...I wish I knew, but whilst I decide I've been carrying on with the jewellery.
I have come up with another couple of designs. The first being a variation on the Moonstone and Oak Leaf Ring I produced before. This one is a bit simpler to make in that I can solder the leaves and not worry about allowing for the burnishing of the bezel because there is no overlap of leaf over bezel in this design.
This Rainbow Moonstone is nice and clear and produces a really vibrant blue glow.
This is a quick snap of a necklace I'm working on that features Rainbow Moonstones, dyed Mother-Of-Pearl, a hammered spiral and large links, finished with a Navette Trace chain, all in Sterling Silver.
I enjoy creating jewellery for women although some of the technicalities of my designs make life a bit difficult and not wonderfully profitable. If you go by cost of materials versus sale price it's ok, but if time is factored in, not so good. Am I trying to start a business or maintain a hobby?
Working with wrought silver in sheet and wire form puts the onus on labour, as organic shapes have to be fashioned in a time-consuming manner. Casting in Precious Metal Clay allows for reproduction and therefore cuts time but it is a prohibitively expensive material. That leaves Centrifugal or Delft Clay casting, the first of which requires major financial investment in equipment. Delft Clay is less versatile but cheaper to set up; but it won't record so much detail as traditional casting, so the objects I make would have to be larger. The advantage of casting in general is that you can recycle silver which is a lot cheaper than buying bullion from jewellery suppliers.
Working with wrought silver in sheet and wire form puts the onus on labour, as organic shapes have to be fashioned in a time-consuming manner. Casting in Precious Metal Clay allows for reproduction and therefore cuts time but it is a prohibitively expensive material. That leaves Centrifugal or Delft Clay casting, the first of which requires major financial investment in equipment. Delft Clay is less versatile but cheaper to set up; but it won't record so much detail as traditional casting, so the objects I make would have to be larger. The advantage of casting in general is that you can recycle silver which is a lot cheaper than buying bullion from jewellery suppliers.
I'm really enjoying making jewellery to order which has been the way things have been going of late. Very little 'off the shelf' orders have gone out. I have felt humbled by the fact that people are willing to pay for me to create jewellery for them and they have shown such enthusiasm for my work.
But I need to make things viable and to this end I have had some ideas.....
But I need to make things viable and to this end I have had some ideas.....
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