It was just a matter of time til I started making my own chain, and that’s when I found out just how long it takes to make a chain. Let’s just say a long time.

Inspired by the Rachel Ray “semi-homemade” cooking theory, I decided to try a semi-homemade set of chain jewelry.

I finished the set of a necklace, two bracelets, earrings, and a few stacking rings in less time than a single chain would have taken if I did it all by hand, and I love the results.

Mixed Metal Jewelry Set

It was really easy to make – if you can make large jump rings, you could make yourself a similar set. I used antique brass chain I got on sale at a craft store. It has very large links, about the size of finger rings, and they are unsoldered. I made some copper jump rings in similar sizes, using thick-gauge wire and hammering them a bit so they’d be strong enough hold up, and inserted them into the chain somewhat randomly. I ended up with two bracelets and a necklace, and enough leftover links to make matching earrings & wear a few as finger rings.

I wear this set a lot and always get compliments, so I’m considering adding some similar pieces to my shop. It looks great combined with some simple brass bangles if I want a more dramatic look, or I just wear one or two of the pieces if I want to be more toned down.

Fire Sculpted Pendants and Earrings

Two of my favorite techniques to use in jewelry making are fusing and sculpting abstract shapes with wire. A while back, I was experimenting with ways to combine the two, and came up with a technique I call fire sculpting. It’s a little sculpting wire, a little fusing/melting, followed by more sculpting, and I think the results are really beautiful and interesting.

The photo above shows two of my fire sculpted pendants and an earring, all made from fine silver. I’m in the process of listing these and some other similar pieces in my etsy shop (the first one is already there). One thing I love about working in this style is that each thing I make is truly one of a kind. Because part of the process is out of my control, I’m surprised and fascinated (though not always in a good way) by the results. Making pieces for this series is alternately frustrating and exciting, and makes me want to continue pushing myself as a designer.

This is a really good thing for my business – it is so important, as a designer and maker, to be excited about doing new work. Here’s another pendant, probably the most abstract piece in the series so far, but one of my favorites because it doesn’t really have a front or a back, so it’s a couple looks in one:

Fire Sculpted Fine Silver & Pearl Pendant

T Bar Studs

These studs, currently in two sizes (7-8 mm and 1.5 cm) are handcrafted from argentium sterling silver. As you can see in the pictures, when worn, all that is visible is the textured silver bar, but when not being worn, these earrings look like the letter T. Both styles are up for sale in the Michon etsy shop. More sizes, finishes, and other variations are in the works – I will post them if I like how they turn out!

The small size looks great on its own or worn with other studs for people with multiple piercings. The larger size is better, in my opinion, on its own worn horizontally across the ear.

Update: found my large t-bar studs in a treasury curated by Ovgillliesdesigns. Here’s a screenshot!

Etsy Treasury with my earrings in it

Copper Hoops

Fused Silver Pendants

pricelist:
1 cm copper hoops: $12.50
1/2 inch copper hoops: $13.50
1 inch copper hoops: $15.00
curvy pendant with chain: $45.00
drop pendant with chain: $40.00

I can make copper hoops in any quantity (within reason) but the pendants are one of a kind! Shipping is $2.25 anywhere in the US.

Modern Silver Earrings

Just a preview of some new modern all-silver earrings designs I’m working on. They should all be in my shop by November 1st for holiday shopping! I’m also working on some more styles of stud earrings, which are great for stocking stuffers

I’ll be adding them to my etsy shop over the next week, but here’s a preview of one I just finished:

Copper Earrings - Loose Spirals

And they are!

Close-up of Swarovski Amethyst Pendant

It’s hard to capture all the sparkle of Swarovski crystal in a photograph, but I tried. You’ll have to take my word for it that they are even prettier in person.

Swarovski Amethyst Earrings

Not sure if these are going in my etsy shop or if I’m keeping them – amethyst is my birthstone, and yeah, these aren’t real amethysts, but they are definitely the right color. One thing I love about manmade beads like these are how perfect they are – perfect color, no inclusions, perfect cut – while I also love the imperfections in natural beads, sometimes it’s nice to have truly flawless beads. They always match, and they look so elegant.

Spiral Earrings

These cute little spiral earrings are completely handmade from Argentium silver wire. See the little space at the bottom? That is so I can add dangles to some of them (or, if you are a jewelry maker yourself, but don’t like making earwires, you could customize a pair easily for a more fancy look than a plain earwire).

Spiral Earrings - front view

I have several styles in the works based on this design – besides the hook earrings, I’m making studs, and of course both will be available with dangles added on. I’m debating whether or not to hammer the spirals – I think I’ll try it on one pair and if it looks good, that will be a third option. And of course, because people love copper these days, I’ll make them in either silver or copper. (Some of my best sellers in my etsy shop are copper earrings – particularly my tiny ball studs in copper.)

So…coming soon to an etsy shop near you, lots of beautiful metal spirals!

Also: as soon as I get them photographed, I have some beautiful earrings made up with Swarovski briollettes from artbeads – YUM – not sure if they are for sale or not, but I’ll post pictures here once I get some decent ones.

Gold Pearl Earrings

Buy a pair for $20 + shipping:






My customer likes them, but the look she’s going for has more of a straight line (I must confess, I knew that when she asked me, but I love curves so much my first version had to be at least a little curvy! I’m working up a straighter version though, and I have to say, I love that version too.) So, an unexpected bonus of taking on a custom order: I got inspired to make some new earrings, much sooner than I expected, considering that 11 days ago I was planning a 30-day respite from designing jewelry. This is a fairly simple design, combining elements from two other designs I’ve done in the past, but it’s still something new because I’ve never combined this pearl with that earwire before. I love when clean, simple look really works, and I think this is a great example of that.

What can I say, I guess I’m an addict. If designing jewelry turned out to be an unhealthy addiction, I’d probably need a 12-step program.

Also: inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected sources. If you want to be a more creative person, sometimes all you have to do to get inspired is be open to inspiration that comes your way. Yes, it does take practice, and most of us need little breaks – for me, working on my photography & photo editing skills, along with learning all I can about other forms of art and craft, is a perfect break from jewelry design when I’m experiencing burn-out. It helps me still feel inspired, even if my inspiration isn’t for making new jewelry designs.

So here’s my tip, if you are trying to get inspired again, after a period of creative burn-out. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me: go try something new. If you’re a crafter, try a new craft. If your work is more fine art, maybe try a new medium, or try mixing two or more media. Or take your camera and shoot a bunch of pictures. If you are so burned out that all of this seems like too much, read about a new art/craft online or in a book, or begin doing morning pages, as described in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – basically, 15 minutes or so of freewriting. Any of these creative acts can help spark an idea, so I think it’s a good idea to do something every single day if you can, until your muse comes back.

It has worked well for me so far in June, and I plan to continue actively seeking inspiration this way (doing non-jewelry creative tasks every day) the rest of the month, and possibly longer. I’m enjoying learning the basics of photo editing with GIMP, as well as taking photos of artsy looking things, and the ideas for new jewelry are starting to come in as a result. One thing I’d love to work on soon is combining my photography and my jewelry making – so if I figure out a good way to do that, I’ll have an exciting new line of work. I want mine to be a little different from the other photo jewelry I see everywhere, so I have to think about how to accomplish that.

Hoopy Earrings

They come in four sizes (so far) ranging from 1 cm circles (a bit less than 1/2 inch) up to 23 mm circles (2.3 cm or 7/8 inch). The hooks all come down slightly more than an inch in back, which should make them stay on well (but I supply translucent nylon earring backs, just in case – some people lose a lot of earrings). They are all made from argentium sterling silver using my chemical-free metalsmithing techniques. I’ll be sharing some process photos later in the week, if you want a peek into my studio!

So far just the large size is listed on etsy, but the rest will be there soon!