Beads and Necklaces

I just love old trade beads. There is something about them that makes me inspired and excited to start creating. I have not done so in a very long time. I pulled out a few beads and it’s starting again. I am wanting to start creating more necklaces with my beads. Some past chokers that I use also have inspired me to make more of them too. Let’s hope it’s enough to push me into action. lol. It’s so relaxing to make them though. I have, off and on, been making beaded necklaces since high school around 30 years ago. It’s more of a hobby, but I can only make so many for myself, right? So as start up again, I’ll start to add them to my site so if you don’t feel up to making them you can just buy them. :)

There are so many cool beads out there. I do my best to make a strong and durable product. I think over the years making jewelry for a living has really helped me develop my skill set as a craftsman. I feel I don’t have to worry so much about the tools and how to go about it. It’s now more about that I have the skill set so what do I create? Anything is possible as long as I have the supplies and imagination. As I’ve gone through my beads I feel that I really don’t have that many. At least not as many as I wish I had. They are quite expensive, but it’s like a bug. I could spend money on beads just because they look cool to me and never use them for anything. So terrible! Well I hope I can start creating something with what I have so it’s not sitting around anymore and so I can go out and buy more. :)

Here are some of the chokers. The first two in the image are mine from years and years back. I love wearing them even though I get a few strange looks around town. The blurred one in the background is a four strand brass bead, bone and leather choker. I strung it with real sinew cordage that I made. It’s very nice. I hope to vary these up and make a bunch more. These are fun to make and they last a very very long time. Soon I’ll have some available for purchase. Let me know if you have any ideas on a choker that you may like and I’ll see what I can do. That’s it for this month. Just trying to find time to create. Life gets in the way sometimes and it’s hard to get the time I need to be creative. I guess a little here and there is better than nothing. :)

Handmade Bracelets

I have some handmade bracelets I made years ago. I learned how to make these from a book that showed how to make loop n loop style links. I modified some of them to work with what I had. The last image shows a bangle bracelet that I learned how to make while living in Lao P.D.R. So let me explain how I made these because I will probably only ever make another as a hobby or when I have a lot of spare time. First the tapered woven bracelet.

This woven bracelet I made from scratch. I mean that I did not order the wire from a jewelry manufacturer and then build it. I took fine silver coins. That’s .999 fine silver. It’s best to work with fine silver because it’s softer and will weld a lot easier for this style of bracelet. Believe me when I tell you these links go through a lot to be woven together and that softness or malleability goes a long way. So I melt the coins down and pour them into an ingot. I then roll out the silver into a square ingot. As I roll it through the mill the square ingot slowly becomes longer and longer. I have to re heat the silver to a glowing red color to anneal it every time it passes a few times through the mill. Eventually it becomes smaller and smaller in diameter. I then reach a point where I can then start pulling it through draw plates. This rounds out the now wire and I can continue the process of drawing and annealing the wire until I reach the desired thickness or diameter of wire I need. In this case for the tapered bracelet I needed a lot of sizes and I had to stay organized especially once I started to make the rings. So the next step was to make all the little rings that would get woven together. Once I make them I have to align each seam and weld (not solder) each seam together with a torch.

Now to start weaving. I next have to crush the circle with pliers in order to push them through the other links that I’m creating. Once I push one end through I have to un crush it and round the end back out for the next crushed or flattened link to pass through. With all that abuse I have to anneal it every now and then otherwise at times the welded seams break from all the stress put on them. When that happens I have to back track a few links to remove it and then continue on to make the bracelet. As you can see this tapered bracelet had to be organized to keep matching sizes on both sides so it could taper and also be even once the desired length was reached. No small task.

Next I had to build the end caps. They were also handmade from scratch. After rolling out some small sheet I made the caps and also domed the very end of it. I also made the little pieces and soldered them on for decoration. The clasp was no different. I had to hammer the end out or draw it out to a point so I could then curl the hook. After the end caps get soldered on the woven bracelet I have to polish it. After polishing I used a technique I learned in Laos to darken it with bees wax. Again, so much work is involved that I probably will never make another. Fun, but time consuming and only for enjoyment.

The other bracelet or bangle bracelet was also made in a similar way or at least the wire making was the same. Then I use a solid piece of silver to make the bangle and use twisted wire that is wrapped around it to create the pattern you see. I love how they turn out. I will probably still make these bangles as long as I purchase pre-made wire to work with.

There are other styles of loop n loop bracelets. I learned how to do the woven or crochet version with silver wire while staying in Laos. That is also fun to make. They are made of one wire and it can be round or flattened. This is usually made with thinner wire so it can be crocheted easier. The thicker ones are best to be done the traditional way as a true loop n loop style as I explained above.

So where did this originate? I’ve read that it is of Greek or Etruscan origins, but that is a whole different story that you can do a little research on.

So there you have it. A wonderful craft that is fun to do. I truly love making wire and it’s fun. It is very time consuming though and I can only leave that for special relaxing time away from business. If you are a purist then these few bracelets are just that. From scratch. The future will force me to be less pure from scratch and start using factory made wire which makes me sad, but also enables me so sell them at a more affordable price. Comments are welcome.

Handmade Solid Sterling Silver Bangle Bracelet

Square Rings

So today I wanted to talk about square rings and how they can be comfortable and stylish. I have been designing rings that have four showing sides. Sometimes a little rounded and other times more flat. The neat thing about them is that they are actually very comfortable to wear. The band is thin between the fingers and the corners get quite a bit thicker. These types of rings don’t tend to spin around the finger and have a nice weight and feel to them. Square shank bands are a bit eye catching too since most people are use to seeing a round ring. Square rings although have flat sides on the outside, the inside of them are still round to slide onto the finger as a traditional round ring would. Here are a few examples of square rings (see image below).

The Loopy Celtic knot ring that you see below is packed with detail on both the inside and outside of the ring. Even though you don’t see the patterns on the inside while wearing the ring, just knowing that it’s there makes it cool. When someone wants to see it you take it off and show all the extras that come with this band. It can be worn as just a great stylish ring or even for a wedding band. My bands are not usually gender specific. Male or Female can wear them. Most of my patterned bands are a little wider than some people are use to. Around 8mm to 10mm wide. They are this wide so that a pattern can be made in greater detail. For thin bands the pattern has to stay simple, but I like how the wider bands can show lots of detail and they also have a nice weight to them. That’s something you want in a ring. Thin rings tend to bend and wear a lot faster, but a well made band will be thick enough to be comfortable yet strong enough that it won’t bend the first time you drop it or bump it. These rings are some of my favorites.

If you are ever looking for some unique style bands just check out my inventory. I’m about ready to swap out my wedding band to one of these. I also make them in 14k gold even when not listed on my site. Just ask for a quote if ever interested in a ring that is not in gold yet.

Well I love designing rings with patterns and as you can see I have a whole site dedicated to this. I design them in CAD software and that is like a master mold of that ring. I get inspired to create new designs by many ways. The usual way will be to just start building. I start playing around with different ideas and objects that I create until something works out. Yeah there are times I go back and look at old designs and I’m no longer happy with them. Those rings I don’t really know what to do with. They usually just sit there. Hopefully the better designs are the ones that over time I feel are still great designs. The better designs will stick around. I don’t believe in discontinuing rings. I would rather just keep an archive of all my rings and so they are always available even years down the road. Have you ever lost a ring and can’t get an original again? Well with me I’ll always keep the design available and if I accidentally remove it, just contact me and I’ll find it.

So that is a little bit about me and my designs. The square rings are my favorites right now so check them out and maybe there is something in there for you. :)

Blacksmithing

I’ve been playing around with steel. I don’t have a welder and have never welded steel, but it’s something I think would help create a lot of art. For now I’m just pounding away at hand forged pieces with no welding involved. In reality the same ideas or base principles can be applied to blacksmithing as I have learned for precious metals such as silver, gold and platinum. The main difference I have found is that ferrous metals such as steel is worked hot while the non ferrous metals such as silver, etc are worked cold. I really like pounding away at something like metal. It’s actually quite relaxing and fun. You get to see the metal transform slowly before your eyes. For me blacksmithing is something I’m just starting to experiment with and I find it harder to work in the sense that for me it’s a pain to keep hot all the time while I work it. Silver and gold is so much easier to work cold and then heat up to anneal it.

So here is an image of me pounding away at some metal. I make a Fairy Hair Pin in a similar manner. It’s pretty much my first product that I make and sell in steel. It’s not too hard to make and it’s fun. I love how it turns out every time. Each one is unique or at least the scroll and hammer marks are always slightly different. The small twist near the back end is made by taking the round rod and hammering a section flat and then twisted in just that area. Both ends of the hair pin are hammered to a point that involves hammering the tips of the rod into a pyramid shape flat on all four sides. You keep drawing the tips out like this until the desired length and thickness is desired. Then the edges are rounded back out so that the tips are then rounded. The scroll on the end is the funnest part. I like slowly bending and rolling the tip upon itself while red hot. It’s so interesting how metal is so hard until heated hot enough. While red hot it bends like butter. Love it. These hair pins are then finished with a hammered finish and a bees wax seal to keep moister out so they don’t rust. A true fairy hair pin that looks great when worn. As a side note, these pins can also be used as a level of protection. They are well made and strong so I’m just saying that it could be used as a weapon too, but you didn’t hear that from me.

So I hope to create more blacksmithing products. I’ll be sharing more of my ideas as I create them. I hope that you’ll stay tuned to see my new ideas as I evolve as an artist. I love to make functional art. Lets hope that it’s both beautiful and functional. I mean what is the use of having something you like and not be able to use it? Blacksmithing to me is another fun way to help create just that.

Gemvision Matrix Dead or Alive?

What is Matrix?

Matrix is a plugin for Rhinoceros software geared toward the jewelry industry. It has been around for many years now and I got involved and started using this CAD program in 2004 or 2005 when version 4 was out. It was a tough learning curve at first, but once learned it only got easier. Each version had it’s ups and downs with the software developers introducing new tools to make building rings easier. Sometimes the new tools were only half developed and probably never got popular because of that. Other tools had more time spent on them and became the strengths of the program that has made life a whole lot easier bugs and all.

Community & Culture

So I always enjoyed being apart of this growing community of Matrix users. I had learned how to use CAD and I love sharing what I have learned with others. GV (Gemvision) always brought an excitement for new versions of the program. My favorite to this day was the day we received the newest upgrade in a sphere. The CD inside and the coolness of it. Then comes the GV symposiums. I was fortunate enough to attend a few of them. It’s always fun and exciting to learn better tips and tricks, be with fellow jewelers, and to meet new people. One of the highlights to me was always the CAD contest which we could enter a design into one of three categories. What a great and enjoybale times. It was like magic. They did a great job of creating this community of fellow like minded people that could share and have fun together. After a training or symposium we had the forums to reconnect and continue our new found relationships and share knowledge as we learned the program together helping one another along the way.

Big company buys Little company

Matrix has been around for a while and has helped the jewelry industry immensely.

I never thought that would happen. I’m very sad about it, but should have seen it coming once Stuller bought it.

Stuller is the big company. A great place to buy tools, metals and findings, etc for the jewelry industry. I’ve used them over the years and am glad to have had them to purchase what I’ve needed for my artwork. So the big company takes away the magic. It’s too corporate to make it have the same feel as a small close company. I think of it as a big pool absorbing a drop of water. The big company only getting bigger while the small one disappears. So sad!

The Future

What does the future look like? I can only give my opinion here, but it’s promising even with all the craziness that’s happening.

I totally disagree with the way Stuller is going about the death of Matrix. They sent out emails for users to upgrade before they can’t anymore (users not knowing if Matrix’s death). Then they announced that there will be no more upgrades or future development of Matrix. They closed their user forums too. Just like that years of knowledge gone.

They came out with a new software called MatrixGold Essentials. The pro version in the future. What does that mean for us? Bad news. I can only speculate, but I already see them treating users unfairly. So will they offer an upgrade price to the new program? Or only offer the new price? It’s not right to scam us into upgrades and then cancel the program. Full price? Will they stop our Matrix key from working so we have to buy an $8k program? Who knows. I do know that we don’t know. Lol

So the future regardless of feelings. There is a future. We will have to get on board somehow and evolve. I’m sure the new program will be awesome. We will continue to grow, learn and develop. As you can see though, they have lost the small business magic and it’s all gone to money and who cares about the rest. Let’s force the money out of them. hahahaha.

Conclusion

In all seriousness I’m hoping they will care for the old user base and work on keeping us happy instead of pushing us away. I’m hopeful for the future and know it will bring some amazing new tools for us users to keep creating and making a living. So the real answer is that yes, Matrix is dead, but alive until further notice.

Stump

You know ever since I lived over in Laos and learned a little about raising metal, I've wanted to do the same here in the U.S.A. I never got that stump that I felt I needed to make it all happen. 20 or so years later I finally bought a stump and am motivated to start using it. Hopefully I can find the time to start learning this again. I love doing it so hopefully I can get some practice in. As yo can see in the image the first school I went to to learn silversmithing. I worked on the bowl for a long time over that stump and although I made it too thin by the end, it was my first one and I love how it turned out. We started by melting a bunch of silver into a button. Then from that point on it was all hammering and annealing. First hammer out the disc and then start to raise it. Then chase it at the end. I hope to do this process again because it brings back so many memories, but for now I think I'll buy the sheet to save time. Either way I now have a stump and a few hammers to get going. This was a long time waiting, so let's see what can come of it now.

Patterned Bands

I'm having some fun with these designs. They are some of my earlier designs that never get old. The square came from the round version just to change things up. I've always loved creating these and wearing them because they are not your standard bands that you can find anywhere. These are just solid designs that are not just found anywhere. I love to come up with new patterns. They don't always translate from sketch to reality so in the design process I have to adapt as needed while creating them. Hopefully you'll have able to enjoy wearing them as much as I enjoy making them.

Holiday Schedule

Now is the time to place your orders. Well you have maybe 1 weeks before it won't make it in time for Christmas. This is a busy time of year and packages can have a hick-up because of weather, etc., so please order soon to make sure there is no delay in receiving your items.

Close one

So I was working on my site of course and I ran into a snag. I could not get the shopping cart to work with variant options the way I needed. I found a workaround that has to do. So when selecting a gold ring to buy you will have to just add it to the cart and then a popup will allow you to add the metal color. Just that simple. It's one of those hidden simple things that hopefully doesn't confuse anyone.

Handmade ring

I thought I'd post an old video I made of a ring that I handmade. I hope to have time to make more videos. Here it is. It's an engagement ring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tumdkoyqtl0