What is Jewelry Design

Jewelry design is a term most often used to describe a sketch someone has made, that they want turned into jewelry. Many crafters call themselves "jewelry designers" because as a broader term it encompasses all the techniques of jewelry making.  Beading, wire wrapping, hand fabricating, stone setting, model making, etc. So jewelry design can mean the sketch which is a jumping-off platform, or it can mean everything having to do with making jewelry. Confusing, right?

To me, creating handmade jewelry is so much more than a sketch or a craft. It's thoughts, experiences, colors, memories and emotions that are expressed in tiny sculptures for people to wear.  Jewelry is such a personal expression, for the people who wear it and for me as a jeweler and artist. Every piece of jewelry I make is like a small part of me going out into the world. I'm worried people won't like it, I'm afraid something will happen to hurt it and I secretly want loads of people to love it.  I want it to do good things in the world.

Over the next few months I'm going to take you on different trips with me, we need a vacation, right?  On our journey we'll take a look at what has inspired me in my jewelry designs and I hope you'll share what inspires you. We all are creative, we're all artists because we all have a unique perspective on what we see and how we process our experiences.  So I hope you'll join me and enjoy our little blog-cations over the next few months!

My Wish ring will start us off right. Ready? Let's go!

Writer's Block

If I could make my blog in metal, I would.  It's not that I don't like to write.  Or that I don't have anything to say.  But writing isn't my best medium of expression.  I will sit and stare at the blank screen and it's as blank as my mind.  But put me in front of a bench and I'll make you an entire encyclopedia in metal.

Photography also makes my blog more interesting.  But then I have to photograph stuff and upload it and edit it and then upload it to my blog... are you bored yet?  Yeah, that makes two of us (hi mom!).  If you really want to see what I'm up to more regularly make sure you 'like' Metalicious on Facebook by clicking HERE.

I think it's been a little harder because I've been out of my studio for almost 2 weeks.  That's like putting a muzzle on me.  I was able to do some work today, but it was sllllloooooowwwww because I wasn't able to bring all my tools with me.  My flex shaft in particular, it's like my right arm.

So I have 3 more weeks of working without my flex.  Oh and having my boys around all. the. time. kinda gets in the way of any work time, too.  But honestly I'm treasuring having them around, it's summer, we're chillaxin' and swimmin' and travelin' and it's a blast.  I'm so happy to have this time with them and my mom (who has been kind enough to allow me to take over her dining room and turn it into my temporary studio).  I feel like the luckiest gal, sans flex shaft.

Talk to me in 3 weeks.  We'll see how hunky-dory I'm feeling after 24-7-nonstop-mommy-all-the-time-barely-makin-jooray.  I'm sure my own mother will hate me by then.


Well, that's all my

New Jewelry Ideas!

Some of you may recognize this ring from my Etsy shop.  It's a modern sterling silver band that I inlaid with rough yellow diamonds.  Teeny, tiny diamonds.  The most gorgeous colors of gold and brown, they are nearly edible.  But enough about my eating disorder.

I got a request from a customer to make this ring with black diamonds which required some time and research.  I finally found a stone cutter who sells conflict free diamonds from India.  And look at what I found!!

White ones that range from creamy white to dark silver...

Black cubes that are the size of ground pepper, if pepper were extremely rare and expensive...

and of course more yellow rough diamonds...

Stay tuned for the new pieces, I'm going to take the next few weeks to focus on carving models that will fit these tiny stones.  Let me know what you think, do you like them?

Summer Lovin'

So I've been spending my summer trying not to get tangled up in myself and my everyday, exhausting routine of being a mom.  My 'baby' is now 8 months old which means he's getting wise to what makes mommy tick.  What I'm saying is that HE HAS BECOME VERY GOOD AT MANIPULATING ME. 

Those eyes...

That smile...

The incredible squishiness...

But that's not the point.  My point is that he is keeping me up at night and distracted during the day.  So I haven't had much time to make THE JEWELRY.  And it haunts me.  THE JEWELRY haunts me the way a really good date haunts me.  I dream about it.  I replay all the good parts.  I come up with new things we could do together on our next date.  *sigh*

I have made a few new pieces the few times when THE JEWELRY and I went on a date.  Like this uber modern sterling silver and blue sapphire bypass ring.  Unique and perfect for your best friend with the September birthday.

and these knuckle rings.  Contemporary, urban, chic, sophisticated and really cool.  The best part is I have made them available in either sterling silver or golden brass:

But you've seen what THE JEWELRY is competing with.  And he's getting smarter every day.  I am in big trouble, aren't I?

Wax on, wax off

No, this isn't one of my wax-carved rings. My filing & piercing class at F.I.T. is finally over.

I took the class as a way to break the monotony and hone my skills. And honestly, how hard can it be to file? I've been doing this for over 10 years, right?

Within the first two weeks I was getting Ds and Fs on my projects. I couldn't file a flat surface and keep it completely flat. And I couldn't keep a surface 90 degrees from it's side. And after filing the same thing for 3 hours in each class, your fingers numb, your eyes blurry from staring at a tiny piece of metal... and to know that I was getting Ds... I just wanted to give up. I was a terrible jeweler, what was I doing trying to make a living doing this? My work stinks. I stink.

I felt like a failure, but I also knew that I was learning a lot about myself. I learned that when I'm not 'the best' at something I will give up quickly so that I am not seen as a 'failure.' I also tend to make excuses why I'm so bad but everyone else is so good (I have a kid, I don't have time, they have plenty of time, etc.). The truth is that everyone has something that could keep them from being great at what they do. The truth is that the ones who succeed are the ones who don't give up.

And eventually, one day in the middle of a 3 hour filing torture-- I came to accept these things as part of who I am. And I embraced them. Yes, I'm not the best but I can work hard to get better. Yes, I don't have a lot of time but no one else does either-- they make time and I need to make time, too.

Today I marched in with my final project. There were a lot of mistakes but I worked really hard to make the piece, spending over 20 hours on it, and was so pleased of how far I came in the class. So I proudly handed my ring over to my teacher. A smile slowly formed as he turned it overatnd over in his hand. He pointed out the mistakes and I nodded in agreement. Then he said, "This is some really good work." Then he leaned over and wrote in his book, "A."