For several years I've had 4 bronze pieces sitting on my desk. They have been waiting, patiently for me to set them in silver as I've done before with my Modern Relics series. They've waited while I've been consumed with making less expensive pieces, always getting pushed to the back corner. This year I was determined to make them into jewelry, into the pendants they were meant to become...and then the cost of silver began to rise...and rise...and RISE. And with it, my interest in creating settings for these pendants, diminished. I had already rolled out the textured backsheets in PMC but I didn't want to spend the silver - or the time to make them into settings. Then it hit me! These pieces are not fragile turquoise, or shell or other thing in need of protection. They're solid bronze and they're STRONG. They don't need sides! (I wouldn't want them to be pendants by themselves because I wouldn't want them to turn people's skin green.) 
So I decided to rivet the silver backs onto the bronze. I LOVE riveting and it was easy to drill the bronze. I even drilled large holes for tube rivets so I could use sterling jumprings for bails. The riveting was easy cause you can smack that bronze with a hammer no problem!
I love the way they look and feel and I like having the sides exposed because they are cool and cracked and craggy.
Now they're actually reversible (although I still warn about wearing bronze against moist skin).
With the rise of silver I began to have a mid-jewelry-life crisis. But the first thing I did was cash in 10 years of saved scrap. This was a lot of scrap and it yielded a lot of credit at Rio Grande. Enough to get a kiln, a Flex shaft and drill press, a torch and some tools. Enough to start MY OWN STUDIO! Now it was a scary idea to start my own studio when I was worried if I could afford to keep working with silver but then I thought about my work and the materials I use. I work with copper, brass, bronze, found objects, fabric, shells, stones, leather and feathers. I use silver with most designs but as accents, as embellishments.
So I'm not about to stop making jewelry, just to start making jewelry a little differently, with a little more focus on the other stuff. In April, these pieces were the first ones I created with my new tools and it was very exciting stuff.
My mentor Celie wrote a great blog on her way of dealing with the price of silver, check it out HERE. Now that I have my own kiln and now that I love these new Modern Relics, I will be working with more BronzClay and I'm really looking forward to that. Silver has been down in recent weeks too, maybe it will keep going down, but it's good to know that you can let creativity overcome anxiety, that you can adapt.
Many a bride has contacted me about ordering jewelry for their bridesmaids. I've done 8 pairs of the same earring, I've done 6 pairs of different earrings but all with gold added to them, I've had women order right from my Etsy shop. I'm always honored to have my work be a part of someone's special day. It's interesting though, how so few of these brides have considered my jewelry for themselves. They tend to be more traditional and go with crystal or diamonds or pearls. So I'm extremely excited to be a part of Ava Bishop's upcoming show. 
We have a very similar aesthetic and our work pairs beautifully together. Initially I found myself choosing from my most conservative pieces for her gowns and then I realized... she digs the edginess, the tribalness and that's so cool!
Her show of gowns "Past and Present" will be meeting up with my jewelry past and present - some classic designs, some revamped and some brand-spankin' new. I always prefer to see my jewelry on the body and seeing it on model brides draped in Ava's exquisite creations is sure to be a lovely sight.
Photos will be taken and I'll get 'em up on the web as soon as possible.
So happy to be featured in the March 2011 issue of Art Jewelry Magazine. The article is called "The Many Faces of the Modern Apprenticeship". Kristen Sutter did a great job profiling four types of apprenticeships and I was interviewed for the traditional perspective. Is an apprenticeship right for you? Check out the article!
Since I opened my Etsy shop 3 years ago, I've been selling my work in a very careful way. Only posting pics of pieces I had made and that were ready to ship. After another crazed holiday season of trying to fill my shop, do craft shows, and supply Trinket; I am where I often am in January - out of jewelry. In the past, I've slowly rebuilt my inventory over the winter months and worked on big projects, pieces and problems and let my shop go. That really isn't good business, to build up so much momentum and then just let it go, let my shop barely run with a handful of pieces in it.
So, I simply re-filled my shop, activated all of my inactive pieces and renewed many sold pieces and now people can order from me and I can make their order in 1-2 weeks. I thought about doing this last year but I was scared of the pressure this may cause, I don't like pressure. I want Etsy to work for me, not me to work for my Etsy shop. But rather than shooting in the dark and making lots of jewelry that people might buy once I finally list the pieces, I can make what people definitely want.
I wasn't sure if people would be apprehensive to purchase pieces that they'd have to wait for, but after talking to folks in the Forums and in real life, the consensus is that "people will wait for good stuff". I have little patience and I recently ordered a hat and a planner from two different Etsy shops that I had to wait 3 weeks for and...it was totally worth it. I like knowing these things were made for ME and waiting for them actually made me that much more excited to get them. It seems a lot of sellers on Etsy work this way. I've already had some sales which is so rare for January and because my shop is full, I've been featured in Treasuries and maintaining my web presence. If the sales get too overwhelming (not a bad problem to have) I can always increase my 'making' time or decrease the amount of pieces in my shop. I am in control!
Why didn't I do this earlier?
