» General Jewelry

Got extra beads? Not after you see this!

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:11:08 +0000

Cynthia Brandon came up with this great design to use up your extra beads! It’s so simple, but so elegant, and she shares it on her blog, Brandolina. You need to visit her, not just to see how she makes this necklace, but also to see more of her beautiful work!

I found this delightful bit of biographical information on her blog:

From 2002 – 2008 she owned and operated a bead shop in Ohio where she had much joy buying all things beady and sharing her knowledge with wonderful customers. Today she sells her beady wares online while managing her household, websites, blogs and enjoying Saturdays off. Retail hours are the pits.

Just an average gal really….

No, Cynthia, I don’t think you’re just an average gal at all!

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Elizabeth Scott Designer Jewelry

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:06:04 +0000

Jewelry Designer and Metalsmith
Elizabeth Scott lives in rural Upstate New York, near Albany. She has two art degrees, one in Drawing and one in Printmaking. After college, she worked as a public school teacher for a few years, before she began making jewelry full time.

Pool Earrings
A matte surface contrasts with the mirror shine of the recessed hammer marks, creating depth. One inch discs, total length 1 1/2 inches long, made of sterling silver.
$30

Plants and water are Elizabeth’s favorite subjects. To represent water, she uses various methods of producing texture on metal. Patterns are hammered, enameled, matte-finished, or heat-textured. All silver items are solid sterling silver or fine silver, including chains and clasps. She can also create most pieces in gold upon request.

Aspen Leaf Necklace
The impression of an aspen leaf is cast in sterling silver from my original then oxidized and matte finished. The pendant is about 1″ wide, and hangs from an 18″ bar chain with a handmade hook clasp.
$49

Elizabeth’s botanical pieces are created from the plant itself - from a mold or impression of the leaf, or from a casting of the organic object. She makes one original piece in metal, then to make multiples, she has castings done for her by a local jewelry caster. She creates the finish and patina on each piece by hand.

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Extreme Diamonds

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:02:57 +0000

You won’t find most of these diamond studded items at your local jewelry store. In fact, some of them aren’t set into jewelry at all, like the platinum and diamond skull you see here, which was cast from the skull of a living, breathing male who lived about 300 years ago. Poor guy — his grave must not have been very secure. The necklace made from Marie Antoinette’s pearls is beautiful, and the $500,000 gold and diamond dog collar is, well… big.

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Beaders Showcase opens its cyber-doors

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:36:00 +0000

Beaders Showcase is a site where you can show your work and share your experiences. It’s a fairly new site, and is growing as the word spreads. According to the welcome page:

Beaders Showcase is dedicated to the artist in all Beaders. It doesn’t matter what type of beading you do, beaded jewelry, beaded lampshades, lampwork, gemstone beads, beadwork on clothes, you are welcome to join up and show us your work.

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Jewelry Designer and Metalsmith

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:34:01 +0000

Eve Abraham Sperling is a designer who grew up in the jewelry industry and considers the New York jewelry district her second home. At the age of 15, she began working in the family-owned gem company, Precious Gem Resources, with her father, Jack Abraham, who is one of the world’s most renowned suppliers of gemstone quality Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds

After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Eve Sperling enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, where her passion for design became evident. She received a degree in Interior Design and now holds certification from the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), a distinction that is attained only after rigorous testing of all aspects of the Interior Design field.

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Tiffany Notes Collection

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:25:51 +0000

Tiffany fans should take a look at the jeweler’s Tiffany Notes collection. Each piece is etched in a flowing script that spells out the company’s name and its address, 727 Fifth Avenue, New York. The cuff, bracelet and ring in the photo are crafted from sterling silver, but the collection includes 18K gold jewelry and pieces made from a combination of gorgeous black onyx and sterling.

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Inexpensive Jewelry Web Site Options

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:24:29 +0000

I received the following email from a reader recently: “I’ve been making jewelry for several years & sell some to friends, co-workers, & neighbors. I’m not very computer savvy but would like to start my own web site. Do you have any suggestions?”
I’ve been asked this before, so I thought I’d throw out a few ideas here for everyone. Here are some easy to start up and run web site ideas for those with little money and little technical expertise:

Free Blog Networks: Wordpress.com and Blogger.com are just two of the many free networks on the web that will allow you to set up a blog and write about pretty much anything you want to. Plus, weblogging software is relatively easy to use. Nothing says you have to just blog on a blog site. You can also post new jewelry pieces you have made for sale.
Free Web Sites: There are still a lot of places that allow you to set up a free web site like Geocities.com. Just make sure you check their rules about posting products for sale. Some have restrictions about this. While I don’t think their software is as simple as most blogging software, much of it is not all the difficult to master pretty quickly.
Etsy.com: Of course, most of you know I’ve been playing around over at Etsy.com, and I think that it is pretty easy to navigate for the most part. It is free to set up a shop, and the fees for listing items and selling items is fairly small.
Ebay.com: This is another site where you can open a store. They allow you to create a shop that has “buy now” merchandise as well as auction abilities.
Ruby Lane: You can also set up a site at Ruby Lane, and this has become pretty well-known. It specializes in arts, antiques, and vintage items for sale. So, hand-made jewelry would fit in fine over there.
If you can recommend other places to set up a fairly inexpensive and easy jewelry web site, feel free to post the links in the comments.
Of course, I’ve just discussed the “set up” process here. Getting customers to come to your shop is a whole other issue to deal with.

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Jewelry Designer and Metalsmith

admin — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:35:00 +0000

Karen Klinefelter is a Vermont artist who began working in metals as an apprentice nearly twenty years ago. After a rewarding long-term position as assistant to award-winning jewelry designer Timothy Grannis, Karen established her own studio in 1999. Her jewelry is inspired primarily by patterns and textures in nature and in manmade objects.

Flutter Earrings
Delicate earrings on ear wires, with a crosshatch pattern.
Available in sterling silver or 18k gold.
$140 / $890

About the Jewelry
“I started out creating jewelry for myself. My life is active and outdoors as much as possible. I want pieces that are easy and comfortable, yet unique. They need to go everywhere I do. I don’t want to be taking them off for a yoga class or to ski. I’d like to make everyone’s favorite pair of earrings!”

Wrist Wrap Silver & Leather Bracelet
Decorated sterling silver provides the perfect complement to this adjustable colored leather cuff.
Fits up to a 7.5″ wrist.
$210

The Thai Jewelry Collection
“This collection began after an experience in Bangkok in 1998. I had only two days left of my journey before I had to return home. I was wandering the streets of Bangkok trying to absorb as much as possible of the incredibly rich street scene in the short time I had left.

“I came across a street vendor with interesting jewelry and fell in love with one particular ring. Typical of my usual conservative nature, I decided to sleep on it and make my decision the following day, my last day in Thailand. The next day, I walked down the street in anticipation of seeing the ring again. I rounded the corner only to find that the vendor had not returned that day.

“I returned home with the ring in my mind’s eye and recreated the image. The ring and the process have given me such great pleasure that I continue to add to the collection. The designs remind me of elements of the overwhelming energy and intense visual feasts of the cities of Thailand.”

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