Tag Archives: jewelry design

Class Spotlight: Perfect Pendants!

Stand out from the crowd with a truly unique custom pendant of your very own design!

Saturday + Sunday | July  16 + 17 | 11am-5:00pm | $240 | Register Now!

In this weekend workshop we’ll be exploring different styles and techniques to create your Perfect Pendant.  Learn to construct bezel settings for cabochon, faceted gemstones, and fancy shaped stones.  Working with sterling silver, we use hammer and stamps, as well as high polish, and oxidized finishes to accentuate textures and highlight designs. Students may bring their own stones or purchase from the tutor’s collection. Materials are provided.

Check out some of our students amazing work!!!

 

 

#Benchtip Tuesday! Resizing Rings with our New Ring Stretcher

When you’re in the business of producing handmade jewelry, time is just as valuable as money. Because of this we get really really excited about new tools that will reduce the amount of time it takes to do something. Like REALLY excited.
We recently picked up a ring stretcher/reducer and it has definitely lived up to the hype. It’s not the most inexpensive tool, however if you factor in the time you save, it’ll start paying for itself pretty quickly.
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Working with the Ring Resizer is pretty intuitive, however here are some tips to help you get up to speed.
-This tool only works with plain bands, such as wedding bands with no gemstones
-Always anneal your piece before stretching/reducing! You’ll want to fire coat your piece to protect the finish: brush on flux and heat the piece with a low soft flame until it starts to anneal or glow slightly red. Quench and pickle to remove the boric acid coating
-Don’t stretch or reduce too quickly – you may crack the metal
-always anneal between sessions
For reducing:
-place the ring in the circle that’s just slightly too small – the ring should sit slightly above. Push on the arm to squish it down, turn over the ring and repeat the process
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For enlarging
-Layering a piece of paper on the inside of the band prior to putting it on the enlarging mandrel helps to reduce the stretching marks on the inside of the ring. Saves you time during clean up.

Class Spotlight: Business For Designers + Jewelry Production Workshops

This weekend!

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So you’ve taken a few jewelry making classes, have a fabulous idea for a jewelry collection and have began making samples, but wait! Have you thought about marketing? How about how to set up a business in New York? How to apply for a sales tax certificate, and when to collect it?

Running a Jewelry Business is more than designing and making jewelry.  In fact, there are many more aspects to business that most designers aren’t aware of when they try to launch a new jewelry line. But don’t fret – we’ve got two classes coming up covering these topics among other valuable practical knowledge for starting and running a successful jewelry business.

Business for Designers (April 3 | Sunday | $120 | 11am-5pm) is all about learning how to start a jewelry business. You’ll learn about different types of businesses from sole proprietorship to a corporation, different laws and taxes you’ll need to know, as well as building a web presence and marketing your work.

Jewelry Production (April 3 | $120 | Saturday | 11am-5pm) is all about developing a coherent line for production, production techniques, selling retail vs. wholesale, and much more. You’ll also have an opportunity to bring in a few samples, and to discuss individual questions in a one-on-one setting with the instructor.

Take them together, and you’ll set yourself up for a successful business launch!

 

 

Class Spotlight: Bezel Setting!

Join us this weekend for a great foundation class in stone setting!

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This Saturday and Sunday, Dec 12 + 13,  11am-5:30pm Register Now!

The bezel setting is the earliest method for setting gemstones into jewelry – and hasn’t changed much over the last few thousands years. To create a bezel, you take a piece of metal and fabricate it to the size and shape of the outside of the stone. You then place the stone inside the bezel and push the metal over the top the stone.

Bezels are a simple, clean and secure approach to setting gemstones. They keep your gem safe and clean from dirt and don’t catch clothing.

 

Class Spotlight: Business For Designers + Jewelry Production Workshops

 

photo (17)

So you’ve taken a few jewelry making classes, have a fabulous idea for a jewelry collection and have began making samples, but wait! Have you thought about marketing? How about how to set up a business in New York? How to apply for a sales tax certificate, and when to collect it?

Running a Jewelry Business is more than designing and making jewelry.  In fact, there are many more aspects to business that most designers aren’t aware of when they try to launch a new jewelry line. But don’t fret – we’ve got two classes coming up covering these topics among other valuable practical knowledge for starting and running a successful jewelry business.

Business for Designers (October 18 | Sunday | $120 | 11am-5:30pm) is all about learning how to start a jewelry business. You’ll learn about different types of businesses from sole proprietorship to a corporation, different laws and taxes you’ll need to know, as well as building a web presence and marketing your work.

Jewelry Production (October 17 | $120 | Saturday | 11am-5:30pm) is all about developing a coherent line for production, production techniques, selling retail vs. wholesale, and much more. You’ll also have an opportunity to bring in a few samples, and to discuss individual questions in a one-on-one setting with the instructor.

Take them together, and you’ll set yourself up for a successful business launch!

 

 

Student Spotlight: Aster + Antics

We met Juliana a couple of years ago when she started taking lessons with us. We’ve seen her work progress to the point of the launch of her jewelry line, Aster & Antics, and we couldn’t be more proud! Learn more about Juliana and her work below.

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-When did you first start making jewelry? 

I’ve been experimenting with beads, braiding, and knotting techniques for as long as I can remember. Growing up near the water, I would also make a lot of wire wrapped seaglass into pendants and earrings for myself and as gifts, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I got into metalwork.

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-What class(es) have you taken at Liloveve?

I’ve taken Intro to Silver, Wax Carving I, Flush Setting, Bezel Setting, and a few one day workshops.

-Where do you draw your inspiration when designing your work? 

Much of my inspiration comes from the natural beauty of the earth and sea. I like taking an element that occurs naturally and re-imagining it into a design that’s new and unique, but that still maintains an obvious nod to nature. I’m also inspired by memories and past experiences, taking something so personal and turning it into something that other people can create their own meanings for.

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-Where do you exhibit / sell your work? 

I just launched my website and first complete collection! www.asterandantics.com

-Have you been featured in any press? 

Not yet! 😉


-What’s your favorite piece you’ve ever made? 

Favorite is hard, but a piece that’s close to my heart is my Barnacle Cluster Ring, which was the first piece I ever made in wax. I got so many compliments on it from people that I decided to refine it a bit and turned it into an extended group of designs in my collection.

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-If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? 

I’ve always wanted to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef!

-If you could collaborate with another designer/artist, who would it be and why? 

I would love to collaborate with someone like the artist Aurel Schmidt- she makes kind of dark, super intricate work that gets you thinking and errs on the bizarre. Also, the late MC Escher- I think the fluid, interconnected, maze-like patterns of his work would translate beautifully to jewelry.

-What’s the most fun aspect of being a jewelry designer? 

Definitely being able to take the jumble of thoughts and ideas in my head and turn them into tangible, wearable pieces of art.

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-Where can we see your work?

asterandantics.com

@asterandanticsjewelry

facebook.com/asterandantics

Call for Entries: Ganoksin’s 4th Annual Exhibition

Calling all jeweler's - The Ganoksin Project, an online jewelry forum is having 
their 4th annual online exhibition. See details below on how to enter.

Ganoksin's 4th Annual Exhibition: "Color Embraced by Metalsmiths"   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2013

    Ganoksin is pleased to announce its fourth annual International
    Online Jewelry Exhibition. 

    This year's theme will be "Changing Hues: Color Embraced by
    Metalsmiths Around the World." 

    The exhibition is open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur,
    advanced and beginner, around the world. 

    The exhibition is seeking works whose primary theme is color, whether
    that be using colored materials, exploring creating colored surfaces,
    or encasing the object in color. Works should be aboutCOLOR- not
    color as an accent or focal point, but with color embraced as their
    primary visual focus. 

    Works where color is not the primary visual element will be rejected.

    As this is an online exhibition the work will only be seen via the
    photographs metalsmiths submit. It is therefore vital that these be
    in focus, on a neutral background (preferably not textured), and do
    an excellent job allowing the viewer to really see the piece and the
    workmanship involved. Any photographs not meeting exhibition
    standards will not be used, and the submitting metalsmith will be
    asked to re-submit the entry with a higher quality of photograph. 

    Works will be juried by the curator and director. 

    As this is an online exhibition the work will only be seen via the
    photographs metalsmiths submit. It is therefore vital that these be
    in focus, on a neutral background (preferably not textured), and do
    an excellent job allowing the viewer to really see the piece and the
    workmanship involved. 

    Photographs not meeting these criteria will not be accepted,
    regardless of the quality of the work itself. 

    Any photographs not meeting exhibition standards will not be used,
    and the submitting metalsmith will be asked to re-submit the entry
    with a higher quality of photograph. Works will be juried by the
    curator and director. 

    The exhibition will be curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North
    Carolina Society of Goldsmiths, and Adjunct Instructor at
    Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina, USA. Director of
    the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project,
    the world's largest internet jewelry site. 

    Entries will be accepted from now until February 15, 2014 

    Details and entry information is available at
    http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/changinghues 

    Please contact Beth Wicker at http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/contact
    with any questions.

Alternative Metalsmithing: Steel

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photo source: The Why Files

Best known for its use in things like surgical tools, building supports, electrical appliances, and hot water heaters, steel is often used to create objects where strength and safety are of utmost importance. However, despite its industrial reputation, it can also be used to create delicate and intricate jewelry.

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There are several types of steel used in jewelry-making, the two most popular being stainless steel and mild steel. Stainless steel is an alloy of steel that contains at least 10% chromium, which combines with oxygen to create a thin, invisible layer of chrome-containing oxide. This protective layer is what makes it “stainless”, however despite its title, stainless steel is not actually “stainless” but just extremely resistant to corrosion. Mild steel, or “carbon steel” is an alloy of steel that has no more than 2% carbon and no other appreciable alloying element, it differs from stainless steel because it is not resistant to corrosion and is more easily weldable.

Steel can be a great alternative to non- ferrous metals in jewelry making, as it is relatively inexpensive and lightweight. It is extremely strong and resilient and though it takes a little more strength than other base metals to bend and form, steel will retain its shape and durability much longer. Stainless steel can be an excellent alternative to metals that can cause sensitivities and allergies such as copper and brass as it is considered hypoallergenic. Carbon steel exhibits ferromagnetism (meaning its magnetic), which can make for some interesting jewelry design solutions. Because of its low price tag and lightweight and durable qualities, steel is also a great medium for larger scale pieces.

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steel, plastic, and silver jewelry by artist Brice Garrett.

According to the Worth Global Style Network, this modest metal is gaining in popularity, through industrial and urban-inspired trends and is appearing more and more in both fashion and jewelry. Looking to jump on the steel jewelry bandwagon? We have an upcoming Steel Fabrication class that explores the many possibilities that this metal has to offer. Check it out and join us for a fun, informative six week course!CIMG9703

Brooch by instructor Brice Garrett

Filigree Workshop

We had a great time this weekend at our Filigree workshop. It was so much fun and the students created some really amazing work.

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Michelle Chong’s elegant earrings.Erica_FfolliettErica Ffolliett created this gorgeous ring. Love the center set stone!Deirdre-Bialo-PadinWe love these stunning earrings by Dierdre Padin. Amazing and intricate detail work!

Check out some of our upcoming Weekend Workshops, including Flush Setting, Wire Crochet, and Tube Setting, and get the chance to make a unique and original piece of your own!

Natural Patina: Egg Yolks

Using oxidation to bring out the design of a piece of jewelry is a very common practice in the jewelry world. However, many of these finishes are achieved with chemical patinas, whose safety is often questionable. If you’re looking for an alternative and natural way to oxidize your  pieces, look no further! You can use egg yolks to achieve a darkened finish on your silver jewelry. (Note: this technique does NOT work on fine silver but is effective on sterling silver, copper and bronze).

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1. Boil an Egg. Use two if you are working with alot of metal.

2. Put the yellows (yolks) into a plastic food storage container, or into a bowl that can be easily sealed. Break them up a bit.

3. Put a wire rack over the egg yolks to hold your jewelry above the eggs. If you don’t have a wire rack, use some paper toweling to keep the egg from touching the silver. Anywhere egg touches, it will oxidize faster, and unevenly.

4. Put your jewelry in the container and seal it. Leave it for a day, then check it If not dark enough, leave it for another day or two.

5. Remove the jewelry and wash it with a gentle soap.

6. Use a buffing cloth to bring the high points on the piece back to a bright shine. Cheap, quick and easy!

Source: WikiHow