It's Log!

it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.

Look everyone, check out our latest equipment addition - a log! That's right I am using the blog to talk about a log.  In all seriousness though we would like to thank our neighbour at PLANT Architect for donating us such a fine specimen.  Now that all the bugs that made the log it's home are dead and gone we will be using it as a hammering surface.  Logs are a great working surface for using dapping blocks (as pictured) or otherwise any tools that make a racket - because it will help to dampen out the noise we make while we are busy creating things.  This I am sure all our neighbours will appreciate.  It hasn't yet found a permanent spot in the studio to call home but a few of us have already given it some loving taps with our tools.  If you didn't notice my youtube link up at the top don't ignore it, it's worth the visit. - Alexis   

Getting Ready....

For what you ask? Well the holiday season starts a little early for the makers of fine gifts:o) Right now I am preparing to participate in the One of a Kind Show. This eleven day show takes place every year at Exhibition place. In order to prepare I take a full inventory of every piece I have in stock and every piece I would like to have for the show. After completing this years assessment I realized I would need to make 130 more pieces in order to be ready for the show. This may seem like overkill but having more work is better than not having enough!

It is going to be a busy month at the bench for me but I will love every minute of it!


Come visit me at the show in booth E11. I will be there for the entire show and look forward to meeting new customers and reconnecting with old ones.

One of a Kind Show

November 25th-December 5th

Gillian

resin jewellery

  Working with different medium to create a piece of jewellery is always exciting. Resin is a great material to add colour, volume and transparency effect to your work. For my Blood Diamond Bullet piece, I added red and a little bit of black pigment to clear polyester resin to create flowing blood effect.

Rosalyn Woo, Blood Diamond Bullets, sterling silver, copper, polyester resin and synthetic stones

It was essential to make the surface of resin high polished to clearly see inside of the resin.
polishing plastic : This is a link where you can get polishing compounds for plastic. The surface of plastic should be sanded with fine sand paper before it gets polished, same as metal.

Here is another example of  jewellery using resin by Dawn Gulyas. It is great way to embed objects as well. If you are interested to learn how to make resin jewellery, we have upcoming resin classes at Jewel Envy.
Go to this link resin class

Dawn Gulyas(England), Brooch, resin and gold, 1998.

(photo from 'Resin Jewellery' by Kathie Murphy)

Rosalyn :)

Wedding Bands

Congratulations to Jenn and Steve!

The ring that Steve made for Jenn

The ring that Jenn made for Steve

A while back in March Steve and Jenn were a part of my Introductory to Casting class.  They were determined for their final project to make their own Wedding Bands.  After the first project I knew that they were both more than capable to take the leap and cast in gold.  They both carved the rings that the other would wear and they ended up with very unique and personal designs.  It was such a joy working with Jenn and Steve, they are both talented and creative and I was happy to be a part of the experience along with them.
Alexis

Jewel Tones and A "Field of Poppies"

What a busy and exciting September!

It has been a crazy month but a  rewarding one as well.   I spent a good chunk of September working in the studio on my ring collection titled "Field of Poppies" for the RED show.  The show is the first group exhibition I have done since starting Kathryn Rebecca and I must say the whole experience has been a lot of fun!

I was inspired to create 16 one of a kind poppy rings in memory of those we have lost and to honor those who continue to serve our country.

No two poppies are the same and the ring shanks were made with sterling silver wire in order to reflect the very delicate and thin stem of a poppy.

As well as working on a lot of fun special orders this month I have also been working on new items for "small town, BIG city" in deep jewel tones for the holidays. This past Saturday we had a fun time shooting the new items at our holiday photo shoot.  Stephen Macleod did  the photography, Christy Macleod styled and planned the event, Angie Di Battista was our makeup artist and I had two beautiful new models (Christie and Sarah) offer us their time. Looking forward to showing you the glamours shots soon! :)

Please mark November 27th on your calendar for a very exciting event soon to be announced !

Here is the song that I car danced to while I was stuck in traffic on the Lakeshore this month Shake it - Metro Station (the guys in this video show us how its done).  I hope "shaking it" does as much for you as it does for me. ;)

Now let's get ready for the exciting adventures October has in store for us....

The Art Of Fashion

This past Saturday (October 2/2010)  I , along with Emily Gill, Alexis Kostuck, Chia-Chien Tsai, and Gillian Batcher participated in the Art of Fashion’s 2010 Design competition and truck show with the theme La Belle Époque ( French for "Beautiful Era").

La Belle Epoque was a period in europe that began in the the 19th century and lasted untill  WW1.
 It is  considered the  "golden era".

10 Canadian designers accepted the challege to interpret with their own designs this  glamourous era of decadence.

 This is one of my favourite periods.
 I love all the beautifull romantic art that came out of this era.

 It  inspired me to create this necklace in hommage of "the Beautifull Era"

Which I wore proudly throughout the night!

SARAH DE GASPERIS