Some Fleur Di Lis For Mardi Gras

I LOVE Fleur Di Lis, and typically year round, even though I’m not French nor from New Orleans.   There’s just something about the design that is so timeless, so elegant, yet still a bit edgy.

I created my Saint Amour Necklace and Earrings Set to capture some of the essence of the elegance that is the Fleur Di Lis.  (Both available as part of my  Retro Collection)  Happy Mardi Gras All!

Contemporary Nature

I love so many things that are modern. Simple shapes and clean lines inspire and refresh me. I tend to create my jewelry with modern lines as inspiration. At the same time I love things that are earthy and organic, so my home, while it has elements of modern design, has a slightly more natural contemporary look to it.

Therefore when I came across the fabulous jewelry by 3dots, I instantly fell in love with the look of it. The designer Lucie who hails from Quebec, Canada creates handmade wood pieces that have fabulous contemporary geometric shapes and designs, and even asymmetry. Personally, I find them almost sculptural in nature. Her designs are nice and sleek, but the wood keeps them from being stark. She has a large collection of pieces that are unique, and all handmade. Each piece she makes is cut, pierced, sanded and finished by hand and will definitely bring the wearer some attention.

Asymmetrical Wood Necklace (deep blue)

Hotel, Motel– I need a vacation.

I need a vacation.  I’m finding myself working harder this summer, than I do during the normal school year (as I’m a teacher by day)  Alas, there will be no time for a vacation this summer.

I’ll just look at the lovely retro illustrations by Amy Henderson (a.k.a. Aqua Velvet) and dream of a time when vacations consisted long car trips to far away places, inexpensive motels, and natural wonders instead of the squeezed in hectic weeks we take for vacations now.

Star Light, Star Bright 1950′s themed illustration

Perhaps, her illustrations might inspire me, or maybe even you, to take some time to plan a trip that is leisurely and not hurried, to savor roadside diners, giant sequoias, drive in movies, and tacky road side stops.  Who knows maybe it’s time for a road trip.

The Creation of my Jewelry Design Studio (Part 1)

Well, the move is over—though there is a ton to unpack, organize, build and clean still.  I finally have a dedicated design space.  As you can see it’s pretty empty right now.

I’m planning on making it an organized and functional space, yet lovely and inspiring at the same time. I’m using a black and cream damask pattern for inspiration.  The pattern is on a variety of boxes I am going to use for storage. The studio eventually will have a damask/rococco look.   I think my favorite piece will be two black floating shelves with a raised damask pattern on the wood that will store my myriad of supply organizers. 

Inspired Design!

One of the best parts of the studio room is the view:

From TWO windows!

Such an inspiring view!

Of course, it’s going to be a lot of work to complete as evidenced by the beginning of the mess I’ve stowed away in the closet for now.  (Keep in mind—there’s a lot of stuff in the garage, basement, etc..that HASN’T been stowed up here yet!) It’s all going to need to put in organized bins, hung or placed in the appropriate place on my work table, and cleaned up!

What a mess!

The big chore will be to bring my work table/bench up from the garage.  It’s actually an incredibly sturdy old teacher’s desk that’s in fabulous shape.  It was given to me as a gift, and saved me a TON of money I would have had to spend on a new workbench.  Yet, it’s incredibly strong, durable and sturdy and has tons of work space. It’s going to have to be somewhat disassembled to get up the stairs though and is awfully heavy!

Work bench (back)

Keep posted as I plan on documenting the transition of this space from empty room to a lovely (hopefully!) design studio and workspace.  I’ll be documenting the construction and decoration of it as I go along.

Rising Artists Interview: Labella Designs

My latest interview was with the designer behind Labella Designs. Here’s what she had to say:

1. What inspired you to become an independent business owner?
The opportunity to be completely in control of something, to see my ideas actually come to fruition and the desire to start a business that I could continue after I retire from my “real” job as a registered nurse. I had been mulling over the idea of starting a faux painting business when I took a jewelry making class for fun and just loved it. I think it was all the beautiful gemstones and the immediate gratification you get from creating something in a relatively short amount of time that really got me hooked. And of course, what woman doesn’t love jewelry?

2. What have you found to be the easiest part of beginning your new business and what has been the most difficult?
Easiest part: Deciding on my general area of business, as making jewelry kind of picked me. I was addicted after the first class. I would also say the creative part of designing and actually making my products is one of the easier aspects for me. Most Difficult: Staying focused on the business part of things: writing a plan, marketing, keeping records, paperwork, etc. I tend to get distracted by all the creative ideas floating around in my head!

3. Explain what skills you have that you feel you have that have been absolutely necessary.

Being organized and keeping good records has been absolutely necessary. You don’t know if you are making a profit or how to price things if you don’t keep records of everything you spend money on. It also it imerative at tax time to be well organized, whether you do your own taxes or hire an accountant. I am working on being more outgoing to help me with marketing my jewelry; this does not come naturally for me, but I think it is absolutely neccessary to feel comfortable with promoting yourself and your business to the public to be successful with a small business.

4. How do you think you have been successful so far?
I think that I’ve been successful so far in that I have branded my company with a distinct look, have set up my website and my shopping site. I am curently working on a more distinct look for my product line, something that will let you instantly recognize a piece as a “La Bella”.

5. What are some of your goals for the future?
Immediate goals are to get my jewelry into 3 retail stores this year and finalize a distinct line for fall and the holiday season. In 3-5 years I hope to have my own shopping site {I will definitely keep my etsy site as long as I am in the biz}, expand the number of retail stores to 15-20 and be accepted to 2-3 high-end juried art shows a year. I would also like to have 1 article a year published in a craft/art magazine. Ongoing goals are to keep expanding and improving my jewelry making skills. Ideally I would like to learn and perfect at least 2 new techniques a year.

Rhodolite Earrings, $40.00 

Tools of the Jewelry Trade(Part 2): What I use to make Valerie Tyler Designs

I forgot in the last post to show the raw material I often start a piece from. Here’s a shot of the sterling silver sheet that I usually place my design on and then saw to get my piece. It’s a long shot from the finished product isn’t it?

Raw sterling sheet 

Next are the steps I’m not as fond of. Not that they are tremendously difficult, but they are time-consuming, and sometimes it wears on my patience. When I get to the point where I’m almost finished with a design I’m too excited to get to the final product! First I have to file away rough edges, and fix any errors I may have made while sawing. I have an entire set of files that come in various shapes and sizes such as round square, or flat(known as an equalling file). They’re nice when I want to file something like a curved edge or a small hole and I can choose a specific file for the task. The photo shows a piece I am working on now, and a few of the files.

Files 

Then, comes sanding, and more sanding, and….well, more sanding. Sanding helps to take out all the rough knicks and scratches that may be in metal. This is also the stage where I may use a a steel brush to give a brushed finish to a piece instead of a shiny finish. If I want to give something a shiny finish I put a buffing attachment on my dremel, add a little rouge and polish away (This step is not pictured, and again it’s one that can take some time)

Sanding a piece, adding a brushed finish

Sometimes instead of a shiny or brushed finished I like to give my metal some texture. One way to do this is by using a ball peen hammer and a steel block. Here’s a photo of a different piece I am working on and texturizing. There’s other methods and different types of textures that can be applied to metals as well using different types of hammers and tools. I recently bought a set of letter stamps that I can’t wait to use.

Steel block and ball peen hammer 

Lastly, there’s finishing touches, which more people may be familiar with. Pliers such as round-nose, chain nose and flat nose as well as cutters are essential for tasks such as forming wire into jumprings, ear wires, and chain. Pictured are my basic tools from Rio made in Germany. For really high end tools, look into getting a set of Lindstroms. I also use a variety of wire gauges such as 20 ga. to 26ga. (typically I use soft of half hard wire). Making the findings to go with jewelry may also be the first step in a the jewelery making process.

Rio cutters, chain-nose pliers and 20 gauge wire

Tools of the Jewelry Trade: What I use to make my jewelry

There’s literally hundreds of different tools designers use to make their jewelry(and for that matter so many different methods and types of jewelry) I figured I’d share some of the tools I personally use and give a little insight into the process I go through to design jewelry for Valerie Tyler Designs.

It begins with an idea, or a sketch. They can start off as rough scribbles and then get more developed.

One of my favorite tools is my German jewelers saw. I actually love sawing (though it can be tough on the arms at times!) Of course, a lubricant for the laser saw blades (I use laser gold) keeps the blades lasting longer and makes sawing easier.

This is the drill I use to add various size holes to my pieces:

So the beginning of the process entails imagining and sketching my ideas, then getting the raw materials in order by sawing and drilling them. I’ll post more tomorrow on the detailing and finishing aspects. (By the way, don’t you love how I photograph from creative angles so you don’t see all the scrap metal pieces, dust, wax, metal shavings, tools and bits of sandpaper that are all over the table!)