedding bands or engagement rings by nannasalmi?
Be in touch! Enquiries and orders by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com




17 Mar 2015

Kyra Kyrklund, Mrs Horse Professor

Kyra Kyrklund was born in Finland 1951. She started riding in Helsinki Keskustalli when she was 11 years old. Kyra started her competing career in Lahti, Finland in 1967. The borrowed horse was called Dragon and it was the Nordic Championship. Two years later Kyra got a horse of her own, Kasper, and she did show jumping, eventing and dressage and was very succesful in all of them.

During the years Kyra Kyrklund has become the most succesful Finnish dressage rider. She has competed in six Olympics, two more times she was nominated in a team but could not participate in as her horse was injured. She has been coached by Walter Christensen, Herbert Rehbein and her husband Richard White.

As a coach Kyra Kyrklund is also one of the tops in the world. She is internationally well known, liked and succesful dressage trainer, and she travels around the world holding clinics and working with riders and horses. Kyra has worked with Jan Brink, Emma Hindle, Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein ja Imke Schellekens-Bartels among the others. 1988 the Finnish Olympic riding team (became 6th) was trained by her. She also coached the Finnish dressage team for the London Olympics 2012.

"Kyra Kyrklund is one of those dressage characters who is not only a Champion rider in her own right but has an uncanny ability to impart her knowledge in a way that every person listening can easily understand and relate to. This teacher has a way with words that makes logical truth simple and understandable."

Read more from EquestrianLife, Roger Fitzhardinge gets mesmorized by Kyra Kyrklund



Left photo by Christina Dale

Not only riders, she has trained more than ten horses to the international GP -level and also competed succesfully at the same time. Matador, Edinburg, Master and Max are names most of us are familiar with.

Her best known horse is probably the carismatic stallion Matador II. Together they won the World Championships silver in 1990 and the first prize in World Cup Finals 1991. Unfortunately the Japanese owners decided to sell Matador and it looked like she was going to be without a horse. Fortunately she found a petite, black, Russian stud Edinburg, bought it and only six months later she was 5th in the Olympic Games with this unexperienced stallion 1992. It was sensational.

The last National Championships Kyra took part in with Max, a Swedish half-breed gelding. Max was born in 1995 and is a descendant of stud Master. They were succesful in Aachen World Championships 2006, 2007 in World Cup Finals Las Vegas, next year in 's-Hertogenbosch and in Peking Olympics 2008. In September 2009 Kyra announced that it is time for Max to retire and to start living happy, carefree, stressless horse life.

Plastron Max is named after this beautiful horse and the first one ever was made of Max's hair for Kyra Kyrklund. Nanna Salmi met Kyra in Hamina Bastion Horse Show 2001 and Kyra asked for a plastron. The plastron was designed and made and since then it has been one of the most popular designs in the collection.


Kyra riding and wearing 'Max' in Olympic Finals 2008, Photo yle.fi


Would someone, or yourself, NEED a plastron needle made of
own horse´s tail hair? In case "yes", contact us!


Enquiries and orders also by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com







14 Mar 2015

Peak Year Rider

The author of the blog (ruuhkavuosiratsastaja.fi), Anniina, is a high school teacher and student counsellor from Espoo, Southern Finland. She is married and a mother of two.

Anniina calls herself a "Peak Year Rider", which is the finnish name of the blog. It´s not always easy to manage with a full time job, a horse and a family. These things are probably the same everywhere. People like Anniina fill their life with the need to go somewhere witch leads to a terrible rush, when you are always on the run!

Unfortunately she lost her horse, Tintti, in October 2014.

...........................................
 
I became a horse owner a little by an accident. I had been hiring a nice horse for several years until the owner couldn´t take care of it any more. It was time to do some horse trading. The moment was the worst as I had always said to myself, that a woman in the age of making babies should never get a horse to eat time and money. So that very same week I bought a horse - and made a pregnancy test. And started blogging because I could not find peer support on the internet in my crazy life situation: the pregnancy and the very first own horse.


Well, it could have been worse. My horse, Tintti, was the most suitable horse for a "rush year rider" how I started to call myself. The term describes the hectic every day life of a horse owning mother, schedules, hurry, too short night´s sleep... Stretch marks and tiredness... On the back of the horse all that is faded away. Horse has an incredible healing power. On the back of the horse a mother of two children can live a moment only for herself. It is absolutely empowering!

I love eventing. With Tintti I participated one competition before she got the diagnosis of the cushing desease (PPID). The medication that she got is counted in as doping and our competing career was over. But that didn´t stop us training - I would say that the years after the diagnoses were the best!



As I received a nannasalmi bracelet woven with Tintti´s hair in September 2014, I wouldn´t have guessed that I will loose my mare only in a few weeks. Suddenly she was indisposed to move and that worried me - especially as she had been almost perfectly healthy all our 7 years together. Examination at the clinic discovered that her feet had reached their kilometers...

Tintti was put down into a never ending sleep. I had decided that she should not suffer the long, boring, probably useless and frustrating periods of rehabilitation if the situation got bad. I wanted her to go as healthy as possible without unnecessary lengthening her life. It was not easy, though.

Tintti was the horse of my life. She carried me and my children on her back, she educated me to be a horse owner. "A mishap horse" turned out to be one of the biggest growing experiences in my life.


I couldn´t be more thankful for our shared years. I carry them in my heart and around
my wrist with full of love.


horsehairjewellery pferdehaarschmuck sieraadenvanpaardenhaar bijouxencrinsdecheval equestrianjewelry

Bracelet Mistral made with dear Tintti´s hair


Wish to have one? Enquiries and orders also by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com



Coco

Sometimes it´s hard to come up with names for jewelries... What kind of name would
describe the nature of the ring or the bracelet? What name would be GOOD enough?

Sometimes it is very easy.

When Nanna Salmi designed this ring her idea was to create a classic, timeless ring with sophisticated details - ring for classy and sophisticated ladies.

But - the name... Nanna Salmi thought it´s better to look for great horses with beautiful names
and name the ring after one. She did a great job!

Coco Chanel


Photo Melanie Brevnik
Decks Coco Chanel blk. M Quarter Horse, born 1993


Coco was a very promising show jumper, unfortunately it had to be put down in June 2007 
after an accident in rehabilitation.


Read more about beautiful Coco Chanel from eurodressage.com


Ring Coco by nannasalmi


Available in silver, gold and white gold.
Hand woven ribbon of your horse´s tail hair.

Every jewellerys has a story. A story of you and your horse.


Would you like one? Enquiries and orders also by email
minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com

See the whole collection of rings