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traitor-on-board · 4 years ago

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June 1994

“Terry…” “He likes it. Look”

Carol had to chuckle at her boyfriend. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, letting the big yellow citrine pendant dangle above the little bundle she was holding in her arms. Tiny hands were trying to grab the triangular gemstone but it was just out of reach. “You’re just teasing him”

Terrence hummed in amusement and lowered his arm so the baby could get a hold of the shiny pendant. “… I can’t change your mind?”

“… No…”, she leaned back against the headboard “This isn’t about us, Terry… it’s about him”

“You… would make a great mom, Carry”

“The clan isn’t a great home for a baby. And there’s nowhere else for us to go”

Terrence had his eyes trained on the only a few days old child “I could get a job…”

“What are we going to do until you find someone who is willing to employ a teenager with a criminal record as long as he is tall?” Carol lowered her voice when she saw that the baby was falling asleep, holding on tightly to his new treasure.

“… We can come back and pick him up when he’s older, right?”

“Probably… It’s the right thing to do”

“Give him a choice?”, he carefully detached the chain from the pendant to leave it with the baby “We never had that”

“And now look at us…”

“You know what I see when I look at you”

“Not what the rest of the world does, that’s for sure”, she leaned against him when he scooted closer to put one arm around her shoulder “… They’re going to come and check on us soon”

“You want to leave now?”

“I’m fine Terrence. I can go” She handed the baby over to him so she could get out of bed and dressed. Terrence stayed where he was and just looked down at his son. Carol was physically and surprisingly mentally ready to just climb out of the window and disappear into the night, leaving their child in the hospital without even a note to give an explanation to the nurses. Terrence wasn’t as ready. For all his usual reckless behavior, which had caused all this to happen in the first place, he felt like this was something he would regret.

Reginald and Right were still waiting outside after having helped Terrence to sneak in. Carol rejected all of the boys’ advances to help her and walked away without looking back. Without ever looking back.

November 2010

“Oh! He-hello, Carol. How are you doing today?”

“Save it, Reginald. I heard you talking”

“… oh…” the brunet man started to fidget with his golden necklace nervously. The leaders’ wife was really the last person he wanted to inform about his intentions. “Well… We should talk about it”

Carol crossed her arms and squinted her eyes at the other people gathered in the dimly lit room. There were quite a few… She sighed. This was inevitable. “What is your plan and what do you need?”

The group was stunned into silence while Carol shut the door behind her and sat down on an empty chair.

“That easily?” Reginald was still standing next to the door and couldn’t believe his luck.

“Yes” She would’ve left it at that but apparently the others needed an explanation as to why she of all people was immediately on board with this. “He’s… changed. Maybe the old Terrence will come back if someone takes that role away from him”

“Slim chance”, Right, Reginalds’ husband, remarked “But a chance”

“Exactly”, Reginald sat back down between the two “In order to demote him we need to show him how many people we have on our side”

Carol listened to the other Toppats’ planning and scheming to dethrone her husband. A slim chance… but a chance.

January 2011

In the past months there had been several heists, a lot of them impulsive decisions, quite a few not ending well…

It was already late at night when they decided to confront Terrence on the bridge, where he usually was. Just not today. They found him quickly though. Wallace contacted Carol when he saw the chief go out onto the balcony. The wind pulled at their hair and clothes as Carol, Reginald and Right stepped outside.

Terrence was sitting on top of the railing at the end of the extended platform, not a position his wife wanted him to be in for this kind of conversation. “Terrence”, she walked down the few steps with Reginald while Right stayed at the door, with quite a few other Toppats behind him “We need to talk”

“… I know”, the brunet didn’t seem to have any intentions on moving from his spot, he didn’t even look at them “I overdid it, huh?”

There was a short but still uncomfortable silence. “Yeah… Let’s call it that”, Reginald took a deep breath “We believe that you are… unfit to lead the clan any longer, Terrence”

“Ye were fine before” Right remarked from his spot and Toppats around him nodded. “Exactly. This much power isn’t good for you, Terrence. For both of us”, Carol placed a hand on Reginalds’ shoulder “We all talked about it and we decided that Reginald should be our new leader” “But I’d be happy to have you as my Right hand, you were great in that position”

During their speech Terrence had turned towards them. Now that everyone was quiet, waiting for his response, he sighed and took of his hat. His yellow eyes looked strangely tired in the cold moonlight. “You want to demote me back down to a Right hand man instead of throwing me off the ship?”

“We never planned to do that!”, Reginald was shocked by his friends’ words “This isn’t a hostile takeover, Terry. Please”

“Maybe not. But it’s how it always ends. Look at how Randy Radman stepped down voluntarily and then got stabbed in the back. Literally”

“That murder was not condoned by the clan! Nobody is going to be thrown off this ship. Get down from there and step away from the-“ Carol had started to close the distance but stopped when his top hat fell to the ground, revealing a pistol in his hands. “… Terry?”

“I won’t take that offer, Reginald” “… I’m sure we can work out something else then”, this was not going as they hoped but he would do his damnedest to keep this exchange from escalating “What do you dislike about my offer?” “I failed as a leader, Reg” “That is not… entirely true”

“You don’t need to stay in the clan. We can leave”, Carol held out her hand “We… could go back. And be a family” He looked from her determined expression to her hand and then over to the small crowd. She followed his gaze until two pairs of amber eyes found a citrine pendant on one of the younger Toppats. “It’s far too late for that, Carry…”

“It’s not. We can go-!”

Terrence cut her off “There is only one way for someone like me to go. But I won’t leave my dearest treasure behind” He raised his hand with the pistol, finger curling around the trigger. Carol was frozen in place and Reginald opted to throw both of them to the ground right when a single gunshot rang out. The pistol fell to the ground. There were gasps and running.

Carol pushed Reginald off of her and looked over to her husband. Or rather where he had been. Right stood at the railing “I… I shot his hand” That was a reasonable decision… She leaned against the railing to her left and looked at the ocean far below them. It was so dark down there, she didn’t even notice that her vision went blurry.

Both Reginald and Right apologized and tried to comfort her but there was only one sentence that stood out to her at that moment. “

“It’s not loaded”

“… why, Terry…”

#Backstory #Achievement #Carol Cross #Terrence Suave #Reginald Copperbottom #Right hand Man #Terrence ain't the only one fucking up here...

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alyseinpalace · 6 years ago

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Chapter 29 - The Princess’s birthday

Xian Fei’s arrest was the talk of the palace for some time but all rumours and speculations ebbed quickly when the verdict was finally out. When Alyse heard that Xian Fei was sentenced to live the remainder of her life in the Cold Palace, she was relieved that at least the former consort’s life was spared and history remained unaltered. Of course the Emperor did not kill his own brother as well, and the Prince was sent to defend the fort near the Mongolia borders.

The somber incident was quickly forgotten when the palace prepared for the celebration of Yan Guifei’s daughter’s full moon birthday. Red lanterns and banners were hung at doorways, but what most looked forward to was the celebration banquet. Most being the ones who were invited. Besides the Empress and Yan Guifei of course, all the consorts from the rank of Imperial Concubines and above were invited. The consorts were also allowed to bring along their attendants who must be at least noble ladies, and to Gasha’s displeasure, Qi Fei had decided to let Nara tag along instead of her.

The dinner took place at the Hall of Union and Peace, which was a huge hall used primarily for receptions and celebrations. Nara accompanied Qi Fei for the long walk from the consorts’ house to the hall and arrived two hours before the start of the banquet, which was the expected etiquette. The Consorts and Imperial Concubines greeted each other and socialised while waiting for the banquet to start and one Imperial Concubine walked over to greet Qi Fei. It was Imperial Concubine Ling, the imperial concubine who had recently caught the Emperor’s attention, and a big braggart.

“Greetings to you, Sister.�� Imperial Concubine Ling greeted, her chubby cheeks even more conspicuous with her grin. “Oh I didn’t know you’re bringing Nara! What happened to your other attendant?”

“You mean Gasha? She has already accompanied me to quite a number of banquets, so I reckon I should let Nara have the chance to experience this too.” Qi Fei smiled and nodded to Nara.

“Thank you for giving me this rare opportunity, my Lady.” Nara quickly replied with an appreciative curtsy.

“Such a sweet mouth. No wonder Sister prefers you now.” Imperial Concubine Ling snorted. Nara thought she snorted like a pig, but still returned a smile cordially.

“Anyway, how’s your dog, Sister?” To Nara’s annoyance, it seemed the imperial concubine had no plan to wrap up the conversation anytime soon.

“Beibei is healthy and fine.” Qi Fei smiled, wondering why the sudden mention of her dog.

“That’s good! Dogs are usually more obedient too, unlike my Rong’er. Just two weeks ago, she climbed up a very tall tree in the garden and gave me such a shock!”

“Oh? So how did you get her to come down the tree?”

“One of those lady guards climbed up the tree to catch her! Luckily we have people like her around! I won’t know what to do if Rong’er were to fall! I mean, Rong’er was a gift from the Persian envoy to His Majesty and he gave her to me, so I treasure her a lot!”

“Of course you should.” Qi Fei smiled and nodded. Now she understood why the imperial concubine mentioned her dog. So that she could mention her precious cat which was given to her by the Emperor.

“Nara loves her too! She always brings this special snack she makes for Rong’er whenever she visits me!”

“As much as I love Beibei.” Nara added quickly with a smile to Qi Fei.

As Imperial Concubine Su walked over to greet Qi Fei, Imperial Concubine Ling had to put a stop in her bragging. Qi Fei quickly started a conversation with Imperial Concubine Su and exchanged opinions about a novel they had both recently started reading. Seeing that they were talking about something she could not comprehend and had no interest in, Imperial Concubine Ling bowed and left. Nara was very certain she heard an audible sigh of relief from Qi Fei.

When the banquet was almost starting, both Yan Guifei and Chu Guifei entered the hall. All the consorts greeted the two Noble Consorts and waited for them to take their seats before taking their own. Nara was mesmerised by how elegant both Noble Consorts looked in their beautiful ensemble. Yan Guifei was in an emerald silk gown and wearing a set of tiger’s eyes necklace and earrings. She was too slim to look like she had recently given birth, and her smile to the consorts was radiant. Chu Guifei was in a duke blue silk gown and wearing a citrine necklace together with her sapphire earrings. Her smile to the consorts seemed more brief. Both Noble Consorts had beautiful headdresses too, Yan Guifei had yellow peonies as accessories while Chu Guifei had orange roses. Though she could not hear the conversation between Yan Guifei and Chu Guifei from her seat right at the other end of the hall, Nara could tell from their demeanor that they were close.

While Yan Guifei and Chu Guifei engaged in their small talks softly, the rest of the consorts in the hall remained in their awkward silence. Fortunately the nanny arrived shortly with the princess in her arms and the three Consorts Qi Fei, Ji Fei and Yi Fei walked forward to have a look at the birthday girl. It was glaring to Nara how Qi Fei and Yi Fei genuinely enjoyed playing with the baby while Ji Fei was just standing there out of perfunctory courtesy.

The Head Eunuch standing at the door announced the arrival of Imperial Noble Consort Shujia and Empress Huizhang, and everybody rose to greet them. Imperial Noble Consort Shujia was merely in her mid twenties, and Empress Huizhang in her late twenties, but both women looked mature for their age. Nara reckoned it was due to the deeper hue of their silk gowns, and the long pearl necklaces and jade bangles added to a couple of years too. Both women stood by their seats and with the final announcement, the Emperor swaggered into the hall, dressed in a royal yellow changshan with the embroidery of an imposing dragon in the middle. Greetings for the Emperor reverberated around the hall as he took his seat, with Empress Huizhang on his left and Imperial Noble Consort Shujia on his right.

After the Emperor proudly announced his new born’s name as Princess Moren and made the wish that she would grow up in good health, he raised his cup of wine and drank. The whole hall thanked him for the wine and all the women drank from their cup. That was the signal for dinner to start.

“My Lady, why are we the only ones invited to the banquet? How about the directorate of the different departments?” Nara whispered to Qi Fei.

“Oh silly, they already had their banquets. Ours is the last one.” Qi Fei chuckled lightly at that question.

“Oh! I see!” Nara nodded bashfully, chiding herself for asking such naive question.

When the dishes were served, Nara was in awe. They started with a hot pot of bird’s nest soup with roast chicken, then a cold dish platter of deep fried codfish, marinated wild greens, black fungus, abalone in rice wine and drunken baby pigeon. The main dishes were stewed sea cucumber with mixed mushrooms, sauteed prawn and crab roe on glutinous rice, a hot pot of shredded lamb stomach and mutton, a hot pot of smoked meat and pine nuts, deer’s tail in brown sauce and finally steamed rice with conpoy. Desserts were the Emperor’s favourite osmanthus cake with wolfberries and potato dumpling with apricot filling in almond paste.

The dishes were served at a slow pace so that everyone could take a rest between each dish, to cleanse their palate with the pickled vegetables. Nara took the chance to peek at the Emperor when Qi Fei was talking softly with Yi Fei. He looked younger than she expected, but his voice was firm and authoritative. From how he smiled and nodded when Empress Huizhang spoke, and the way he chuckled lightly with Imperial Noble Consort Shujia, she could tell that he respected the former, but loved the latter more.

While Nara was enjoying her feast, Grace had her usual dinner with Alyse and Irgen. She could not help grousing as she picked up a small shrimp from the plate of stir-fried river shrimp with fried beancurd. “This is not fair!”

“The Emperor can’t invite everyone to the banquet, Geleishiyi.” Alyse said calmly. She, on the other hand, was quite pleased with the pot of braised lotus roots and mushrooms with roast pork.

“So they get to eat all the good stuff, and we have to eat this.” Grace groaned as she chewed a little too hard and too long on her shrimp.

“But they gave us this!” Irgen took a big bite on the peach-shaped mantou. “This birthday mantou is nice! I like the red beans filling!”

#nanowrimo

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rjantiqueattic · 7 years ago

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Studio Jewelry: Where did you get that?

By Antoinette Rahn

Above, three caged crystal amulet necklaces, featuring citrine, quartz and amethyst, priced at $110 each and available from Chase + Scout Design.

There’s a familiar saying “Everything old is new again.”

Fortunately for anyone immersed in the antiques and collectibles universe, old is new all the time. And that is very good.

Sometimes an item is new because of a change in owner; new because it’s a recent discovery; new because there’s an element of design/provenance that suddenly becomes evident; or new because of a renewed appreciation for the traditional techniques used in creation. Such is the case with studio jewelry. These modern-day collectible accessories represent the value of unique hand-made creations. The inclusion of ‘found objects’ also honors the timeless relevance of centuries-old jewelry making practices.

Discover exclusivity in studio jewelry

Interest in studio jewelry is very much alive today. Studio jewelry pieces are often one-of-a-kind items made by hand. They feature various materials of nature and are produced in a studio setting. Visiting online sites including Etsy, and keeping an eye open for studio jewelry at craft fairs and artisanal markets can be quite rewarding.

“I believe studio jewelry speaks of what jewelry has always been and what it means to people,” said esteemed jeweler Nancy Schuring, founder of Devon Fine Jewelry, located in New Jersey. “We’ve seen an increase in interest for it as more people are looking for something that is truly unique. There is so much that is mass-produced today, to have something that is designed and made by hand is quite desirable.” In a way, she adds, it harkens back to how jewelry was made centuries ago and is representative of antique jewelry collected today.

For Claire Mannheimer, owner of clmjewelrydesign.com, the appeal of making jewelry is multi-faceted. It is a combination of various aesthetics: art, history, nature, and in some ways philosophy.

Tap into timeless jewelry-making techniques

“I have always had an eye for design. I love to make things, and I am very detail oriented. So, I knew

Hand fabricated ring boasting green sea glass, shell fragment and brass accent, priced at $265 and available at www.clmjewelrydesgin.com

I’d be well suited for the medium. But it was the desire to learn how to use tools I had never seen before that attracted me to the discipline,” states Mannheimer. Her earliest foray into ‘jewelry making’ took place when she was five or six years old, she explains. It was while participating in her older sister’s beading birthday party.

Professionally, she’s been fabricating jewelry from metal since 2011. She began taking jewelry classes at Humboldt State University. However, it was almost by chance that she discovered the world she is wholly immersed today.

“My fascination with this field started when I was taking Art History classes at Humboldt State. The Jewelry & Small Metals Studio was across the hall and I would hear the tapping of hammers and the buzz of drills every time I would walk to class. There’s something about learning how to use specialized tools for very specific reasons that attracted me to the medium.”

Understand techniques to better appreciate design

The timeless techniques and tools of working with metal were also part of the appeal for Elle Green. She is the owner of Chase and Scout Design, located in Austin, Texas. At the age of 16, she took a silversmithing class with her parents. This ultimately led to fabrication classes. The trio initially attended the class to learn more about methods used to make Native American jewelry. The focus of their interest was based on authenticating pieces.

“My father was a dealer of ethnographic art and at the time the market was being flooded with factory made faux native jewelry,” reports Green. “Sometimes the best way to learn how to identify something is in knowing more about construction methods. This can apply to all facets of the antique trade.”

Green spent a few years working in the antique trade as a dealer. During this time her focus was largely Art Deco and Mid Century Modern. The ‘thrill of the chase for antiques and vintage’ was fulfilling and fascinating, she recalls. However, the desire to produce her own work prompted her to shift gears. In 2008 she picked up silversmithing tools for the first time in 15 years.

See symbolism within studio jewelry

‘Lotus Bracelet’ featuring amethyst and tsavorite set in 18K gold by Paula Crevoshay. The lotus flower is viewed as representative of mental and spiritual purity and enlightenment.

Early on, Green states, she was influenced by modernist designers like Alexander Calder and Georg Jensen. Yet, her personal interests lean toward more elaborate symbolism of Victorian and Georgian mourning jewelry. In addition, with the appeal of more primitive traditional personal amulets drawing her in, her own design style took shape.

Similarly, personal life experiences were significant aspects of the blossoming creative and personal influences for Paula Crevoshay (www.crevoshay.com). Her entry into the world of jewelry making occurred in 1978, while she was on what she describes as a “magical mystery tour.” Her late husband was researching ancient Buddhist text at the time. The couple made their way to Southeast Asia, to live, travel and work for a period of four years.

“I was exposed to ancient art of all kinds, jewelry from many cultures and the brilliant colored stones that come from many Asian countries,” recalls Crevoshay. Over the years she’s come to believe each and every piece she creates has a destined owner. “I lived in a Tibetan Monastery for much of that time and was highly influenced by sacred Tibetan art and painting as well. It is there that I began to hone my craft in hand making jewelry.”

Honor natural elements and objects

Crevoshay says she still incorporates ancient techniques in designing jewelry today. Some of those techniques are granulation, hand piercing, engraving, and bezel setting. She cites exposure to rich gem and mineral deposits found in many of the countries she’s traveled and lived, as transformative experiences within her life and artistic development.

Part of the common core of studio jewelry is the presence of natural elements or familiar every-day objects. That may be the inclusion of physical items, as well as the representation of nature within the design.

Schuring and the team at Devon Fine Jewelry have worked with a variety of everyday items to create unique jewelry. Some of the materials that come to mind, explains Schuring, include fossils, shells, pyrite beads, shavings from billiard balls, Fordite (see Fordite sidebar). And even baby teeth from a horse. The teeth came from a woman who had collected equine baby teeth and commissioned the jewelers to create a piece of jewelry featuring a tooth, Schuring explains.

“It was a unique project. My husband is a dentist so we were able to collaborate and create something special for her,” she states. “As the woman explained to us, ‘it’s hard to find the baby teeth of a horse after they’ve fallen out,’ and having it as a piece of jewelry became a precious treasure for her.”

Transform found objects into uncommon accessories

Working with found objects to create studio jewelry pieces can occasionally present a challenge to

One-of-a-kind brass asymmetrical necklace with metal work mimicking the striations in the agate shown at center. Scrap metal accent, a small blue piece of sea glass from a Northern California beaches. $350 available from clmjewelrydesign.

the maker. However, the excitement of meeting that challenge and creating a truly unique piece is remarkably rewarding, according to Mannheimer. In fact, she still has the first piece of professional jewelry she ever made. It’s a pendant made from brass sheet metal. She describes it as something ‘super weird, organic, and detailed.’ It’s also an item she wears to this day.

“I think it is a necessity to reclaim materials and objects rather than extracting more resources from the Earth. Even if you’re not an environmentalist, it at least makes sense from an economic perspective to use your scrap metal and collect bones and shells and sea glass rather than buying diamonds and gold,” states Mannheimer. She draws on an appreciation and awareness forged while growing up near the Point Reyes National Seashore. The area comprises about 70,000 acres of preserved coastline. “I also like having the restriction of working with what’s in front of me. When I am limited to working with remnant pieces of metal and things I’ve collected that’s when I’m the most creative.

Admire message studio jewelry evokes

“Using reclaimed materials or found objects in art, especially jewelry since jewelry there is this association with luxury and heirloom. You are elevating those objects to a level of preciousness. When I take something like beach pebbles, deer teeth, or sand dollar fragments and encapsulate them in silver I am honoring the value of the ordinary, and organic processes of nature.”

It’s also about making pieces that speak to the artist, the person commissioning a custom jewelry item, or a person who inspires a design.

“The joy of studio work is that my designs are based on what speaks to me; it doesn’t speak to everyone, but it shouldn’t. Jewelry should be very personal and chosen with intention,” says Green. She credits the inspiration for her line of honeycomb jewelry to a friend who raises bees and bottles honey. “Clearly, not everyone can or wants to raise bees, but the organic symmetry of the honeycomb speaks to people on a more primitive level. It’s very pleasing to look at a honeycomb or the spiral of a sunflower.

“Wearing a honeycomb ring can give anyone a feeling of connection to nature regardless of how physically removed they actually are from a natural setting.”

In addition, Green takes her appreciation for this particular source of inspiration one step further. She donates a portion of the sales from the line to a conservancy group studying the collapse of bee colonies.

Hone design talent over time

Twig and vine cuff, with a blue and green labradorite cabochon at its center, and a cuff cast from natural vines and patinated. The piece is available from ChaseAndScout Design for $245. (Photo courtesy ChaseAndScoutDesign)

Regardless of the source of inspiration and material, transforming items and experiences into unique pieces of studio jewelry requires time, skills, and a mindfulness to see beyond the obvious.

For Crevoshay, her primary process involves designing, drawing and coloring the piece to scale. Then she creates a stone map, drafting the finding and details. The next step involves working with artists to create the one-of-a-kind pieces that she designs. In Mannheimer’s studio, which she describes as low tech, her work involves basic tools. These tools include a jeweler’s saw, small hand tools, and tiny files to round edges of sheet metal. In addition, very fine grit paper to sand sharp edges is commonly used. Plus, she relies on an acetylene torch tank attached to a hose and a torch tip for soldering.

“A major lesson I’ve learned from this discipline is that proper planning and the correct order of operations really goes a long way,” adds Mannheimer. “I’ve learned many times the hard way that when you try to take shortcuts they end up backfiring on you and it either takes a toll on the quality of the work, or you spend twice as long fixing what you thought would save you time.”

Commit to exploring materials and methods

Green echoes those sentiments. She also cites yearly attendance at intensive metalsmithing training programs as a benefit. This adds to her desire to be fully involved in every step of the jewelry-making process.

“I am involved with my work every step of the way. I design, carve, fabricate, enamel, set stones, cast, polish, photograph, describe, package and send each piece with love and good intention,” she states. “It’s a lot of work and devotion. I am hands on and I hope a little of that happiness and joy travels along with each piece.”

That devotion to the process and keen attention to details is also at work in the pieces created by Schuring and the team of Devon Fine Jewelry. It’s also what contributes to emotional and memorable interactions with customers. Case in point, Schuring recalls when a woman commissioned the company to create an item of jewelry with a single flower pattern from her grandmother’s china, with the china pattern serving as the centerpiece. The woman had inherited the set, and after many years a single plate was all that remained. The only intact China plate from the set was handed to the Devon Fine Jewelry team, to be strategically broken in order to extract the singular flower image to be incorporated into the item of jewelry.

For this commissioned work, Schuring turned to additional assistance from family members, including her brother who is an engineer and her sister-in-law who is an expert in stained glass. Today the woman has a piece of studio jewelry unlike any other, and a beautiful item of great sentimental value.

Invest in individuality of studio jewelry

In studio jewelry making, as in other aspects of life, time (as well as money) is a factor to consider.

“River Goddess” pendant, featuring Chryscolla, moonstone, diamond and opal gemstones illustrating the restless energy of water. A collaborative piece between Paul Crevoshay and Glenn Lehrer. Photo by Chris Chavez for Paula Crevoshay

Of course, these jewelry makers state, it all depends on the type of piece being designed and the materials involved.

The initial design is a large part of what drives the time required for Green to complete a piece. She says her pieces range in price from around $90 for the honeycomb pendants up to $500 for larger pieces like her orchid collar piece, with prices for custom pieces assessed according to the request.

On average, Crevoshay says her ring creations take six to eight weeks. Bracelets require upward of six months. And masterworks require the greatest amount of time. Among her more popular creations are the flower pieces, which on average take at least one year to create.

“To preserve my mission to keep the ancient metal techniques alive and to keep the human element within every single jewel I create I imbue them with those art forms and each of these metal techniques are labor intensive, to say the least,” states Crevoshay, whose jewelry creations range in price from $5,000 to $350,000, with some selling for more. “Time is a key component in any masterful creation.”

Consider time and design when considering cost

It’s also not only about time spent ‘creating’. Allowing for consideration of the design, and how a piece of jewelry is coming together is important, explains Mannheimer. Her creations are available through her shop at Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/clmjewelrydesign). “Depending on the level of detail, I can spend anywhere between twenty minutes and ten hours on a piece of jewelry. For the more detail-oriented pieces even if I can finish in a day’s (time) I like to work on it over a few days just to be able to sleep on it. I find I make better decisions that way.”

While her jewelry creations range in price from $10 to $400, Mannheimer says the majority of her pieces are available for between $60 and $200.

One common piece of advice shared by some of the jewelry makers and designers, in regard to purchasing and commissioning studio jewelry, is to be cognizant of the value of time and techniques used in making these pieces by hand. It’s a process that may include (depending on the piece) design, acquiring materials, cutting, soldering, sanding, and polishing, among other skills.

Embrace the opportunity to make a statement

Pair of hand textured silver and lapis earrings by Claire Mannheimer.

Acquisition of a piece or pieces of studio jewelry is an unparalleled investment in oneself, or someone special if given as a gift.

“Studio jewelry makes a powerful statement about yourself and how you interact with the world. It’s very personal and it should be,” shares Green. “Giving handmade jewelry as a gift says that you really took the (recipient) into consideration, thought about them as a person and took the extra step to seek out and choose something that honestly reflects a part of their spirit that you love.”

Also, given how some items of studio jewelry perform at auction, there’s the chance that additional benefits could come from such an investment. For example, in early June 2017, an enameled yellow gold, diamond and ruby frog bracelet hand-made by artisans at David Webb sold for $37,500 during an auction presented by Rago Arts and Auction Center. The sale price was more than double the low estimate.

Regardless if the act of acquiring a piece of studio jewelry is driven by the desire to own a beautiful accessory with which to adorn oneself, or to add and display as part of a collection of jewelry, when heeding the number one tip of collecting the result is certain to be positive: Acquire that which you love, and you’ll never be disappointed.

More Examples

“Iris’ Emblem” composed of Montana blue sapphire from the Yogo mine, Montana yellow sapphire from the Gem Mountain mine and tsavorite from the Scorpion mine in Kenya. Photo by Chris Chavez/courtesy Paula Crevoshay

Claire Mannheimer uses remnant materials, found objects and reclaimed items to create pieces like these mixed metal earrings. (Photo courtesy Claire Mannheimer)

Fusion of two bracelets designed and available from Chase + Scout design: A dark silver ouroboros snake cuff and a honey bronze cuff bracelet molded after femur and tibia bones of a mink. (Photo courtesy Chase + Scout Design

Black orchid collar necklace featuring a mammoth Moth orchid suspended on a curved sterling silver torque and handmade chain, priced at $450 and available from Chase + Scout Design.

“Princess” earrings featuring pearls, pink tourmaline, and a brown diamond, set in 18K gold. (Photo courtesyPaula Crevoshay)

Honeycomb necklace and beehive pendant, featuring an original slice of honeycomb permanently preserved in bronze using the lost wax process, hanging on a 20 or 26 inch chain, and available for $88 through Chase + Scout Design.

This ornate necklace, created by Claire Mannheimer (clmjewelrydesign) comprises wolf teeth, agate, found beach pebbles, sterling silver, fine silver, and brass. (Photo courtesy clmjewelrydesign)

Shadow box turtle style ring featuring a turquoise cabochon situated in a hand-cast Shibuichi alloy and sterling setting. Available from Chase + Scout Design.

This elaborate ring by Paula Crevoshay, presented in two views, features Kunzite, Diamond, and Sapphire, set in 18K gold..

Pair of crescent moon earrings made of cut steel and vitreous glass enamel, priced at $110 and available from Chase + Scout Design. (Photo courtesy Chase + Scout Design)

The original location of Studio Jewelry: Where did you get that? comes from Rjanti Queattic.

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