SALE in honor of Labor day weekend and Fall

I haven't had a sale in awhile and I thought, this is the perfect time, change in seasons and wardrobe - both of which I love. 

Much of my jewelry is made from animal (parts - found, not harmed) that in some way symbolize change and movement with the seasons; the crow for example is associated with being a messenger, often of death but also for humans many centuries ago - transporting messages to and from long distances.

So with that I give you 12% off all my jewelry for the ENTIRE month of September!!! The coupon code for the 12% off my Eilisain Etsy shop is: FALL12.

Below is a new listing; the original crow claw but plated in 18kt gold.  The crow is clutching a deep dark black tourmaline. 

Get it while it's HOT and on SALE!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy this long weekend (for my US friends).

Pin It

Combining methods

Efrat Deutsch Jewelry Design Promo Video from Efrat Deutsch on Vimeo.

Isn't this a sweet video of a jewelry showing her process? Efrat is based out of Toronto but got her BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art in Israel (I've seen some wonderful talent come from Bezalel).

Hope you enjoyed her video and happy Friday! Pin It

Solid silver

I finally cast a solid sterling silver owl talon ring.  Silver is still pricey and since I'd been doing so many castings with bronze, I just didn't get to it. In addition I usually keep the shank/band simple but I had a special order from a Redeem customer, and I'm quite happy with how it came out.

And I'm also happy with the photos.  I used Photoshop and WOW, what a difference.  This ring is also available for custom orders on my Etsy shop!

Sterling silver four owl talon ring. 

Great view of the top.

Pin It

Making my mark

I finally got around to ordering my very own makers mark, I'm very excited about using it.  I ordered mine through a small company called Microstamp I heard about them through my good friends over at Lawrence Miller and Co. who've ordered stamps from them before.

It just made no sense to have my jewelry floating out in the world and not have my stamp on it, literally.  In addition to getting my makers mark, I also got a .925 so that my customers would be ensured their jewelry is sterling silver.

Slowly I'm getting it all together! Thanks for reading.

Pin It

The Crow amethyst pendant

I meant to post this several days ago but never got around to it! With being back in classes and a new work schedule I haven't had as much time to blog.

The crow claw has presented so many ways to incorporate rough stones, and as with the sterling silver crow claw ring, amethyst just looks so beautiful with it.

The Hunted Crow Claw amethyst pendant.

I'm going to have to get more of these beautiful amethyst points.

Pin It

Call for Entries: Tongue in Cheek

ECU Metals Graduate student Danielle James, aka DJ, is curating (along with Ellen and Margaret Hinrichs) this fantastic show, Tongue in Cheek, in conjunction with the annual 2013 ECU metals symposium (next year in January).  The concept is fun and irreverent, and it's even more appropriate that Jillian Moore will be jurying the show!  

The call for entry can be found here; often times jewelry/object exhibitions can be so serious and deep (not that I don't enjoy them) but there aren't enough silly ones. 

I love the poster! DJ's good friend designed it.

As always, thanks for reading!
Pin It

Lingerie for your hands

Lingerie Ring 002 by Gemagenta from gemagenta on Vimeo.

Gema is quite ingenious for coming up with lingerie inspired jewelry, because really, jewelry and lingerie are sexy on the human form.   She is excellent at piercing...I'd do more of it but it really takes a very steady and precise hand to pierce. 

The details of this video are wonderful, from her diamond tattoo to how she inserts the drill bit.

Enjoy!
Pin It

Gold plating!

Several weeks ago I broke down and bought gold plating solution.  It's a bit pricey but worth it to plate bronze and brass jewelry.  I don't know why I didn't do it sooner?!?

I don't have a plating machine but my boss at the Jewelry Doctor does and he is so generous to let me use it.  I'm always indebted to him for helping me out with wholesale purchases and using his equipment.   

Plating is really quite easy and fast, if you have the equipment.  What I like about it, for some of my jewelry, is that the plating provides a layer of truer golden finish and IF you wear want to wear my jewelry daily and not get the greenish tint from wearing bronze then this is the way to go. As much as I love bronze, the highly polished finish can get dull.  

It's always exciting to me when I can advance my jewelry and process in new ways.  Thanks for reading!

The 18kt gold plating solution.

Crow Claw amethyst ring.

 

 

 

And gold plated Double Owl Talon earrings...soon to be available in my Etsy Shop.

Pin It

Nemean Lion

Last week I traveled out to Omaha, Nebraska for a memorial service for my dear grandmother, on my fathers side.  My Dad has a very large family, 6 siblings, 18 cousins and 4 grandchildren...so when we all get together it's a big deal and hard to arrange.

My grandmother was one of those people that everyone liked to be around, so soft spoken and she had the funniest personality.  She loved birds, children and our family.  

I feel so honored to have been given her constellation charm, a piece of her will always be with me.  

Leo constellation charm.  The piece of jewelry my mother received from her belongings.

Pin It

Break up jewelry

TIME AWAY from Matias & Mathias on Vimeo.

Hmmm, not so much focus on the jewelry but the drama of this relationship.  I wish they did show more of the jewelry.  It's like a conversation my friend Tara Locklear and I were having over drinks, that jewelry photo shoots become less about the jewelry and more about the fashion and photos.

However, after watching this video I think what becomes important about doing more visuals with jewelry is creating a story behind the jewelry, the representation the jeweler wants to give about the jewelry.  

Pin It

Book Reviews: Drawing Jewels for Fashion and Introduction to Precious Metals

My time at Penland brought me back to 'metals' reality, in that just as much as I need to work in the studio, I also need to study the properties of working with metal and sketching/designing a look.

I purchased both of these books to give me examples and lessons in understanding the finer details of fully sketching a design as well as understanding the intricate properties of how metals react to each other and the work we put them through. 

Drawing Jewels for Fashion is a beautifully made book, the sketches are precise and provide a glimpse into the designers of major fashion houses and jewelry companies and where these designers find inspiration, their design process and influence.  The binding of the book is unique too, not glossy or with a print cover that comes undone but a pressed book that feels handmade. 

Some of my favorite designers are featured, such as Solange Azagury-Patridge, Stephen Webster and several others.  I was impressed that most of the designers featured had backgrounds in GIA certification and actually made the prototypes or designed the initial pieces in wax.  

I highly recommend Drawing Jewels for Fashion for anyone that is building a jewelry library collection. 

This book can be purchase on Amazon.

Jana Brevick had Introduction to Precious Metals during our session at Penland, and she drew upon the charts and information from this book quite a bit.  Mark Grimwade is a veteran in the metalsmithing field and is constantly called upon by the Santa Fe Symposium to host workshops and demos on using precious metals.  You can tell by his thorough and indepth knowledge of metals by his detailed graphs, photos and chemistry references that Mark is an expert in the field.

I'm just into the first chapter of the book but I'll say that it is a good read, not too 'sciencey' and very, very necessary for anyone working with metals in general, doesn't even need to be just gold or silver.  It's unfortunate that my program at ECU we aren't required to read books covering metals or manipulation of materials.

This is another highly recommended book and reference tool in the studio.

Also on Amazon.

Pin It

The owl talon ring gets around

Laura Wood wearing her new owl talon ring with a green apphylite stone.  We're trading rings and I'm so happy she loves it.  Her words: "Woot WHOOT! love my new bling to match my sexy earrings!"

Gettin' sassy in front of the camera.  Miss her spirit in the Gville 'hood

Pin It

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours

Show n' tell at Penland is alot of fun, it's a very informal exhibition where we get to see what everyone has made over the session. I especially enjoy it because everyone is giddy and excited to talk about the process and geek out over handmade objects.

It's also great because you can buy your friends work and get very beautifully handcrafted pieces for a great price! 

Here are some photos I snapped:

Lillia Hernandez's "Baby Muerte" eye glasses. 

A gut purse!

Fabric sculptures

Letter press and Printmaking. 

Amir talking about his process. 

Very beautiful handmade books.  I LOVED them.

My dear friend Carrrrol talking about her many jewelry pieces.

Folded paper, these were so intricate and a wonder to absorb.

I really loved this book.

Gut sculpture.

Wonderfully abstract paintings. (Ignore that orange cord!)

Iron sandwiches!

Textile samples from Natalie Chanin's class.

Portraiture on clay.  These were wonderful.

My friend Mariah's hand and moth.  She was collecting tons of moths!

This is really adorable, a pop up and cut out Penland postcard.

Funny glass pieces by 'Big' John

Pin It

Making an aluminum comb

I wonder how strong it is considering aluminum is a soft metal...still this is cool. Pin It

HOT Tip of the day

I got this tip from Tara Locklear whom got it from a grad student at ECU:

*use coca cola in your tumblr with steel shot and it shines up your metal in about 5 minutes.  

What we presumed is that the acidity in the coca-cola works to shine the metal.

Brilliant (no pun intended). 
Pin It

My prrrrrecious

Yes I am a nerd like that, I'd refer to this ring as my prrrecious (reference Lord of the Rings).  Purple is my favorite color and I've always loved the amethyst stone.  I want to keep this ring SO bad but I will set it free on my Eilisain Etsy shop. 

Black and purple go so well together and in this ring, it is a match made in heaven.  I bought the small amethyst at Points of Light in Asheville while I was at Penland. I bought quite a few stones there so you can bet on seeing more of them in the future.

A perfect size 6.

The stone sits just right in the claws!

By the way, did you hear the Hobbit got extended to three movies??! I can't wait to see the first one this winter.

Thanks for reading!

Pin It