Jewelry Blog

This project will appeal to jewelry makers who also dabble in other crafts such as paper-art and mixed-media in general. However, even if you haven’t tried to mix up your media when making jewelry, consider trying this out because the techniques are so simple you don’t need a lot of experience in other crafting techniques to be able to make this Halloween-themed pendant.

You’ll need:

1 - 2 1/4 x 1 inch glass frame
1 sheet of orange colored construction paper
Scissors
*Small Halloween stickers
1 foam brush
1 sheet of wax paper
Ruler
Acrylic metallic pale gold paint

*The stickers used were some I had left over after making my Halloween Resin Cabochons.

When ordering wire from jewelry supply companies, you’ll notice they normally offer dead soft, half hard, and full hard. As the names indicate, the wires have different degrees of hardness.

The dead soft wire is the easiest to manipulate and is often used for sculpted pieces and light-weight wire wrapped jewelry such as a bead and wire chain bracelet. Fewer tools are needed since these softer wires can be bent with your hands fairly easily. Soft wire works well for many wire projects such as bending into shapes or using with beads. However, it is not recommended for use with projects that hold large stones or projects that will have a lot of wear such as bangles.

For larger and heavier jewelry pieces, use half hard or full hard wire. Normally, you will need more tools in order to manipulate hard wire because your hands will not be strong enough. Half hard wire is often used for wire wrapped jewelry that is primarily made of wire, like a wire wrapped bangle bracelet.

Imagine a building the size of your local Wal-mart, but instead of being filled with towels and toasters, this store is filled with beads and tons of other jewelry making supplies. That’s how Janet Wickell, About.com’s Guide to Quilting, described her experience at Shipwreck Beads‘ brick and mortar store located in Washington state. Janet is also a lover of beads and jewelry, so she was nice enough to take some pictures and give us a virtual tour of the place. Thank you, Janet!

Here’s what she told me about her trip:

There are sidewalks leading up to and along two sides of this building — all filled with loads of beads. Outside, a customer told me that there are more in layers below, that the beads sunk during the first attempt and had to be added again.

At the front of the store there is a large room filled with gemstone bead strands on sale — all laid out on tables. There’s also a separate room devoted to books.

Items are mostly organized by material type, but some things are displayed in a couple of places. I’ve never seen so many findings. They’re mostly stored in organizer-type drawers and sorted by material. Some things are sorted by type, like butterfly items, cat items, etc.

Their new catalog came in the morning we were there, so I brought one home with me (it almost brought my suitcase over the 50 pound mark).

They were busy, but very organized. When you walk in, you pick up a little push cart outfitted with trays and a necklace tree. So you can keep everything pretty well organized as you walk the aisles. There were always people checking out, but that group was organized too so the backups were minimal. There were also quite a few people in the aisles to answer questions, a very well-run place.

The management and employees of John Hardy take being environmentally conscious as seriously as they do their jewelry designs. But they don’t advertise the fact. Although it’s lately become popular to market ‘green’ causes, you might not know John Hardy has been at it for years.

It’s all about authenticity, says Damien Dernoncourt, president. ‘When we at John Hardy speak about our marketing, the emphasis is on great design and handmade quality of our artisans and craftspeople. Yes, we are a green company and trying to be an even better one, but it’s not something we advertise.’

Although a small logo on John Hardy advertising refers to ’sustainable luxury,’ a concept that includes giving back when spending money for business, the company’s efforts aren’t touted in advertising and marketing materials. ‘The fact is, being green is really part of our brand DNA,’ says Dernoncourt, who points to other successful green brands, like Patagonia, which has been a model of authentic environmental activity.

Dernoncourt led a management buyout of John Hardy last June. John Hardy, the company’s founder, and his wife Cynthia, left to pursue their own philanthropic endeavors, many in Bali, their home where the studio and workshop are located. Dernoncourt says Hardy’s vision continues to inspire employees in the company’s offices in Bali, Hong Kong, and New York.

The company’s first initiative involved planting bamboo, the long-lived, fast growing perennial grass that can grow to mammoth size. John Hardy, a seasoned environmentalist, initiated the planting of bamboo in Nusa Penida, an island near Bali where deforestation had ruined the tropical landscape. Bamboo also has a role in the making of John Hardy jewelry. The company’s workshop, Kapal Bamboo, which is situated amid rice fields, is made entirely of bamboo and alang-alang grass. No hardwood, which takes years to grow and is endangered in many tropical rainforests, was used. Designed by Malaysian architect Cheong Yew Kuan, the workshop cost only about $6,000.

The bamboo collection is carried through in the company’s sustainable advertising program, which is funded by a limited edition collection of sterling silver bamboo jewelry which is available on its web site, www.sustainableadvertising.com. Each piece of bamboo jewelry is inscribed inside with the number of bamboo seedlings that will be planted as a result of the sale of the jewelry.

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Chinese police have arrested 42 alleged members of a trafficking ring that sold dozens of infants stolen or bought from their rural parents, state media reported Friday.

Some of these men’s leather wallets are priced between $20 and $30. A few are pricier. It’s a varied collection, with lots of styles to choose from. Most of the wallets are available in more than one color.