Adventures in Handmade Jewelry

Now if that doesn't date me nothing will! But I'm not going to write about soda. I'm talking about knowing when to take a little break if things aren't going well. So here's the thing. I had an idea rolling around in my head. It often goes this way when I wake up in the night and don't get back to sleep right away. Design ideas occupy my thoughts and most of the time I try them at the bench the next day. All well and good. But this particular design was really fiddly and difficult. I had to wear my 2.50 magnification glasses just to see what I was doing. Then I had to use a loupe to see the really fine detail. Crazy!! And it wasn't working. I messed up something and got quite frustrated at my inability to make it work. Rather than force it and continue on, feeling bad the whole time, I put it down and walked away for a little while. I can't remember what I did, but it had nothing to do with the business or the bench. Not every idea is g...

Adventures in Handmade Jewelry is right. Here's my latest and what I learned from it. Design is very important, but like all good designs it must work. It must function well and enhance the time you spend using it. I bought these cute little wooden cubes recently and had a design all done and finished. I loved it. Isn't it cute? I even had a name for it picked out (no, not Jeff). Then I tried to put it on. And realized I couldn't. It wouldn't bend enough to do up the clasp easily. Take a look - The most flexible part of the design is where the flattest part of your wrist is. Uh. Wrong. The bendiest part should be at the sides of the wrist. Right where I put those cute little cubes. Cute, but not bendy. Not comfortable all that much either. What happens to jewelry that's difficult to put on or wear? It sits in the drawer and collects dust. Or it gets tossed away if you're the letting go type. So back to the bench. This design works much ...

Yesterday I was all set to post about three bracelets I made. Here they are - That's the shot I took today. You can't tell I had to rework the one on the top right can you? Actually I had to restring it 3 times. 3 times!! Not a big deal, but it took me many extra minutes. Wasted materials. And made me frustrated and annoyed with myself. All because I didn't check my work. See how they were when I thought I was good to go? Can you spot my mistake? Gah!!! So the lesson here is to check your work. Before you finish the step that completes your project, give it a good once over. By tinkering on the same piece for a while, you can expect to see it a certain way even if it isn't. Kind of a confirmation bias if you follow. You need to step back and evaluate what you've done. Really be sure you have it right before you commit. A few extra seconds can save you a lot of heartache!