Tips Category

I’m going through a bit of a purge phase (e.g., sorting through old books, clothes, supplies, etc.). It’s got me wondering why I keep things I adore tucked away. I have some lovely pieces packed in boxes because “I don’t want anything to happen to them”. I never even look at them.

For instance, I bought an amazing sterling silver and crystal skull clasp at On A String a while back. It is cleverly constructed, gorgeous, edgy and was (for me at least) a splurge. It also reminds me of Alexander McQueen’s work which makes me love it even more. But it is put away, wrapped in tissue paper. Why not pull it out and design a piece for it?

And what about my collection of Depression Glass? Why is it upstairs packed in boxes in a closet? What would happen if I unpacked it? Maybe I should even (gasp!) use it as my dinnerware.

Jennifer L. Scott’s Daily Connoisseur video on using your best things, has inspired me to reevaluate not only what I keep but what I do with it.

If you aren’t familiar with Jennifer, she has a book “Lessons from Madame Chic: The Top 20 Things I Learned While Living in Paris” and a blog “The Daily Connoisseur“. I bought the Kindle version of the book on Amazon and am thoroughly enjoying it.

In preparation for the holidays on Etsy, I decided to design a jewelry collection. I suspect I’m also strongly under the influence of Project Runway since I’ve recently watched Seasons 1 and 2 of both Project Runway Korea and Project Runway Australia.

The mentor for Korea, Professor Kan Ho-sup, gave advice that stuck with me when I think about designing jewelry. Granted, I was reading subtitles but I hope they were close to what he said. I wrote down,

“A collection should show progression”
“Be compact”
“Connect, connect, connect” and
“Boldly throw out the things that need to be thrown out”

I thought I needed to work more like a fashion designer and create a mood board or inspiration board. I gathered up items that caught my eye recently because they fit ideas I’ve been sketching or thinking about. I’ll be honest. I usually throw stuff like this in a folder and never look at it again. This time,  I taped them to a piece of black gatorboard I had laying around. I used the blue painter’s tape so I can easily reuse the board. And voilà, my Fall/Winter 2011 Mood Board:

It took a lot longer to make than I thought it would. Plus, I was in the middle of prepping for a garage sale. (Garage sales apparently also take a lot longer than you think they will to get ready for.) I’ve stood my mood board on the back of my work table to use as a reference. I hope it will help me over the next few weeks. By placing some constraints on my designs, I think it will make it easier to get started. In any case, I’m excited about working on this collection now.

Next step > Consolidate and finalize the sketches I have in about 30 different places!

Ira Glass, of This American Life, gives such sage advice for anyone who makes things that I had to share this video with you. When you’re struggling with a technique, when you’re disappointed in a design, when you break a piece because you pushed it further than it was meant to go, ask yourself what Ira would do? And in your head (or online), you’ll hear him say, “”It takes a while. It’s going to take you a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just have to fight your way through that. Okay? You will be fierce, you will be a warrior, and you will make things that aren’t as good as you know in your heart you want them to be.” But as he mentions earlier in the video, the cure is “do a lot of work”.

I’ve mentioned how excited I am about learning to do bezel and prong settings on Twitter. Thought it was time I shared a few of the pieces I’ve made in Dan Haga’s class.

This was my first attempt at a “real” ring and my first bezel set cabochon. I have been aching to learn how to bezel set a stone for years! I’ve read numerous books explaining the technique. But I was too nervous about it to try it on my own. I had enough trouble just soldering jump rings.

This was the fourth project I made in Dan’s class. I did a pair of soldered earrings and two different soldered bracelets before attempting this. Since I am an admitted beginner, I needed to learn to solder properly prior to trying a bezel.  One of the things I appreciate about Dan is that he selects the projects you do based on your skill level and interests.

I am so happy with the way this turned out. Plus, it’s a beautiful piece of amber.

The pendant at right was the first piece Dan had us co-design a bit. He gave us some parameters: bezel set a much larger stone (lucky me, he had another amber cabochon!), create a swing bail and attach the bezel cup to the piece with wire solder (we had been using paste). It was up to us how to design in the two pieces of hefty sterling wire that make up the base of the piece. He provided us with a few sample designs for inspiration and asked us to sketch. (more…)