Jewelry Archives - Try Handmade

North Shore Girls Rock Ring

August 18, 2017 by Erika Jurney Leave a Comment

For reals now, one of the reasons I started this site was so that lovely folks such as yourselves would buy these fabulous Etsy finds before I do. Trust me, that’s not a line, that the honest truth — just ask my husband who sighs every time he hears a package being delivered on our porch.

I need your help today a great deal. This ring is calling calling to me and I adore it so. Please purchase it so that I can stop sitting on my hands. I love the wild and unstructured nature of it, and the colors and materials are exquisite. It makes my heart beat a little faster. By negellatj.

Mixing Business with Leather

August 15, 2017 by Erika Jurney 2 Comments

RADCOW: I got Interested in Leather craft about a decade ago, when I was a teenager hitch hiking across Canada. On my travels I met a wonderful old hippy man named Longevity John. He was nearly 7 foot tall, with hair down his back, and eyes all full of kindness. He lived in a shotgun shack with no running water, or electricity, but made incredible and inspiring leather crafts and sold them on saturdays at the farmers market in town. John showed me a few things, and got the seeds of inspiration planted in me. The thought of someone making their living with their own 2 hands from thier crafts made my heart swell. Later, I got a job at a leather craft store, and began spending most of my pay cheques on tools, and most of my time playing with leather. Since then, the seed has grown, and I too make my living this way, selling here, and at festivals and craft fairs. I feel like I am on my true path, and I am eternally grateful to etsy, and to all of you who support hand crafters. You allow the creative instinct to grow and flourish. Thank you!

Stars and Hearts and … Pretzels

August 12, 2017 by Erika Jurney 4 Comments

Heather and Kerry Alice Collins, Silversmiths
Twigs and Heather is Kerry Alice and Heather Collins, twin sister silversmiths and casters. We opened our studio in 2000 and have been creating one of a kind sterling silver jewelry ever since. Using the lost wax casting method, and a few new tricks of our own, our pieces are cast from plant life native to the Atlantic Northeast, and hand carved wax models.

Heather’s earthy and natural pieces are subtle reminders of just how wonderful something as simple as a twig can be.

There is nothing subtle about Kerry Alice’s pieces. They are bold, modern and urban. Made for the person who isn’t afraid to express themselves.

Our collection incorporates our different styles and personalities with a complementary mix of natural and modern pieces.

Gorgeous sterling silver jewelry by Twigs and Heather.

This will be the last post this week as I’m taking time to be with the fam and have good times involving hot cocoa, letters to Santa, and frantic, last-minute toy-assembly followed by (or perhaps accompanied by) cocktails. Wishing similar happiness for you :)

Behind the scenes at Bits n' Beads by Gilliauna

August 9, 2017 by Erika Jurney 2 Comments

Ready for a great look at the workspace where this and other lovely jewelry was created?

Thanks Gilliauna. And if you would like to see your workspace featured here, please head over to In My Workspace.

Interview with Erin, Sock Zombies!

August 5, 2017 by Leah Peterson 1 Comment

[hLeah]

Erin of SockZombie.com has lived in and around Tempe, Arizona since 1990. After years of moving around town for college and jobs, she somehow settled directly across the street from her old high school, doomed to listen to the Aztec Marching Band play every morning for all eternity. Erin and her husband of two weeks, Randy, have a five-year-old Australian Shepherd named Jake. When he was a puppy he jumped out of a four-story window and walked away with nothing but a badass attitude and a secret fear of windows. Erin describes herself as “Perpetually jumping from one patch of levity to the next.” Don’t miss the Zombie Interviews on her Etsy pages!

How long have you been making zombies?

I started making (or trying to make) monsters out of socks for birthday gifts. I’m not a natural craft talent, mind– I’ve been crocheting for literally twenty-five years and to this day I can’t make a blanket that isn’t shaped like a trapezoid– so the monsters took quite a bit of trial and error. My first efforts were decidedly less “monster” and more “bunny”. Early on I started using standard white men’s crew socks for the monsters’ bodies, and their little pale bodies paired with their gray heel “mouths” just screamed ZOMBIE to me. So I spent some time figuring out the best way to attach the arms to stick straight out from the body in a classic zombie stance and after a few dead ends it clicked and I got it.

Can you explain your process for us?

The zombie creating process involves a lot of Diet Coke and a lot of daytime television. I spend two or three mornings a week in front of my sewing machine, stitching together the zombie “skin” out of sock parts, and I spend almost every evening stuffing, closing and detailing those zombies. Both steps incorporate television.

Do you do it for fun or for fulltime work or both?

I’m making sock zombies full time now because my “day job” as a history writer seems to have dried up with the economy, so I’m being much more proactive these days in terms of promotion, seeking out wholesale/consignment opportunities and craft shows. The sock zombies differ from all of my other crafting forays in that I actually seem to be better at making them now than when I started. Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten bored with the process yet, either; I’ve made and sold upwards of 1,200 sock zombies both on and offline since September of 2007, and I still genuinely enjoy watching each zombie become his or her own little entity. I’ve added different variations on the theme, though, like Throwing Zombies (smaller zombies made out of child-sized socks), sock zombie puppets, etc, and I’m sure that helps combat craft monotony. I think my favorite zombie is the “toehawk” zombie– a zombie with a mohawk made out of toesocks.

Where do your ideas come from?

I get a lot of ideas for zombies themselves from custom orders on Etsy– the Pirate Zombie is a great example.

Someone asked if I could make a sock zombie that was also a pirate which led to lots of awesome brainstorming about what a zombie who also happens to be a pirate would look like. The Pirate Zombie wears a little felt vest and an eyepatch and he carries a messenger bag full of gold and treasure, a tiny sword, a glass bottle of Captain Morgan and a real rolled up treasure map. I think that’s hilarious.

I also get great ideas from people who read my blog; I complained that my metal gearshift knob was too hot to touch in the summer, and an awesome reader commented that I should make a sock zombie gearshift protector. So I did: the Sock Zombie Cozy. It’s fantastic, I feel like I’ve got my own all-star Research and Development team. I’m a writer by trade so I really enjoy the promotional end of my business, writing the individual descriptions and zombie interviews and whatnot.

This entire fluky foray has been and continues to be so incredibly fulfilling. Every time someone looks at a sock zombie and laughs I feel that much more validated. It’s also completely changed the way I look at handmade items; not only do I have a greater appreciation for an individual artist’s ability, but I also appreciate what it means for the artist to hear that.