Posts tagged as:

pendant

Documenting (My) Work

by Laurie Jane Kern on June 12, 2009

I have made some great progress documenting my work, during this down time.

I completed taking pictures and printing 2 copies of each.

One will be for a photo album I can show people. The second is for a worksheet I have designed, so I can write up the “making” process. This is more for many of the chains I am making - necklaces, bracelets, earrings, but also for the pendants in case someone wants a similar item.

I have been keeping notes in a design book, but on this worksheet I am writing it all down in one place: the gauge of the silver wire or sheet; the size of the mandrel if I have wound coils; tracings of the stones I used for the sketches. I also write down the weight of the finished piece, before I set the stone, if there is one; and of course the  time it takes to make it and lastly, the cost of the stone if there is one!  All of this helps in pricing a finished piece.

For the photo album, I have found a nice black glossy album, that has 2 slots per side of the page. I can use the top slot for the photo of the piece. The bottom slot will hold a card with the Name/Description of the piece. If the item is a chain, I will also list if it can be a necklace, bracelet and/or earrrings. If the piece has a stone, I list the stone type and some minor information about that type of stone.

I also bought a second album, so when I sell a one-off piece I can move the picture, from the main album, over to this one. I can then mark it as  a “private” piece. I have all ready put in this album, all of the pieces I have made for my self and those I have given to Janda The Fair Maiden of Tran and Elisa of Scotland. ;=))

Speaking of My work, here is a piece I finished a few weeks ago and never posted.

This is a quartz cab with tourmaline needle inclusions, I made a stepped bezel to keep the back open thus letting the light in. I also traced the stone and mirrored it in the bale.

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History - Part Two : Wire Wrap

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 15, 2009

As I explained in Part One (read it here) Obi-Wan-Don taught me how to cut, grind, and polish cabs. I had become a cab producing fool, as I now had all of these cabs  and nothing to do with them and looking at them can only get you so far.

Obi-Wan’s wife Bonnie is an expert wire wrap artist and was going to be teaching a class down at the Fallbrook Club, so of course I signed up (it was October of 2008).  I purchased a basic pliers set and in the
class Bonnie had the other items we would need.

I made one wire wrap pendant. Go ahead and laugh!

I like the stone but the curly-q’s are a bit much. I think I will keep this one FOREVER just to show how far I have come.

I also purchased some extra wire so I could make a few more. I then made these:

I have now made over 30 wire wrap pendants, I have sold 3 pendants, given 3 pendants as presents, and for my personal collection I have 5 which I wear.

The remaining I am hoping to sell (eventually) at the club’s October show.

Next I will tell you how I had to make chains so I can have the pendants to hang on.
See, first cabs, then making pendants, then chains… Personally I think it was a plan of Obi-Wan-Don to take me to the Silver Side

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