Let It Snow...Let It Snow...Let It Snow.....

This week I have been locked away in my studio in preparation for our Haute Metals trunk show this Thursday at Gifted Hands in Wexford.  The perfect storm of... a health crisis with my mother that demanded my complete attention, the blessing of a very successful show last month where we had record breaking sales and a wee bit of my tendency for procrastination left me with a lot of work to do and not very much time to do it.  Fortunately, I work best when I am under a little bit of pressure and I find that creativity begets creativity. It's funny how that works.

The past few days have certainly lent themselves to staying in and nesting a bit.  Christmas music, a nice cup of coffee and a lovely view of our winter wonderland from my second floor studio window definitely put me in the Christmas spirit and got the creative juices flowing. I had so many ideas swimming around in my head for weeks that it was actually rather cathartic for me to finally create the pieces.

One of the results is this chunky sterling cuff bracelet.  The stone is a large oval fossilized coral cabochon.  It is a beautiful specimen and you can see all the little coral formations in it.  It was a real find and the photo simply doesn't do the stone justice.  I love the way the big substantial cuff goes with this deep earth toned stone.  It's bold but sublime all at the same time.

If anyone is interested in attending our show on Thursday evening here is a link to the information on our website...     http://pittsburghsilversmiths.com/trunkshow.html

In the meantime..........Let It Snow...Let It Snow...Let It Snow...

Sky High Silver

I have been getting a lot of questions from people regarding the price of silver and how it affects my prices.

As you may know, gold and silver prices are sky high now.  Today's price for gold is about $1341/oz and silver is about $25/oz. To put that in perspective, it was a mere $14/oz just a couple of years ago.   Since the silver first needs to be manufactured into sheet, wire or granules the cost to jewelers is higher than the market price.  For me,  current prices translate into a cost of about $7+  for every square inch of a finished piece, more for thicker pieces .  This escalation in prices has a huge impact on the jewelry industry... not just in retail prices but in what jewelers are even designing.

One interesting effect is the elevation of silver jewelry to the category of fine jewelry.  As gold jewelry becomes so expensive that most people can't afford it, jewelers are turning to silver as an alternative.  Precious stones and elaborate pieces that you would have only found in gold a few years ago are now being made in silver and jewelers are finding these pieces to be profitable.  The phrase "silver is the new fine jewelry"  has even been turning up in several trade publications lately.

So how does this affect what I do?  The current market definitely forces me to increase my own prices because my materials have gone up significantly. The increase on my own work though is actually pretty modest...maybe $5 or $10 for a piece.  This is because it takes several hours to make each piece so a large portion of my price is labor costs which I have not changed.  Where I get slammed is on the chains that I include with my pendants.  These have gone up 30% or more.  The price of components such as the little silver beads and jump rings I finish some of my toggle or beaded necklaces with have gone through the roof.

The price of silver has got me thinking in new ways and the trio of earrings in the photo above illustrates some of the things I have been doing in response to the current market.  To get a big bold look that still incorporates silver (and most importantly silver where it touches the ear) I have been experimenting with other metals.  The two pairs of earrings to the right combine sterling silver with brass.  I gave the brass a brushed finish which brightened it and gives it the look of brushed gold.  Both are statement earrings yet I can sell them for only $66.

The peridot earrings on the left are my first experiment with "reclaimed silver".  I was in an upscale consignment shop a couple of weeks ago and bought some really ugly solid sterling collars for a song.  They were worth more as scrap than what I paid.  I have been cutting pieces from them and incorporating them into my work.  The ear wires and the peridot portion of the earrings are all new silver and the bottoms are the reclaimed silver... cut, filed, textured and polished by me.  The result is a lot of silver and peridot for only $72.  I'm not sure if I will ever stumble upon an opportunity like that again but I am certainly going to keep my eyes open from now on.

Berry Bracelet

Here's another post about inspiration.  This time it is far less concrete...definitely a very abstract interpretation.

Early this fall while at my son's soccer game I noticed this brilliant mass of wild berry bushes.  They were absolutely breathtaking.  The bushes, which were at least 8 ft tall,  were covered in brightly colored berries in a crazy mix of hues that I have never seen in nature before.   Blue, teal, periwinkle, seafoam, violet, purple, magenta...sometimes all appearing in the same cluster of berries.  Simply striking.

Of course such a sight got me thinking and this bracelet is what came of it.  It is a very chunky solid sterling silver cuff that makes a statement big enough for Wonder Woman.  I also scattered three 6mm bezel set cabochons throughout the bracelet in colors that reminded me of those wild berries....iolite, amethyst and garnet.

The cuff will make it's debut at our show tomorrow.

By the way, I would love to know what kind of berries these are...anyone have a clue?

Inspiration

 

I thought that it would be neat to start a series of postings where I explain my inspiration for particular pieces. 

Sometimes I see something that inspires me in more of an abstract or conceptual way or in this case very literally.  I love sculpting flowers and do a few each season. Only very specific flowers lend themselves to the methods of handforging.  I have even had to take flowers apart to see exactly how they are constructed.  It is fascinating to study something that at first glance looks so simple but in reality is rather complicated.  Ascetically, there also has to be a certain symmetry to the flower for it to make an attractive piece of jewelry.

Particular flowers seem to have a lot of sentimental meaning for people.  I have heard so many stories from women who have bought my flower pendants or who have commissioned one.  The calla lilies that were in a woman's wedding bouquet.  The dogwood that was outside her grandmother's house.  The gardenia that was the favorite flower of her mother.  The violets her child used to pick for her in the yard.  

I wonder who will buy this magnolia and why.  Someone who grew up in the south?  Someone who vacations in the Low Country?  Maybe someone whose whose inner Southern Belle is calling to her. 

Taking It Up A Notch or Two

I finally got around to designing and buying new business cards and tags and I think that they turned out pretty good.  Fabulous, actually.  With a brand new Haute Metals website and the busy shopping season fast approaching I thought that it was the perfect time to come up with something a little more sophisticated.  Certainly more sophisticated than the tags that I printed myself and began to hate making so much that I would bribe my children to put them together for me.

The purchasing of these materials inspired me to buy better displays, design new signs and come up with a fresh look all around too.  More put together for sure. We have some innovative ideas we will be working on soon...more info about that after the holidays.  New venues, new opportunities.  There is a lot to be excited about.

It is definitely time to take it up a notch or two....

Back to Basics

Bold toggle pendants like this one are definitely one of my signature looks. They have been a really good seller for me so I've made a lot of them...so many that I needed to take a break from them for a while.  I was feeling the need to make pieces that are very complex and detailed.  Something that's a stretch for me...both design wise and technically.  But now I am on the toggle kick again prompted by a buying binge of beautiful pearls.  Sometimes simple is best and I think that is why these toggle necklaces work.  I seem to always gravitate toward oddly shaped pearls that have the kind of variations that only Mother Nature could create.  The sleek toggle with its mirror finish is a nice contrast to the quirky, organic pearls.

Necklaces like this one are also the reason why I sell jewelry now.  A necklace somewhat similar to this one was the very first piece that I ever sold over five years ago.  There is nothing like selling your first piece. To see someone enjoy what you created is really an indescribable feeling.  It is something that you never forget.

So as simple as they are these are some of my favorite pieces to make.

Green is a Very Haute Color

I made some changes and I'm seeing green.  And it is a very good thing indeed.

Lately, I have been doing a bit of research on how to make my studio more environmentally friendly.  Partly because it is a fine thing to do for the planet but quite frankly, my main motivation is to make my workspace as safe as possible.  It turns out that there are a lot of small changes I can make that can have a significant impact.

Silversmithing involves a number of chemicals and there isn't any way around that fact.  Soldering requires that a chemical called flux be painted on the components to be joined.  After each soldering application the piece needs to be bathed in a hot pickle bath which is typically hydrochloric acid.  Finally, the finished piece is honed and polished on a motorized polisher with polishing compounds.  It turns out that each of these steps can be done a little cleaner and safer with some substitutions.

I have switched to a non toxic chloride free flux from the UK which actually works even better at preventing firescale (a nasty discoloration that happens when silver is heated).

For the past few months I have been experimenting with different natural substitutions for hydrochloric acid.  I have been using white vinegar that I boil down a bit to concentrate it.  It works great but boy does it smell bad!  Recently, I read an article from the American Society of Silversmiths and the author suggested the same thing that was used thousands of years ago...lemon juice concentrate.  A perfect solution because a house that smells lemony is far more pleasant than one that reeks of vinegar!

Polishing is by far the dirtiest and most toxic thing about working in this medium.  The typical polishing compounds contain silica which is a known carcinogen.  There are some newer, less toxic alumina compounds that are silica free and I just ordered my first batch.  It takes more time, but I have also been reducing the amount of polishing required by doing more sanding by hand.  By the way, I do polish with the garage door wide open and I always wear a respirator. 

The amount of silver scraps I generate boggles my mind.  The box on my bench seems to always be full.  I buy my sterling silver in rectangular sheets of varying gauges and most of my pieces of jewelry are round or oval so you can imagine how much waste there is.  I can box up the scraps and send them to be melted down and remanufactured but I've been thinking that maybe I can find a way to use a lot of that material.  I have started to take my larger scraps from making pendants and put them through my rolling mill (think industrial style pasta machine) to make thinner gauged pieces that are a perfect weight for making earrings.  I have been melting down some small pieces myself too.  In fact, I have a series of necklaces that I am working on that makes use of my small scraps.  I think it's kinda clever and I'll write about it soon.

This whole process was surprisingly simple with no change to the quality of the finished pieces.  So now I have been tossing around another lofty goal which would make things even greener...using only domestic materials.  But let's not get carried away ...there are far too many pretty stones from all over the world.

Mountain Girl

"Mountain Girl"- hand forged sterling silver and copper pendant with a bezel set jasper cabochon on a 

three strand necklace of serpentine jasper, tiger's eye, freshwater pearl and sterling silver.

This is a piece that I just completed for an old classmate of ours who we recently became reacquainted with.  Another one of those reunions brought on by Facebook in this age of technology.  It is fun and sometimes surprising to see where people end up and to find out what they have been up to.  It has been a pleasure to reconnect with MB (as we called her in high school) after all these years. She grew up to be a wife, a mother of two cute and spunky boys and a very talented photographer who specializes in the most beautiful and poignant family photography   Her kind heart and her insightfullness really shines through in her work.  It is truly breathtaking.

It just so happens that MB was in town this summer so we arranged a little artist exchange....a photo session for some jewelry.  I was blown away by the shoot she did of our family.  She captured the individual personalities of my kids in a way I have never seen before.

I wanted to make a piece that was as personalized as possible.  MB now lives in Colorado and just loves the mountains and everything about the area.  The three mountains represent her guys- her husband and her two boys.  I also wanted something big, chunky and over the top because like most moms, MB would never think to buy something like that for herself even though she absolutely deserves it.

If you would like to see something guaranteed to put a smile on your face visit her site, Mary Elizabeth Graff Photography .  Make sure you check out her awesome blog while you are there.

A mailbox full of possibilities

This seems to always be a creative time of year for me. There are just so many reasons. The kids are back in school so I can actually get a few uninterrupted hours in my studio.  Fall is a gorgeous time of year and certainly lends inspiration.  Oh and there's that little thing called the holiday shopping season which is right around the corner..... 

For the past few weeks I have been on the hunt for unique stones and have been delighted with some of my finds. Today, my mailbox was overstuffed with little packages from all over the world.

So here's what I found in my mailbox of possibilities- Mabe pearls, Chinese Writing Stone, Owyhee Jasper, Onyx, Opal, Fordite and some Biggs Jasper.

Can't wait to dig in....

Birth of a Blog

How fitting that my first post involves birth.  New website. New blog.  A new phase for HauteMetals as our collective expands and becomes more sophisticated.  I love new beginnings.  I love babies and everything about them... their beauty, their smell, their promise of endless possibilities.  They are simply awe inspiring.  The empowering births of my own children, now 14, 11 and 8, had such a profound effect on me that I became deeply involved with our local birthing center when the hospital it was affiliated with decided to discontinue the program.  Several of the center's clients, including myself, worked together to build a new center and ensure that the women in our region have choices when it comes to the birth of their babies.  It was truly a grassroots effort and we managed to build Pittsburgh's only freestanding birth center, The Midwife Center for Birth and Women's Health.  I was on the Board of Directors of the center for several years and it really holds a special place in my heart.

Today, I made this piece to give to a very special midwife, Nancy Niemczyk, the former clinical director for The Midwife Center.  She is leaving midwifery for now to pursue a Ph.D.  Without her expertise and her complete willingness to make what many would feel were tremendous sacrifices the center probably would not be in existence today.  We had the privilege of having Nancy assist us at the birth of our daughter. 

The sweet little carved moonstone face cabochon was a gem I bought at a gem show many years ago.  I could never come up with the right design for it.  I think it was really waiting all this time for this particular piece. I tried to pack as much symbolism into this pendant as possible.  The six petaled flower is a representation of the logo of The Midwife Center.  The moonstone represents women and fertility.  I set the little face just slightly off kilter to be somewhat reminiscent of a baby crowning.  I hope it reminds her of all the women and babies she has helped throughout the years.

Here's to new beginnings.........