Pieces on the way!

So after many hours of carving my first few waxes, I have sent them off to be cast. I plan to have them by the end of the week. I have some nice satin cords for the pendants and crafty little boxes for them to be presented in.

I've also been setting up my storefront, which is really just an Etsy account. When this becomes more fluid I might make the move to my own online store, but Etsy has a pretty good thing going so far.

More news when the pieces arrive!

Do the right thing

I've had many conflicted thoughts regarding the environmental impact of jewelry and my desire to make it. I urge anyone concerned about the future of our planet and the jewelry industries reaction toward it to check out this article by Modern Jeweler and the online blog Fairjewelry.org.

There are companies inside this archaic jewelry empire that are starting to make the change, but despite the best efforts of some, the industry as a whole has a long long way to go. I, for one, intend to start off on the right foot. A considerable amount of research will be done on my part before I drop money on materials of any kind; metal, gems, packaging, etc.

Wax on, wax off

After some attempts working in metal, it appears these new designs are better suited to being carved in wax. I haven't worked in wax in awhile, so it might be a trial at first, but overall it will make for cleaner designs.

New designs, good ones

So I seem to have come up with a design I'm very happy with. I've discovered that while my bench is a great place to work and build pieces, it is not inspirational when it comes to designing. The one spot that always works for me is the sun-room off our house, with tons of light, fresh air, plants and of course a feline companion. These designs are based off of the shadow of lemongrass plants.

New Designs

A couple of designs I'm working out. Pretty different from pieces I've done before.

The Art of Fire

On another note, my soldering pad makes for some killer Abstract Expressionism. I should sell prints of these on the side.

Toasted knuckes and monster spiders.

So I had a chance to turn everything on and melt some stuff, first on the list was my knuckle hair, I need to be a little more careful. Today I just tried a couple of small soldering jobs, this new torch is going to be amazing, it will make a huge difference in how I solder tiny pieces. The pin vises I ordered are fantastic as well, allowing me to grip small pieces without having to shape my finger nails into vises... which never worked the way I thought it might.

I took a few pictures of my bench, it's pretty basic, just an old counter top I found for free on the side of the road and a few 2x4's. It seems like it'll be enough space, I will need to build some shelves though.


This probably is the cleanest it will ever look. I do try to keep things relatively organized, it makes life a lot easier when looking for tools and parts, and anything for that matter.



Oh yeah, my makeshift ventilation/escape route/light source is also home to hundreds of filthy spiders. There can't possibly be enough bugs for all of them to live off of, so I'm sure they are eating each other, and carefully eyeing me from behind as I work. You can't see them in the picture, but trust me... they are there...

In The Beginning

Today I set up the gas, bolted the bench to the wall and arranged all the tools. After a few months of scrounging for tools and gadgets, my shop is ready for me to begin creating. My first step is to get acquainted with the setup and tools I'll be using. I have a Smith little torch, a great torch, but a style that I haven't used before. Along with that, I'm using different chemicals, specifically biodegradable and less toxic ones.

The first month in my shop will consist of familiarizing myself with my setup and drawing designs. By September I should have all my concepts finished and ready to build.