Thanks for looking,

John

In order to create my art, I first cut the stone that will go in the piece, then design around that.  Here are two stones cut in the lapidary in the past week.  The first is a piece of Lapis Lazuli about 2.5 inches long and it is very heavy.  Will probably use it in a horizontal position in a necklace.  Way too large for a ring.

The second is a free form cabochon made with “Pudding” jasper.  Feel free to change the adjective ‘dding’ to anything that you think describes the stone.

I will wait, but am currently working on a mixed metal pendant (gold and silver) with a highly included rutilated quartz *16 mm round faceted stone.  Another project is a ring to ask Debbie to marry me “again” next October on our anniversary. A friend is cutting this as I certainly can not do it in my shop.  Any way, that is the news so far for the day after Thanksgiving.

John

Rebeca says: ” I would love for my book to help elevate the standards of maille.  Chainmaille as a jewelry craft form is relatively new, so there are no strictly defined standards of what is considered technical precision like there are for other jewelry media.  I don’t expect beginners to be perfect, but I sometimes see people who consider themselves “experts” posting or publishing photographs of pieces with very poorly closed rings.  My guess is, a lot of people don’t think that it’s a big deal.  Or they’ve been taught by someone who has poor closures, and it never even occurred to them that seamless closures are an option. To me, though, having perfect closures and smooth, shiny rings are critical.  I hope that people flip through my book and see what a difference seamless closures make.  And then, I hope that maillers everywhere make it a point to always aim for perfectly closed rings.  Of course, there are plenty of maillers (especially ones who frequent online forums) that already do so.  You are my peeps — let’s elevate this artform together! ”

Chained also painstakingly  goes into details on various metals and how to care for them. This is so important, honestly, I wish that I had a reference book like this around when I started weaving. Rebeca takes you through years of her own trial and error and puts things in simple understandable terms. You may not think much of  it, but finding the right pair of pliers is huge. I personally have probably 20 pairs of pliers and only use 2, the book sends you to the right tools to start. I guess what I’m saying is “Chained” takes the guess work out of chainmaille for beginners and gives great tips for the more advanced chainmaillers out there.

The tutorials are set up from basic to advanced so that you can grow with the book. I don’t know how many people start doing chainmaille, buy a bunch of stuff and then give up. Chainmaille can be difficult that is why it it critical to start off slow with basic weaves and then move on to more difficult intricate patterns. You need to truly build your weaving skills, and “Chained ” walks you through the steps. Starting with simple Japanese weaves and then progressing on to more complex patterns.

The other critical thing I looked for while reviewing the book is ring size. As I’ve taken my own journey through the art of weaving chainmaille I’ve noticed patterns in English Units, Metric Units, AWG (American Wire Gage), SWG (Standard Wire Gage), all these nuances will affect your finished work. Blue Buddha takes the time to give you proper ring sizes as well as their metric conversions for each weave so that there is no guess work. This is a huge time saver, ring size is one the of the largest struggles you will find when you start weaving chainmaille and “Chained will lead you down the right path.

The book goes through Japanese Weaves, Byzantine Weaves, Helm Weaves, and what Rebeca calls Coiled Weaves. These various techniques will give you a good foundation for weaving chainmaille. I would of loved to see her move into some Perisan Weaves or Roundmaille variations, but there are so many weaves out there I’m sure she had to edit herself or the book would be 500 pounds. Maybe we’ll get a sequel one day, hint hint, if you are listening Rebeca.
Rebeca says:  “Heh, heh.  Hint Taken. You are not the first to suggest a Persian chapter.  I have already started to think about a second book, one that is tailored more toward Intermediate/Advanced Weavers.  Right now, Persian will likely be a chapter.  If not, I’ll probably develop some stand-alone PDFs for the Persian family of weaves.  And you’re right, there was a LOT that we couldn’t fit in Chained.  My original manuscript turned out to be 260 pages, so my editor had quite a lot of editing to do. An entire chapter (on Mobiusing) got cut, along with several projects from the other chapters.  Look for a supplemental PDF of “The Deleted Scenes” sometime in 2011 for these missing projects.”

One of my favorite aspects of the book is that she gives artists the right to use her designs to create jewelry for sale. Believe it not most of the  books out there, not just chainmaille, restrict the artist from selling the finished work created from the designs in the book. Sort of silly uh? Like there is a copyright police man out there searching the web for infringement. Well Rebeca, being a femailler and jewelry artist at heart, insisted to her publisher that this be waived and that artists would be free to sell their finished work. If your interested in an autographed copy, which I did, you can get one here “Chained” Autographed. Blue Buddha will donate $5 from the sale of every signed copy to Friends of Franklin Fine Arts Center

I know that there is plenty of talented people in the world; there are many that are multitalented, now imagine finding a multitalented Australian mother of 5 (yes, you read that right…5 kids!) and still finding time to follow her passion for creating beautiful things from beads and Polymer clay!

Haffina is just such a person who’s creations must be seen to be believed.  Teeny tiny miniatures that look good enough to eat great you right away on the front page of her HandmadeArtistsShop page.  Check out the chocolate!  Couldn’t you just sink your teeth into them!

Not a chocolate fan?  How about the sinful indulgence of Red Velvet?

Miniatures not for you?  How about clay gemstones that you would swear are the real thing?

And just to get your creative juices flowing, Haffina also creates amazing supplies so that you can incorporate a one of a kind creation into your own one of a kind creation.

There is so much more to see of Haffina’s work; but I am running out of space!  Check out Haffinas Creations on the HandmadeArtistsShop for yourself and prepare to be stunned by the amazing talent of this busy mum!

On top of being a really cool business name, EyeCandyChainmaille’s driving force is actually named Candy!  She has been painstakingly creating amazing work since 2009 and is fast becoming a chainmaille artist to take notice of.

I am such a chainmaille junkie; but there is nothing better than finding a maille artist that really adds style to her work!  Using basic weaves, EyeCandyChainmaille has turned the ordinary into stunning!

Not only does Candy make stunning wearable art with metal, she has an eye for adding gems and pearls in such a way that adds drama and class to already amazing pieces.

On top of being an amazing designer, she has created a wonderful tutorial for her own version of the Byzantine Cross.  Seems like a cool way to learn a new talent and end up with wearable art in the end.

Ready to see more for yourself?  Check out EyeCandyChainmaille on the HandmadeArtistsShop for yourself and prepare to be struck by how beautiful chainmaille can be.

There is something so slinky and sexy about chainmaille done well and CMaille, also known as Crescent Maille has found that perfect balance.  From the moment she picked up a couple pairs of pliers, she was hooked for the long haul.

CMaille combines high quality sterling silver jumprings into amazing designs that can be taken from a professional outfit to a night on the town.  Necklaces, bracelets, earrings and more…there is definitely something for every taste and budget.

Love the work but the perfect piece isn’t there?  This is a problem…but not for Crescent Maille!  She is willing to work out custom orders and personalized sizing so that your newest chainmaille treasure is sure to be exactly right in style and fit.

No doubt that you will be able to find the perfect piece for a gift, or better yet, a gift for yourself at Crescent Maille!

Some collaborations are just amazing; and Copper Dancer Designs is just one such example of a collaboration that works!  Julia Benson-Slaughter and Andrea Winkler are both talented glass artists who came together thanks to their love of glass as well as the gift of combining glass with metal into amazingly lush designs of both finished pieces and loose glasswork beads in a variety of colors and styles.

Face it, this shop is like a candy store for anyone wanting to add handworked glass into their own designs but doesn’t possess the tools, time, or talent to make it themselves.  The rich colors and stunning finish is enough to make any jewelry designer drool.

Not into designing your own jewelry?  That is all right.  Copper Dancer also finds time to make some finished pieces for your pleasure.  Chainmaille pieces as well as those that combine metal with their stunning glass will definitely get you noticed and envied.

Ready to see more?  Check out this talented team at Copper Dancer Designs on the HandmadeArtistsShop.