my shiny & sparkly gem of a life

GS: Coming to the End

2011-10-05T21:17:00.003-05:00

We're down to the end of the jobs... which means the end of the jewelry photos. But don't be sad, we still have a few more photos left!

This is a wonderful set of knife edge bands. But, as you can tell, the woman's band isn't actually a knife edge. But it has tapered outer walls, mimicking the knife edge of the men's band, but just a little more "blingy" in the middle.

Both bands are platinum. The woman's band has 3mm VS F diamonds equaling about 2.1 tcw.

If you can't tell, I have a new camera. And, obviously, I don't have the settings down yet. But I think you get the idea!

GS: The Website is Down

2011-10-03T12:26:00.002-05:00

If anybody has attempted to go to the Green Spot Studio website, you may notice that it's different. Apparently, it was hacked. It looked fine if you typed the web address in directly, but if you Googled "Green Spot Studio" there was a notice that the site was compromised. We actually wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for a few emails from clients. What happened was somebody came in and put a bunch of image files into the site. Because the images were imbedded all over the site, we actually had to delete the entire thing (fingers crossed that I still have all of the images saved somewhere!)

We had been intending to build a new site, but put it on the back burner when I decided to close the business. But since I am hoping and planning on opening up my doors once again, down the road, I do want to keep a portfolio online. So, over the next few months, we will rebuild.

And I know that everybody likes looking at the pretty pictures... so don't worry! They will be back online again soon!

On a personal note, there is so much big stuff going on that I will share soon! There will be all kinds of new fun stuff coming up to blog about!

GS: Fingerprints, Part 2

2011-09-04T10:15:00.004-05:00

When the palladium rings were returned to me, I was pleased to find that the finger prints survived the casting process. But I knew I had to handle the rings with the utmost care during the finishing/polishing process so not to disturb the fingerprints. Normally, I would use various types of files, emery and rubber wheels inside the rings to take off the top surface after casting (to remove any surface pitting, texture, etc) to create a smooth surface for polishing. But in this case, I had to clean lightly around the fingerprints, not touching them at all, and then I tumbled the rings for an extended period of time.

By tumbling the rings, it would not only remove any rough/sharp areas in the fingerprints while still retaining the pattern, but prepare the rest of the metal for final polishing.

And these are the final pieces.

When off, the finger print is clearly visible. But when worn, nobody else needs to know that they are there. The perfect little secret... more personal than most engravings.

And I was thrilled that my experiment worked!

GS: Fingerprints, Part 1

2011-09-01T21:00:00.010-05:00

I have had so many inquiries about "Fingerprint" rings, which is the person's fingerprint imbedded into the ring (normally on the outside of the band.) But after I explain the process, nobody seems to want to go through with it. Until now.

There are a few different ways that jewelers make fingerprint bands. You can scan in a fingerprint and laser engrave the fingerprint, but I this process too mechanical and perfect. You can have the client sink their finger into clay and once the clay hardens, use that as a mold to melt wax into, but that can leave a rather faint imprint in the final piece. And then there is the way I decided to do it...

First, I lined the hard green (high melting temp) wax with a purple repair wax (low melting temp). Then I cut the rings in half (because they wanted to have the fingerprints on the inside of the rings.) And then I burned my fingers holding the wax over an alcohol flame to soften it up...

...for my client to SINK HIS FINGER INTO THE HOT WAX!

... e Voila! Wax imprint! (That is the fingerprint of the groom to be on the inside of the band of the bride to be.)

And then I make the bride to be repeat the process...

Then I had to reconnect the bands in the wax, do some light cleaning and have them cast. We actually did practice waxes to make sure the process was going to work, so if the casting didn't come out, I had backups.

Final ring photos later!

ME: Lino's Chair, Day 2 & 3

2011-08-17T19:14:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post to show you what I've been up to. And, honestly, the pictures do not explain the amount of time and work that is going into this chair!

First I started building back up the head rest...

And then I covered the arms...

Then I had to work some magic to create the separation between the headrest and the back...

And this is where I left it...

And there is your sneak peek at the fabric for the chair.

Now, I'm sure you are thinking that doesn't seem like I've gotten that far... but trust me, this chair has been so much work. We actually had to do some re-designing today because the original spring cushion died on me. I didn't notice when I took it apart, but once we started to look at it we noticed that the structure had snapped in about 15 different places and there were sharp shards of metal over the entire thing. So, I need to build a deck to accept the new foam cushion. Oh well!

The funniest part is now that I'm finally onto my fabric and it's looking like I MAY finish by the end of the day on Friday, my instructor Seymour informed me that he didn't want to tell me on the first day, but I brought the most difficult chair... ever. And it would normally take him 4 days to do it, so I should be proud if I manage to do it in 5.

Keep you posted!

ME: Lino's Chair, Day 1

2011-08-16T06:56:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post of what I accomplished on day 1 of upholstery boot camp!

I know it doesn't look like much, but it was time consuming. It should start looking more like a chair by the end of today! Off to class!

ME: My Idea of a Vacation

2011-08-14T20:08:00.004-05:00

My goal was to be done with everything in the jewelry shop by today. Well, that didn't happen. I got nailed with 3+ days of migraines last week which just pushed everything back... but honestly, even without the sick days, I'm pretty sure there was no way in hell that I would have been done.

Oh well, everything will hate to take a little longer since this is a vacation week for me. I signed up for a one week intensive upholstery class at the Eliot School. Yup, only I would do manual labor for a vacation.

My project for the week, Grandpa Lino's chair.

It's looks like a recliner, but it's actually a rocker. And in mint green vinyl...

A god-awful ugly chair that is so damn comfortable, I just can't bear to part with it.

I decided to get a jump start on the chair and strip it before the class started. The inside of the fabric was stamped with the date of 1963, which answers a lot of questions as to why Lino would go with mint green vinyl.

As I stripped it, I had all kinds of goodies falling out of the chair...

It was full of pocket change, nails & screws (being a carpenter, I'm sure Lino's pockets were filled with things like that too), pieces to what I can only imagine was from the game Battleship, and a few other random things...

And after a couple hours, we have a naked chair...

I had to do a little gluing & tightening, but I think it's stable enough to start putting it back together again. More posts to come...

GS: Reinterpertation

2011-08-07T14:55:00.004-05:00

Over the past few years, the most common inquiry for a wedding ring has been the Nouguchi Inspired Men's Band. But this time a client asked for a version for a woman... more delicate and blingier. This is my reinterpretation...

GS: It's Worth Whhhaaatttt?

2011-08-03T08:09:00.009-05:00

This morning I was up at 4AM with an itchy pup (poor Jupiter got attacked by mosquitoes on a hike the other day) and I thought I would just flip through a few of my favorite sites and see if there was anything new. As I clicked on Etsy, I spotted a giant green stone ring for $50 in the 'Handpicked Items" on the front page...

So, I clicked on the listing to see the materials/information:

"MEASUREMENTS
The size of the cabochon is 0.7 inches (18 mm).
This ring is adjustable.

► It´s made with great quality materials, I only buy from official suppliers of Swarovski components for my work."

I have a few questions/concerns.

First off, that's not a cabochon... it's an emerald/octagon cut faceted crystal.
Second, if this is made out of sterling silver & Swarovski crystal, how is it only $50?

Since I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't really get work done at 4AM because I would have woken up Sal, why not research the materials and pricing.

So, I started with the setting, and I found a similar sterling silver setting on one of my vendor's sites for $22.00, with a bulk price of $18 for a dozen or more. The one I found is probably a bit heavier, so I will guess this Etsyer got theirs for around $15 each.

Next I moved onto the HUGE Swarovski crystal. I checked out the site of one of the largest jewelry supplier in the country. The largest emerald/octagon cut Swarovski was an 8x10 mm and was $32! Wait! What? Now even if they bought 144+, the bulk price is still $25.25 each, and this is still way too small! I can't even find 18mm Swarovski emerald crystals, so let's just toss out a ballpark price of $30 each for bulk pricing of these.

So, that's $15 for the silver setting and $30 for the stone. And don't forget, there's packaging, so add another $1.00. So we're totaling $46. And they are charging $50. A $4 profit? Really? Oh, and don't forget that while these are made from 2 pieces to assemble, so there is some minor labor, I'm still shocked that there is only a $4 profit to be made.

If we want to take this one step further, the average salary for a bench jeweler is about $20-40k/year (depending on if it's a mom & pop shop or a larger named jeweler), so it would take selling 5,000 of these to these to just barely make a living. Which leads me to believe this is a side business and makes them on the couch while watching tv after work.

But this is the kind of jewelry that is forcing me close my shop. How can I compete with that pricing? This is a full time career for me, and I cannot make $4 profit on pieces (even thought there have been plenty of times I have lost money on jobs.) But this is what people are looking for... bargains.

So, for my final thought, if she's being honest about all of her materials, it's an incredible deal, go grab one. It's just too bad that she has to under price by so much that it reflects poorly on jewelers that are fighting to make a living. And... if this person is anything like me... they will probably burn out really quickly by saying their time is only worth $4.

GS: Please Don't Lose Your Ring

2011-08-02T07:58:00.003-05:00

After all these years I had my first client lose their ring. I've gotten the few panicked calls over the years, but they always ended with finding their jewelry in places like the vac, the carpet, in the couch, in a pocket, the backseat of the car, and other random places. But Memorial Day this year I got my first lost LOST piece.

Now, you all know that I'm closing up shop, but they managed to sneak in a remake (and matching wedding bands) before I pack it up. But anybody past this point won't be quite so lucky.

So, do me a favor and have a place that you always put your jewelry. For example, I have a few different holders for my wedding ring...

While I am not one to have lots of tchotchkes (well, yes, clutter, just not tchotchkes) but I have an Eiffel tower that sits in my kitchen that became my ring holder while I cook or do dishes. Actually, I have two, a large and a small one... Sal uses the large one for his ring.

On my nightstand I have the classic ring holder... the elephant. I found him on Ebay for $2.00 and I love him. He holds a couple rings on his trunk and some other stuff in the dish around him... all while being adorable.

In the shop I have the "green guy" that Sal bought me to hold my glasses. While I pretty much never put my glasses on him, he holds my ring perfectly on his nose.

If I ever misplace my ring, 99% of the time find it in one of those 3 places. Another thing that I recommend to all my clients, GET A SAFE! Yup, just go buy a cheap safe over at the hardware store and screw it to the floor of your closet... similar to a hotel safe. And it's not just good for jewelry, it's also great for passports, personal & financial info, etc... here's one that's probably bigger than most of us would need and under $100 bucks! And, if you are a client of mine, I'm sure I gave you the "insurance" talk.

So, the moral of the story is have a safe place to put it when you take it off and DON'T LOSE YOUR JEWELRY BECAUSE I WON'T BE ABLE TO RE-MAKE IT.

GS: Pile o' waxes

2011-07-27T18:46:00.004-05:00

I am so close to finally being done in the shop that I can almost taste it! I have 2 last waxes to carve and a bunch of things finish & to set stones in... but I am so damn close! Which is good since gold hit $1625 and I can scrap out what I have left kicking around the shop. And soon the shop will be in boxes & I can easily say no without the guilt of thinking "Well, what will one more job hurt?"

The only problem now is that I don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up. Never thought I would be 35, still paying student loans from my last round of college & wondering what to do next. If anybody has any thoughts, let me know!

ME: The FINAL chair photos!

2011-07-18T12:55:00.008-05:00

Okay! No more dilly dallying! The final chairs!

We started with this goldenrod yellow beauty at the local Goodwill...

... stripped it down to this...

... and built it back up to THIS...

We took a 1950's nightmare (with incredibly itchy and possibly highly flammable fabric covered w/ stains, springs popping out, etc) and ended with a fully restored French Country style complimentary pair of slipper chairs. If you want to see the entire process again, take a look at these blog posts...

1. Changing Things Up
2. Breaking it DOWN
3. One of These Things is Not Like the Other
4. The Eight Way Tie
5. Finally Starting to Look Like a Chair
6. Building it Back Up

The reason I decided to make them complimentary was because (if you remember from this post) once I stripped them I realized that the didn't quite match. I decided to go with my gut and make them similar but with slight differences because I knew I could never force them to be identical, no matter how hard I tried. And while others may not see the differences, I would and it would drive me out of my mind. Plus it gave me an opportunity to be slightly more creative and play around with the design a bit. I have caught a bit of flak from somebody who is in the decorative business and thought my choice was poor because you could have put them on 2 different sides of a room and never seen the difference. But the choice was mine, so I decided to go the more creative and playful route.

So... were they worth the wait? You tell me!

Now, the difficult part, I think it's time they find a home that's not mine. Just know, I did not set out to restore these chair with the intention of selling them. But one of the first things you learn in art school is to disconnect from your work so you are able to sell it. And from years of making custom jewelry, apparently I got really good at enjoying the point when I hand something off to its new owners. And while I loved the process of restoring and upholstering these chairs, I feel like they will make somebody out there really happy. And when my work brings somebody joy, well, it makes all the time and effort worth it.

How am I going to sell them? Hmmm, not sure. Etsy? Maybe. SoWa market? Maybe if a friend will let me put them in their booth for a day. But for now, let's see if anybody here would want a pair of French Country Slipper Back Chairs. If you want any information, drop me a note at the Green Spot Studio Contact page. I would prefer not to break up the set, but if somebody really only wants one, I am willing to talk.

Now, I am taking another upholstery class and this time I will most definitely be keeping the chair. The reason, because it was my Grandpa Bonfiglioli's chair. But that is a post for a later date.

ME: Building it Back Up

2011-07-17T20:17:00.004-05:00

For those who have been wondering (and those who have been asking) the chair has been done for a while. Actually, both the chairs are finished. I just needed to take the time and set the scene to get some nice photos of it. And if you have ever seen my apartment, you know (1) I have very few empty walls, (2) very few walls that are straight [since we're basically in an attic] (3) horrible lighting (4) and more clutter than you can imagine [that's what happens when you have 2 people living in a very small space that has more hobbies than you can count.] And I finally did that this past weekend. But those are not the photos I'm going to share today... I want to show the final stages of building it back up! And I don't want to drag this out anymore... so we'll just plow right through this!

So, if you remember, we had a chair covered in muslin. Now it's time to show how we added the final fabric. We started with the seat...

And with some sewing, tucking, tacking and stapling we have a covered seat (I also added a little kick pleat skirt, but that came later)...

And then we moved onto the chair back...

And added some lovely "sunflower" details to enhance the slight curve of the slipper back...

Then I cut the back panel and used multiple methods to attach it including staples, hand stitching and ply-grip...

And finally, the the cambric (dust cover) on the bottom of the chair...

And I know at this point you are dying to see the final product. Well, tough... you'll have to wait till tomorrow. OH... THE ANTICIPATION!

GS: Ring of Fire

2011-07-14T15:15:00.003-05:00

I feel like such a slacker for not posting for a whole month... but I have actually been getting a good amount of work done. A good amount of the pieces are repeats, but there were a few new designs.

I had some clients come to me and told me how a friend described their relationship as a "Ring of Fire" and wanted to have that reflect in their wedding bands. We went through multiple versions from very bold and literal but ended up with something much more subtle.

The design I came up with had the literal flames but hidden inside of a classic scroll pattern to create a whimsical design.

And the final piece was 2 tone 14K Red and Yellow (to give it the coppery warm glow) with a hand engraved pattern...

GS: Just when I thought I was out...

2011-07-13T12:00:00.004-05:00

They pull me back in (said with clenched fists.)

That famous line from the Godfather couldn't be more true in my life right now. The past couple of months I have been working on closing my custom jewelry business (which I am referring to as a "Sabbatical" because hopefully some day I will open the shop again) and it has proven to be way more work than I would ever have imagined. And I'm finding it mentally exhausting (hence no blog posts.)

I put an end date of May for taking any new custom jobs and I have been very good about sticking to that with strangers... but I'm a sucker for my friends. Give me a sob story, tell me you love my work, tell me that you can't imagine getting your wedding bands from anybody but me, and I'll give in. And while I hesitantly say yes, and love you dearly, it pretty much sucks.

It took so damn long to come to the conclusion that I was taking this sabbatical, that I really want to be done in the shop. I want to move onto the next chapter... whatever that may be... and I'm currently stuck in a horribly messy shop limbo. Honestly, I think it's more work attempting to close the shop than it was trying to keep it open!

But I finally took my ABSOLUTE LAST JOB! And I had a fabulous past client (who I kept as a friend) come to me begging for an engagement ring for her brother in Trinidad. I first said no... but then the compliments started flying and that damn cute accent and my head started spinning and before I knew it, I said yes to ONE LAST JOB. I did set some ground rules though, I show a few designs I had tucked away in my book (for a rainy day) and whichever is the right direction, I can just go ahead and build.

So... the end is in sight. There is a light shining at the end of the tunnel. Still don't know what's on the other side, but I can't wait to find out!

GS: Etsy Treasury

2011-05-27T07:58:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday!

I woke up to an email from Etsy telling me that my upcycled Lemon Ring was featured in one of the Etsy Treasuries. Cool! Go ahead and take a peek!

But it seeing it with all of the other listings, I realized I need to photograph my Etsy stuff with bright colored backgrounds. My fine jewelry looks nice on a dark background, but whimsical pieces new to be fun and bright!

But that's a project for another day. I'll just be happy that somebody likes my ring ;)

ME: Finally Starting to Look Like a Chair

2011-05-19T20:15:00.004-05:00

I haven't done a chair update in a while, which is bad on my part since the chair is nearly finished.

So, last you saw we were up to the eight way tie, I have made some good progress since then. It is really amazing how my empty little wooden box is all of a sudden looking like a chair.

On top of the springs you add burlap...

And then you made edge roll. An edge roll is a burlap stuffed with cotton (rolled and stitched) and added to the edges of the chair to start creating soft edges...

Now, the front edge roll actually came from the original upholstery of the chair. It is not made from cotton stuffing but a cork tube. This will help keep the shape of the front of the chair. Now, to keep that in place, I had to stitch it onto the burlap covered seat...

When I was done adding the burlap and the edge rolls, I had to stitch the springs to the burlap. This is to make the springs move with the burlap when somebody sits on the chair. This is just a quick basting stitch, so there isn't much rhyme or reason other than the fact that you have to catch 3 spots on each spring...

(You only have to catch 2 spots on each of the back springs since they don't see as much action as the seat.)

Once all of that is done, you move onto the cotton and foam. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of these stages. But from there, you add the muslin. Now, if you send something out to get upholstered, they may or may not use muslin, but for us in class , it is like a dry run before we cut our expensive fabrics!

E voila... it's looking like a chair all of a sudden! And at this phase, I couldn't stop sitting on it. I know, silly, but damn it's was more comfortable than I thought would be!

GS: Stacking Ring(s)

2011-05-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

One of my first ever custom jobs was stacking rings... and I haven't had an order for any since. So, it is only apropos to have one of my last custom jobs be stacking rings.

I started with making a very whimsical band with round and modified diamond shapes. While it the shapes seem that they wouldn't stack/fit together well, sometimes you can force the square peg in the round hole and it just works...

I decided to stop at this stage and make a mold. I really liked the simplicity of the shapes and thought they would make wonderful simple stacking rings. Or possibly cool wedding bands. Or maybe the inclusion of flush set stones in the round sections. And the possibilities are endless!

Then I continued on, and finished the 14K white gold ring (below) by adding a prong head, basic engraving to mimic the look of stones in the band and milgrain. Now, this is the first of 4 or 5 rings. The opal is the birth stone of the client's first child, and the plan is to add more rings for future children along with her and her husband's birthstones.

If you notice, the photo doesn't seem shot in my normal style. That is because I used somebody else's light box. We all have our own style. I shoot my pictures in a fabric light box with natural light on black paper. This was in a light box with about 20 different lighting options, a glass floor and crinkled black tissue paper underneath the glass. While it's not my style... and the crinkled paper feels a little 80's to me... it still works to show you the ring.

GS: The Polka Dot Process, Part 2

2011-05-05T14:15:00.003-05:00

Okay... I shouldn't really be calling these polka dots. Polka dots are 'cutsey'... that is not how I would describe these rings. I know the state that they are in now (in this photo) the red gold is virtually screaming adorable polka dots, but that's not the actual intent. This just goes to show how many stages a custom piece of jewelry goes through.

We were going for something more complex... more layered and textured. Normally, when I'm talking about layering textures, I'm usually speaking of fabrics. But you can layer textures in metal too.

For example, anybody can put a satin finish on a ring, there are many different ways to do it. But there is only one way achieve an incredible satin finish... start with a high polished finish. I know, sounds counter productive to polish something only to make the surface matte again. But the polish shows through, adding a wonderful lightness and luster to the satin finish.

And then there are the little details that I like to add in, like cross hatching. Yes, I like to overlay my satin finish in different directions, which I feel adds not only another layer of depth but allows the light to reflect off different areas at different times.

Now, in the image of the vase, you saw this wonderful geometric pattern spread across the vase. It seemed sporadic in some areas and carefully plotted radiating circles in others, all creating a wonderful final 'layer' for this vase. For our purposes, in jewelry, we needed to find a way to recreate this layer.

We played around with the idea of drilling the holes (but that looked a bit Swiss cheese), half drilling the holes, using a ball bur (which reflected like little diamonds and not the look we were going for in these rings), using a ball bur with a hammer finish on top... and a few other ideas. Nothing seemed to fit, they were all TOO geometric, not organic enough. Then the decision was to go with selective planishing...

And finally, to complete the rings, both rings had to be finished first to a high polish and then brought back to a satin. And this is the final pair of rings...

They are not polka dot anymore. They are complex and subtle all at the same time.

The reason I wanted to share a lot of information about the process of building these rings is because even though they look like simple wedding bands from a far, a great deal of time, thought and effort went into every step designing and fabricating them. I think this point is lost on a great deal of people... they are not just spit out of a machine or picked up at a mall, these were labored over.

And, in my humble opinion, these are not just wedding bands but small pieces of art.

GS: The Polka Dot Process, Part 1

2011-05-04T20:41:00.005-05:00

It all started with a picture of a vase by Kitamura Junko...

There is so much to say about this beautiful piece. The geometry, the pattern lay out, the layering of color and texture... just amazing! So we had plenty to work with.

We started simply with an 18K white gold ring and 18K red gold wire stock. I had to carefully drill each hole directly through the ring (to make each dot visible from the inside and outside) just a hair smaller than the wire to be inserted. The reason is because the tighter the fit, the better the solder joint.

Now, you're probably wondering how you make the wire fit into a hold with a smaller diameter. Simply put.. you taper the end and hammer the hell out of it till it fits.

I proceeded to drill all the holes in the ring and lay out the 3 sizes of red gold wire in preparation for soldering...

While it was technically soldering the pieces together, I would actually consider it more of welding. The reason being is because the flow point of the solder is very close to the melting points of the two metals.

I used 19K white gold solder which melts at 1670 degrees. 18K white gold melts at 1730, just over the solder flow temp, and 18K red gold melts BELOW the solder flow temp at 1655. This is why the end of the red gold are melted after soldering...

This is also why I had to leave an excess of gold wire for each dot. Seeing the melting temp of the red gold was below the flow point of the solder, I needed that little extra red gold material for melting. If I had each of those wires cut flush with the white gold ring and then attempted to solder the pieces together, there would be a very good chance that the dot would actually melt and leave a divot at the top surface. And if that did occur, I would be forced to remove quite a bit of the white gold band to meet with the lowest points of the divot... or even worse, have to flow red gold solder into each divot to attempt to fix any mistakes.

But thankfully, with taking a great deal of time preparing, the joints cleaned up beautifully...

I have to admit, I have always wanted to make polka dot rings...

But we aren't quite done yet! To be continued...

GS: Compass rose ring

2011-05-02T15:29:00.006-05:00

I have always loved the idea of a compass ring... you know, to help you find your way home. And I don't know how many different clients I have suggested the idea of making a compass rose ring, but apparently they don't get lost as much as I do ;)

I think an antique map with an ornate compass rose is beautiful...

Well, I finally found the perfect client! While this isn't quite the ring design I always envisioned (I wanted to do a little more detail, red gold inlay, engraved fleur de lis, etc) but I think this is clean and simple... and delightful!

This compass rose ring is in palladium with a collet set rhodolite garnet and hand engraving.

ME: The Eight Way Tie

2011-04-23T21:53:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned before, it is amazing how much "stuff" goes into a chair... literally. Well, not so much newer chairs (most are just plywood with foam glued to it) but my antique chair has guts.

So, I started with the chair frame...

(it looks so tiny... and empty... and a little sad.)

Then I stretched the webbing and tacked it on...

Now... this was one of those points where I ran into an issue and we had to change things up a bit. Because the wood is so brittle and, well, dug up from being upholstered multiple times, I had to move to staples. I really wanted to do things the old fashion way (tacks) but they kept popping out. So, I modernized a bit and moved to staples... lots of staples. And then I added a few extra straps of webbing and attached them to the side of the frame for just that little bit more support.

Next, I added my NINE seat springs (my instructor, Seymour, said the person who made the chair must have had stock in a spring company, because there was no reason for nine giant springs in this tiny chair) and used a clinching tool to attach them to the webbing. From there, I started my eight way tie...

First was back to front. Next was left to right...

And finally, the diagonals which makes the 8 way tie ...

(Notice the front spring is tied in 8 different locations... that's where the name comes from.)

When dealing with the back (which only had 6 light springs) you don't have to do the full eight way tie, just four is sufficient since it carries less weight than the seat.

And there you have it! The beginning guts of my chair!

ME: One of These Things is Not Like the Other

2011-04-21T21:47:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I have updated you on the chairs... which are going slow but steady! It's tough with only a couple hours a week of class time to work on them, but they are coming out great and should be completed soon!

We did run into an issue, tho. It's a minor issue, but I know it will drive me nuts for the rest of my life. So, let me back track a bit.

I found the chairs at a Goodwill, looking very 1950's. And then after I started stripping them fabric off them, we found out they were from the late 1800's to early 1900's. Major clues came from pulling out materials like horse hair and straw, but also the condition of the wood.

See how (1) dry and (2) damaged it looks. The chairs have been upholstered and reupholstered many times over (the holes are from where the tacks were pulled.) Dealing with the wood in this condition takes a bit more finesse, creativity, problem solving and time. And, to be honest, this should be the last time they ever get upholstered (that's a lot of pressure for me to get it right.) They had already been repaired probably in the 1950's - 1960's or so when last upholstered (notice the lighter, more solid wood added in for support)...

So, after seeing this, I had to try to figure out how to refinish the legs. I didn't want to use stripper, in fear of damaging the wood further. That meant good old fashion elbow grease and sandpaper (sigh.)

And it took quite a bit of time since front legs were covered in some type of milk paint while the back legs were covered in schlack (probably home made including who-knows-what in the mixture.) As the sanding went on (and I worked on one chair at a time) I realized the front and back legs were different woods (one was possibly better for turning for the decorative legs?) At this point, I named them "Frankenchair 1 & 2" and decided I needed to give them a bit of a color to tie the legs together.

I decided to go with a pickling finish, to lighten it up and kept some of the dark paint/schlack in the groves to show the age. As I went to finish the chairs (still working on one at a time), I noticed the two were taking the finish differently. I just couldn't figure out why. And finally... FINALLY... I happened to put the chairs next to each other and what did I discover...

THEY DON'T MATCH! One chair (left) is nearly 2 inches taller than the other and made from different woods. HA! I have no idea if they were intended to match or made at different times or what.

Sooo... what to do, what to do. If they were different, yet similar, fabrics I could live with them as a pair. But I already purchased so much fabric, I can't justify buying more. And after much discussion with Sal, I decided I will break up the pair and sell one when I'm done. So, if you are looking for a fully restored antique chair finished in a French Country style, let me know! If not, I'll put it on consignment in a local decorators shop or something or maybe on Etsy.

But this is still a fabulous adventure! And it is really helping my understanding of the craft because I'm working on one at school and repeating the steps on the second at home. And I'm tempted to mix it up a bit, play around with the 2 fabrics, and see if I can come up with a slightly different design for the second chair. But I'm not sold on the idea yet... we'll see!

More photos soon!

GS: Noodling Around

2011-04-18T15:46:00.007-05:00

Think back... what was the first piece of jewelry you gave your mother? (And jewelry that another family member paid for doesn't count.)

Nine times out of ten, it was a macaroni necklace. And even though you painted it green and covered it with glitter, and turned your mother green and covered her with glitter, she wore it with pride. Well, it's time we bring it back... just a more adult version (and it won't turn her neck green either.)

I'm very excited to introduce, just in time for Mother's Day, my macaroni necklace! It's simple, it's whimsical... it's a gold elbow macaroni. Just the idea of it makes me smile!

Now... if you want to make EXTRA fancy (come on, it's for mom... of course you want to make it extra fancy!) you can add some glitter. And by glitter I mean flush set diamonds.

Or make it into a true "Mother's Pendant" and flush set the different birth stones.

I am offering them in my Etsy store, and they are made to order! They are available in 14K or 18K in yellow, white or red gold. If you want them by Mother's Day, place your order by April 25, 2011 for a pendant with stones and by May 2, 2011, for a plain pendant. And until Mother's day 2011, I am offering them at a discounted intro price.

So, get one for the special mother in your life. Or anybody that will appreciate the joy of wearing an elbow macaroni. Better yet, get one for yourself.

ME: Breaking it DOWN!

2011-04-05T15:05:00.005-05:00

It's amazing when you rip apart a chair. Not only for the fact that it's cathartic, but that when you break it all down there really isn't all that much to this piece of furniture.

So... we started with this...

And after a couple of hours of ripping you end up with this...

HUGE DIFFERENCE!

So, when you get down to the nitty gritty of it, an upholstered chair has a very basic wood frame. That's it. It's hollow and empty in the sense of space...

... but so full of potential!

I have been slowly building back up the chairs and it's amazing when it starts to actually LOOK like a piece of furniture again! More photos soon!

GS: No More Custom

2011-04-01T17:44:00.006-05:00

Well, after a great deal of thinking and talking with Sal, Green Spot Studio will no longer be making anymore custom jewelry.

Right now the cost of precious metals are insanely high and I'm having issues finding a balance between providing clients with a decent price and making enough income to keep my business afloat. And, to be honest, weeks go by without sitting at my bench (hence the lack of photos and posts.) I find myself spending about 40-60 hours a week meeting with, emailing with and talking to clients about money.

I can't tell you how many pieces of jewelry I have designed, at no cost, that never get built. I have even reached the point of agreeing upon a price, sending out contracts and invoices and then never hearing from those clients again. And, honestly, it has all just beat me down. I've always prided myself in being an artist first and a business woman second and all of this has made me despise my craft.

But don't worry, I'm not closing my doors. I'm just changing this up! You always have to keep reinventing yourself if you will survive in this business! So, I will continue making the pieces I sell on Etsy and maybe work on a small line? Who knows, only time will tell.

You should still expect some jewelry photos over the next couple of months while I'm finishing up all the jobs I promised to do (a couple wedding bands, some engagement rings, etc.)

Now, I'm sure you are wondering what will become of this blog? Well, I think I'm just going to start blogging about the new adventures that are in front of me! I'll keep posting on the process of my chair, maybe some cooking, of course lots of Jupiter photos... and possibly a few other big adventures.

So... stay tuned for new and fascinating adventures in my shiny & sparkly gem of a life.

GS: Don't Take Things Too Literally

2011-03-29T12:52:00.005-05:00

I had a client that came to me with the idea of a Celtic knot ring. I loved the idea, but refused to just carve a Celtic knot into the shank. It would make the design (1) too obvious and (2) it had the strong possibility of looking dated over time. So I had to come up with a creative solution. And after some thought (and some creative license), I decided that I would fold the Celtic knot in on itself and turn it into the head to hold the stone.

Once we agreed on the design (of basically I told him that he agreed with the design... and he had to trust me, which he did) I went right into building it! First I built the loop prongs...

... And then I forgot to take more photos until I was soldering the shank to the head...

... And then stone setting...

And our finished ring...

The final piece is platinum with a 2 ct diamond cut color change sapphire.

GS: It's Facebook's Fault

2011-03-17T18:40:00.002-05:00

Okay... I'm done apologizing for being a slacker about blogging and am attempting to figure out why I haven't been posting at all. And I finally figured it out... it's Facebook's fault. And Twitter. I started updating those (status, photos, stories, etc) and I just totally became a slacker here. BUT NO MORE! Or at least I'm going to try my hardest to start ignoring that stuff and paying more attention to my shiny followers.

Anyway, I just got back from a couple weeks of vacation (Hawaii & San Francisco) and feeling very very creative! Sooo... expect lots of fun new projects!

ME: Learning Why Upholstered Furniture is So Damn Expensive

2011-01-30T20:18:00.005-05:00

Another damn snowstorm, a class canceled. Just one of those things to get used to when living in New England. But even without class, I still got a few things accomplished this week.

The first thing I managed to squeeze in (between snow storms) was buying the basic supplies to start upholstering the chair. My first stop was New England Upholstery Supply to pick up my magnetic hammer, tacks, jute, ruby twine, foam, muslin, and a bunch of other stuff. That first stop was pricey, around $250, but I bought some expensive tools and supplies for both chairs (and enough for probably a 3rd or possibly a 4th.)

Then I headed up Zimman's in search of the perfect upholstery fabric. The great thing about Zimman's is the fact that they sell designer fabrics to the public and for reasonable prices. Now, the interesting part is that Sal wanted to come join me because these will be living in our house and he, well, questions my style. After 2 hours and a time-out, we picked the fabric.

We went with a natural tone heavy woven cotton (similar to a linen weave) with French script fabric and a complimentary deep tea colored linen for the seat. Total on fabric... $200 for 2 chairs (the top of my budget.)

The funny part is the fact that I was a little worried about the French fabric being too busy. I would hate to do all this work and be sick of the chairs by time I was done. Well, while doing a Google search for 'fabric chair' to just see what is out there, I came across an image of the fabric I bought! So, when I clicked on it, I found this...

... an ENTIRE chair upholstered in the fabric! And it's not horrible! It's actually really nice! Very classic, rather neutral but still whimsical.

And it's an $850 chair to boot! So, I can't feel so badly spending $30 for my two chairs plus another $150 each in materials.

I did get a little more work done, but that's for another blog post.

GS: Little Bits of This & That

2011-01-26T20:32:00.003-05:00

Along with the engagement rings and pieces from my Etsy shop, during the holidays I got a few orders for some small custom pieces. They are all very specific to the clients that they were made for, as are all of my bespoke pieces, but these few pieces had very particular subject matters.

My first was a pair of sterling silver dragon cufflinks. The dragon pattern was designed to be an "S" shape for the client's name. We went with a distressed/antiqued finish to give it that Mortal Kombat vibe. I think we were successful!

Next was a gold pendant with the profile of a Newfoundland dog. A high polish finish on top an engraved pattern helped create a natural texture. Also, the pendant has a tear drop bail hidden in the back to accommodate multiple sized chains.

And finally, a pair of 4 leaf clover cufflinks. Simple and clean in sterling silver... and hopefully lucky.

Don't be surprised if you happen to see these offered on my Etsy page for Saint Patty's Day!

GS: Sometimes love isn't up to me

2011-01-24T21:03:00.006-05:00

I always say I love to make love happen. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not up to me.

Every once in a great while an engagement or marriage doesn't work. It's a fact of life. And unfortunately, this weekend I found out 2 of my client's relationships are over. And I was devastated. I know this is strange, but I invest a great deal into making these marriages happen. I know, I know, in the whole grand scheme of things, this is a drop in the bucket. But I spend so much time with either one or both people in the relationship that I like to think I helped move their relationship onto the next step in their lives.

I get to know them on a personal level. I hear stories... about how they met, what they do, where they live, trips, family, what they love about each other... it goes on and on. And all of this is taken into consideration when I design and build their piece of jewelry, their something special. And I'm not sure how or where, but during this whole process of building my jewelry company, I became really empathetic.

So, when a relationship ends, it effects me. I think it really just comes down to the fact that I think my clients are very special. You have to be a special person to want to spend weeks designing a ring... getting everything just perfect. I'm not saying that they care more than people who buy rings out of the case, but lots of them pay attention to the little details.

Please don't get me wrong... I'm not completely self absorbed. I know the universe doesn't revolve around me. I just feel for these people. Everybody deserves to be happy, and that's all I want. Is that asking too much?

ME: Changing Things Up

2011-01-20T14:33:00.003-05:00

Sometime we all need to change things up. Whether it's a different brand of cereal or a new haircut or a new car, we all need a something different in our lives once in a while. When I need to shake things up I either move to a foreign country or I take a class. And seeing I'm married now I can't really run away... so, by default, it was time to learn something new.

This may seem odd, but I always wanted to learn how to upholster furniture. While you all know that I love working with my hands, sometimes I just don't want to work in metal (I think that's why I enjoy baking so much) and that's larger than a nickel. So, I signed up for this upholstery class at the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain.

The funny part is the day I signed up for the class I popped over to Goodwill to donate some clothing and I spotted a chair.

Actually, a pair of chairs. Horribly ugly 1950's goldenrod yellow slipper (roll back) chairs. And after having read the restrictions on the piece of furniture to bring to class (no couches or chaise, strongly suggests no arms or wing-backs for your first project, etc) and it has webbing and springs and padding and wood and fabric and so many different parts to fix, I knew this was the perfect match. It was fate! I knew I had to have them. AND they were $15 each! How could I pass that up?!?!

So, today was my first day of class. The first step is to strip the chair of the horrible goldenrod fabric...

... lo and behold it is NOT a 1950's chair! It was re-upholstered in the 1950's but it is actually from the late 1800's or early 1900's. There were many different clues once you started stripping away...

... like multiple layers of fabrics...

... and horse hair stuffing...

... and stitched (not stretched) webbing...

... and layers of straw stuffing...

... and LOTS of tack holes!

I'm at the point of the chair being nearly stripped and so excited to learn what comes next!

The hard part is repeating all the steps on the second chair at home... fingers crossed I don't destroy anything!

GS: What happened to the Oscar Challenge?

2011-01-18T15:55:00.003-05:00

I know, I haven't mentioned the Oscar Challenge in a while. Well... what can I say, I scrapped the idea. Literally.

It basically came down to the fact that the price of gold is so damn high! My original budget that I came up with was completely blown out of the water as the price of gold kept rising. Now, I did buy a good portion of the stones & about 1/3 of the 18K needed... and I did start building it. But then I became really concerned with the fact that I couldn't afford to buy more of the materials... so I sat on it.

It is just really difficult because I didn't expect the price to go up even higher than when we started. Yes, I know the market is constantly in flux, but I just didn't expect it to spike to an all time high. Ugh.

So... just like many other pieces of the past, it was worth more dead than alive. I was still hesitant about scrapping it, but after many talks with Sal, he reassured me that I will have another chance to build this because the metal market is a bubble and it will burst sooner rather than later.

And with that, I bit my lip, added everything to the scrap pile that was sent in for refining and tucked away the design for another day. I did save a few pieces for a couple funky rings to put on my Etsy and I already started using the sapphires for other projects. Oh, and I got a nice chunk of change from my refining that I can invest right back into the business (and put towards my student loans.)

But don't worry, there are plenty of projects coming up! I have a bunch of designs in the works (and I'm a little afraid that all of these projects will have the same deadline... but it will keep me moving!)

And, one day, I will build my bracelet.

GS: A Royal Knock off

2011-01-03T22:16:00.015-05:00

Years ago, an Industrial Design Prof. once said 'If you are going to steal a design, steal a good one and make it better.' But apparently this isn't the rule with knock offs.

I was doing cardio at the gym, attempting to ignore Fox News on the tv in front of me, when an ad for a 'Royal Ring' that caught my eye. And even from my elliptical I could see that the only thing it had in common with the Princess Diana/Kate Middleton engagement ring was a oval blue rock and some white stones surrounding it. The ring was missing major details that would make it a replica.

Now, maybe these are details that only a jeweler would notice. But I think this could be a good way for everybody to learn a little about jewelry design and the anatomy of a ring.

The ring to the left is Diana's ring and the right is 'replica' ring.

So, the overall look is a blue oval stone surrounded by white stones in a white metal. Can those 3 design elements make a replica? Notice the white stones surrounding the center. On Royal ring there are full cut round white diamonds, 14 to be exact, while the replica has 8 oval cz's.

Unfortunately I cannot get a close up of the royal engagement ring, but even from this distance you can see that the original has a thin/dainty band. The replica has a wide split shank. The original actually has a split to the shank too, but it is to add height to the band in order to support the height of the head and stones.

Finally, the last obvious visual difference is the type of prongs. On the original ring has a good amount of prongs that have a 'claw' like feel. The replica has typical rounded top prongs that is on most jewelry today.

And then there are differences in the specs of the rings, as in:

	Princess Diana Ring	Royal Ring Knock off
Centre Stone	Genuine Ceylon Sapphire 12 cts Deep Cut	Oval Faceted Faux Ceylon Sapphire 5.65 ct
Surrounding Gemstones	14 Brilliant Cut Diamonds	8 oval cz's 3.6cts
Metal	18kt	Silver
Made By	Garrard, London. The World’s Oldest Jeweler	Who the hell knows
Price	1981 Price thought to be £30,000 or $48,000. Reported to have since been valued at £250,000 or $400,000.00	$19.90

So, overall, this is a fairly poor replica (even though it comes with a certificate of authenticity and a decorative velveteen ring box.) But if you are looking for a fun piece of costume jewelry to wear for a few times before it fall apart or is lost, twenty bucks isn't a bad deal.

UPDATE:

Apparently I found one of the BETTER knock offs! This one, offered by QVC is nearly double in price & much worse quality.

When you look at it closely you will notice the THE STONES AREN'T EVEN SET! It's glue! There are fake prongs to add the appearance of being set, but they aren't pushed over the stones... and there aren't even fake prongs around the center stone. Also, the shank is completely wrong because it is too heavy and with milgrain added to it. But, worst of all, is the fact that the center stone isn't even close to the same color of blue.

These replicas are just getting worse and worse!

GS: My LAST Engagement Ring of 2010

2010-12-28T20:59:00.004-05:00

I know I haven't been updating much since Thanksgiving, but I got slammed with work. Much of it was Etsy jobs and limited edition pieces that you have seen, so not much to photograph. But I did make a few different things, including this sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

I was contacted in the last few days of November to make an engagement ring that needed to be in Switzerland by Christmas, so we had limited time to work. When I find myself in situation like this, the client and I need to be on the same page... they need to trust me. While all clients need to trust me, jobs like this I need to make the majority of the decisions. I give very few design options, pick the stones and overall, I need the ability to go with my gut and make the final decisions. And typically, when clients let go and allow me to have control, amazing pieces are made... and this is no exception!

Basically, the client named one piece from my website that he was drawn to and I came up with one sketch for him to decide yes or no...

And, obviously, he said yes. I think the translation from sketch into final piece was spot on...

The final piece is a platinum engagement ring with a hand carved crown setting holding a 1.77ct purple/blue sapphire. The band is a tapered knife edge with leaf shaped bead setting on the band and small leaves that connect the head and shank. Overall, I think we came up with something beautiful!

GS: Newest Member of the Green Spot Team

2010-12-04T21:23:00.004-05:00

Come meet the newest member of the Green Spot Studio team!

I recently purchased a mannequin bust/head to photograph jewelry on for my Etsy shop.

Even though she's new, she has a vintage feel with her slick & flip hair and her multicolored eye shadow. And I must say, even though she is made of fiber glass she is action packed with personality!

While I think she's a riot & rather campy, Sal hates her. Really REALLY despises her. Even Jupiter growls whenever she rears her smiley head (though I think Sal put him up to it.) So while she's now a vital part of Green Spot Studio, she will also come in handy for scaring the bejesus out of Sal (you should have heard his reaction when she was hanging out in the bathroom sink!)

Now, my only issue is what to name her! She's a redhead, is she a Viking? Nah, I'm guessing that red isn't natural. Hmmm... what oh what should her name be?

GS: Small Business Saturday!

2010-11-27T10:32:00.005-05:00

Hey! This holiday season why don't you support a small business? Come and join us for Small Business Saturday!

The Green Spot Studio Etsy Shop is having a one day sale! 15% off everything (INCLUDING the pink/champagne diamond earrings!) But this is only for Small Business Saturday, so act quickly!

Happy Thanksgving!

2010-11-22T20:57:00.001-05:00

Seeing we all have a crazy holiday week ahead of us, I thought I would wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble gobble!

GS: Babies Everywhere, part 2

2010-11-21T21:24:00.004-05:00

Okay... so maybe making baby spoons isn't the most glamorous part of my job, and maybe not my favorite type of project, but damn do they look fabulous when they are done!

This one, in particular, is exceptionally cool in my opinion. The designed was to include a giraffe, which is a great design element, but I ran into the issues of working an entire giraffe on the spoon. After playing around a bit I decided the best way was to fit the lower half on the back of the spoon and most the neck and head on the front. I know, it's a little abstract of a design, but I think it's pretty damn cute!

GS: Back from the Brink of Death...

2010-11-19T19:24:00.005-05:00

I had a client bring me his great grandmother's ring in hopes to use it as an engagement ring. Unfortunately, it was on the brink of death.

A ring normally should be at least 1.5mm thick to be stable. This ring was under .5mm. A platinum ring could possibly survive in the 1mm+/- ballpark, but this ring was a really low carat gold (either 8 or 10K.) To get you to understand how thin this ring is, I actually cut the ring shank off with a normal pair of scissors.

Needles to say, the ring was not wearable. If the client attempted to wear it as is, snagging it and one good tug would destroy the ring. Oh... and there was 4 solder joints in the shank alone. So, my best plan was to use the most important part (the shoulders, head and bezel) and treat it as if I was inlaying it into a whole new ring...

The best way to fabricate the new ring was out of wax. This way I could sink the metal into the wax to start creating the layout...

And then from there, carve the wax ring around the head and shoulders...

Once the wax was complete, I popped the metal out and was left with the ring to be cast in 14K red gold...

The reason I chose 14K red gold was because the color of the head was odd. It wasn't quite yellow and it wasn't quite copper, so the red complimented the old metal without making it look brassy or tarnished. And it looks lovely with the ruby too

The finished product came out really well. It retains the sentimental value by including the most decorative part of the original ring but is now stable and will last one (or more) generations.

GS: Trying Something New

2010-11-06T17:24:00.013-05:00

So I thought I would try something new to promote my work, a holiday vendor fair (basically a craft fair, but with some higher end crafts.) Well, it didn't go quite as planned. No offense to this type of sale, but Green Spot work doesn't quite seem to be a good fit.

I made about 40 pieces, all incredibly affordable for the amount of labor I put into them, and also brought along some of my gold / diamonds pieces and my portfolio to show my normal work. Well, not only did I hardly sell anything (barely enough to cover my table costs) but nobody actually wanted to even talk to me.

What did they want? Well let's see... I'll share a few of situations I found myself in during the evening...

1. One woman saw my German porcelain 'LEMON' ring...

Now, a normal conversation may include things like 'Where did you find the buttons' or 'These are so campy.' But what did I get? 'I just bought an old house that has a porcelain tub, how do I clean it?'

2. I caught more than one person flipping over my tea cup that holds my business cards...

And then exclaiming 'Royal Sealy... I knew it looked cheep.'

3. A woman walked up to my table and mumbled something to her friend in Portuguese when she saw my silver bugs (which I had for a show price of $30.00)...

Funny enough, people don't expect us suburbanites to speaking another language, but my Italian (albeit rusty) helped me understand her say something along the lines of 'Come on. Keep moving. Too expensive, TOO expensive!'

4. As explaining they types of stones (cuts, shapes, precious and semi precious) in my shaker pendants...

I mistakenly used the words 'They are quite fun' when I should have said 'They are quite whimsical.' One woman replied 'I'm sure they are to you' as she walked away.

5. To make my table look nice, I set up a few of my bags and packaging along the side of the table to add a bit of decoration to the table...

More than one woman peeked in the bags and looked disappointed, even annoyed, when they realized they were empty. One woman actually asked (in a rather frustrated tone) 'Why are these empty?!?' I had a feeling she was looking for some kind of a freebie. I said 'When you buy something, then the bag will be full!' The woman didn't find it funny and walked off.

6. I did have a couple women run up and ask 'What kind of jeans are those?'

I looked at the button and replied 'LTB.' Then they said 'What the hell kind of jeans are those? Are they a real brand?' Ugh. So I informed that they are a Turkish brand. It didn't end there... they wanted me to show them my butt, asked where I got them, how much they were... blah blah blah. I wanted to say 'Did you notice I have jewelry for sale' but it just didn't really seem worth it at that point.

7. And finally, as I was packing up, I was wrapping up my jewelry and this woman came by for the 3rd time of the night (running away every time I attempted to say hello to her) and asked it this was for sale...

Ugh. That's my soy sauce dish for when we're eating sushi. No... no my soy sauce dish isn't for sale. I had $2 silver stacking rings in it that are for sale... but apparently my soy sauce dish was way more interesting.

BUT the night wasn't all a wash, one of my favorite women, Susan, came out to support. Susan... you made my night! Also, I got to set up next to two fabulous craftswomen, Sheila and Pauline. Their company was more than delightful. So, overall, it was an entertaining evening!

At least now I have stock for the holidays for my Etsy store!

GS: Ooo! Shakey & Shiny!

2010-11-04T11:45:00.004-05:00

So, I'm gearing up for a holiday sale tomorrow (Friday) in Milton. This is something out of the norm for me, seeing I normally do bridal Expos, but I thought it was worth a try. It may be a new way to get my name out there. And worst comes to worst, everything I made will go on my Etsy store for the holidays!

I thought one thing that is somewhat straight forward to make would be a whole army of shaker pendants. They are bright, colorful, whimsical & just simply different. And better yet, affordable!

Each one is made from sterling silver with approximately 5.5 cts of precious and semi precious stones. They can include rubies, sapphires, tourmalines, garnets, chrysoprase, iolite, topaz, aquamarine, citrine, spinel, and much much more. Even a few diamonds tossed in there!

Colorful and shiny... who wouldn't like that?

GS: A Little Something Different

2010-11-01T18:52:00.004-05:00

We have all seen the really low-end eco friendly jewelry (bottle cap on wire earring) and the really high end (my usual work)... but I wanted to try to find the middle ground. And have a little fun along the way.

In the spring I came across these fabulous 'cabochons.' They are German made porcelain buttons that were on an old fashioned soda fountain, each button is labeled with the flavor. I wasn't too sure about what to do with them, because they are rather large, but I knew I had to have them!

So I decided that I would use one to make a ring. Seeing that I happen to adore lemon, I thought I would start with a GIANT lemon ring. It is sterling silver bezel surrounded by randomly flush set yellow sapphires.

It's huge, it's quirky and it's eco friendly! Crazy lemon cocktail ring! Woo!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T15:10:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to take a few minutes away from the bench to wish everybody a Happy Halloween! While Sal and I didn't get the chance to dress up this year, we decided that it was only fitting to dress up Jupiter. He is such an amazing creature... he just sat there and humored us!

So... without delay... here's Jupiter as Conan O'Brien! He's English, from Boston, has long legs, freckles and is ALMOST as pasty.

GS: Babies Everywhere!

2010-10-21T11:28:00.005-05:00

There's nothing like a baby born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth... literally. Silver is naturally antibacterial... did you know that? That's why silver cups and spoons are a great choice for kids!

I was recently commissioned to make to make a baby spoon. I used to enjoy making baby spoons... now, honestly, they are a pain in my toosh. Silver isn't expensive, but the fabricating them is labor intensive. And because I need to charge for labor, which is more than the silver, people complain and cannot understand what is so special to warrant such a price tag. Well, it's a custom fabricated and completely personalized work of art... that you can use. And the point of this spoon is to USE it, not just have it sit in a drawer.

Anyway, here's a new one. I happened to not only know the person that ordered it, but also the couple that was receiving it. So, I knew exactly what to do on it... SPACE!

There is a cut out of a small rocket and flying to Saturn, surrounded by stars and hand engraved with the baby's name (Ari) with a star over the letter 'i'. How damn cute!

Unfortunately this isn't the best photo, but it still give you the idea!

GS: A French Inspired Engagement Ring

2010-10-14T07:50:00.005-05:00

When you have a really REALLY high quality diamond, all you want to do is set it in a way to showcase it... not take away from it. So normally, you would set it high in the least amount of metal possible. But when it's going to a highly active client, you want to make sure it is set as safely as possible.

Normally, when I think of safe, I think of bezel. But we didn't want to bezel set this diamond, we wanted to let in the most light possible. The client also wanted something a bit more classic looking. So I came up with a heavy prong idea, which was inspired by antique furniture.

When dealing with larger stones it's common to use a 'claw' prong (which looks like 2 claws holding the stone in place for each prong.) I wanted to used a feature I adore from classic furniture, the ball and claw foot.

I'm not sure if the ball and claw is technically French by design, but I have seen many French antiques that use that element. So I built triple claw prongs, each out of 3 wires soldered together. Now, I did have the center wire much larger (round/bulbous) than the side 2 wires of each claw prong when I fabricated the setting, but my classically trained stone setter thought differently and shaped them as he saw fit. While it wasn't my original design, sometimes you can't argue with experience. So, I will consider the finishing on this piece a collaboration... and it looks amazing!

The final ring is a 1.5ct VVS1 E round brilliant diamond with a platinum setting...

GS: A Contemporary Spin on an Antique Style

2010-10-12T20:14:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I get to make a surprise engagement ring for a couple that I know personally. And when I get to do this, I can really help bring their personality and style into the design. And this is most definitely one of those rings.

The groom-to-be wanted something slightly classic and antique, but with a hip and contemporary spin. So, my first thought was a rose cut diamond. I ADORE rose cut diamonds! They are an antique cut from the middle ages which has had a resurgence in popularity and are being cut again. Rose cuts have a flat bottom, unlike today's brilliant cut diamonds, and have the total of 48 facets. The flat bottom keeps all the weight on the top of the stone, which makes the stone look larger.

So, this ring has a .60 ct VS/F rose cut diamond in a 14K yellow setting, with a 14K white gold bezel and lining inside the head.

So, there you have it! A bit antique, a bit contemporary, totally fab!

GS: What's Going on at Green Spot

2010-08-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

So, maybe you are wondering what's going on here at Green Spot Studio. I know, I haven't been around much so far this summer. So I guess it's time I share what's happening over here.

After taking some time to think things over (and discuss with Sal), I decided to cut back on my company... make it a little less than part time. This wasn't an easy decision to come to.

Basically, I had burnt out. Over the past couple of years, I took everybody's advice and took any and every job that came my way... no matter how much money I made. I did this to keep getting my name out there. Unfortunately, all this did was promote me as being really inexpensive. I put Green Spot Studio on sale. And if you know my work, you know the amount of time that I put into every piece. And after meeting with my accountant this past spring, we figured out that I doubled the amount of jobs that I completed, but made around 1/2 the money. No business could survive that way.

Although money is a major issue, there were certain situations and conversations that lead me to my decision. And it would be rather tacky of me to share those stories, so I will leave it up to your imagination. But there was one final thing... one final ring that broke the jewelers' back (so to speak) and I just left the shop. I didn't return for quite some time. I blamed the heat. I blamed caring for Jupiter. I blamed the house being a mess. But really, I was the only one to blame because I just couldn't face sitting at that bench of another minute.

Now... it hasn't been all bad. Most of it has been rather delightful. Honestly, I have worked with some amazing people. And it is those wonderful clients (you know who you are!) that are keeping me in this business! Because, overall, I do love what I do... and I think I do a decent job at it too!

So, where does this leave Green Spot Studio?

I will continuing producing custom pieces. BUT I will be much more selective about the jobs I take on and the clients I decide to work with. I want interesting/challenging jobs! So if you have those, bring them my way! I will be charging accordingly, though. If you ask for the family discount, I may just tack on an extra 10 or 15%... you don't know how much I actually like my family that day, do you?

Along with this, I am looking for a part time job. Preferably not in the jewelry field. I'm not sure what that will be... but I'll keep you posted when I figure it out.

So do not fear... there will be a great deal of pretty pictures coming your way! I have a few engagement rings I'm working on... along with new limited edition stock pieces in the Green Spot Studio line. And maybe, just maybe, with a little encouragement I can get back to my Oscar Challenge. Maybe.

So... thank you if you hung in there to read my whole diatribe. Like I said, pretty pictures to come. Stay tuned!

GS: Deco Sunburst Engagement Ring

2010-08-18T09:39:00.005-05:00

A few months ago I did an Earth Day Fair at Harvard and met so many lovely people. Apparently I made a good impression on one of them, because she and her 'soon to be fiance' called me to make their engagement ring! They had family diamonds (one large from her family and 4 small from his family) and wanted to use them.

As for the design, all they knew was they wanted simple and 3 stone. So I decided to go with a clean deco style. And since they were about nature and sustainable, I thought an Art Deco Sunburst would be perfect! If you don't know what I mean by Sunburst, here is a great example in an antique hair comb...

Now, we designed the ring first then I got the family diamonds (which is somewhat backwards from how I normally work, but it took some time to get the stones.) I realized that the small diamonds wouldn't work in a 3 stone ring because the proportion to the center diamond was all wrong. We decided to save the diamonds for the wedding band and go with sapphires.

The center diamond is a .78 ct mine cut and flanked it with faceted Ceylon sapphires, prong set in platinum. And this is what we ended up with...

The sunburst can be seen from the side view, originating from the small diamond.

GS: Raven Cufflinks

2010-07-29T08:37:00.003-05:00

Groomsman gifts are tough. Do you get them pens? Flasks with their names engraved on them? iPods? Well, my favorite are custom cufflinks. Something that is special to either the groom or the groomsmen.

This raven design is the logo on a sail boat owned by the Best Man...

Now, the pattern automatically lends itself to a cutout (with some slight modification.) But simply a cutout would create a weak structure, so I backed it with another sheet of silver. At this point, it started to develop the look of an antique coin... somewhat militant looking. So I decided to run with this and I not only oxidized the cutout, but the entire piece and then selectively removed the oxidization to give it an antiqued finish.

And this is the final product...

GS: New Life to an Old Ring, part 2

2010-07-21T11:47:00.004-05:00

After finishing this men's ring, I couldn't help myself, I had to make a part 2 of the 'New Life to an Old Ring.' Who knows, maybe this can become a series!

We started off with a 14K yellow gold men's estate ring. It tapers from the top to the bottom and had a concave top surface with Florentine engraving. Now, we lucked out because it was a perfect fit.

The client had designed very specific symbol that he wanted engraved to the ring. So, first I removed the engraved surface and took a bit of the height off the concave section...

Second, I added a center line around the while ring with a saw blade (which is part of the design.)

And finally, the new engraving was added to the top surface...

This ring is the mate to the woman's band in part 1. Here they are together...

GS: New Life to an Old Ring

2010-07-13T07:16:00.005-05:00

Just like any industry, the jewelry/wedding industry has been suffering with the economy and people are looking for ways to save money. Much of the time people come to me asking for me to melt down old pieces of jewelry to make something new, which I am thrilled to do. But what many people don't know is that it is not cheap. A great deal of labor goes into melting precious metals and then making new stock for fabricatin. Depending on the complexity, this process can sometimes cost MORE than purchasing new (recycled) metal!

But this is the perfect example of how to work with old jewelry and on a budget. A client came to me with a pile of antique rings and wanted to see what we could do to 'rework' the pieces and create something new. One of the bands was an old patterned men's 14K Yellow gold wedding band, size 10.

She liked the pattern (which is quite lovely) but wanted to add a bit more to the ring. So, first I sized it to a 4.5 and matched the pattern back up. Next I drilled the center of every other flower and soldered in 14K white gold tubing.

From there, I set diamonds (which again, came from a piece that the client supplied) in the bezels. Here's the final product...

The final product is beautiful and budget friendly.

GS: Where have I been?

2010-06-16T19:14:00.005-05:00

So sorry if you have checked the site for the past month and found nothing new posted. Maybe you were wondering where I went... or if I was coming back. Well, I'm still here! But I do owe a bit more of an explanation on what has been going on. It has been a combination of a few different things. I'll get into some of it when the time feels right... but I will share one thing right now. We got a puppy!

Okay... I know that doesn't seem like the best excuse. But if you have gotten a puppy before, you know how it turns your life upside down.

Basically, we weren't looking to get a puppy. I was thinking possibly a 2-3 year old dog... something that needed a home and was possibly past the crazy puppy phase (and housebroken.) But then we found our little boy, a 7 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and we couldn't help ourselves!

I happened to be looking through PetFinder.com (which I would do when I was playing around on my computer at night) and I came across a little female Cavalier with only one eye. Knowing that Sal really likes that breed and that neither of us cared if we had a one eyed dog (I was going to name her Winky while Sal wanted to name her Leela) I contacted Champlain Valley Canine Rescue in VT for more details.

They wrote back rather quickly and informed me that about 10 people wanted her, which was wonderful for the little one eyed girl, but sad for us. BUT she told me about her brother. He was rejected from a puppy mill in Ohio for having too high of a birth weight to be standard for the breed (which I think is total sh#t.)

Actually, the whole little was rejected (the little girl with one eye, the little boy who was born too big and the other little boy that was born with an under bite.) They were sent to a high kill shelter (what an oxymoron) to be destroyed.

Luckily, Champlain Valley Canine Rescue in VT takes trips to Ohio every 12 weeks or so, picks up dogs from high kill shelters and brings them back to NE to find the dogs some good homes. And, to make a long story short, after some back and forth we were informed that we qualified to take the little boy pup that was born too big for the breed! So Sal and I drove the 4 hours up to VT and picked up our 7 week old boy.

Once we picked him up, we had no idea what to call him. Sal and I thought the best idea was to come up with a Brittish old man name, since he is a King Charles, but none of the names we came up with seemed appropriate once we met him. So, on the 4 hour car ride home we just kept throwing out names. Finally, one of us said Jupiter and he reacted... our little Jupiter chose his own name.

So, just about one month in, we are having a wonderful adventure as a little family! Here is a little of our time together so far...

But now that we're all getting settled in, I'll have more jewelry to share... and, of course, more Jupiter photos!

GS: Wavy Wedding Band

2010-05-17T14:06:00.003-05:00

Whenever I build a wedding band to sit flush with an engagement ring, I try my hardest to create a band that can be worn simply on it's own. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Here is one instance where it did work. The original engagement ring is a wavy / somewhat bypass ring with a half bezel set sapphire. The wedding band is clean and minimalist and fits perfectly to the engagement ring but also looks nice all on it's own.

Simple and clean!

GS: Antique Ring Repair

2010-05-14T11:47:00.004-05:00

I have been up to my eyeballs in itty bitty time consuming projects (paperwork, small repairs, plain wedding bands, etc) and not much has been all that photo worthy. BUT I thought this was a worthy repair to share with you all!

Last year used a family diamond to make this sweet engagement ring...

The diamond came out of an engagement ring from the bride-to-be's side of the family. There was much discussion on what to do with the 100+ year old platinum setting. It couldn't be melted down because it had been repaired throughout the years with yellow gold, white gold and possibly some kind of brass or lead and would contaminate the metal in melting. And in the condition it was in, it wasn't wearable.

So, I came up with the idea that when it was time to get married, we would repair it and set a semi precious stone in it and so the bride could give it to her sister. Well, that time came!

The ring had issues... the under gallery of the head was not just damaged, but missing.

Because we used the diamond for the new engagement ring, we had to take all precautions to make sure it wasn't damaged in removal from the antique band. What that means you use a more destructive method to the ring (life over limbs!) to remove the stone unharmed and we were left with no prongs on the head.

So, to repair this I had to work slowly and methodically. The ring is nearly paper thin (especially in the shoulders with the filigree) and filled with random solders that have various melting temps. This makes it really difficult, well, to keep from melting and destroying the ring.

The first step was to repair the under gallery of the head. I had to ball up metal (I used white gold because of the melting temp) and round out the missing area for the ball to fit, then soldered it in using the lowest melting white solder I could get my hands on (so I wouldn't disturb the other soldered areas.) After the 2 white gold balls were soldered in, I filed down on the outside to match the surrounding surface. The balls were left larger on the inside to help create a little more support.

And when that was completed, I added a white gold bezel to the top to hold the Aquamarine...

And from there, I LIGHTLY polished the whole piece (just to shine it up a bit and make the new and old sections somewhat match) but I didn't not refinish the ring because that would take the wonderful aged character away from it. And I finished with setting the Aquamarine... and this is the end result!

A beautiful antique ring that just had a slight makeover. Just helping to restore the beauty that was already there!

GS: ETSY!

2010-05-03T13:29:00.003-05:00

Hey all! I know I have told you all before that I have a Green Spot Etsy page, but thought I would toss it out there again because I have just updated it for Mother's Day!

Everything is made and ready to go. In recent months I have made lots of jewelry as samples for bridal expos and it's now time to go. After a few attempts at bridal expos, I have now come to the conclusion that I don't think they are for me and my company... unless I change my business plan in the future. So for now, it's time to clean shop!

There are a few new pieces on there that I haven't had before...

So take a peek and make mom happy!

GS: Groomsmen/Bridesmaid Gift Idea, Initial Cufflinks & Pendant

2010-04-28T19:11:00.006-05:00

Sorry it's been a few days, I was in the DC area visiting the in-laws (still sounds so strange to say that) and we are sans-internet on those trips.

Anyway, I'm just getting back into the swing of things in the shop after my few days off and don't really have many exciting things happening at bench right now. BUT I finished a fun project a couple weeks back and saved sharing it for just such an occasion! Yup, I'm sneaky like that!

Sometimes I have clients that want me to handle multiple jobs to check as many items off of their wedding 'to do' list as possible. This would include things like (1) wedding bands (2) bridal jewelry (3) bride/groom gifts (4) bridesmaids/groomsmen gifts... things of that nature. So this project was for a Best Man and Maid of Honor, who happen to be husband and wife.

Their last name begins with the letter Q and the bride wanted cufflinks and a pendant to reflect that initial. While my mind directly went to a beautiful high domed, high polished, old typewriter style capital Q, I thought that idea has been overdone (e.g., Tiffany's O pendant.) So I decided we would go the exact opposite... more modern, flat, square, lowercase, negative space and a brushed finish. This is what I came up with...

Seriously, how damn cute are those? And it could be done with any initial!

Here are a couple more photos to detail the cufflinks. The pictures a bit lighter, but it helps to show off the shape a bit...

GS: Harvard Law School Earth Day Fair

2010-04-23T12:18:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I took place in the Harvard Law School Earth Day Fair with some wonderful local and green vendors.

To lure the students to my table (past the free pizza, pickles, ice cream and pastries) I had to offer something just as tempting...

One of my 100% recycled Sterling Silver Grasshopper Pendants! I think he's cute enough to rival free pizza ;)

So I'm thrilled to announce our winner... Melissa Smith! So Melissa, I hope this little guy brings you good luck and good health!

For more information on the Harvard Law School Green Living and to see a list of the other vendors, click here for their blog.

GS: Matching Diamond Pendant / Earrings

2010-04-21T22:06:00.004-05:00

This was a fun and straight forward project. A client came to me with her diamond pendant made years ago from her mother's engagement ring and wanted matching earrings. I always enjoy projects where I need make pieces look like a matching set. I normally do this when a client brings me an antique engagement ring and I need to make the wedding band, but this was a first with a pendant/earring set.

The pendant has approximately a 3/4-1ct diamond bezel set in 14KW. The earrings are a matched pair of .45ct ea (.91 tcw) bezel set in 14KW with threaded posts and backs.

OC: Sapphires vs Diamonds

2010-04-21T17:25:00.004-05:00

Okay, the time has come! I need to stop thinking/talking/re-designing and build this!

So far I have ordered in the 18K yellow gold for the support structure of the bracelet and sapphires. I decided that my piece would fully be made of sapphires. While I know that nearly all Red Carpet jewelry is made mainly of diamonds (with a few colored diamonds or rubies, etc, scattered throughout the piece) I cannot afford to make a giant piece of diamond-covered jewelry.

I have a few reasons why I decided to go this direction. One reason is to move away from the norm; another is ability to purchase in parcels (larger quantities.) But the main reason is because I can purchase parcels of mixed sapphires for a fraction of the cost of diamonds. You see, these parcels will include stones that are heat treated, some VS clarity others SI clarity, some diamond cut others cut poorly. But even when a sapphire is lower quality or cut poorly, it still has color. If I purchased lower quality diamonds, well, they just wouldn’t sparkle, or be discolored looking, and still be much much more expensive.

As a custom jeweler, I have never been a fan of mass manufactured ‘mall quality’ jewelry that has nearly industrial grade diamonds. This is not my being a snob; this is me being an educated consumer. Just like anything, if the price seems too good to be true, there is a reason for it. And usually the $59 diamond ring special is that price because (1) it’s 10K gold or sometimes less (2) it has been assembled in a 3rd world country (3) may contain lead or cadmium and (4) has ‘commercial’ grade diamond, emeralds, sapphires, etc., that do not sparkle. Basically, the consumer is buying that piece of jewelry to buy the word ‘diamond.’ I do not want to use diamonds just to say I built a huge piece of diamond jewelry.

AND from a design standpoint, color is wonderful.

So, if you are curious what my color pallet will be, here you go!

I tossed these sapphires on my scanner. They range from tones of yellows to oranges to reds.

Construction starts next week! Stay tuned!

GS: Modern Diamond Eternity Wedding Band

2010-04-18T10:12:00.010-05:00

Eternity bands are classic. They commonly they have pave, bead, or channel set diamonds (or another precious stone.) But this eternity has a bit of a contemporary twist. Each diamond is fit into an individual seat and then held into place with 2 diamond shaped prongs. This makes for a very clean and modern setting.

The band is 14K White Gold with sixteen 3.2mm diamonds with a 1.9tcw.

OC: First bit of press!

2010-04-16T09:45:00.003-05:00

Yay! I got my first bit of coverage of my Oscar Challenge! Woo-hoo! And, as always, if somebody throws a little mention my way I love to reciprocate!

I am really excited to say that my first bit of press was bigger than I expected. Jacqui Pini from Captivate.com is supporting me on for my challenge! Now, maybe she's a bit bias because she was the recipient of this insane custom engagement ring...

... and you should see this thing sparkle at night! Anyway, I am thrilled to say that she is not only personally cheering me on for my challenge, but going to keep sharing/covering the whole process! Her coverage will be taking place on her blog Indulge and on tv screens all over the US and Canada!

You see, every time you ride an elevator that has a tv screen, most likely that is showing the Captivate Network. So, if you were in an elevator yesterday you may have seen this...

And I couldn't more thrilled! So thank you Jacqui and Captivate Network for all of your support! And I promise that you can be the first to try on the completed Oscar jewelry!

OC: Design Concepts

2010-04-15T11:44:00.003-05:00

I always like to share the way a mad artist thinks/creates by showing the design process of my small pieces. But I have spent a month scribbling and sketching and laying out my design for my Oscar Challenge. While I do have a final design in mind (75% on paper), I am not going to share it at the moment because, well, it could be copied/knocked off really quickly by a team that builds costume jewelry.

BUT I want to show you where I'm getting my design inspiration from and how it has been transforming over the past month. AND I'll tell you what I'm making.

Okay! You ready?!?!

I'm going to make a 3" cuff bracelet with earrings. The reason being is because very few people wear necklaces at award shows... it detracts from the necklines/bodice of the gowns. You have to find a happy balance between the gown and the jewelry. Just like Coco's simple rule to look in a mirror before you leave the house and take off the accessory you notice the most (which is great advice for most of us!) stylists do the same when dressing clients for any media events. And why not keep that in mind when designing/fabricating. This is how I work with my clients... so even though this is a project for me I will still just treat this as designing for a client.

Anyway, over time I will fill you in more on what they pieces will look like and the materials used, but for now I wanted to show you where my inspiration is coming from. Simply put, raindrops in a puddle.

(Thank you shutterstock.com for the example!)

I love the circles and ovals and movement! And the reflective surfaces! OOO! Just delightful! Now, while I am jokingly referring to this as my puddle pattern, it won't look like this in the end. But the joy of being 'artsy' you can sample from all kinds of ideas and make it your own, and that is what I have been working on.

So, I spent a month scribbling and playing and talking my way through taking this pattern and turning it into a design. And this is just some of my process...

I know this probably seems like a big pile of scribbling nonsense, but it's just another form of problem solving.

Keeping checking back to see the progress!

GS: Sometimes CAD is the only way to go...

2010-04-12T12:17:00.007-05:00

Every once in a while I have a client that has a VERY tall order for their ring design and not quite the budget to back it up. Normally it's a detail orientated individual that has gone ring shopping, has photos from multiple rings in which they like part of one and something else from another, and even has their own sketches or computer renderings of what they are expecting their final piece to look like. And when I have a client that fits the bill, it is best to just go ahead and make a CAD (computer aided design.)

I work along with a fabulous designer when it comes to building a piece of jewelry with CAD. This is because I am a traditional jeweler and I haven't been trained in CAD (or not since I studied Industrial Design at Mass Art back in 1999.) I do know I will probably have to learn at some point, to keep up with the industry, but for now I will just keep getting dirty doing what I do best and leave the CADs up to the professionals.

The client for this antique style engagement ring had a very specific list of requirements for this piece (which made this process quite simple.) We needed the following:

-1.5mm melee diamonds surround the center 1.5mm cushion cut diamond
-2 rows of 1.5mm melee diamonds half way down the ring shank
-bezel for the center diamond
-a Celtic pattern to match her husbands previously purchased wedding band
-small milgrain around the bezel and the bead set stones
-matching eternity wedding band
-the center diamond set as low as possible
-14K white gold

The client purchased her own center 1.5 ct cushion cut diamond. One of the main things when making a CAD for a cushion cut diamond you need to be able to trace the shape of the stone into the program to get the exact shape for the bezel. So, I scanned in the diamond and sent it off to my CAD colleague.

Then I sent her the photos, along with all of my sketches and specs, and she went ahead to design it on the computer. And after going back and forth, we email computer renderings to the client for their approval.

And after everything has been approved the CAD file gets sent of to the caster where they mill the wax and cast it in the designated metal.

From there the casting gets cleaned and the stones get set. Then, to finish, we always do a little work to attempt to take the diminish the appearance of the piece being a CAD. The Celtic pattern was cleaned up with hand engraving, very fine milgrain (the fine little beads you see in the bezel and along all of the diamonds) was added, etc.

And this is the final product...

GS: Evil Eye Bracelet

2010-04-11T20:57:00.008-05:00

I was asked by a client to make a quick bracelet, simply a silver chain with a blue glass evil eye bead. This isn't quite my forte, but what the hell. But once I got the components, the client thought it was a somewhat simple looking.

So we played around a bit with the design and decided to add a few different elements. One was a sterling silver bezel around the bead, flush set with blue sapphires, purple sapphires and diamonds. We also added in a few silver disks with one sapphire set in each disk. And then to make the stones 'pop' I used a satin finish.

The final product is contemporary with a bit of whimsy.

Post Titles...

2010-04-11T13:45:00.003-05:00

Now that I announced my Oscar Challenge, I have even more things to post about. I debated on starting a new separate blog simply for the Oscar Challenge, or maybe even separating out my personal posts. But this is all me (and all of the insanity that comes along with me)... so why separate it?

Over the next year or so I will be using this blog for my Oscar Challenge, normal work and personal. But I wanted to give each one not only a label for each post, but also a tag in the title. So, from now on, each Post Title will have a prefix. The following are what you will see:

Green Spot Studio Oscar Challenge - OC: Post Title
Green Spot Studio Work - GS: Post Title
Personal - ME: Post Title

But whatever is posted, it's all me ;)

The Green Spot Studio Oscar Challenge Overview

2010-04-09T12:18:00.009-05:00

Okay... So I'm sure many of you are a bit confused what the Green Spot Oscar Challenge actually is. I decided the best way to explain was to create an outline. This was to help clarify it for not just everybody else out there but for me too.

So here goes...

Challenge:

- Can a solo jeweler build an ‘Oscar’-worthy piece(s), which are normally built by teams, on a budget, while simultaneously running a small business?

Objectives:

- Build an ‘Oscar’-worthy piece(s) of jewelry (bracelet / earrings)
- 100% designed and fabricated by myself
- Build it in 5-6 months, leaving time for promotion and publicity
- Build it on a budget, since I don’t have unlimited resources (tbd)

Goals:

- Get as much social media attention as possible (re-tweet, re-post, re-blog, etc)
- See how many different people will wear the piece(s) at different media events
- Get enough media attention to have somebody wear the piece(s) to the Academy Awards.
** If I reach my goals, the piece(s) will be auctioned off and proceeds (minus the cost of materials) will be donated to charity (Red Cross)

In need of:

-Support from social media (moral – not financial) to obtain as much free press as possible

I know, it sounds nice and straight forward! But this will be a long process! So stay tuned and please pass it along!

Announcing the Green Spot Studio Oscar Challenge!

2010-04-08T12:20:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, March 7^th I was laying on my couch, sick, zonked out on Nyquil and half watching the Academy Awards. To be honest, I rarely watch award shows. But I was half asleep and decided that it would be a good excuse to see what kind of fashion was gracing the red carpet this year.

As I was watching, I was thinking about what a great opportunity for small fashion designers to get tons of publicity. But, as I watched, I realized that it’s not quite the same for jewelers. A fashion designer can spend 1 or 2k on fabric and labor and come up with an amazing gown. Jewelers, on the other hand, usually spend at least 100k, on the low end. Celebrities are so excited to say their jewelry is worth 2mil and up. How can small jewelers compete with that?

AND beyond the budget, it normally takes a team of 5-10 to make a piece of jewelry. There are the designers, the fabricators (either in wax, metal or a combination of both), the jewelers that assemble the pieces, the stones setters, and polishers… and don’t forget the possibility of engravers, laser welding technicians, etc. And all of the time put into these pieces is normally between 800-1200 hours. Again, how can a small jeweler compete with that?

And with this, I came up with the brilliant (or insane or insanely stupid) idea that I want to compete! I want to build a piece of ‘Oscar worthy’ jewelry! And on a budget! And from my Nyquil induced drugged state the Green Spot Studio Oscar Challenge was born!

A few days later, as I came out of my haze, I started to think about the details and how on earth I could possibly make this work. Even if I somehow could pull an incredible piece of jewelry out of thin air, how would anybody know about it? I am a teeny tiny little jeweler. I do not pay for advertising. My clients find me through word of mouth, my website, my blog, etc. Basically, all clients find me through social media.

These thoughts made part two of my Oscar Challenge come to light… I am going to document this entire process and share every step! And now this isn’t just an Oscar Challenge, but now a Social Media Experiment too! I must seriously be going insane!

My hopes are that you will find my challenge appealing enough to follow along… and share it with others.

Over the next couple of weeks I will outline the entire challenge, share my design ideas, budget, materials, and thought behind why I am making my choices… and then the photos will start coming!

But don’t forget, I still have to run my regular company. So expect to see my regular work and life updates!

Stay Tuned!!!

Life's Little Annoyances...

2010-04-01T11:55:00.012-05:00

I know you can't really tell, but I finally updated my blog layout. It basically updated simple things like adding an 'older post' link and other small things to make your life easier (and mine.)

While I was doing this, I was looking through some of my old blog postings and noticed a bunch of new comments. And being somebody who thrives on feedback... and slightly neurotic, I was all excited. But, much to my dismay, most of the comments are from other jewelers attempting to hock their wears! I find this so disappointing! Partially because I was excited to get feedback on my work, but mostly because I don't want people attempting to use my work/time/photos/posts to get their careers ahead.

I understand this is a cut throat industry and you have to get ahead however you can, but come on! I am such a small part of the industry, why steal my thunder? All the time spent searching for little jewelers blog postings to comment on, they could probably do something useful for their career with that time.

Anyway, I will just chalk it up to one of life's an annoyance. I spent 10 minutes deleting all of the fake comments and left the actual ones I got from you all. Because, come on, that's all that really matters.

How to Compliment a Calla Lily, Part 2

2010-03-31T20:50:00.005-05:00

It's another followup! Remember my posting on How to Compliment a Calla Lily? Well, after some tweaking, we found the perfect solution!

We played around with different ideas, most had something wrapping around the band to mimic the engagement ring. But nothing quite felt right. Finally I decided to toss something out there that I wasn't quite sold on... thought it may be too out of the box. My concern was that the client would feel the ring was 'dated' in a few years. I just don't want a client to get sick of their ring.

I informed the client of my concern and he said he understood... but he understands forever, he has tattoos.

So I shared some new ideas...

And within minutes I got a response that they loved the completely open wrap band. The finish would be similar to my twig bracelet...

So here is the final piece in palladium...

Old, worn & comfortable, Part 2

2010-03-31T20:40:00.004-05:00

Remember my Old, worn & comfortable posting? Well, I thought I would share the final result!

I love this ring because while it has a flat surface (like a signet ring) there are no sharp edges. Just soft and smooth high polished palladium. I wish it was my size, because I would totally wear it!

So, here it is... SMOOTH!

Feelin' Lucky?

2010-03-31T19:25:00.004-05:00

...you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

I had a client come to me looking for a clover wedding band. And not just any clover, a 4 leaf clover. Now, I must admit, when asked I thought it sounded a little odd. There are so many different Celtic designs I could do... why just simply a 4 leaf clover. But after I worked on the design of the clover itself everything started to fall into place.

The ring is 18K Palladium White gold with 5 clovers evenly spaced on the ring.

So yes... I hope the client feels lucky.

Love is Love!

2010-03-29T10:18:00.005-05:00

Green Spot Studio is now an approved vendor of So Your Engayged! Yay!

So Your Engayged is a wedding resource for same sex and allied couples. Like I always say, Love is Love! And I couldn't be more thrilled to be recognized by this wonderful resource.

My vendor listing also has a very kind recommendation from a fabulous couple of mine, Leise and Stephanie. You may remember their complimentary engagement rings...

So, click on the link and take a look. But I also added a quick screen shot of my page.

Making love happen...

2010-03-25T19:44:00.005-05:00

Wedding band season came a little early this year. But I'm not complaining! Love is love and I love helping make love happen... or something like that.

Anyway, I have a few fun wedding band projects at the moment which I would love to share with you, but alas, Sal stole my camera for a business trip. So I attempted to take a iPhone photo to show you just a few of the pieces that are on my bench, but the macro on it sucks.

Whatever, I'll post the photo anyway just so you know I'm not being a slacker ;)

Just call me Godmother...

2010-03-12T16:14:00.004-05:00

My sister asked me to be Godmother to my nephew, Logan. How could I say no? While I am not a practicing Catholic (to put it lightly) I could not pass up being 'The Godmother.'

When is the Christening, you may ask? Eh... Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday. Okay, fine, it's Sunday. And I had to make something special for my Godson... so I teamed up with a dear friend and talented woodworker, Steve Hanlon, to make a nice hanging cross. While this didn't quite utilize his amazing skills, it is still a beautiful piece!

The base of the cross is 7"x 4" and made from Rose Wood. Then I made a second Sterling Silver cross (5"x 3") and added a cut out swirly vine pattern and affixed it to the front. It is simple, but I think quite attractive.

Now, I haven't really been Catholic in years (Just when I thought I was out, the pull me back in!) but I am thrilled to do this for my nephew. And while I may not be the best spiritual guide in his Catholic upbringing, I promise to always have his back if he has to go to the mattresses ;)

Okay! No more! Just couldn't help myself!

2010-03-09T13:12:00.003-05:00

Okay... I finally gave into Twitter. I have had an account for a while, but never really did much with it. But not longer... I will give it an honest shot!

So if you want a whole lot of Tracey, jewelry and her general insanity, come find me... @GreenSpotStudio

See you there!

Moldy Monday!

2010-03-08T21:05:00.006-05:00

I decided to start off my Monday with a crafty little experiment.

Usually, when I make engagement rings (especially odd shaped rings) I ask the client if they want me to make a mold. This is in case they want a wedding band that fits right up to it and don't want to hand the engagement ring back over to me for a couple of weeks.

To make a mold normally means that I take it to a casters, have either a rubber mold or a RTV (room temperature vulcanized) silicone mold, then have waxes injected into the mold, finally another ring cast (usually in brass or silver) and finally spend time polishing the new ring model. The problem with this process is that (1) it is time consuming (2) it costs money and (3) the model will always be slightly smaller than the original due to shrinkage that occurs when making the mold, shrinkage when making the casting and finally removing material in the polishing process.

I knew there had to be a better way to make molds... but this is how everybody does it, so I just went along with it. But then I saw a buddy of mine doing this neat little trick that takes no time and only costs pennies... and gives you exactly what you need to make a match to a ring.

So here is my cheap and easy way to make a mold of the profile of a ring!

We start out our experiment with basic materials...

PlayDoh, Plaster of Paris and a ring! Oh yeah, you can tell this is going to be a good one!

From there I made a flat circular surface and a long snake like thingie out of the PlayDoh...

Next you press the ring into the flat PlayDoh surface and add the snake-like piece to create a wall (kinda reminds me of the ashtrays I used to make in art class... I really can't believe that they let us make ashtrays in art class!)...

Then you pull out the ring out of the PlayDoh and you now have negative space...

Then we pour plaster into the little cup...

After we let it sit for an hour to harden, we peel away the PlayDoh...

And finally, what do we have... a mold of the profile of the ring me to use to build a wax wedding band upon! Actually, we have 2 profiles, I made a mold of both sides...

I'll keep you posted oh how well this works when the time comes!

Old, worn & comfortable...

2010-03-04T17:11:00.006-05:00

It is strange, but in the past week I have had 2 grooms-to-be tell me how somebody in their family had an amazing ring that was so worn and comfortable. And both of these clients want me to adjust their rings to reflect those wonderful broken-in soft edges.

While one ring is simply a mass manufactured band that the client wants both the inside and outside edges buffed down, the other is to be fabricated with that old feel. As he put it, he's looking for a ring that 'has tumbled around in the ocean for a few hundred years.' Great description.

The style will be a hybrid of a simple half round wedding band and a signet ring. The main difference is that a signet ring has a taper to width of the band (which this one will not) and can sometimes be rather tall, which this one will not be. And most importantly, it will not have any sharp edges.

I found a great example of an estate signet ring that has those wonderful soft/rounded edges...

While it is oval and tapered, it gives you a good idea of what we're looking to accomplish. With that in mind, this is what we have come up with so far...

Beauty is wonderful... but comfort is king.

Balancing act...

2010-03-03T15:03:00.007-05:00

I'm still attempting to come up with a design to compliment the Calla Lily Engagement ring. The problem I am running into is making the ring too far out of the box. While I could make some crazy bizarre/fabulous piece of jewelry, I don't want it to be so crazy that it looks dated in a few years. My fear is to make something that is reminiscent of the bold 80's jewelry. Come on, you know what I'm talking about.

So I'm trying to find the balance between funk and classic. It's an interesting problem.

Right now I'm at the point of attempting to find something that can wrap around the finger (like the calla lily.) I'm thinking maybe we can do it with possibly a branch pattern (similar to my twig bangle bracelet)...

I am also interested in the idea of wrapping text around the ring. I like possibly using text as a pattern. And I found a great quote that could be fun for a wedding band... 'iosvi de drverie ne me dvne mie' which is latin for 'I am a token of love do not give me away.'

So, here are a few new quick sketches!

As a side note, my sketches/designs are not the only place I am attempting to find balance. My life has just been crazy lately. I decided it's time that I start becoming more picky about jobs. While I love all of my clients, and wish I could make something beautiful for everybody, I can't afford to keep taking every job that comes my way (no matter how small.)

After doing my books from last year, I realized I lost money on a great deal of jobs because I just really wanted to help people out. And while I think having something amazingly beautiful should not just be for the rich, I also can't keep making jewelry for cost just because I like people. Unfortunately, if doesn't put bread on the table.

So, for the moment I picked up a freelance job with Urban Outfitters as a Visual Artist. Basically, it means that I'm building displays. It's not easy work, but I'm having a blast working in a wood shop again. Plus I'm painting, silk screening, hanging off of 12 foot ladders, etc. It's like being back in art school ;) It's just exhausting.

Now I am just attempting to find the balance between my 2 jobs. I just want to find a way to keep everybody happy around me!

Tweaking

2010-02-26T15:32:00.005-05:00

I have a client in the UK. We have been going back and for over email for a while and it has been difficult to come up with the perfect design. The client is looking for a contemporary half bezel low-set diamond on light half round band, along with an etoile pink and white diamond wedding band that sits flush to the engagement ring. (What a mouth full!) This would normally be the easiest of requests, except for the fact that the diamond is 3cts.

The reason a diamond of that size poses issues is because it is LARGE. A 3ct round diamond is 9mm wide by 5.5mm tall. Normally a stone that size would be set in an intricate/classic/antique setting with lots of metal and supports. And to put that on a simple 2-3mm band is tough... it lacks stability. And it would need to be set very high for the bezel not to bulge out of the side of the band.

The first attempt was close, but not quite there...

The client felt the stone was set too high (tall) for her taste and "v" for the half bezel was too small. But with some tweaking, it found the perfect compromise (the 2nd side view, on the right)...

What we are doing is adding width to the band (4mm total) to give allowance for the stone to sit lower. Then we added a little more material to the area where the bezel meets the shank to add stability to the setting. And, we opened up the "v" to let more light into the setting.

Now, I know you are thinking that this still seems like an easy project. But when dealing with such a large stone for a small size (size 6) it becomes difficult to keep the proportions in check. It's all about structure with a project like this.

How to Compliment a Calla Lily?

2010-02-25T11:50:00.004-05:00

Remember the Calla Lily Engagement Ring?

Now I need to make a complimentary men's wedding band. Something a bit funky and something to tie them both together, but still masculine. So this is my first attempt...

A concave ring ring (modern / little bit of funk) with a wraparound leaf pattern (to mimic the wrapping of the band of the engagement ring.) The leaf would be high polished and slightly raised with the veins engraved in, and the background would have a texture.

Another idea is to use a Calla Lily leaf in the design...

But I'm not sure we are there yet. Still thinking thinking thinking.

Round vs Finger vs Square

2010-02-19T19:06:00.004-05:00

Fingers aren't round. Because of this, rings don't just come round.

Your fingers are actually trapezoids. Wide/flat bottom surface, 2 tapered walls, and a narrow/flat top surface. Okay, okay, when you look at your finger it doesn't really look like a trapezoid... but it doesn't really look like a circle either, does it? So, for the fact that all fingers are different, there are different shaped rings. Of course the most common is round. The next is a finger shaped ring. And finally, a soft square.

Now why am I discussing this? A client asked me the difference between the ring shapes and why you would use them. There are different reasons for each one. The main reason would be for comfort. The next reason would be to keep a ring for rotating. And finally, just because it's pretty damn cool looking.

Here are a few different basic sketches for various shaped rings.

Elegantly Green Wedding Showcase

2010-02-01T10:49:00.002-05:00

Back from my honeymoon... back to reality... back to work! And one of my first projects for this new business year is the Elegantly Green Wedding Showcase.

This is an eco-chic boutique wedding expo on Valentine's Day at the Boston Hyatt. It will feature couture wedding gowns in sustainable fabrics, eco friendly florists and photographers and catering, green transportation, and jewelers... LIKE ME!

So, if you are planning a wedding, come and join us! If you want a discount at the door, let me know and I will send you a discount code! Take a peek at the site... and pass the info onto any brides-to-be!

The Jeweler's Wedding Bands

2010-01-25T10:50:00.004-05:00

You may be wondering where I have been for the past two weeks. To sum up... Sal and I ran away to Hawaii and got married.

While everybody has many questions and comments, the main one I get is 'what does a jeweler make for wedding bands?' Well, I attempted to make something that nobody else has (just like what I do for my clients.) This was a true collaboration between me and Sal.

Sal came up with the design. An asymmetrical knife edge band, one angle about a 30-40 degree and the other (the short side) around a 70-80 degree angle. The design is clean and quite modern.

Then, just like I do with my client's, I fabricated them to his specification. While Sal's ring is heavier... slightly more industrial, mine has a single row of itty bitty .8mm diamonds bead set on the short side to make it a bit more feminine. But overall, they are a matching pair of wedding bands.

As for the wedding... it was wonderful. Sunset on Makena Surf Beach on Maui. Just me and Sal, our officiant, Minister Andy Kaina, and our photographer (who served as our witness) Patty Holbrook. Simple, peaceful... perfect.

Closed for Vacation

2010-01-07T23:12:00.002-05:00

So sorry that I've been MIA, but you know how it gets around the holidays!

I will be away from my post for 2 whole weeks. But don't worry, I will be back with stories and lots of photos!

The Tooth Fairy

2009-12-25T20:57:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while I get a REALLY good story to go along with a piece of jewelry. Well, all of my custom jewelry has a story... but sometimes I get a REALLY REALLY good story.

I recently received a package through a friend that said 'Confidential! Tracey Only!' on it. As I started to open the padded envelope, what falls out you may ask? A TOOTH! As I peeked in it was full of baby teeth. My friend's father happened to come across all of his daughter's baby teeth and thought it would be funny to turn them into a piece of jewelry.

Well, after some research into 'tooth jewelry' and found a whole new category of Mourning Jewelry (or what I refer to as Victorian Death Jewelry.) Mourning Jewelry was typically made from the hair of a dead loved one, woven into intricate patterns and set along with onyx and other black stones under glass. BUT in some rare cases, Mourning Jewelry included teeth, which I find much more disturbing than the hair jewelry. And with that, I knew I wasn't going to make a necklace full of teeth.

I suggested a place to store the teeth... a sterling silver box. And with that, my friend's father agreed. And said that way she can decide what to do with her DNA... keep it in the box or throw out the teeth and use the box for something else.

So with that... I give you the box!

And apparently, he gave her the package from 'The Tooth Fairy.'

Kitty Ring

2009-12-20T20:27:00.003-05:00

If you know me, you know I'm a dog person. But I must admit I had a blast making this 14K Red Gold Kitty Ring.

It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for one of my client's to give his favorite girl, but when I handed it over last week he just couldn't wait... it was burning a hole in his pocket. He nearly made it 10 minutes after walking in his door till he gave it to her.

Now, I must say, even tho I'm a dog person... this is a pretty cool cat.

Calla Lily Engagement Ring

2009-12-18T20:41:00.003-05:00

This one was a process. As I have said before, sometimes it is more difficult to build an organic piece. This was one of those pieces.

While it was highly therapeutic to make a sculptural piece... it was difficult to keep it properly balanced. To create something that has the organic appearance of 'wrapping' around the finger multiple times but to keep it structurally sound was tough. But I think the final product came out beautifully.

The final piece is palladium with a green pear shaped tourmaline.

LAST CHANCE FOR CHRISTMAS ORDERS

2009-12-14T10:57:00.005-05:00

Just one last shameless plug for my Green Spot Etsy page! This is your last chance to place an order in time for Christmas!

Have you checked out my Etsy shop? It's chalk-full of adorable buggies and flowers. All made especially for you by me... with love! What else could you ask for? OH... how about the fact that it is all eco friendly! OR the fact that the pieces start at $40! Here are just a few of the offerings...

Come on! Why buy a mass manufactured piece of jewelry for the one you love?

Insure your jewelry!

2009-12-10T11:06:00.004-05:00

Okay... I had to take a little break from the blog for a bit because I had to clear my head before I could write about this. I think I am finally at that point.

I came home Thanksgiving night to a burglar in my apartment. I opened the door and noticed the lights on. That seemed strange seeing I am a stickler for turning off lights. So I stood in the doorway and shut off the hall light. That was when I saw the upstairs lights on and heard a rustling sound. For a very brief moment, I thought there was a squirrel in my apartment... but then I realized squirrels can't turn on lights. So I shouted up and then started screaming bloody murder.

When the police arrived, we saw how they got in. And slowly I started noticing what they took. Prescriptions, jewelry, bank information, etc. Sadly enough, I realize more and more things that are missing everyday.

Where am I going with this? Well, it seems that our insurance wasn't in order. We had renters insurance... that part was done. But the next part, and most important, wasn't. Our insurance required us to provide an itemized list of everything we wanted covered (this detail was buried in the paperwork.)

This is a total miscommunication between me and Sal. I never wear jewelry and always say I don't have any... he took this as me saying 'I have no jewelry.' The truth is, I had lots of jewelry. Pieces I had made in my jewelry training, some I had made just because, some that belonged to family members, some gifts... and none of it was on the list. So we will get a lump sum from the insurance (a fraction of the loss.)

It was an expensive lesson. But my mistakes are your gains. Take a lesson from me to take stock of the precious things in your home. Whether it is electronics, jewelry, music/movie collection... just take a day and inventory everything. Even photograph special items as proof. And remember... even the small things add up quickly.

Now... if you are a past client of mine, and you need a receipt for one of your pieces, drop me a note and I will send you a copy.

Overall, I just keep reminding myself that I didn't get hurt and things can be replaced. And I hold out hope that they catch this person that decided it was a good idea to go shopping in my home.

A new life to an Antique Engagement Ring

2009-12-04T10:57:00.003-05:00

Usually when people bring family/estate jewelry to me, it's so we can pull it apart, melt it down and make something new. But this was one of those rare occasions that I got to actually give new life to an old piece of jewelry.

This was my client's grandmother's rings. He came to me asking what we could do... thinking that we would pull the entire piece apart and start new. But then he told me he had wonderful memories of his grandmother wearing this ring all the time. With that I knew we should use it as a jumping off point and update it.

The original ring was 14K white with a prong set center 1/2 carat mine cut diamond surrounded by beadset single cut diamonds in a 'flower' type head. Also, it had a very simple, plain shank.

So, the first thing we decided to do was remove the prongs and replace it with a bezel. This would not only add a clean line to the top and weight to the center stone, but apparently his finace-to-be is rather klutzy ;) A bezel adds security to any stone.

Next we decided to replace the shank. We added a heavier shank to hold beadset single cut diamonds. He had another one of his grandmother's rings that included single cuts that we decided to use.

And finally, we decided to engrave the sides of the ring shank. He had mentioned that his fiance-to-be loves everything with seahorses. While he didn't want something to scream 'seahorse', he did like the idea of including one. We came up with an engraving including a seahorse transitioning into a scroll so it would look simply like a scroll pattern.

And here is the final piece!

How wonderful is it to have something old and new combined into one!

Etsy

2009-12-02T14:44:00.005-05:00

A quick update...

The Green Spot Studio Store has moved to Etsy for the holidays! We are attempting to rebuild the website (version 3.0 coming up!) and decided to pull the store down for now.

So please come visit us at our Etsy page! We are featuring affordable pieces for the holidays, prices starting at $40! And if you are looking for Christmas gifts, make sure to place your orders by December 14th to give us enough fabrication time!

As always, I appreciate your peeking and reading and visiting my sites! And I really appreciate it when you pass name and site addresses along to friends and family! Thanks!!!

Grasshopper Cufflinks

2009-11-24T16:13:00.003-05:00

Seriously, how damn cute are these? They are simple Sterling Silver... and adorable! That's really all I have to say about them! They are just damn cute!

Calla Lily Engagement Ring Wax

2009-11-18T19:50:00.004-05:00

It's been a few rough weeks of life getting in the way of life. BUT I'm finally back in the shop!!!

To kick off my holiday season of long shop days, I started with a custom calla lily engagement ring. This is for a client in the UK (love the fact that international clients are finding me!) If you scroll back a few entries, you can see the sketches that we began with.

Right when I started carving this wax, I knew it was the perfect first project to get me back to the bench. It is more of an 'artistic' project, which I have not had the opportunity to work on lately. I feel it is a mini sculpture first and an engagement ring second (which is a good thing)... and I must say, I have loved carving this wax.

But I thought it would be fun to share my carving process so far. I started off with a wax ring and scratched in the general pattern and started carving away...

And after a few hours, this is what I have completed so far...

So far the client is happy with what he's seeing. Of course I am thrilled with that fact, but even more so with the fact that he told me to run with it and let my creative juices flow.

Updating a Family Heirloom

2009-11-05T14:10:00.003-05:00

I was approached by a bride-to-be to make something special for her husband-to-be. He had a family ring that they wanted to turn into a pair of cufflinks but let it slide. So, she 'borrowed' it from him (and would change the subject whenever he would mention it or start to look for it) and handed it over to me.

It was his grandfather's ring. A hand carved Tiger's Eye set in a low carat Yellow Gold 1/2 bezel/wide prong ring. Basically, the groom-to-be doesn't wear Yellow Gold and also wouldn't wear a ring of that size.

We decided on cufflinks set in Sterling in a similar manner (to be reminiscent of the original.) Also, because the Tiger's Eye was hand cut, we went with a plain cabachon stone of the same material and exterior shape.

Not knowing how difficult it would be to find a nice Tiger's Eye in the same size/shape, I bought a slightly larger stone from Thailand and had it re-cut in Boston to match. I have photos of the final cut stone somewhere, but I cannot find them at the moment... if I come across them, I will update!

The final touch was completing the pieces with an antique finish, just to add a little age to the cufflinks.

And our final piece, which was presented on their wedding day, was a hit.

Been a few insane weeks (UPDATE)

2009-11-04T16:22:00.003-05:00

So I have gotten one response to my sketches so far. That would be the flower/swirl engagement ring. I got the feedback that one of the designs was headed in the right direction, the wrap calla lily ring.

Now we're at the point of playing around with the sketch (to elaborate a bit more), figure out the metal and the stone. I'm tossing around ideas of white or champagne diamonds, tourmaline or tsavorite. Then the metal would be either white gold or possibly a red gold flower with a white gold stem? Who knows!

We'll see what direction we head!

Been a few insane weeks...

2009-11-03T15:01:00.003-05:00

So sorry I have been slacking again. But I have had an insane run of life getting in the way of life. All culminating with me getting sick. Nothing bad, just a head cold, but sick enough to spend my day on the couch.

But maybe it's a blessing in disguise? Because by planting my tooshie on the couch I actually got lots of sketching done for clients. Sketching that I have been attempting to work on for nearly 3 weeks now.

I am working on designs for an anniversary band using birthstones and an original engagement ring diamond, a swirly hippy-like flower engagement ring, diamond wedding band to match an engagement ring I recently fabricated and a few other things. No sketches have been approved as of yet (just the beginning phase to see if we're heading in the right direction) but why not show the randomness that comes out of a sick day on the couch.

Some days, just like anybody, my job drives me insane. But other days, like today, I remember how random and creative it can be.

If I didn't have such interesting people coming to me with such different (and sometimes outrageous) ideas, I wouldn't be able to come up with many of these designs. Because sometimes I forget, I'm not only inspired by everything around me... but by my clients and what surrounds them.

What a difference a photograph makes!

2009-10-19T18:55:00.004-05:00

Since I have been in business, only twice has my engagements not resulted in weddings. And both times I was assured it was not because of my rings (yes, I take EVERYTHING personally.)

So, even though I do not take returns for broken engagements, I always try my hardest to help out a client. I am putting this amazing platinum and natural color change sapphire in the Concord Museum for a retrospective show of the past 125 years of the North Bennet Street School. For details, click here.

While the jewelry is not for sale, my hopes are that somebody will see my contact information on the ring and maybe, just maybe, somebody will want to buy a beautiful estate ring.

But... the whole point of this blog post was to show (once again) how amazing the camera is that Sal bought for my birthday 2 years ago. Plus... it's good to know how to take a decent jewelry photograph.

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

And just one last photo to boot...

If you would happen to like any information on this piece, it is a contemporary platinum ring size 7.5 with a diamond cut round 2.15 untreated color change sapphire (blue in natural light and purple in man made light.) Drop me a note through the website if you are interested!

Double Wave Ring

2009-10-05T13:48:00.004-05:00

If you remember from a post about a month ago, this ring was fabricated to replace a long lost wedding band. We worked from descriptions and from his wife's ring (which has been worn for a few years.)

The wax that I showed images of in the last post died in the casting process (which is, unfortunately, somewhat common when casting in palladium.) So I made another wax, this time with deeper engraved lines, etc. The reason for engraving in the wax and not the metal is because engraving into palladium is like engraving into a rock... it is approximately 16% harder than platinum.

But all of the hard work paid off, and the ring came out beautifully.

OOO... sparkly diamonds!

2009-10-01T20:32:00.004-05:00

What do you do when you lose a diamond earring? Make a pendant!

I was asked to come up with a pendant using a diamond from a lonely onezie diamond earring for a 30th anniversary gift. When I asked what he wanted, he basically gave me a budget, use white gold and diamonds and told me to make something pretty. Yay, my favorite kinda of client! But I did get a little insight from his daughter (and dear friend) Monica. She mentioned flowers... but really, just just likes things that nobody else would have.

So... I came up with a flower. A loopy flower. Which, somewhat, also looks like a starfish... but whatever... it's cool.