this morning a package was delivered to my house containing 5 of the prettiest things ever made for ones neck. they were sent by my friend Marietjie who owns Skermunkil, which i’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, i’m obsessed with. i have 4 of her necklaces already and now i have 5. the sweet little hot air balloon below came wrapped with my name on it. flip today is a good day and it’s just about to get better. cause Marietjie has sent the other 4 necklaces for you guys. yes. so what i have decided to do, so that no one dies of awesome overload is split this giveaway into 2. so in the first one you can win one of 2 necklaces and then in a couple of week, i’ll giveaway the other 2. sound good?
Marietjie Beeslaar, lives in muizenberg cape town. She is married to a rory and together they run Skermunkil, the raddest, in my opinion at least, handmade jewelery in the country (you can go see all her stuff on her blog). Now you’re probably all thinking, what the blazers does Skermunkil mean. I know I’ve been wondering for a while now. My guess was a skew squirrel who likes to live underground and not in trees, cause he’s allergic to the colour green. The real meaning however, is – rascal or trouble maker. I think I was pretty close.
Other than make skermunkils, marietjie has also started making clothes with a friend of hers and wants to get into making ceramics – I think, even though we have never met in person, she is my best friend. And so my first born shall be named Skermunkil (sorry shane), Skermunkil Dancer Durrant.
If any of you are familiar with marietjie ‘s stuff you can see that she’s inspired by old 1950’s 1960’s illustrated children’s books, second hand/antique shopping, traveling, people, stones, friends and their styles, cape town, flowers and birds. She’s currently in the process of opening a shop, which I have no doubt will be as awesome as melting all these things together in one big awesome pot – address: 44 Palmer Road, Muizenberg. Go visit. It’ll be nice.
I asked marietjie if she has ever run around a park with her pants on her head singing “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts tralalalalalla” – she said she hadn’t, but might consider doing it if she had a couple of wolvie friends around. I say lets get our mother-flipping pants off and start running friend, you only live once and you might as well do it wearing something pretty round your neck whilst avoiding the police and crying 5 year olds on swings. Good times.
So if you think you would like one of these pretties, all you have to do is leave me AND marietjie a comment on our blogs, with your definition of what you think a Skermunkil is. If you leave 2 comments, you get 2 entries. Awesome. Good luck x x and thanks marietjie, YOU ARE AWESOME
here are the first 2 up for grabs (they all come with sterling silver necklaces and lots of handmade love)
i am IN LOVE with her work OSSESSED She is a goddess of brilliance in shining glory filled splendour. There’s not a lot i wouldn’t do to get the heart bird/key and tea pot at the end of a hectic month. a skermunkil is that round perfect shape my cat makes in winter when he’s tightly aspeep; it is that look on my 3 yr old kai when she sees my skermunkil birdy necklace and screams for one herself (never mind the 5yr old lulu in love with steph’s cloud bunnies)
it is the feeling when you’ve seen the cutest most gourgeous necklaces made with extra love and strength. i’m mad about both you guys and check your blogs every single day. thank goodness angie updates more than marietjie – only jokes – she’s makin that gourgeous jewlery. can’t wait for the clothes sale 🙂
Skermunkil (adv) – to crawl into a hollow, happy space in the mind, with a new adornment for the neck. Context – ‘In a swift skermunkel move, Carol went far into her mind and touched her neck’
Skermunkil (adj) – describes the neck, in such an extraordinary way it seems impossible.
Yes please please please!
Could I please have some Skermunkil tea please. No milk and 15 sugars please.
skermunkil: things wot iz pritty
According to the Jo dictionary; sker = the end of Rainbow where little fairies play with your hair all day. munkil = the last little chocolate crumb from the most delicious chocolate cake eva. If you put them together you get EFFING AWESOME.
OH MY FLIPPING FACE!
Skermunkil (v.) to tuck into something; to tuck in to anything; to tuck in in general.
eg:
‘I’ll skermunkil a Quarter Pounder with cheese please’.
‘Did you skermunkil that boy on the dancefloor last night?’
(int.)
(Or, just as an expression of excitement:)
‘Hell yes I skermunkilled him’…..’SKERMUNKIL!’
Please. Thanks.
Oh, you have to be Afrikaans to know this. Skermunkil : someone who is naughty, mischievous in a nice way. So if you don’t let me win, you are a real Skermunkil.
Skermunkil = awesome to the power of pretty multiplied by perfection
Oh my “word”
Oh my “skermunkil”
🙂
angie i had NOOOOOOOO idea this could be so much fun….these people are funnnnnnyyyyyy!!!
when i think skermunkil i think the baddies in Liewe Heksie! i don’t know why 🙂
Skermunkil (n.) an organism which grows under shells in warm watered lagoons. Brightly coloured and tasty to eat.
xx i hope i win that teapot. flip its pretty!
Skermunkil (n.) : A tea party held in a quaint pretty garden with frolicking and lots of cake 🙂
Etymology: First enjoyed by ladies and gents of the 1920’s, usually the day after an evening at the speakeasy.
Skermunkil [ˈskɜrmənkɪl] (n.): a man who is jealous, bitter and hateful towards women because he cannot wear pretty floral frocks and vintage jewelry on a regular basis without becoming the laughing stock of his school/office/society.
I love Skermunkil! I have a pretty blue and white bird that I bought from them many a month ago and I hold it very dear. ♥
I think Skermunkil is across between a squirrel and a monkey. 🙂
I seriously seriously want that teapot necklace!
skermunkil, s-k-e-r-m-u-n-k-i-l, skermunkil! oh wait, its not a spelling bee its a thesaurus type game ummm skermunkil (n) white fluff that is blown about by the wind during spring
Skermunkil is a person who doesn’t have enough money at the mo’ cause she’s pursuing an art career and therefore doesn’t have a steady income so she can’t buy herself happy necklaces which she needs desperately.
I am a skermunkil!!! 😀
Skermunkil is curiouser and curiouser, and asks why a raven is like a writing desk. xx
ahhh the bird with the littlest, prettiest key!! just like the one in alice in Underland i love it love it love it. Actually everytime you mention skermunkil in your blog i think of what it could mean and i imagine a little monkey who makes a frightened face..but that doesn’t make any sense so then i thought it must be an afrikaans word and thought it must have something to do with scissors..cos sker..or a word similar to it means scissors no? well then theres this one move in volting (like gymnastics on a horsie) that’s called the scissor and it’s sort of this feminine leg pas de bourre (i like saying pas de bourre, i don’t really know what move it is in ballet..but it means step of the drunk in french..ahaha) wow..i just saw a skermunkil riding on a dog..it was the type of skermunkil i mentioned first ahhh i laugh it was cute..but a tad brutal. ok ok..i really hope i get lucky this time because i love all these lovely jewels. please please choose me..even though i know you choose at random..so i’ll ask Fortuna to choose me. have a nice day 🙂
skermunkil = rory & marietjie = most beautiful jewelery in the whole wide wide wide round world.
i’m a fan. what can i say. i have an owl, a sailing ship and a helicopter flying with a heart. but i’m greeeeeedy and want more. hehehe. damn, i love a skermunkil so much!
guys all these definitions are so awesome. you guys are awesome.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A skermunkil is the 2cm high heavily built crow living in my brain, feeding chiefly on pretty things.
One is completely powerless against his unsuspected attacks and when he’s on the hunt, he gets pretty scary and he puffs his shiny feathers up and looks soooo menacing that I have to succumb. If I try to ignore him, he makes terrible high pitching sounds in my ear and uses his wings to create a whirlwind in my head, removing all logic and credit card sense from my brain. Skermunkils are mostly hunted by husbands and bank managers.
skermunkil is a word of mystery but feels warm in the depth of our souls
your work is awesome & even tho there are funnier comments above who deserve to win…i just wanted to add a comment for encouragement sake coz my skermunkil makes my day, everyday!
Cousin to the leprechaun, (from the good side of the family) a skermunkil chases rainbows, looking for the pot of gold at the end – which he always finds! He delivers his golden bounties to all the nicest unsuspecting jewelery makers secretly in the middle of the night for them to make more beautiful things with! What a nice little creature.
Did I mention that I want these?
What a fantastic opportunity to win such precious jewelery and get creative ♥
skermunkil: ” Sker_munkil ” : is a unique dance move, that begins with a little shake of the hips and ends with a overwhelming urge to collapse onto the floor with laughter afterward. It is commonly interpreted as a sign of uninhibited joy and euphoria. This emotion is said to be brought on by the presents of delightfully wonderful pieces of handcrafted ceramic jewelery.
Skirmunkil: the sweet noise my strawberry yogurt nosed cat makes when she stretches out in for me to scratch her tummy.
BAHAHAHA Marieks, you have to save these and print them somewhere, somehow as part of the story of Skermunkil! They are all flippen funny and excellent. My fav is Kristen’s definition of Skermunkil being a man who is jealous that he can’t wear pretty frocks and jewellery for fear of being scorned by society. I want that definition!!!!!!!! I want it to be mine! I want it on a t-shirt!!!
Skermunkil (verb): to flop across the ground on one’s belly, arms flailing in an exaggerated manner, whilst hollering ‘ME WANT PRETTY NECKLACE’ at intervals of four flops.
let me see… a “skermunkil” sounds like a killer-scissor-monkey…
A skermunkil is a small girl with dirty feet. At least, the one that I know is.
A skermunkel is a little wizened lady who lives in the woods…she’s been shrunken so she’s actually veeeery little, like tiny. And she only comes out in the moonlight to play with the other shrinkened little skermunkel people…to the tune of the little skermunkel accordion man’s songs….
A bird with a key would look so nice on me tra la la
A skermunkil is a scallywag!
A ‘SkerMunkel’ is something that puts a smile on my face 🙂 simple.but true. 🙂 🙂 🙂
ah man, i skermunkilled through my jewellery box this morning, i have many so it took some time – and i still can’t find my new skermunkil. WHERE IS IT!!!
I think a skermunkil is the name of a lady’s delicious jewelry label. yes im right.
did I mention I speak skermunkil? I think it will feel the moat at home at my place with all it’s brothers and sisters
please please be kind to the skermunkil
I think Skermunkil describes a renegade clan of short-legged armed bandits that have obsessive compulsive disorder and impeccable taste in bespoke stationery. These bandits are native to Burma and caffeine-induced hallucinations.
If I don’t win – I won’t be your friend ever again. Joking.
Skermunkil (n): A small pixie like creature from the same family as the tokoloshi. It lurks and scrounges around your house stealing your precious things like vintage buttons, receipts for clothes you really need to take back as well as small change. It eats cake crumbs and likes to nibble on the corners of old books. They also push ornaments off shelves – bye bye bambi! At night it buys things on Etsy and racks up a ridiculous bill. Nothing is safe in the path of the would-be Skermunkil so lock up your goods! Naughty damn things.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear, how does a gal compete? I’m devastated to have woken up so late in the game and fear that the precious powder blue teapot will never happily dance around my neck – indeed it could possibly be the best friend I never had…so I must fight valiantly…here it goes…(dum dum dum)
SKERMUNKIL (pronounced: Ss’kerrrrrr*munK’alll): is an extraordinary kind of imaginary companion who totes a Mary Poppins bag of magical wishes, perching upon your shoulder or tucked behind your ear by day and curling up in that little gap between your collar bone and shoulder bone thingy at night (mine snores a little). The skermunkil comes into being when a gangly teenage girl falls in love with her first eyelash curler and can come in any form imaginable- but usually dinky small is better (they can get rather heavy)! Mine wears purple socks, a smocked frock and a velvety red ribbon. It is the preordained vocation of the skermunkil to collect every squandered eyelash from that point, diligently ensuring you keep making the wishes of your heart…these are special secrets which only the skermunkil will ever ever know and treasure. BUT…You have to look after your sweet skermunkilly with great care…or you’ll end up a frumpy old lady with no style, no wishes and more shockingly – no eyelashes!
Pretty pretty please with a maraschino cherry on top…the powder blue teapot will live a happy little life with me!!!!
ps – yay yay for angie and marietjie finsing each other and bringing some wonderful loveliness to all of us!!! you guys rock!
finsing = finding…just so flippin’ excited about a teapot necklace!
Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook and a Skermunkil !
Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook and a Skermunkil.
oops! didnt mean to make the same comment twice–web f-up :-p
A broken-hearted munchkin of course?!
hey..its like a naughty kinda cheeky squirell type chipmunk thats actually a little kid…thats a lot of defining
x
the direct translation is :
Scare monkey (with an “l” at the end)
sker-munki-l
pick me, pick me…
and…….. i really think i should get these lovelies as it was my quarter century anniversary (birthday) yesterday and didn’t get one singular present (all because it was the last day of splashy and no-one packed gifts and they woke up and left….) i love my friends!
and…….. i read your blog instead of working! YES!
a little item of most pretty that you are willing to use a sker (scissor in afrikaans me thinks) to kil (l) the mun(ions) with in order to have, just for you. don’t make me do it. x
Oh YES! I already have a rabbit and teddy bear! (The boyfriend has learnt the go-to place at the biscuit mill for all presents).
Tea pot!! LOVE! Skermunkil is the look my puppy gives me (eyebrows raised, slight wrinkled forehead and whites of the beady eyes showing) while chewing my shoe, and just before he runs (shoe in mouth) into the garden for a little catch-me-if-you-can.
I heart Skermunkil-the necklaces are sooooooooo fantanstically,gorgeously cute and I’m having sweet dreams about them resting on my clavicle already…Skermunkil is a kick-ass acid-tripping dj. That’s what I think.
Thank you.
I love your blog to bits.
Goodbye.
Awoooooo.
I also think it could possibly be the most delicious flavour of ice-cream that exists.
Yes.
Thank you.
Goodbye now.
I just love these cheeky girls smocked dresses. Such intricate design and patterns.Thanks for sharing this.
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