Selecting the right tool- the wire jig

I got my wire jig a couple of years ago after much deliberation. The idea was cool- a specialized peg board that would let me make fairly uniform components. I invested in not only the jig, but also a set of extra pegs of varying sizes and a book of jig patterns.

Unfortunately, wire jigs don’t come with a warning. You see, I had to learn the hard way exactly how addictive the wire jig. It was so simple to use well that I was soon looking for any excuse to whip out my jig to try out a design! I couldn’t help myself!

There are a variety of sizes of jigs, so you can find one that matches the size you want to work with. They’re great for creating gorgeous wire patterns, and for easily replicating those patterns. I even use mine to help finish off wrapped components when I want a little flourish because it really helps stablize the component while I finsh off the design.

If you’re serious about designing in wire, then you must make friends with the invaluable wire jig!

Where I got started

I decided it was only fair to share my own story here, focusing on the current turn of my designing. My own path began a several years ago when I was in a medieval recreation group.

I wanted to learn to knit chain maille, kept lining up teachers. Everything fell through. Not long after moving to another part of the state, I found a book on viking knit. It looked pretty interesting, so I decided to pick it up. I got home and started reading the book, only to find the entire back half of the book was joined ring designs.

I was so excited. I finally found some way to learn chain maille!

I started with the byzantine chain, and then moved to basic eyepins. Before long, I had acquired a wire jig and was discovering the joys of wrapping wire.

I love creating designs and patterns that incorporate knit chain, wrapped wire, and beads. I think they create such interesting lines!

With a headline like that…

A post on Metafilter recently sported the headline “That princess had balls of silk“. It took me less than a second to figure out that every link involved was going to relate in some way to temari.

If you are unfamiliar with the craft of temari, they are beautiful balls wrapped in silk. Artisans in the Japanese courts designed them for princesses who were leaving to meet their betrothed. Some of the designs are quite intricate. In fact, he artists would actually compete to create the most beautiful temari for the princess.

Makes me think..I really haven’t done any temari work in the past couple of years. I really ought to do something about that!

Little inspirations

The first batch of jewelry is available on Etsy. I’m hoping to post a few pieces every couple of weeks for now. Please check them out.

The next batch is shaping up to be a series of necklaces or chokers, and the batch beyond that might just be the earrings I keep saying I’m going to make.

Over the weekend, I discovered that one of the easiest ways to deal with an overly aggressive migraine is to whip out a sketch book and start designing. So far, I’ve come up with six potential designs for earrings, and I can hardly wait to start putting them together! I’ve also started carrying around one of my favorite pattern books to see if it might inspire other designs.

I’m wondering if perhaps I should keep a sketch book in my bookbag along with my writing notebook. I never know which inspiration is going to hit next, or when, and I love to be prepared!!

The Etsy shop is open for business!

It only took me nearly two months to clear out some time in my schedule, but the Etsy shop finally has some pieces available.

I apologize now for the quality of the images. I’ve discovered I have a mid-level scanner (which was severely maimed by a careless, impatient utilities employee) and Photoshop kept crashing as I was trying to clean up the images. It didn’t make for the best combination, but I feel that the posted images are far better than the initial scans were.I’ll continue to play with things until I find the magical formula for making my pieces shine, but for now I hope these will suffice.

For this initial posting, I focused on my badge chains. For those of you who wear badges at work and don’t care for shoelace or metal lariats, these pieces might be just the solution you’re looking for. Made from a combination of wire and beads, these pieces are colorful and whimsical, made to suit a range of personalities.

As always, if you don’t see something you like, but have an idea of what you would like, I am always willing to create custom pieces.

Selecting the right tool- needle nose pliers

I was reading over this blog the other day and realized I never got very far on this series. While round-nosed pliers are indeed a handy tool, they aren’t the be-all, end-all of designing jewelry.

I have three sets of pliers that get pulled out for every design project I work one: my round-nosed pliers, my bent-nosed pliers, and my needle-nosed pliers. The round-nosed pliers are covered elsewhere. The bent-nosed pliers will be covered in the future. The needle-nosed pliers, however, are cool enough to be featured as the second tool in this series!

As their name might imply, needle-nosed pliers taper to very narrow points. Where the tips of the round nosed pliers are perfectly rounded, the needle-nosed pliers’ tips are rounded on the outside and flat on the inside. These pliers are great for a number of uses. I use mine to open and close jump rings, to start spirals, and to finish off tight wire-wrappings.

Needle-nosed pliers are also perfect for knitting slender chains. They can grip smaller rings without getting in the way of the maneuvering room necessary to link the rings together, thanks to their narrow tips.

Like the round-nosed pliers, the needle-nosed pliers are a must have for any jewelry designer’s tool kit!