Wear Something PurrfectlyDevine

Victorian Crystals Bracelet - $25.00
Sworovski crystals, glass pearls, and daisy spacers, and large memory wire (2 1/4" diameter instead of 2" diameter)

Purrfectlydevine is owned by a woman in York, PA who is a Special Education teacher by day and works in a grocery store deli part-time, and is a beader by night. Her co-workers encouraged her to start selling her work when they saw some of the things she’d made, and her friends and family have been supportive of her interest.

She also crochets, and is considering adding some of those items to her online store along with her jewelry, and there are currently a few other craft items available.

Victorian Inspired Necklace and Bracelet - $45.00
A set made with Rose-colored Swarovski crystal in 2 sizes, small green pearls, and larger mauve pearls. All metal is sterling silver. The necklace measures 18 1/4" (46.4 cm) long, and the drop is 1 1/4" (3.1 cm) long. The bracelet is 7 5/8" (19.4cm) long. Both pieces close with a spring ring clasp.

The next piece is clever! The design is very simple but clearly looks like 3-leaf clovers the way the glass beads are arranged on the chain.

Irish Necklace - $60.00
A Gold-plated chain with faceted emerald green Czech crystal glass beads

**************************************Be sure not to miss her weekly sale, FABULOUS FRIDAY FRENZY — Every Friday from 12:01am to 11:59pm Etsy time (Eastern US Standard time), take 15% off the selling price of any item in her shop that is not already reduced (such as EBTW items). Shipping will not be discounted 15%. Put FFF in notes to seller.
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To see what else she has check out her Etsy online store;
http://purrfectlydevine.etsy.com

If you’d like to keep up with this seller’s current activities, be sure to read her blog;
http://purrfectlydevine.blogspot.com/

Dream-weaver

Impressive and intricate are the words that come to mind when looking at the works of jewelry artist and author Linda Chandler. Her style is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian adornment, much of it, museum-quality with its fine detail, high karat gold, sterling and fine silver, with some pieces encrusted with jewels.

Linda has been making jewelry for over 20 years and has studied at Arrowmount, the Midwest Federation, Metalsmithing Society in Illinois, the Gemological Institute (GIA), Indianapolis Art Center, The William Holland School of Lapidary Arts and, has taught and taken classes at (SFMS) Wildacres Retreat in North Carolina.

She has taught classes both locally and nationally in a variety of jewelry-making techniques, including wire-wrapping and weaving, metalsmithing, and glass fusing. Linda is certified as a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) and Art Clay teacher.

She has developed and refined a number of original wire-weaving techniques of which she sells tutorials on her free-standing website, which is also where you can see much of her best work. She also has an online store on Etsy.

Her work appears in several publications, including The Wire Artist Jeweller Magazine, in which she was the featured artist of the month (November, 1999). Her work has also been included in the published book, All Wire Up by Mark Lareau. Linda co-authored books Woven Wire Jewelry and Getting Started Making Jewelry, and created the jewelry used for display and instruction. She also holds a degree in computer graphics.

As we speak, the artist is currently teaching Intermediate to Advanced Metalsmithing at William Holland (in October 2007).

In 2008 Linda will be publishing her third book on wire jewelry through Interweave Press which will include approximately 10 beginning to intermediate projects; bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and a pendant, made with silver and gold-filled wire, some with a variety of findings and semi-precious gemstones.

Linda also belongs to The Art Jewelry Collective.

To purchase exquisite hand-woven wire and fabricated jewelry, check out both of her online stores at:
http://lchandler.etsy.com/
http://jewelrybylinda.com/index.html
and to learn more about the artist, see her blog below:
http://lchandler.blogspot.com/

Time To Check The Maille

Abbi Caricco of Lunachick Designs specializes in chainmaille and sterling silver wirework designs with gemstone accents. She puts the power of intention into each piece she makes to enhance the mood of the wearer, and seeks out the most unusual gemstones she can find.

These features combined make for many aesthetically pleasing designs. I have always loved Chainmaille; it’s amazing how wire jump rings can create such a strong yet flexible mesh when linked and intertwined, perfectly structurally sound, like the architecture of a bridge when you look up from underneath. The numerous patterns, using both positive and negative space to accentuate their juxtaposition keeps her work fresh and intriguing, and her choice of stones really compliments the metalwork.

The weaves the artist uses range from Byzantine,

to European 4-in-1, (as shown in the first picture at top),

to Japanese Honeycomb (love this one),

to Full Persian (another one of my favorite weaves).

These Athena Earrings have a large round bloodstone bead dangling from the bottom of a strip of Full Persian weave.

Abbi uses a wide range of materials for jump rings including rubber, titanium, stainless steel, Aluminum, and Sterling Silver.

Her style is a cross between, Pagan, New Age, Goth, and Industrial, and the results; absolutely mesmerizing!

To see more of the artist’s work and treat yourself or a loved-one to something really special he or she will treasure for years to come, go to: http://lunachick.etsy.com/ and her supply shop,
http://www.lunachickfindings.com/ . Also, check out her blog at:
http://lunachickdesigns.blogspot.com/

That’s One-Of-A-Kind- That’s Headley!

A look around Ginny Headley-Maserang’s Etsy store will tell you that each piece she makes is a new beginning. Although the San Antonio, Texas native does have a discernable Southwestern flavor to her designs it is not the clichéd Southwestern style jewelry you see so much of around the web and in stores. Rather than the predominant traditional Turquoise and Coral often used in this style of jewelry, Ginny uses a lot of green, pale blue, and earth toned natural stones, particularly Serpentine, Amazonite, and Aventurine. Some of her pieces also use metal buttons as toggles, and a variety of glass beads, and in addition to the gemstone beads she also likes big, funky beads from Africa.

Most notable are her wire-woven pieces using sterling silver wire to create a bail as in this piece, Nereid Sacred Heart Necklace, which uses Abalone, Mother of Pearl, Aventurine, Seaweed Quartz, and Glass in its multiple strands and sterling silver cones and toggle.

Another very lovely necklace is a cross with interwoven garnet chips and Hill Tribes silver (which is at least 97% pure).

Ginny’s jewelry business is stress relief from her “day job” as a public health consultant in infectious disease and emergency preparedness. If you love to shop online for refreshing new and original jewelry, skip the stress of the mall this holiday season and go to http://thatsheadley.etsy.com/ and don’t forget to see her blog at http://thatsheadley.blogspot.com/

The Elements of Style

Dawn Brandt of ElementsbyDawn has been selling her jewelry on Etsy since August 7, 2006, and loves geometric shapes with texture and pattern in them. Looking at her work one can tell that she incorporates circles into a lot of what she does, from Chainmaille to hammered textured cuffs and sterling, copper, and fine silver disks, to using round beads and chain. Experts have said that the round form is a shape humans are naturally drawn to, so if this is any indicator Dawn’s future will be bright.

When asked what techniques she would like to learn she said, “I’d like to be able to add more color, and thus some more dimension to my designs. Enameling, resin, and Prismacolor colored pencil are a few of the materials I’d like to incorporate into my designs. I’ve dabbled with Prismacolor, but haven’t perfected the technique yet.” Dawn describes it as a technique that blends the traditional methods of painting on canvas and coloring/drawing on metal. There are two ways to accomplish the results. One involves sandblasting the metal to give it "tooth" (which is not the method she does), and the other uses gesso; the method she uses. Then to prevent the surface from weathering over time and the color from coming off she uses an acrylic sealer.

Dawn is currently working on a collection due for release in the Summer of 2008. It will feature colorful vintage glass, vintage Swarovski crystal, and vintage Lucite.

Among the trade magazines she subscribes to are The Crafts Report, Art Jewelry, and Art Calendar. The Crafts Report has many useful articles on the business of crafting, Art Jewelry Magazine helps keep her abreast on new techniques and emerging artists, and Art Calendar keeps informed on national and local arts and craft shows.

For anyone just starting out in the jewelry crafting business or even just thinking about transforming a hobby into a bona fide business, she recommends the book Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry by Viki Lareau. This easy to read book covers many of the basic aspects of starting out in the crafting business.

If metalsmithing is your interest, The Complete Metalsmith – Pro Version by Tim McCreight is invaluable!

The book Dawn is currently reading is, How to Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom Ang. “I am hoping to improve my photography skills, as product photography can really help or hinder your success in an online environment.”

Dawn belongs to The Art Jewelry Collective, WIST (a local Wisconsin street team), and will be exhibiting at the ART vs CRAFT show on December 8th in Milwaukee.

This artist accepts Checks, Money Orders, and accepts credit cards through both PayPal and ProPay. She also sends out a quarterly newsletter for those customers who would like to be notified when new pieces are available for sale.

Be sure to check out her whole collection at http://elementsbydawn.etsy.com/