hohoho!

the workshop has been moving at an eye-straightening pace this week so i thought i'd take this opportunity to wish you all a happy'n'safe chrissy. Our house is hosting christmas lunch this year so have gone all-out with a real tree & front door wreath (made from the discarded lower branches of the tree + some costume decorations:))
We'll be closing the doors on Dec 24th, to reopen late Jan. The online shop will remain open over the holidays but we will not be able to post anything between Dec 25th & Jan 3rd.
actually quite excited about it now:)
cheers
victoria

Polkadot earrings in the saint-nick of time!

Polkadot earrings - $25, now available through the website

every year i say it.
"next year, i'll be a bit more organized & it won't be crazy like this" but you know what i realized? I choose this chaos! there, now, i've said it.
If there's a gap my the timetable, i fill it, actually, if i'm NOT crazy-busy at this time of year then something's gone wrong:)
So before i went to Markit a few weeks ago i made these earrings using the remaining enamel from the 'city lights' pieces but wow, they were such a hit that they now have their own palette & are available through the website.
We have 9 colours available online - spearmint, peach, lavender, blue, yellow, orange, red, dark blue & dark green.
So i'm going to happy with my 'busy', maybe you already are?

Good Stuff:Holiday Guide!

oh my, how good is this!?
Pip Lincolne, from Meet Me at Mikes (& all round inspiring person) has launched an online publication just in time for some christmas encouragement.
It's called Good Stuff:Holiday Guide & what's even better is it's FREE!
Lots of ace people have contributed including Frankie's editor Joe Walker (with a very cute pic of her sitting on santa's lap), Jane Hall from (Salvation Jane), Sass (Ask Alice Stationary), Emma Greenwood (Emerge), Angie Hart & the super amazing artist, Gemma Jones! and many more of my most favorite people in the world sharing their christmas stories & crafty tips. There are also gift ides, recipes & even a Madelaine Stamer mobile that you can cut out & use!
so so good.
vic

Jenny the Donkey

"There once lived a man called Chris who loved his wife, Trish, very much & wanted to have a special anniversary prezzie made for her...a silver donkey necklace!

How could i not? (i already had an appreciation)

So off i went researching donkey pictures & started the first version..

I found a picture of a happy donkey eating grass, so i carved a model in wax & sent it for casting but when she came back her mood had changed...

so i soldered on a tail, lifted her head, lengthened her ears, & slimmed her tummy hoping this may lift her mood but she was still as glum as ever - how can this be given a love token!!

So version 2!

This one is slightly smaller, head held proudly & ears alert - much better!

We decided that Trish's pendent should be slightly different to any others that i made so there are a few unique points including a little smile on the side that only Trish sees.

so here's version 3, the one that's available in the studio now ($180) & i will be taking with me to Markit@FedSquare in just over a week. It's not on the website yet & i'll just be bringing 2 to the market so please let me know if you'd like me to put one aside for you! Oh! & her name is Jenny cause that's what girl donkeys are called:)

(please excuse the pov modeling - it's just to show scale:))

Sunday drivers..

so excited about seeing these two love-birds at the traffic lights! i especially love the 'wolseley car club' membership, his hat & the neat blanket folded up on the back headrest..do you think they have a thermos of tea in there too?

what i've been making..

the start of something new & limited edition..can you guess what it is from this pic?
it's my foray into homewares & this prototype silver & steel candle stick is bound for my table at home. starting the setting that will hold the candle (here are the sides & base)
now that they are soldered, i add another setting which will hold the silver & steel together with a 'cold join' (those 2 metals will not join with solder).almost finished the silver part..one more thing..a spike for the candle!
because this one is for me, i've carved a detail in the top but only some of the ones i plan to make will have this - most will be plain i think.Engine part & setting waiting to be assembled. This piece came from a 1938 Ford engine & is BEAUTIFUL! it even has 'Ford' written in cursive on the base *sigh*starting to set the steel into the silver - i used a rivetting hammer for this job beacause it's tiny proportions were good for the strange angle it had to be held/hit on. (the same technique used for this repair a while ago)
Hopefully i'll have some finished pics tomorrow!
....................................................................................
it's now tomorrow! i thought i'd add these pics here instead of a new post:)
the setting needs a lot of cleaning up to disguise the push-marks so here it is being polished..the beautiful base! see how it says 'Ford'? wow.finished! ..the test model at least. The next one i make will be much plainer & will going back to the man who gifted these engine parts to me in the first place - omg i think i've made a man-gift!
& then i'll only have 6 left to make for the shop - if you'd like one please let me know:) they'll be $250 each.

Making 'ring pulls'

More & more frequently i do commissions, especially when they're fun ones:)
This time the brief was to reproduce a business logo in silver so that they could be worn as earrings & lapel pins. So for this project a model (original) needed to be made & cast, then the duplicates made into the different items.
I started with a soft drink ring pull - the problem was that i didn't think it looked very good! All the drink ones i could find had this blocky profile (you can see that i couldn't even commit to it on paper!) So even though i started making this one i eventually scrapped it.
It turned out that ring pulls on food cans are MUCH better looking - how pretty is that one? (yes, far too much time alone) So i started on the 2nd version but not happy with the scale...
Even though I was happy with the shape of Version 2, it ended up being too big for an earring (especially since at least one was going to be worn by a man)...scrapped
So now that i was happy with the scale & design i could add the details that really make the little one have character. The carved silver needed to include the details to make it look like it was pressed out of a sheet of aluminium, so all the depressions & nicks were included. (this pic is of the reverse side)
& this is the front. In order for the finished piece to have character, the front & back need to have equal detail.
finished as earrings..
finished as a lapel pin..
& the next commission is an exciting one too! I've double checked & the gift has been (very!) happily received so i can show you pics of the donkey necklace very soon!