Hoops

Hoop two

These earrings are a prototype for a range of earrings I am designing/ working on. They are a little more bold than the previous hoops. In the future the copper element will be an enameled element. 

Sterling silver hoop earring with copper detail 

Enamel Pin

Enamel Pin

I decided to make a simple enamel pin that was riveted to create some movement. It wasn't as successful as Id have liked it to be and I need too work on my riveting skills. I do like its overall look and I think that it could be a starting point for other pieces. 

Colour inspiration

Sterling silver and enameled copper pin

Anglo Plat designing

Anglo Platinum Earring Designs 

The theme for this years anglo plat competition is Bold minimalism. 

I have decided to make statement earrings which use simple minimalist lines combined with contrasting textured metal. 

Here are some process photos.

Using paper to visualise where the textured plate is going and how I'm going to attach it.

Natures Bangle

Natures Bangle 

I made this Pieces as i was starting to feel stuck with the enamels, so i thought id do a quick project to get into the swing of things again.

I melted a piece of copper directly onto my soldering board and it created a very rough look, like a little rock. i then added some green, mossy looking enamel. 

The end result looks like a little mossy stone on a crisp polished silver band. 

Tattoo Queen

 Using the circus, and specifically the tattooed women of the side shows, I designed this pendent which I have named Tattoo Queen. 

This pendant was a fun one to design and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the different aspects of the circus and being exposed to all is magic and powerful imagery. I was drawn to the tattooed ladies as tattoos are now such a popular and common thing, and I like to think that they were the starting point in making them less of a taboo subject. I don't have a tattoo, but do plan on getting one in the future and these ladies have inspired me to be even bolder with my decisions in this regard. 

While I enjoyed the design process, the manufacturing was a bit more challenging. This is the most intricate piece of jewellery that I have made with the most details and layers. This, coupled with the fact that I generally battle with soldering, meant that the manufacturing process was very difficult for me. But it did give me the practice that I need and has made me a little more confident with soldering delicate pieces.

Overall I really enjoyed this project and am proud of the piece that I have made.

Tattoo Queen
Sterling Silver 

Manufacturing the Pendant 

 Because the design I had decided on was very organic, most of the final design decisions were made during the manufacturing process.

Pictured below are some images of the individual pieces that I made that would eventually be put together to form the pendant. 

Designing the Pendant 

In order to design my pendant I looked at images of tattoos both on the women from the circus and flash cards of traditional tattoos. I was torn between creating a design that either represented the tattoos literally, and a design that used different elements of pattern and motifs and that stood as a figurative visual representation.

Pictured below are some of the images that I explored and some of the drawings that I did in response to them.

I particularly was drawn to the floral tattoos as tattoos are usually masculine and these tattoos brought another aspect to them entirely. 

I then came across this image which brought all my designing together and is where I found my inspiration for my final design. 

Working with Granules

After playing around with granulation, I decided that calling it granulation was an insult to the years of practice that it takes to master the technique. While what I was doing is a from of granulation, it was not even close to the intricate nature of granulation in the pieces of jewellery I had been looking at. So from here on, I'm going to refer to my work with granules as decorative granule work.   

Pictured below are two more pictures for the practice pieces I did while trying to figure out the technique.

Soldering granules together.

Soldering granules in a pattern or border on plate. 

A simple Silver stack rings with Granule details 

Figuring Out Granulation 

After observing the 3 jewellers in my previous 3 blog posts, I wanted to play around with a technique which all three incorporated into their work, which is granulation. I don't have any experience with granulation so I did some research on the internet, looked up information in the library and asked lecturers and other jewellers if they had any advice or techniques that would help me. What I have done so far is very basic but by playing around, I have learnt a lot. 

For the granules I found that using a charcoal block was the best option as I was able to drill holes to the right size or the granules and melt the ball to be completely round.
 On a regular soldering block the granules were flat on the one side.

I tried 3 methods of soldering the granules on:
1) Flooding the balls with solder and then using a very watered down mix of wood glue, then heated the piece evenly until soldered
2) Drilling slight divots with a ball-burr slightly smaller than the granules, flooding the divots with solder then placing the granules in the divots and heating the piece up evenly until solders.
3) Simply placing the granules on the surface after covering with solder and carefully solder

I found that the best method was the 2nd one. 

  

Emma Habbeshon

Emma Habbeshon is a contemporary jewellery designer whose jewellery walks the unique and elegant line between geometric and organic forms. Habbeshon is inspired by the hidden geometry in nature and plays with different forms and texture in order to create sculptural, contemporary jewellery. She mainly uses Sterling silver combined with precious and semi precious gem stones.  

I absolutely love Habbeshons jewellery. I think that the balance of geometric and organic forms is executed so well and the jewellery that she produces is striking, elegant and unique in so many ways. As a Jewellery student trying to find my own style, seeing jewellery such as this inspires me to think about jewellery in a new light. One does not need to stick to certain aspects of design, you can combine and experiment with many different looks in order to create something beautiful. 

Pictured below are only a handful of Habbeshons beautiful creations. 

Morphology Brooch II 
Double Pin Brooch, Sterling Silver, partly oxidized, Labradorite Cabochons

Morphology Ring 
Sterling Silver, Hexagonal cut London Blue Topaz, 22ct gold plated granules 

Morphology Necklace
Sterling Silver, Labradorite Cabochons,