Friday, December 6, 2013

Tales From Enameling Class


This semester of enameling is almost over, but it's been a good one! I've gotten better at making champleve pieces and am much more comfortable when it comes to improvising enameling techniques. For instance, I'm currently working on a cloisonne pendant and had run out of cloisonne wire; I ended up using silver bezel wire instead. The wire was twice as thick and I had to cut it down the middle to thin it out, but it worked!

Last Tuesday, the Y held a jewelry fair where members of the various jewelry classes could sell their work. I considered signing up, but decided not to because vendors had to submit an entrance fee AND give back half of their profits to the Y. Still, I purchased an etched metal bracelet from a friend and enjoyed seeing what others had to sell. It was nice to be able to just leisurely wander around a craft fair, for once.

We have some really talented artists at the Y. Most of the pieces being sold were amazing -- and kind of put me to shame. I think that I'm a decent jewelry designer, but most of these people are incredible. I only hope to be that good one day. That said, many of the pieces were extremely expensive. I think that everyone raised their prices so they could actually make a profit, but I thought that many of the pieces were priced too high for what they were. Little beaded bracelets should not be $70. Just sayin'. But the money did go to a good cause as the Y offers many wonderful classes, in jewelry, music and other fields.

Though I'm feeling a little inferior compared to some of these artists, I'm still wondering if I should set up a booth at the next fair. The friend from whom I purchased the bracelet only had about a dozen items on his table... and he managed to sell out. I could bring in only about 10-15 of my high-end pieces and then charge higher prices like everyone else was doing. It seemed like this fair was a success and I didn't see any other wire artists.

Speaking of my enameling class, I'm happy to report that I recently sold two of the items I made at the Y: my enamel cat and my enamel hamsa pendant:

I spent weeks on each piece and am thrilled that they were finally purchased! I hope that the wearers enjoy them. Though the class is fun, I put a lot of work into each item and am glad that it's literally paying off. It's cool to know that there are people out there who are wearing my one-of-a-kind necklaces.

With this session winding down, I'm just working on a couple of simple pieces, but I have some wild ideas for next semester. I'm already eager to get to work! To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

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