Evolution

Several years ago when I first started doing this, I found a couple of matching red chandelier type crystals at the flea market. A while after that (approximately April 2006) one of them found it's way into a necklace. Technically I suppose you could say it was my first chainmaille piece, since it has lots of little jump rings attached to each other. I really had no idea what I was doing; I was just trying to hide the wire I used to make the "hanger" (aka bail and frame all in one). The other crystal continued to sit in my tackle box until last spring's burst of experimentation. I thought I'd just post pics of the two necklaces together as an example of a) the evolution of my work, and b) how the same crystal looks set in different manners.

This is the first make-shift-maille piece made in spring of 2006:


And below the second piece set in a stainless steel frame wire wrapped in a contrasting craft wire, spring of 2009:

Fabergé...ish

Late February 2009 - Fabergé....ish

There's this nice little jewellery shop in the mall called Serendipitous. They sell silver jewellery with semi-precious stones. I don't usually do much jewellery shopping, but I do tend to stop by and chat with their manager, who I met when we were both selling hand made jewellery at a craft show. This particular day though, they had the prettiest little spherical locket style pendant with a little ball-chime inside and an amethyst on the top. They called it a Harmony Pendant. I just couldn't walk away without buying it.

I was (and still am) quite pleased with my purchase, but it also got me to thinking...could I make something similar using wire wrapping? I tried to let the thought go and just enjoy my pendant, but the idea wouldn't let go of me. So I let it stew around my head a bit and then did a sketch. Then I cut some wire and started putting it together. I didn't get too far when I thought to myself "This is insane, this is too fiddly, going to be way too time consuming" and I gave up. Or at least I thought I did, but the idea still wouldn't let go of me, so after a few more days of simmering, I changed my tactic, cut some more wire and started again. 5 hours, over 8 feet of wire, and 2 magnetic hematite beads later, my sphere turned out to be more of an egg shape approximately 1 1/4 inches tall, and 5/8 inch diameter.

After looking at it awhile, it reminded me (and apparently a local chainmailler I know) of a Fabergé Egg, so I guess it was kind of a happy accident. This piece was finished 26th or 27th Feb. 2009. Eventually, when I'm feeling more ambitious, I have an idea how to make one that actually opens :D