European Jewelry Making Tools Suppliers

I've been spending a lot of time lately trying to find Europe-based merchants for jewelry making tools and supplies for me and my jewelry class-mates. I used to buy supplies from the US all the time but sometimes the shipping charges made that impossible. Since it hasn't been an easy task, I will make a list and update it as I find new shops. You can find it on the side. Enjoy!

Sterling Brooch

A few months ago, I joined a jewelry making class. It was probably the best decision I made in 2011. We have two months of classes left and I already get sad in the thought of it ending. We mostly work on the lost wax technique and metals.

This is the first item I made about 5 months ago. The model was made in red dental wax, and then it was cast in Sterling. The object was to mimic a piece of a tree's bark, dried and broken in places. I created the texture with some tick abrasive paper and then folded and cut out pieces of the wax to give it a realistic look.

After attaching the pin back, I used Liver of Sulfur to darken the "veins" of the bark and give it a burnt look. The piece was fired unevenly so the patina would produce different tones kind of like real fire would. There is a particularly interesting  area under the pin back where the wax got thinner and created a distinct pattern -as shown in the last photo.

I am very pleased by the result, especially since it was my first wax model ever. :)

Nancy L. T. Hamilton

I’m very excited about this Youtube channel I just found by a very talented artist. You might have heard of her before, her name is Nancy L. T. Hamilton, and you can find all about her at http://www.nancylthamilton.com/ . Her videos can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/nancylthamilton? and are full of very useful and simple tips for any jeweler, plus I loved her sense of humour. Rock on Nancy!

Featured in the Storque!

About a month ago I thought I would write a new installment for the Storque's "Shop Local" series, featuring Greek sellers. I contacted all the Greek members of the European Street Team and some of them were kind enough to send me their beautiful photos and quotes. Etsy Admin Vanessa was kind enough to publish my article last night.

You can read it here.

Thank you girls! I couldn't have done this without you :) I hope this brings us all some much needed exposure, and sales!

My window to the world

This weekend started with high spirits and a very good mood ! I have a new table to work on, combined with a brand new light I got a few days ago and an organizer with drawers and wheels, my little corner is turning into a great workspace! It's going to be a lot more fun and comfortable to work now, and that can only mean more and better designs! :)

I placed my new table right next to a window; my own little window to the world.

From one side I can see the mountain.



And on the other side, lovely sunsets.



Of course, this is still Athens, so there's plenty of concrete around as well. But if you look really hard, you can find beauty everywhere :)

Night Owl

My sister is one of the most artistic persons I know. As soon as she gets her hands on something and learns the basics of any art or craft she will begin to create wonders in no time. A few weeks ago I showed her the basic knitting techniques (cause that's all I know about knitting) and in a few day's time she started making caps, jewelry, moved on to crocheting and now she's making even more wonders :)

I've been complaining about the bright sun waking me up and how I need a night mask so here's what she made me!



The sweetest night mask designed to be an owl's face, and what's even more funny and cute is its "o.O" expression. It comes with a little rubber band on the back to stay safely in place.
It's also a nose warmer! Perfect for my cold nose all during winter...

She found the pattern here: http://littlegreen.typepad.com/romansock/tutorial-owl-eye-mask.html and adjusted it some.

I bet some of you would like to see me wearing that and have some giggles!! :D

Naming Contest - January

Alright me hearties, it's time for a new naming contest, the first of 2009! As always, you can enter with as many ideas as you want, by commenting here or sending me an email at ladyaranwen [at] hotmail [dot] com , as long as you remember to leave some way for me to contact you, your email or website etc. The winner gets a 15% discount off any purchase from my Etsy shop! The contest will run until the 31st of January.

This time I'm desperately looking for a name for this lovely and elegant brooch:



Tell me anything that comes to your head when you see it, that could be turned into a name. Maybe a movie, a book character, a childhood memory? I love hearing what different thoughts my jewelry stirs into my viewers :)

You can see some more details and photos here.

Looking forward to reading your ideas!