Gosh, it was back in September that I last wrote on here… shame on me!  Let’s just say I’ve been busy! The Scandinavia Show went well and I picked up some good contacts and also had some follow up commissions afterwards, so all good. Then along came Christmas which is usually manic and means putting my own personal preparations on hold, but it was OK because we went to my family in Sweden where Christmas was put on for us!

So, now back to it again. I am in the process of moving my workshop up from our dining room into our office. In doing so I discovered that my trusted workbench had been built too solid to be able to dismantle enough to get it up there… So, I have now taken delivery of 2 new “shiny” workbenches (a jeweller’s bench and a general purpose bench) and can’t wait to get them assembled so I can “move in” to the new space! I will take some pics when it’s done, it will be good to have some “before and after” pictures as it will no doubt turn into a very messy and mucky place in no time!

Right, enough about that, on to the subject in hand. Every now and then I like to take pics while I am working on a piece and I did when I made this Fordite (compacted Ford car paint) pendant:

First I gather the materials together; 0.8mm thick silver sheet for the backing of the stone, 0.4mm fine silver sheet/strip for the bezel (the ledge around the stone), 2mm square silver wire for the silver elements above the Fordite, 2 different tubes for setting the Kyanite into and for the hidden bail. And of course the Fordite cabochon and the Kyanite cut stone.

I then make the bezel, cut a piece of sheet for the back plate, cut the tubing into short lengths suitable for my purpose and cut the square wire components to size and shape. Next I check to make sure the bezel is a good fit for the Fordite cabochon, then solder it to the back plate. This is what that looks like on my soldering board:

Then I proceed to solder all the components together and cut out the back of the setting so that the back of the cabochon is visible. I like to show the back of the “stone” wherever possible as sometimes the back is just as pretty as the front and you won’t believe the number of people who will turn a piece over and look at the back! It’s nice that it is given a bit of attention too, so it doesn’t let the piece down when turned over. Finally I give the piece a first polish before setting the stones. This is the piece before setting the stones:

Then what remains is to set the stones in place and the final finishing/polishing. The cabochon can now be set by pushing the sides in and over the stone and then burnishing the edge for a snug fit. The Kyanite cut stone requires me to cut a “seat” for it inside the tube. This is done with a setting burr which cuts a “cone shaped” hole into the tube walls from the inside. This is used to “sit” the stone on inside the tube and then the tiny walls around the top of the stone are pushed in, in a similar fashion to the larger cabochon. Finally, the high shine polish that I applied to this piece because I thought it complemented the rest of the piece better than my standard antiqued finish. I then hung then pendant on a nice thick snake chain which goes through the hidden bail on the back of the piece (see pic below, the back of the stone is cool!). Here are the rest of the pictures of the finished piece:

Hope you enjoyed to see how I made this pendant! Until next time!

Carin

PS. the Fordite and Kyanite pendant is now available to buy in my online jewellery shop.

I am stepping it up and going to play with the “big boys” in London on the 6th and 7th of October, by exhibiting my handmade jewellery at the Scandinavia Show 2012 at Earl’s Court, London.

This, is in essence IT:

“The Scandinavia Show is the only UK show dedicated exclusively to showcase the best of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The show incorporates Scandinavian design, travel, lifestyle, fashion, culture and food.”
(From the Scandinavia Show web site) 

This is a new experience for me, until now I have mostly done local shows here in Cornwall, so I am in full flow of trying to prepare and stock up for this show. How much stock to take, extra packaging, what will sell, what do I need to do to my display to fit in with all the big companies with actual budgets for these things! The list goes on, so much to think about, my head is spinning already! I am however looking forward to it with anticipation, I have been wanting to try something like this for a  while. Now hopefully I will see if it works for me or not so that I can plan next year’s events accordlingly.

To see who else is going to be there, get tickets, and find out more about the event generally read a bit about the Scandinavia Show 2012 here.

I am planning on running a promo for the duration of the show. I am going to be offering a discount on my new Pearl Pod pendant (pic below) and this will be listed in the show programme, so hopefully that will tempt people along to see me.

So, if you are in the area that weekend, do come and say hello!

Carin
x

Sveltering sun today (finally!), so I thought I’d escape it for a bit and write about my next upcoming event. I am going to be exhibiting at the Cornwall Design Fair at Trereife Park from Friday the 16th to Sunday the 18th of August. This event used to be a Hidden Art Cornwall event, but when the funding sadly was stopped and the Cornwall branch closed, the event was taken over by the good folks at the beautiful and historic Trereife House, in cooperation with Hidden Art ( London), where the event has been held since 2009.

This event showcases contemporary design from designer-makers mainly from Cornwall and is a fantastic opportunity to see what is new in the different disciplines. There is everything from jewellery (that’s where I come in!), pottery, glass and textiles to furniture, interior items and clothes , hope I haven’t forgotten anything! Well, best way is to come by and have a look. The event will be open as follows:

Friday 17th : 11am – 6pm
Saturday 18 :  11am – 6pm
Sunday 19 : 11am – 4pm

Tickets are £6 which includes free entry to Trereife House and Curated Design at Trereife. If you should want more time to browse you can get a weekend ticket for £9. Accompanied children under 16 go in free. There is also free parking, disabled access and various food options available throughout the weekend. You can of course also make the most of your day out by exploring the extensive grounds of Trereife Park.

So, it’s with anticipation that I look forward to the event this year. I have been working on a new display to better showcase my work and I have a number of new designs which will be on show and available to buy over the weekend. I am as always also open to commissions and look forward to seeing current and future customers! Here are a few new items that will be on show:

I am myself looking forward to seeing some old (well, not age wise!) and some new faces among the exhibitors at this year’s event. I especially look forward to seeing the glass art by Boquio and Malcolm Sutcliffe, hand thrown pots by Natalie Bonney , Brett Payne’s silverware,  Rob Bray Brooks funky birch wood relief art, Amy Cooper Ceramics gorgeous organic porcelain lighting and… well, in fact I am looking forward to seeing it all!

To get there; well here is the address:

Trereife House
Newlyn
Penzance
TR20 8TJ

Hope to see you there!

So, these two pictures show some results of my want for simplicity. First up is an addition to my Petal collection, the “Triple Petal Silver Pendant”. This pendant has 3 petals in different sizes that have been lightly domed and hung a bit offset to each other to create the “fanned” look. This pendant is lovely to wear and so versatile. I have been wearing one for the last couple of days and I love it! This one is finished with a bright matte surface, but can also be done antique or even shiny, so every option is available. I can also do it with a simple snake chain if that is more to your liking!

Next up is a pair of my new “Dot” stud earrings. Plain and simple round 7-8mm in diameter and 2mm thick so substantial whilst still small and subtle. I have given the tops a scratched/brushed bright finish which works really well and gives a bit of subtle sparkle. Again, I have been wearing a pair of these recently and they are serious contenders to my “boring” (!) pearls…

These are the first item in a planned new jewellery collection that I am thinking of calling Geometry or Geometric. I thought I might photograph these on a strong coloured background, hence the turquoise craft paper, what do you think??

I will be doing these stud earrings in a simple square shape as well and I’m also planning on laminating these in gold, so watch this space! 

That’s it folks, see you soon!

Carin

I recently bought a couple of funky stones which are crystal quartz drusies. Drusy, or druzy as some spell it, means they are not polished to an even and shiny top but left to show the natural crystal formations of the stone. That means they are right up my street as I really like organic, slightly imperfect and asymmetric things.

These ones also have iron Pyrite, or fool’s gold, flecks in them which sparkles like green gold among the frosty white crystal. Really cool!

So, I decided to make a ring out of one of them. I made a really simple thick frame for the stone and then added a few 9ct gold granules to one side, to pick up on the gold within the stone. I gave the ring a plain shank and the silver was given a soft matte brushed finish, to keep the piece simple and contemporary.

I’m really pleased with the result and am now considering buying some more stones like this and making pendants and if I can find small enough stones, maybe also earrings. I’ll keep you posted!

Until next time!