Maven Fair on May 12th
Posted by Administrator on Jan 31, 2007
Mark your calendars: the next Maven Fair is on May 12th at 1021 Sanchez Street in San Francisco! You won’t want to miss out on all the goodies!
Maven features independent local artists and designers, and it’s one of my favorite shows to participate in *and* to shop at. And how convenient that it’s the day before Mother’s Day for all you last-minute shoppers out there…
The Pearl Book
Posted by Administrator on Jan 24, 2007
The Pearl Book, 3rd Edition: The Definitive Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy Care for & Enjoy Pearls
By Antoinette L. Matlins
This book is the most informative guide to pearls I have read. If you love pearls, this book will give you lots of information on how to determine pearl quality, the kinds of treatments commonly used on pearls, and the difference between natural and cultured pearls, and freshwater and saltwater pearls. It’s not a quick read - there is a ton of information - but it’s very useful for anyone wanting to educate themselves about pearls and the pearl industry. That goes for jewelry makers as well as consumers.
What is Resin?
Posted by Administrator on Jan 22, 2007
If you’ve clicked through the gallery section of my website, you’ve seen some samples of my resin jewelry. Before I started working with resin, I didn’t really know what it was, so I’m guessing there are lots of people out there who are also wondering.
Most of the resin products used in jewelry making are two-part epoxy resins. In plain english, two tubes of somewhat thick, gooey liquids that are mixed together (following the manufacturer’s instructions very carefully). After a while (24-48 hours for the product I use, but it will vary by brand), the mixed resin becomes a hard, durable plastic.
There are many two-part resin products on the market, and they all have slightly different characteristics. Some will dry clear; others come in just about any color you can imagine, both transparent and opaque. The mixing ratios also vary, so while one resin requires mixing an equal amount of both parts, others will require a lot of one and as little as a drop or two of the other. Some are designed to be cast in molds, and others to be applied to surfaces as decoration or to cover and protect an image.
Resin is a fun thing to use in jewelry making because it allows the designer to embed all kinds of found objects, including delicate materials like paper. However, fumes from resin can be toxic, so it’s important to use good ventilation and ideally wear a respirator when working with resin. Some resin products can be harmful to skin in their liquid state, so gloves should be worn when working with them. The manufacturer’s instructions should include any necessary safety precautions.
Jewelry made with resin is fairly durable and easy to repair. Some resins will yellow slightly over time, but many products available today will stay crystal-clear.
Shopping Cart Open
Posted by Administrator on Jan 18, 2007
Well, kind of. I’ve had a Paypal account for a few years, and I recently created a page on my website where people can shop for earrings (like the pair above) using Paypal. I’ve hesitated for a long time as to whether or not I wanted to deal with e-commerce, since so much of the jewelry I make is one of a kind, but I decided that some of the earring styles I keep making to sell at shops might be perfect for e-commerce.
I hope to add more shop pages gradually over the next few months - I’m working on some limited edition pendants and necklaces, in addition to more earrings styles that I’ll be adding to the earring shop page a few at a time.
The Tucson Gem Shows
Posted by Administrator on Jan 11, 2007
The annual Tucson Gem Shows are coming up in a few weeks. For the first time in several years, I don’t think I’m going to be able to attend the shows.
For hobbyists as well as professional jewelers, the Tucson shows are a must-see. Some shows are open to the public, while others require a resale license, business cards, wholesale invoices, and various other types of paperwork as proof that you really are in the jewelry business. Even if you aren’t in the business, there are plenty of shows you can attend.
There are bead shows, gem shows, shows that sell rough for cutting or making cabochons, finished jewelry shows. too demos, and jewelry classes for all levels of jewelry making expertise. Plus, industry experts from all over the world are there, and there are networking opportunities, such as Ganoksin’s Orchid forum dinner.
One of my favorite events to attend is Rio Grande’s catalog in motion, where you get to see just about everything from Rio’s tool catalog demonstrated. Last year I learned how to use the Tri-cord knotter for pearl knotting, and saw demos of all kinds of fun tools for everything from metalsmithing to beadwork to resin. It’s very inspiring, and tempting to blow a few months’ salary on tools!
If anyone reading plans to go to Tucson and is wondering about different shows, feel free to contact me (michon at michondesign dot com). If I can’t go to Tucson this year, I can at least talk to people about it and live vicariously that way!
Book Review: The Art of Resin Jewelry
Posted by Administrator on Jan 3, 2007
The Art of Resin Jewelry: Layering, Casting, and Mixed Media Techniques for Creating Vintage to Contemporary Designs
This book is a great introduction to working with resin. It covers the basics of resin, including tips on eliminating bubbles and other common problems that people encounter when starting to work with resin. There are a good number of projects to complete, and an overview of the jewelry techniques you will need to know to complete the projects (in other words, stuff you need to know how to do in addition to the resin stuff).
Haab recommends different resins for different projects, which was interesting to me. I don’t think this is practical for most hobby jewelry makers, since one resin kit (resin plus hardener) will last quite a while - but it was interesting to me to learn about some of the products out there that I haven’t tried.
My favorite part of the book is the section that covers making molds for casting resin. This is something I’ve been wanting to explore, and it’s nice to have clear instructions and recommended products for moldmaking. The projects in the casting section aren’t necessarily my style, but they show several different techniques that I can potentially use to create designs that are more “me” with casing resin.
I would recommend this book to people with some basic bead stringing and wireworking skills who are interested in trying resin for the first time, and also for people who have experimented a little bit with resin but want to learn more about some of the different techniques that can be used in creating resin jewelry. The photographs are very well done, and many of the projects look like they would be fun to make. The basic techniques used in the projects are more than enough to get someone with a little creativity started making up their own designs.
One side-note: you can probably do a lot of the projects in the book with just one kind of resin to start with. I’ve been using the Colores brand resin for all of my resin work, and I know that it would work for most of the projects in the book. There are a few that use a special opaque colored resin, which might be tricky to duplicate using a clear resin, but otherwise one type of resin is probably sufficient to start trying out the different techniques in the book. That way you don’t have to go broke buying six or more different kinds (unless you want to try all the different kinds - if so, please tell me which you liked best).
