As you can see I made some progress since the last blog! In that episode I had just selected the designs I wanted to work with, including several new gemstones. So I skipped as step before showing you this video. Basically that step showed the first soldering done. This one shows the soldered designs attached to their backing plus I have indicated a few of the components I … [Read more...]
taking the first step in the design process
Today I spent about 2 hours going over some of the new gems I purchased; deciding which ones I wanted to work with first and which ones could wait for later. I get into the zone with this process. I listen to classical music. It calms me and helps the creativity flow. Basically I choose the ones that inspire me the most. I know that down the road I may choose other options but … [Read more...]
Did Someone Say ‘Custom’ Jewelry?
Did you know that about 20% of my designs are custom created at the request of a customer? My customer wants a different size, a different gem, or even an altered design, based upon my aesthetic. I am happy to oblige. Over the years I have designed custom earrings, rings and pendants. I ask only that you as the customer, give me more time to complete the finished piece. Please … [Read more...]
Fun with Perforated Steel
Who knew that perforated steel, which is used in a variety of construction and manufacturing applications, is also good for designing jewelry? I found this out earlier this year when I took a class on working with steel and gold. Since that time I have been experimenting with lots of ways to use this amazing material. these earrings were designed with expanded steel. Of … [Read more...]
A Tale of Four Metals
These 4 metals are my raw materials! (along with my gemstones of course). When I first began my jewelry designing journey, I worked exclusively with Copper and sterling silver. We were trained on copper since it's value was much less than silver, yet it reacts very similar to silver when heated or textured. I fused silver to copper as an experiment and fell in love with the … [Read more...]
