asymmetrical engagement ring

After speaking with my new clients (who are from out of state) a few times on the phone and learning (1) their preferences in stone shape, metal color, etc and (2) the fact they are appreciators/collectors of fine/contemporary art, I played around with a few different designs. When we met in person, and I went to show them the different ideas, they took one peek at the quick sketch and decided that was the ring for them!!!

So, the ring shank and bezels will be in 14K Yellow Gold. The 3 square diamonds are champagne colored... the largest (1.5 carat) is chocolate in color and VS clarity, the 1/3 carat stone is VS clarity and a medium champagne color while the 1/4 carat is also VS and a different shade of champagne. The large stone is in the center, while the smaller stones flank it. All 3 stones are at different levels.

This is a quick sketch of a close up of the heads.

I adore making pieces that are truly one of a kind!!!

my poor baby!!!

Spring time is here... the birds are singing, the sun is peaking out more and more, the temps are moving upwards... and the freeking onion grass is out!!!

We have a super weed... we call it onion grass, but I'm not too sure what the technical name is for it. What ever the name is, it is the biggest pain in in my a$$. The story seems to be that years ago, when my grandparents owned this home, my grammy Angie loved this plant that grew wild in the cemetery next door. So, she transplanted a bunch to the yard. And as the decades passed, it grew stronger and spread. Now, it has taken over ENTIRE YARD!

The past weekend I decided to do some major yard work (weeding the flower beds, turning over the garden, spreading the peat-moss, planting pansies and snap dragons, starting the veggies, etc.) But everywhere I turned, there were those effin weeds!

These weeds have bulbs... hundreds and hundreds of tiny bulbs. And if you try to pull up the weeds, the bulbs stay put because they disconnect very easily. Or if you try to dig them up, the bulbs just spread! It's amazing survival mechanism!

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you about my botanical nemesis is not just because of my lack of sanity doing my yard work... but because it effects my Scooter! My poor Scooter!!!

When you cut the lawn (or the weeds, as it seems to be) the onion grass gives off an oil. And my Scooter is allergic to this oil. Just think, if you were bald on your underside and your underside drags along the grass... you'd be more apt to have contact dermatitis on your chest, belly AND EVEN WIENER!

So... here is my poor baby...


OH! And we asked a landscaper how to get rid of them... and the best suggestion was cover the entire lawn AND the gardens AND all of the plants with weed killer, then cover everything with black plastic for at least 1 year then reseed! hahaha!

Freekin' weeds!!!

PEANUT!

i love when i get fun jobs!!!

so, here is the design for a locket. the locket will be modeled after a peanut shell (a bit styalized, modern looking... kinda like the texture of mr. peanut... hehehe.) when opened, the inside will reveal the two halves of the peanut.

the shell will be in 18K Yellow Gold and the peanut halves will be in sterling silver.

the client had multiple reasons behind the idea of a peanut, but i found out this nifty little tidbit...

In Chinese, "peanut" is known as "Fah Sang" which means, "to continue growing"

... what a delightful sentiment to share with a loved one.

new designs

well... the images aren't great, but here are some new pieces i'm working on. there is no client in mind, just designs that i've been wanting to produce. they will be showing at the EVENING OF TRADITIONAL CRAFT, a fundraiser for NBSS.

the first is a pendant. loosely based on a cala lily... or any twisted type bud, but will hang upside down. a champagne diamond briolette (1.7 carats) will hang inside. the piece will be cast in 18K palladium white gold. also, there will be a line of bead set diamonds outlining the opening.


the next is a pair of hoop earrings. these are based on a dogwood branch. basically, the dogwood branch (which is currently in bronze) will be the hoop, and the flower will be attached (you'll have to wait to see the finished pair to understand how the will hang.) Also, the little spiky 'thing' will be the center of the flower, with diamonds set in each of the little spikes.


this is what i've been working on! i can't wait to get them finished!!!

cuff bracelet designs

i'm designing a bracelet for a 30th anniversary gift for a client. currently, i'm on a flower kick, and i asked him if there are any flowers that she is attracted to. well, much to my surprise, she paints flowers!

we first discussed a type of a charm bracelet with different flowers hanging, but decided upon a cuff bracelet with a relief carving of one of her paintings (her favorite painting.) so, this is the current idea, and i'm just waiting for the go-ahead!


the relief will be fairly low, to keep from snagging on the fabric of clothing. the 3 main flowers will be carved separately from the rest of the bracelt, to create (1) higher points (2) negative space under the flower petals (3) allow me to create a texture under each flower.

after the cuff is cast and polished the 3 flowers will be soldered to the piece.

new engagement ring designs...

i have been working on some new engagment ring designs. the couple are self proclaimed 'math geeks' and 'science dorks'... so they wanted something different and mayby, just maybe, a little geeky.

we decided to use a lab created sapphire (being lab geeks, the think a lab created stone is pretty cool... and that way, seeing they spend NOTHING on a HUGE stone, they can spend all of their budget on the ring.)

so... the first one is the COSINE WAVE...


... the next is a cool little 1/2 bezel and prong ring design i came up with...


... and fianlly, a bypass ring. but not just a typical bypass ring. there is a center plain solid shank, with two exterior shanks wrapping themselves around the center, bypassing the stone. the reason for this, is because the client is planning on dropping a ring size or two in the coming year, so she is planning on needing it sized quite often. so, i needed to make the design as stable as possible.

something to make you laugh...

Okay... so I have been SWAMPED! Just too many things coming at me at once. So, for today, I'm just going to share something that made me laugh. Well, not just laugh, but I was crying laughing while I was reading this aloud (maybe it was also a little exhaustion too... who knows!)

So, one day I got a call from Sal to read the description of Fridays item for sale on woot!. For those of you who have never heard of woot!, it is a site that sells only 1 item a day... that's it. It's kind of fun.

Anyway... here was the entry on Friday... it was for Boston Acoustic Bookshelf Speakers...

Boston dB Party

I’m hahdly an audiophile. But music is close to my heaht, from the Cahs to Gnahls Bahkley to Kelly Clahkson. Problem used to be, my speakers were wicked retahded. The guitahs sounded spahse, and don’t get me stahted on the drums – I could hahdly hear them. It was a fahce. Made me wanna bahf.

Then I pahked a pair of state-of-the-aht Boston Acoustics CR65s up on my bookshelf. They’re the dwahf-sized speakers with the gahgantuan sound. Boston Acoustics is so highly-regahded because a lot of smaht guys thought real hahd about how to engineer and design speakers like this, and they’re built with only the best pahts. Sure, they sound ahsome. But they also feature MagnaGahd shielding, so you can put ‘em right up next to your TV. And the dahk black cabinets add chahm to any living room, den, or home bah. Get out your credit cahd – at a mahkdown like this, the Boston Acoustics CR65 Speaker System is a real bahgain.

samples...

i'm working on a different type of project than i'm used to... it's for my 'secret' project.

basically, i'm making this for the sake of style, not technical perfection... and it is very difficult for me to let go like this. i like making pieces that are clean lined and somewhat architectural. to attempt to keep this piece of woven wire in the same family, i took an architectural element as the model... a chain link fence.

now, to create this pattern, i had to build a jig to help weave it in.

first, i had to figure out the size of the final piece, and lay it out on a board...


...next, i had to drill out for the pegs to weave around (this is just showing a very tiny area for making a small sample)...


...and more and more weaving for the small sample...


... and finally, i had my sample piece...


well... it actually came out pretty sweet... but it's not symmetrical like a chain like fence would be. it is very very difficult to try to get everything even. between the fact that this is base nickel wire AND i'm not a machine... it's difficult! let's just call it an 'organic' fence... hehehe.

but i actually bent this piece around my wrist... and i gotta say... it looks good, really really good. and when it's a HUGE collar necklace... it will be this pretty damn cool.


so... the moral of the story is... experiments are good... and sometimes happy mistakes even better ;)

child's play...

this job was my first priority when i returned from france... i gave them as gifts at my cousins baby shower yesterday. (yay! baby abe!)

a sterling silver baby rattle with a white moon stone...


(i know this looks like an orange moonstone, but it's just the lack of direct light on the stone when photographing.)


and the sterling silver baby spoon with a hammered finish and curved handle...


the curved handle proves helpful with (1) holding onto the spoon when the baby is trying to pull it out of the parents hands and (2) for the child to hold onto it when they are learning to feed themselves.


now, photographing highly polished domed/concave metal is very very difficult! it reflects EVERYTHING!!! so, i used a photo box, lined with seamless curved white paper... and also natural light (a little blue reflecting from the sky.) these aren't too bad... but i still have lots to learn about photographing jewelry!!!

and, on a side note... i know that silver is traditional for babies (it's beautiful with a high polish... and even more beautiful when it shows it wear after months/years of use, cold on their gumbs when they are teething, and heavy enough that they can protect themselves from the bully babies they run into at gymboree) but did you know that silver is actually naturally antibacterial? see, even more reasons to give silver to the little ones!