Most Recent Posts 
![[]](/clipart/main-cat.gif) Organize Your Wolf Tools | by alberic
|  | [caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Wolf Tools in their native habitat"][/caption]
Do you have a can (or four) of Kate Wolf's wax carving tools?
Do you teach? Do you need to make sure you have as many tools at the end of the night as you did at the beginning? Do you have a laser cutter? (Well why not??) If so, this post's for you.
The short form is that I picked up several sets of Wolf wax tools for the.... | | View full article... |
| | by Tony
|  | A recent post from Kevin Kelly regarding an American law for a bloggers requirement to divulge receiving free products was the inspiration for this endorsement and blog entry. I probably wouldn't have made my comments to Orchid readers as this is a lapidary related product and will probably be of little interest to the majority of jewellers.
It's quite easy to dismiss this legal requirement as an "high class problem" in as much as "who is going to give me.... | | View full article... |
| AZ Designer Craftsmen Schedule of Workshops | by Robyn Hawk
|  | Arizona Designer Craftsmen are a group of artists that first came together in Tucson in 1959 and has become a nationally acclaimed program of workshops. Go to the AZ Designer Craftsmen website to register...TitleMARILYN NICHOLSON "Hand-Made Catches & Mechanisms"Tagssouthern chapter workshop When and whereStart Date6 February 2010, SaturdayTime09:00 AMEnd Date7 February 2010, SundayEnd Time05:00 PMLocationRandolph Arts & Crafts Bldg#4 Jewelry Studio, 200 S ALvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85711Refine the designs of your jewelry by adding findings specifically made for a.... | | View full article... |
| Producing Silver Products From Ingot Using A Homemade Drawplate | by aulë
|  | If I can't make round wire using my homemade drawplate right now, so what? I'm only 50 miles away from fine silver wire, and yesterday while shopping for groceries (nearest store also being the same distance!) I bought about 10 feet of 22 gauge and 4 feet each of 20 and 18 gauge... enough to practice making French earring hooks with.
A good tool is one that extends your capabilities even by a slight bit to provide you with stuff.... | | View full article... |
| Scott Kay Discusses Tungsten versus SK Cobalt | by Robyn Hawk
| | This is video from the Press introduction of SK Cobalt - Scott Kay debunks claims that Tungsten is indestructible..... | | View full article... |
| Technique Tuesday: Make a Skull Ring | by Robyn Hawk
| | The perfect ring for your Dia de los Muertos Celebration...according to Wikipedia:The ''Day of the Dead'' (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls' Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st, and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints'.... | | View full article... |
| Bloody Fear: Dust on the Bench Pin | by gingermeekallen
|  | Today I greeted dust on my bench pin. This is a first.
Never before, in 18 years, has there been dust on my bench pin.
For a metalsmith, the bench pin is the center of the studio universe. It’s like the bottom of a skillet for a chef, or the fretboard for a musician.
My bench pin has been covered by many things before, such as metal filings, wax shavings, or polishing compound. But never, ever, just plain dust –.... | | View full article... |
| | by John Rasmussen
|  | Spent most of the weekend playing in the streets (paramedic) and having fun. Needed to relieve some stress, so I got out my tools, stones and wire. This asymmetric pattern just seemed to fit the stone so well:
So much fun to make.
John.... | | View full article... |
| Show Review - the ASCCT SC Jazz Festival Fine Arts and Crafts Show | by Beth Wicker
|  | The Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail held their second annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show in conjunction with the SC Jazz Festival in Cheraw again this year. I was once again the show organizer.
We had seven people sign up again this year: a glass jewelry artist, three painters, a folk artist and myself. Plus one of our members who spins and weaves was going to be demonstrating both of these skills.
Last year we had a super.... | | View full article... |
| A Handful of Hammers | by Laurie Jane Kern
|  | If its a gaggle of geese, a herd of cows, a pod of porpoises; what would a handful of hammers be??
My Hammers have finally arrived.
After my class with Deb (read the post Spoon-erism's) I asked about an initial set of hammers to purchase and Deb sent back a list of 5 hammers: 1 planishing; 1 raising; and 3 sinking/forming hammers in a large, medium and small size. I have put links to all 5 at the bottom of.... | | View full article... |
| Flying Bird Ornament in the making | by shelbyvision
|  | I first thought about making a bird in flight using my one-piece technique as with my previous birds, quite a long time ago, but was hung up on having the seam lengthwise as before, and came to a dead end for how to do it. I had pretty much given up on the idea until a few weeks ago, while waking breifly during the night, the solution suddenly popped into my head. Fortunately I remembered it in the morning, and.... | | View full article... |
| Grading Pattern and Color in Opal | by James L. Sweaney, CGA, FGA. GG
|  | [caption id="attachment_225" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ribbon Pattern in Brazilian Opal"][/caption]
In our latest post to the Mardon blog, we discuss the classification/grading/description of the various play of color patterns in precious opal, focusing on the main pattern types, Pinfire, Flash, and Harlequin. Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we show more than tell. Here are a few morsels, photos that we didn't use, to whet your appetite.
[caption id="attachment_230" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Rolling Flash and Chaff pattern in.... | | View full article... |
| slightly glowing trivets & molten glass = luscious color... | by kobrienjewelry
|  | ....and oh, so much fun in the studio....
After a long hiatus (from blogging & metalworking) I have found myself enameling again. And am I ever smitten with it. Using a piping hot kiln to create vibrant colors on fine silver is an exciting process. Could you possibly think of a better accent for a design based on line and shape? I simply can not.
For those of you who haven't enameled before you may be curious as to what.... | | View full article... |
| Rock, Gem & Jewelry Shows: November 2009 | by Robyn Hawk
| | 1--SCOTTSDALE (PHOENIX), ARIZONA: Wholesale show; Rings & Things; Chaparral Suites Resort Scottsdale (Conference Center), 5001 N. Scottsdale Rd.; Sun. 1-5; contact Dave Robertson, (800) 366-2156; Web site: www.rings-things.com/Show/3--SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Wholesale show; Rings & Things; Mission Valley Resort Hotel (Ballroom), 875 Hotel Circle S; Tue. 1-5; contact Dave Robertson, (800) 366-2156; Web site: www.rings-things.com/Show/4--BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA: Wholesale show; Rings & Things; Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel, 7675 Crescent Ave.; Wed. 1-5; contact Dave Robertson, (800) 366-2156; Web site: www.rings-things.com/Show/6-8--ANCHORAGE, ALASKA:.... | | View full article... |
| Belt Buckles - The Guy Manly Gift... | by patpruitt
|  | I noticed its been several months since last posting in the blog-o-sphere...well...Halloween is just around the corner and I have a cool belt buckle that has a skull, it just sort of makes sense...
Buckles are one of those things every man should have...and most have at least one. From my perspective, dealing in the men's market, its like a watch, it should be super high quality, last a lifetime, and be pretty bullet proof. Enter my buckles. The over.... | | View full article... |
| Link Repaired | by leehulcher
|  | Dear Mr Stitt, The link to Mammoth Ivory Creations has been repaired. Enjoy the new store. LeeC.... | | View full article... |
| Catching Up, and More | by teresamasters
|  | Vertigo, follow up. Finished week 4, vertigo free and was in Physical Therapy when rolling the head to the right brought on a fierce episode, and son Gregg was called to come get me, deja vu.
Back to square one, and repeat Epley Maneuvers, left side was fine, next week, right side was fierce, and the doctor told Gregg and I that it was the most severe he had seen. Well next visit, I was rather apprehensive, but no repeat.... | | View full article... |
| Why is Sometimes Harder Than How | by Michael Johnson
|  | In my last blog I ranted a tad about inspirations and muses. Then I started searching out other blogs on the subject.
[caption id="attachment_178" align="aligncenter" width="238" caption="Cintric Cuff: sterling silver, citrine chrysoprase, and a star ruby."][/caption]
A photographer friend of mine friend had posted a blog where she discussed how she created her beautiful works, and she mentioned that it was easier to discuss how she did it, rather than why she did it. It spun me into thinking about.... | | View full article... |
| Understanding Turquoise | by leonidsurpin
|  | Understanding Turquoise
Preamble
This blog is to illustrate the beauty of Turquoise and repair the damage to Turquoise reputation as a gemstone. The damage is a consequence of indiscriminate use of Turquoise as the name for anything remotely bluish. Even if the blue color is completely absent, it still does not stop the gemological pimps to keep prostituting the name of Turquoise. Regretfully, the science does provide the cover for such a behavior. I can excuse geologists, but gemologists should.... | | View full article... |
| One of My Fav "Wire Wrappers" ! | by teribaskett
|  | [caption id="attachment_122" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tutorial Available!"][/caption]
Yes, I know, some of you are wondering how many are my favs, and I admit, there are many. I simply love wire wrapping and wish I were good at it...BUT I want to do it right NOW, with no patience to practice and do the same thing over and over again. Plus, following exact instructions, measuring, filing, yeah, no patience (did I say that already....hmmm, not a very good memory either!)!
Anyway, I.... | | View full article... |
| Gold Selling & Reconstituted Turquoise | by amyhoward
|  | My husband sent me this article on CNN (http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/15/pf/consumer_gold_cash/index.htm?postversion=2009101510?cnn=yes) that tries to warn the general populace to be careful when selling off gold to all the buyers who've sprung up over the last year. I've heard of "Gold Parties" in my area, where friends of mine are selling off their gold over drinks and hors d'oeuvres to someone who supposedly knows the industry. The moment I heard that, I went sick in the stomach, worrying that my lovely stay-at-home-mom friends were.... | | View full article... |
| Jeweler, Metalsmith, Goldsmith, Silversmith? What are we? | by fortheloveofjewels
|  | Naked JewelryUnless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware of the Orchid network for jewelry professional and hobbyists. This online forum is one of the most valuable sources of information for me as a jewelry designer thirsty for knowledge from those with more experience.Recently a fascinating thread has been circulating that someone started by asking a simple question. What do people who make and/or sell jewelry call themselves?You might think we'd know this seemingly simple answer.... | | View full article... |
| SMM Gives Two Scholarships to 'Youth In Need' | by midwestmetalsmiths
|  | Do to the success of METAL Inclinations1, the Society for Midwest Metalsmiths is thrilled to be able to provide scholarships for two children from the 'Youth in Need' program to take metalsmithing classes. SMM was also able to provide extra publicity by running ads in major magazines and online promoting the 50 artists selected for METAL Inclinations1.
From the early interest and response, METAL Inclinations2 promises to be even more successful than METAL Inclinations1. SMM hopes to provide more promotional.... | | View full article... |
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