This strutting pink poodle is designed by Louisa Camille for Erstwilder. Louisa Camille is based in Melbourne, Australia, so this pink madam has travelled over 10,500 miles to join my collection. When you buy a piece of Erstwilder jewellery it comes in a distinctive round box with a pink lid. Erstwilder brooches are made of layered resin and are distinctive in terms of their colour and quirky design. They appeal to the vintage retro market that is popular at the moment. I’ve always loved plastic jewellery some of my earliest pieces were Lea Stein and I continue to buy plastic/resin brooches when I see eye-catching or unusual designs.
Poodles are ranked as the second most intelligent dog breed just behind the Border Collie and there are three types; standard, miniature and toy. The origins of the poodle are disputed, some say they come from Germany and were known as Pudlehund, pudle meaning “to splash about”, and hund meaning dog. While the counter view states they descend from a French breed of dog called Barbet which was crossed with the Hungarian water dog known as a puli.
The artist Albrecht Durer is believed to be the first artist to immortalise the poodle in the 15th and 16th century, a number of his wood cuts show a small curly haired cut coat dog.
Poodle by Albrecht Durer
from The Flagellation of Christ (ca 1500)
