Wire Sculpture & Me

Wire wrapped jewelry pieces consist of the majority of my inventory, probably about 80% of all my pieces.  Creating wire wrapped loops and connected them to one another is a fairly basic technique and fairly easy to master as well.  I am always looking to learn new techniques to increase my expertise as a jewelry designer.  However, I (not so humbly) thought that I was a fairly advanced in my jewelry making abilities for about a year or so.  Then wire sculpturing came along and put me in my place.

For a while, I had kept an eye out for jewelry making classes near Harrisonburg.  Michaels Arts and Craft store only had basic level classes.  I had taken a wire wrapped cuff bracelet class at a fairly large beading store chain called Potomac Beads in Winchester last year.  However, it takes well over an hour to travel there, not making it very convenient to regularly attend classes there.  A few months ago though, I discovered a small independently run small bead store called “Generations Creations” operated in New Market, only twenty minutes away from my apartment.  A woman named Pat held wire sculpturing classes every Saturday ranging from advanced beginner level or advanced level.

Very quickly, Pat taught me the difference between wire wrapped and wire sculpturing.  Wire wrapped jewelry pieces mainly consist of wrapping wire loops together.  Wire sculpturing does contain some wire wrapped techniques.  However, it requires much more precise measuring of the wire, manipulating the wire with both your hands AND pliers, twisting the wire and connecting completely separate pieces of wire together.  It was a bit overwhelming at first, but thankfully Pat, with her 40+ years of wire jewelry experience helped guide me make two pendants in two separate classes.

The first pendant is called a “Julia” pendant.  It involved twisting wire, by using a drill and carefully connecting the two halves of the pendant with thin wire pieces.  I used a lapis lazuli dyed gemstone  as the centerpiece of this pendant, with air blue opal Swarovski crystals to accent it.  At times, I felt like Pat did most of the work, but towards the end of the project, I worked more independently on it.  I was fairly satisfied with the result, but the bottom half is not very tightly wrapped, making it swing out.  Fortunately, you can not tell that error in this photo :)

For the second pendant, I used a polished labradorite cabochon and completely encased it in wire, as cabochons do not have holes drilled in them.  This particular pendant required VERY precise measuring of the wire pieces and where to connect the wire together.  Otherwise the cabochon could fall out of the wire, if not properly wrapped.  For this pendant, I was definitely more confident and able to work more independently than the previous pendant.  (Although I certainly was not going to reject advice and helpful suggestions from Pat!) It turned out splendidly and I was very pleased with the finished product, especially since labradorite is one of my favorite gemstones.

 

 

 

I hope to take more classes in the near future and continue to expand my repertoire!

 

A Tale of Two Renewal Bands

A Tale of Two Renewal Bands

Since I started Sparkling Creations Jewelry almost three years ago, I have had the privilege of designing jewelry pieces for several weddings.  Creating customized jewelry has always been my favorite part of making jewelry, as I am able to tailor the piece to my customer’s specific needs.  Therefore, a few months ago, I eagerly accepted the request of a madly in love couple, at my church. They wanted me to produce a special set of ring bands for their ceremony. 

 

Slight twist though, instead of a future bride and groom, this particular couple had been married for almost twenty-five years!  Thomas and Rebecca wanted to hold a full out renewal ceremony for their twenty fifth wedding anniversary.  It was particular touching especially since Thomas and Rebecca had not been Christians, when they first married back in 1988. So, they wanted to rededicate themselves to each other and to the Lord as they now understood the spiritual differences deeply embedded in the role of marriage in the lives of Christians. 

 

I did not have to start from scratch either, because Rebecca immediately showed me a picture of a band they wanted me to replicate.  That particular ring had three wire pieces elegantly braided together, each one a different type of metal.  Besides being very pretty, this pattern held a deeper significance for Thomas and Rebecca, as they had chosen Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 as their Bible verses for the renewal ceremony.

 

It reads as follows: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

 

To be honest, the creation process for the renewal bands had a rather rocky start.  First of all, the ring in the picture had been soldered (fused together using a small firing torch).  Since a basic torch cost at least $200 and probably with my luck, I would burn something besides the bands, I decided to wrap the wires together at the bottom of the band.  Easier said than done.

 

Fortunately I had the insight of using practice copper wire before creating the final bands, rather than more expensive wire like silver.  Very soon, my kitchen table looked like a display of a kindergarten class wire sculptures.  I had SO much trouble getting the braids to be even and wrapping the wire around the bottom of the bands tended to warp the shape of them. Frustration soon set in.

 

However, I decided to consult the 21^st century solution to all problems-Google.  I quickly found an easy suitable pattern on www.Wigjig.com for a braided wire ring.  I used a jig (a board with pegs in it in which a person can manipulate wire around to make specific designs) to stabilize the three wire strands, which greatly assisted to allowing the braids to be much more even.  I then switched to making the final product using gold filled, argentium silver and artistic copper wire. 

It only took a few tries and I completed the renewal bands successfully.  Here’s a picture of them:

 

 

 

Last Saturday, November 9^th, I had the privilege of attending Thomas and Rebecca’s renewal ceremony in Singer Glenn (about twenty minutes north of Harrisonburg)  About eighty other friends and family members watched eagerly as they renewed their vows in front of us and more importantly God.  It was a very beautiful ceremony complete with worship songs and a touching moment at the end where Rebecca and Thomas braided three cords together as our pastor read the Ecclesiastes 4:12 passage. Several friends at the reception also gave testimonies on what God did in their lives and how it impacted their marriage.  It was a wonderful day and I feel very honored that Thomas and Rebecca asked me to contribute to it through the creation of their renewal bands.

 

 

 

Dayton Autumn Celebration Round Two!

Wow, it’s been over two years since I last posted in this blog!  I’ll do my best to be more consistent but we shall see how life works with that haha.  In any case, much has happened with Sparkling Creations Jewelry in the past two years.  I have start placing my jewelry on consignment in the Skyline Café near Massanutten Resort, a quaint eatery, which showcases the work of over twenty local artists/crafters.  Possibly the biggest change has been that I have joined the Artisans Gallery in downtown Harrisonburg as a Member Artist.  Despite these changes though, I am still participating in local crafts fairs/festivals in the Shenandoah Valley!

 

Last weekend, on October 5^th, I participated in the Dayton Autumn Celebration, possibly one of the biggest fall festivals in the Shenandoah Valley. The small town of Dayton lies around three miles south of the city of Harrisonburg, where I live.  It is a peaceful rural town, with many local business and several small galleries.  However, on the first Saturday of every October, over 350 craft vendors and 75 food vendors descend upon Dayton, setting up their canopies and food trucks in the streets and meeting places there.  Despite the large number of visitors, the vendors and townspeople of Dayton peacefully coexist on this big day.  Some of the townspeople even offer access to their homes to plug in electrical cords or let them park closer to their booth. 2013 marks the second year that I have been accepted to this event and I must say out of the dozen craft venues that I participated in, it has to be my favorite.

 

Although the Dayton Autumn Celebration lasted from 8:30am to 4pm, due to the large number of craft vendors, I had to set up my booth at 6:30am.  Yes 6:30am.  Getting up early doesn’t bother me too much though and my dad woke up early to help me set up my tables and canopy. I had the same booth assignment as last year, which was strategically located near the food vendors!  My vendor “neighbors” also stayed the same-a couple who sold handcrafted wooden lawn signs and a group of families, which had set up sand art activities for children.  Below is my jewelry display layout.  As you can tell, the sun was pretty brutal in the morning, but it definitely helped my jewelry be extra sparkly. :)

 

 

Although I do not know the exact number, tons of people came to this event, crowding the streets as early as 8:00am!  The day was unusually hot for October, but not completely unbearable.  My ever supportive and loving parents sat me for the day and helped out tremulously!  I also saw many friends from my church (Aletheia Church) and several other acquaintances in the area.  I sold a variety of jewelry pieces, but by far the most popular pieces were my copper bracelets.  Below are a few pictures of the bracelets that various people purchased:

 

The festive atmosphere and friendliness of my fellow vendors and booth visitors made the day unfortunately pass by too quickly.  Definitely looking forward to next year’s event!

 

 

 

 

One Year Anniversary of Sparkling Creations! (A Week Late)

I’m so pleased to be celebrating the one year anniversary of Sparkling Creations! Technically, I am one week late, because I received my small business license on December 10, 2010.  However, certain events, such as the last week of school here in Rockingham County and my 29^th birthday, prevented me from really celebrating this important milestone for my business!

The most important lesson I’ve learned this year though has been that patience/perseverance is the key to running a small business. Period.  I have lost count of the many times I have uttered the prayer “Why God have I committed myself to this insanity?” throughout the past year.  I have learned to press on through weeks of not selling a single jewelry piece, spending entire days photographing jewelry and then realizing that in each photo there’s something you can’t photoshop out, having to type in four months of sales/expenses again due to a corrupt file, having a “friendly” chat with the Virginia Department of Taxation over sales tax, etc.  However, despite those trials, I did manage to preserve and continue my commitment to this business.  I read the entire Bible over the past summer and whenever I get frustrated over events such as the ones mentioned, I found this verse:

 “We count those blessed who endured.  You have hear of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”  ~James 5:11

While I have definitely not suffered the trials poor Job had to deal with, this verse has been a great encouragement to me as I’ve dealt with the more unpleasant aspects of running my jewelry business.

God gave me so many amazing opportunities this past year-I’ve done four craft fairs, one jewelry party, sold jewelry online both domestically and internationally (Canada), created almost two hundred pieces of beautiful jewelry, wrote a detailed business plan, the list could go on and on.  The most amazing thing though is that for the 2011 business year, Sparkling Creations Jewelry has made a small net profit!!  If you had told me a year and a half ago, that I would not only be running a small business, but making a small profit off of it, I would have laughed in your face.  Very loudly.

It’s just proof to me that God is full of surprises and uses people (such as myself) to do incredible things.  I’m definitely looking forward to another year of them!

Accomplishing Goals-A Ring for Every Occasion!

A few months ago, I mentioned that I had created a list of 15 items to do before I turned thirty on December 15, 2012.  I am pleased to report that I have successfully accomplished #15 Creating a ring completing out of wire! 

I love the versatile nature of this ring design, seeing as I can use a wide variety of crystals and gemstones of different shapes and sizes in order to create beautiful rings.  I can also choose between sterling silver and copper wire for even more design possibilities!  Here’s a few examples of rings that I’ve made the past couple of weeks:

Business Update (much delayed)

I know that I haven’t updated this blog in several months-however, I really don’t like blogging about nothing and not much has gone on business wise, until recently!  The highlights:

-On October 15^th, I participated in the Broadway Fall Festival.  It was an outdoor event and while not the most productive sale wise, it certainly was very memorable.  I spent the entire time, holding down my display as wind gusts up to 25mph swept through the

Main Street

!

-Right after the Fall Festival, I received an invitation through my Etsy account to participate in the 2^nd Annual Artisan’s Holiday Bazaar on the James Madison University campus on November 30^th!  I am very excited about this opportunity, especially since the Events department on campus found my work of high enough quality to participate!  It’s from 11-5, but I have a very cool boss, who is letting me take off that day from work in order to take part in this event.

-A few days after the Holiday Bazaar at JMU, I am participating in yet another craft fair.  The Christmas Craft Fair will take place at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds on December 3^rd and 4^th.  I sold jewelry at the Spring Craft Fair at that location and had a modest profit from the event.  However, after talking to several local friends, I found out that this particular event can attract up to 5,000 people over the course of the weekend!! 

-Finally, here are a few jewelry pieces that I’ve been working on the past couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Jewelry Party Success!

Saturday August 22^nd was a big first for me-the first time that I undertook the responsibility and privilege of organizing and putting together a jewelry party!  It offered some unique challenges (coordinating invitations, spending 10 minutes in Walmart agonizing over which gift bags to put purchased snowflake ornaments in, transportation of 45+ cupcakes by myself, etc.). 

Despite complications though, it was a very enjoyable experience for me and one that I will definitely repeat in the future! My good friend Beth hosted it at her beautiful house for me. (My humble apartment wouldn’t have worked, unless you wanted to party in an oversized cubicle.)  In addition to my sterling silver and copper jewelry, I displayed snowflakes, which I used bead weaving techniques to create with seed beads and Swarovski crystals.

However, the most important part of my party was the fact that I donated 25% of my sales to another good friend of mine, Emily, who will embark on a five year mission term to Italy starting in 2012.  Here’s a link with more details about her trip and Avant Ministries, which she does her mission work through.

http://emilykatehuffman.wordpress.com/about/

Finally, here’s a few snapshots of the event-enjoy!

I had some assistance for putting the ornanments up!

Tree of Life Pendants!

Me with my display table

 Emily examining my selection!