New Beginnings!

I've just successfully set up my first website, after hours spent finding a host and attempting to build a site I stumbled upon Weebly and decided to build another site with their free hosting and software, despite havin aleady paid for hosting with another company. The website builder is a dream to use, so please go view my new site right away! I have a new blog there which be where I do most of my posting so keep an eye on it.

I will be transferring my site to my main domain www.jmashby.co.uk but I'll let you know when that happens.

Now, I am certain it is bedtime, though whether I will sleep with the dawn chorus being performed by the local bird choir outside my window is another matter entirely!

My degree work

Over the last six months since my last posts a lot has happened in terms of my work as a jeweller. Some of the units we've worked on have helped me to understand what drives me to make and what I am drawn to in others work. We worked on a commissioning unit and I designed and made a necklace which consisted of woven paper yarn with a sterling silver magnetic clasp and tassel pendant, all handmade.

 

I had some trouble with the magnets initially as they were to be set in the ends of the clasp but they weren't strong enough so I did some digging and Staples yielded a set of super strong magnetic memo holders. I took the magnets out of them and glued them inside the clasp so they are sat behind a layer of silver and still snap together securely. I was happy with the finished piece and enjoyed the challenge of having to work to a set brief, I want to experiment more with woven paper string as this was tricky to produce the circular shape I wanted.

From one of the other units I developed a 'drop-in' range, pendants which could be slotted onto a U shaped tube, which held the chain.

I made some of these pieces in copper and had them silver plated to begin with, then I made later ones in silver. I like the copper interior of the plated pieces though, it gives them a secret lining.

One of my favourite piees was this two-finger ring. It is on a pivot so that it can spin and tilt as it is worn. This one is quite large but I shall be making some smaller versions to sell.

I worked on a design I came up with in college for a U shaped ring to produce a range of rings with double dome tops, each with a different texture interior. These will be going in my shop soon though I need to make more as one of these is sold and I want to keep one of them for myself haha.

 

And last but not least this is another 'drop-in' necklace, one of a series of three made for our graduate exhibition.

There are two plain silver pendants and this one with the embossed handmade paper discs slotted on. I made this one in two halves with a bayonet catch so that they could be separated and the discs interchanged. Each necklace has a plain face and a textured face so that they can reversed as the wearer chooses.