Taming the Tangle

Spring Cleaning

Okay, yes, it has dawned on my that it's officially summer now. I'm convinced that my studio is in some sort of time warp (although it has been warm lately... a clear indicator that summer is taking hold). That will not keep me from having a Spring Cleaning Studio Sale, though... read on.

Next week we (that's the studio "we" not the royal we) are taking inventory, which we've never done before. We are going to measure wire, weigh stones to get a count, and assess chains, findings and parts. And that's just step 1... to be followed by taking inventory of the jewelry itself. It's a big task, but we will work our way through it and hopefully feel more organized by next year (I fully expect a 6-month grace period of confusion).

In preparation of figuring out what to count, I looked around and realized I have stores of seed beads, vintage glass, lampworked art beads, Bali sterling supplies.... all sorts of things that I used to experiment with squirreled away around the studio. If those things stay in the studio, they also need to be counted. With that realization, I have decided to open an etsy shop dedicated just to selling off these supplies until they are gone. Check out kathysyardsale... each week Katie will photograph more supplies and post them, so keep checking back. I found quite a pile since I used to work at a bead shop and collected vintage glass. There will be great beads for experimenting with some of the designs in my book or for any avid beaders out there, all at great prices.

Grip Tip for pliers

Today I found a new use for a tool that I don't use very much: gator skin. It's a lightly sticky bandage wrap that only sticks to itself. I figured it would be good to have in the studio, especially in the winter with dry skin... lotion is the bane of a wire-wrappers existence because it makes your skin too slick to grip the wire. Apparently I've gotten used to dry skin... I don't wear lotion while working so have never gotten into the habit of putting on the gator skin.

I've been tackling the seemingly impossible task of making several sizes of comfort-fit jewelry bands from half-round wire (shown on the right). The bands curve on the inside for comfortable wearing, and there's a flat edge on the outside as a quiet backdrop to my charm rings. I start the bands in typical forming fashion by hammering the wire around the ring mandrel. The problem is that the wire distorts, making it difficult to get a perfectly even join for soldering. I often resort to wrestling with the wire with my pliers (still a more natural forming tool for me rather than a hammer), which leaves all sorts of nicks to clean up and file away. I'm persnickety about wrapping masking tape around my pliers because I have an aversion to sticky residue and hate cleaning them off... well, that's where gator skin comes in! A few tight wraps around each side of my pliers gave a perfect grip without marring the rings, and the gator stuff slides right off the tips when done.

Give it a try and let me know what you think, or let me know your suggestions.

And if you haven't seen me at a show lately, here are some of my charm/bundle rings. I've had two custom orders for rings with only 3 dangles, making them more wearable and practical for everyday but still fun. When I figure out my band production, you'll see more of those cropping up at shows and stores.