As I've decided I want a fancy, new website, I'm migrating over to WordPress because it is easy to do certain things with. Sorry blogger, but you just don't cut it for me anymore :(

My new blog can be found at infectiousdesigns.wordpress.com

I have a new toy to play with!

Which is exactly what I've been doing! Thanks to Mr. Rudd and his generous stimulus package, I bought myself a Nikon D60 digital slr camera, and he's beautiful.

I haven't taken any jewellery pictures yet, as I don't have much time before having to start getting ready for a 1920's speakeasy themed party that I'm attending tonight. I did however, take some pictures in my mum's lovely garden. I'll share a few, as I'm really excited as to how they've turned out.

If you had ever wondered...

...what it might look like after you've picked up a freshly annealed piece of brass stock gauge before letting it cool sufficiently, then I have the answer for you... in picture form!

Yes, that is my thumb. I have the same lovely rectangle on the first two fingers of my left hand too, which means three fingers that are useless for a while.

Oh, and the yellow stain on my thumb (and fingers) is from the aloe I was putting on it, not some weird infection.

On deadline this weekend for the magazine I write for, so no jewellery making (even if I hadn't burnt my dumb fingers and thumb). Posting this post is what I'd call an avoidance tactic. Back to work...

Cuff-tastic!

 

 

I got my hands on a bracelet mandrel at Tafe yesterday and this is what eventuated!

 

 

Give me an “S”! Give me an “A”! Give me an “R”! Give me an “S”! What does it spell…?

 

 

I made it into a cuff! Oh, the possibilities for this collaboration are seemingly endless! Now, to get a bracelet mandrel for my own studio…

Studio Day: A Bunch ‘o’ Bracelets

 

 

Just a teaser image of what I was doing today in my studio; a bunch ‘o’ bracelets!

My fingers are swollen and bruised from all of those individually wire wrapped loops. Looks like I need to build up those beading calluses all over again!

I got most of my website redesign done yesterday, now all I’ve got to do is build up stock levels and take new product shots to upload. New site coming soon, so stay tuned!

French Curves in Copper

 

 

 

I’ve been doing a little work in the studio over the past few days, on some other projects I’ve had in my mind. This is the beginnings of one of them.

My dad is a draftsman and before he started using a CAD program to design houses, he used to work on a drawing board. As such, he has collected some pretty awesome things; an ultrasonic cleaner (just what I needed too!), cool pens and these neat stencils called French Curves. They help you to draw accurate curves, but look really cool too. When I uncovered these, I immediately saw them re-created in metal so off I went to my studio and chose the smallest one. Here’s some progress shots (I like these, they’re fun).

 

 

 

Here it is roughly cut out, you can still see my marker lines which I sawed down a little more, then filed to make it smooth and neat.

 

 

 

This is when my hand needed a break from emerying, so it’s a mid-way shot. That’s all I took, I wanted to finish it quickly because I had some bead related jewellery to make. The mostly finished project is in the first picture of this post.

I made my first ring in Tafe today, pretty exciting! Even though I had to cut it and resize it down as part of an assessment. Can’t wait to make something I’m actually allowed to take home.

Today has been a productive day! I met up with Morgan yesterday to collect some sketches that he's been working on for our jewellery collaboration, and I was so excited, I couldn't wait to start working on our pieces. So I decided to take progress photos for you all to have a sneak peek at what's in store for Infectious Designs. We're taking advance orders now, but we will be having our launch in the not too distant future, so stay tuned and we'll let you know where and when!




I started off by photocopying and gluing my chosen style onto a sheet of 0.8mm copper and cut around the basic outline. I've also drilled the holes ready for my saw piercing.





Here is the piece with all of the easy bits taken off it. The next step is to cut all of the negative space, which is what the drill holes are for. This next step made far too many profanities pour forth from my mouth.







Here it is with the negative spaces cut out (grumble grumble) and the copied sketch still pasted on top.






And here it is with the paper taken off. Oooh coppery!








Here it is after being filed and having been attacked by emery paper. I gave it a good hard scrub with a steel bristle brush to give it a nice matte finish. I like this finish, less likely to get finger prints! I think it also gives a nice depth to the piece too - when you move it, the light catches on different scratches and makes it look cool. In my humble opinion anyway.

It's not quite finished yet, I still have a fair bit of filing to do in the little spaces to make them all neat and pretty, but I am so impressed with how it's turned out. I was worried it would lose a little 'something' when transferring the design from paper to metal, but it's worked out really well.

As I said, we're taking advance orders, so feel free to contact me if you're interested in owning a unique un-named infection (we're still trying to think of a name, any suggestions?). There'll be a few designs on offer, depending on the size and length of your name and you'll have your choice of metals too - copper, brass, gilding or sterling silver. Eventually we're going to progress into making Perspex versions too, meaning we'll have limitless colour selections and combinations to choose from. We're also aiming to have a stall at the next market day at Dirty Shirlow's in April. I'll post definite details once we've worked them all out.

I managed to make my first piece of jewellery today in my brand new studio! I'm pretty proud of myself, after feeling rather disenchanted when I finished my first day of Tafe.

We had a saw-piercing project to work on; a geometric pattern within a brass square. The catch being you could only saw, no filing allowed, and the lines needed to be clear and even. What a task that proved to be! I went in thinking I'd find this easy as pie, and left feeling very much knocked down a rung. The next week however I returned, determined to make good of this project and while it didn't end up being something I was particularly proud of, I did do a half-decent job. The next project made me feel a whole lot better about myself - my very first inlay. Two shapes cut from the middle of a brass sheet, with perfectly matching copper bits that slipped in and stayed put. Just what the teacher wanted. Next week, we're making a domed rosette, I'll be sure to let you know how I go with that one.

My first piece made in my home studio is to the right. A little copper Australia pendant, just a little bigger than a 50cent piece. I'm so proud of those saw lines, I did one long continuous cut all the way around, and barely had to file it at all. It has a slightly brushed appearance too, because I hate high polish - too many finger prints.

(Hopefully) Life Changing

I found out today that I've been accepted into the TAFE course I've been wanting to do for a while now - Jewellery Trade. Basically, this means I'll be learning everything (everything) about jewellery making, from sawing and piercing (which I can already do) through to soldering, casting and so many other things.

To say I'm excited is an understatement. My teacher (!) couldn't believe how happy I was to be accepted. Now all I have to do is let my boss know I'll be dropping down to four days a week. I wonder how he'll cope without me...

Not that I care! I got into my jewellery course! This is the next step towards realising my dream.

So much for resolutions

It's now well into the new year and this is the first post I've made. I've got plenty of excuses, believe me! The biggest (and best) excuse being that I'm moving house and setting up my very own studio! So right now, all of my beads and bits and pieces are in boxes sitting in a messy pile waiting to be unpacked and sorted all over again. I'll be without them for about 2 weeks, then once we're reunited again, I can start creating the new ranges I've been contemplating and tinkering with for the past few months. Including the massive collaboration I have planned, with new news on that soon hopefully!

It looks like I may miss the Valentine's Day jewellery season this year with my huge bead upheaval, but I expect there to be lots of exciting things to entice you coming not too long afterwards. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted (that was an awesome overuse of cliché's).

Infectiously yours,
Sars