Gravelvet Etsy Review

Times are hard and independent artists are ones who feel it more than others. Although I should be watching my own budget too, I couldn't walk past when a good friend of mine really needed those extra sales. Especially when they had pretty shiny things!

About the Shop

Gravelvet is the name of many things ran by Lou Graves, from YouTube channel to his Instagram. It's also a shop on Etsy and the brand that he travels to various conventions and events with. It has a mixture of art and accessories, from jewellery to keyrings and I think at one point even neckbows etc for ouji. There are all sorts of styles there, predominantly classic and gothic, but I spotted a few things in either iridescent pinks or in cuter themes that would work with sweet lolita too. So despite the grave name, you will find more there than just coffins and gothiness, which means you should definitely check it out if you're in need of any accessories or after some art.

Order Process

The shop is on Etsy which makes the entire order process incredibly easy. I placed mine on April 3rd and paid by PayPal. Notification of postage came on April 6th and then another three days later it arrived with me. Even though the journey from Scotland to North-West England is not very far, considering all the lockdown delays, this is probably the same order processing speed as I'd expect in normal times. (In fact I had a smaller package sent from England to England that took longer than this one that technically travelled from another country, if you want to be very pedantic.)

What I Got

My order arrived in a very thick blue bubble wrap envelope. I did not expect it to be blue and kind of want to keep it just because it's pretty, but likely won't. It did the job it was supposed to of protecting the contents.

Inside was a thank-you postcard with a business card attached by a cute heart gem. The necklace that I purchased was inside a silver jewellery box, which was additionally taped shut to keep the contents extra safe. I couldn't peel the tape off gently enough so as to not damage the box, but it's also some sort of holo, which blends with the box nicely enough, so I just cut it.

Not sure if I like the business card more...

... or that thank-you card. Those roses look like stained glass!

The necklace is called Iridescent Princess, which is the most appropriate name for it. It's very big, only just about fit inside the box, and certainly opulent enough to fit a princess. The gold chain is long, yet the individual links are large enough that I can easily clasp it at the length I need. This is something that I forget to look out for, that I still highly appreciate when it's there. Not every outfit has the same neckline and being able to fasten a necklace as low or high as needed means that I can use it with multiple looks.

Barely enough space for all those gems.

Long chain with big links, so it could be shorter if you want it to.

The colour of iridescence.

However, the star of the show are the iridescent gems: three large ones accompanied by six smaller coloured gems. The smaller ones are not iridescent, they are blue, pink and clear, which mimic the effect of iridescence. And in true iridescent fashion, the large gems photograph any of these three colours (and more) depending on what catches the light. The centre gem is flat on both sides, while the side ones are faceted and stick out at the top and are flat at the bottom, where they meet your body, which allows them to sit a bit better. Because of this, they also gleam with different colours than each other. No doubts this could drive a matchy-matchy fanatic a bit mad, though I love this, it's a truly magical detail.

The small gems match in colour so well.

It seems that there are some scratches on this one, but let's be honest, I'm not the most careful person, so I'd probably cause some anyway.

This one looks almost pastel!

The timing of this necklace's arrival could not be better too: I had literally just finished getting ready in a more OTT coord when the postman stuck this through my letterbox. And of course, as soon as I was done taking pictures of the necklace on its own, I put it on because it matched my outfit perfectly! See for yourself how well it goes with my space princess coord.

The necklace matched my shiny gloss topper almost spot on.

This particular necklace cost £28 plus £3 postage and it looks like it was a one-of-a-kind as I don't see it in the shop anymore. It's a more than reasonable price for the quality, size and how stunning this piece is. When there isn't a pandemic forcing everyone indoors, Gravelvet attends a host of various conventions around the UK and some international lolita events, so look out for their stall. And if you can't go to an event that they'll also be at, simply order via Etsy. I can't vouch for international postage prices, but then most of the things in the shop are either small or light, or both, making them fit in a small bubble envelope, so postage shouldn't be much. Unless you go mad and do a very big order, of course.

It's a 10/10 would recommend for your various accessory needs! Grab things while you can, I have already noticed a bunch of stock disappearing since I placed my order and now (and a lot more art being added, if you prefer that).