Tuesday, February 28, 2017

How It's Made: The Seaside Collection


The Seaside Collection is inspired by long summer days spent at the beach. I'm happy to share a bit of my process from design to finished piece. 


Much of my work begins with the stone. In this case sea fossils, beach pottery, sea glass, shells, and accent cabochons in colors that mimic cool waters, warm sand, and vibrant sunsets. 


The stones are then grouped and I begin to layout a sketch around them adding additional elements and textures. 



The designs of any additional sterling silver elements are then transferred to sheet metal, hand cut, filed, textured, and sanded. 


A final layout is done atop the sterling silver back plate to make sure I'm happy with the design. At this point elements may be moved around or swapped out until I'm happy with the layout. 


After all the elements are soldered together another round of sawing, filing, sanding, and texturing takes place and then any connecting elements, bails, ring bands, and signature plates are soldered to the piece. 


Chains are soldered onto the pendants and everybody takes a dip in the patina. 






After the patina is removed from any raised surfaces the pieces really begin to come to life. Finally, the stones are set and each piece is waxed to preserve the patina. 



You can take a look at all of the finished pieces here or check out the available Seaside pieces in my Etsy shop

Thanks for reading! 

Friday, February 24, 2017

New Handcrafted Beach Jewelry from the Seaside Collection



 Inspired by long summer days spent beach-combing, tide-pooling, and splashing in the surf. 







Pieces from the Seaside Collection feature fossilized coral and sea urchin, ocean tumbled sea glass and pottery, and accent stones that evoke cool blue waters or warm red sunsets. 



Hand fabricated, sterling silver sea creatures take center stage or add interest to the focal stones. 




Each piece is handcrafted from start to finish in sterling silver using traditional metalsmithing techniques. 



Resulting in one of a kind, heirloom quality pieces that are as unique as the people wearing them. 




Take a look at available pieces in my Etsy shop

Thanks for reading!