EtsyMetal News 2.27.09

Custom Cuff Links by chrisparry

Chris of chrisparry had his cufflinks featured in an article on FilmNoirBuff and is currently working on a pair with the NY Giants logo on them. Chris makes fantastic ready-to-wear and bespoke pieces for both women and men (like the cufflinks above) and sells them through his Etsy shop. Check them out today.

Brooke of gemmafactrix recently taught a found object workshop at a local high school. I would love to see what Brooke's students came up with--I'm sure it was all fabulous!

Beth of bcyrjewelry recently hit a milestone by reaching 900 sales in her Etsy shop. Congratulations, Beth! Let's see if we can help her celebrate 1000 in the near future!

Maggie of maggiejs was recently featured on the Spanish jewelry blog 18kt, which highlighted a few of her beautiful pieces.

Paul of noformdesign was recently featured on Thrillist Chicago in a nice article spotlighting several of his standout designs.

Sophie of duckduckgoosestuff will have work in SOCK, "a celebration of quality artists and makers," in Loughborough Town Hall (UK) on March 14th. Sophie will also have work at Sheffield's Spring Fling on March 28th at the Workstation in Sheffield. Both fairs are happening for the first time this year, and they are also the first shows Sophie has ever done, so be sure to come out and support her!

Tide Pools and Time Machines Necklace by duckduckgoosestuff

Charm Swap 3: Works in Progress, continued

Here are the latest photos of our progress in the Etsymetal Charm Swap 3:

At the last minute, with only 4 days to spare, Experimetal had a "change of heart" and decided to do these shielded rock charms.


Maggiejs did a charm version of her petal series.



DeliasThompson made a cobblestone series charm!



Erosasjewelry jumped in with only two weeks left and did this incredible charm using keum bo--a technique that fuses gold leaf to sterling.


Ashleyjewelry has added polymer clay to the copper pierced disks for color and texture!



Treanelli joined at the last two weeks and has been working constantly to get her charms done. These concentric rings will get soldered onto a sterling disk.

Weekly Review: Reykjavik, Iceland

One of our Etsy Metal members, Clare Stamp (http://stamp.etsy.com), recently traveled to Reykjavic, Iceland, and loved it:

"In short it's an amazing country. They are super focused on design and handmade. There is so much thought behind everything. Even public bathrooms are stunning!

It is also super expensive.

Even with the collapse of their currency, a pint of beer can set you back $9. For two of us, the meals averaged out to $120 per meal! Alcohol is stupidly expensive and they measure shots, so while prices are comparable to NYC on the surface, you get about half as much.

That said I ate some of the best food I have ever had. As nothing grows there being Vegan is next to impossible, so I swung to the other side and enjoyed Puffin, Hákarl (rotten shark) and whale. They also have dolphin on the menu at many places and in the supermarkets, but I didn't try it.

The seafood there is so amazingly fresh and clean tasting. All the meat is organic and free range. Meat is sheep and horse (which I didn't try). Food sources there are limited, so they eat pretty much anything that can survive (most of the country is considered desert), and they use every part of the animal, so some pretty interesting dishes if you like organ meats, skin etc (which I do).

Another great thing is that there is no tax on art. They really encourage artists and designers there. The main streets which anywhere else would be full of chain stores are full of shops run by artists and designers. I bought a stunning painting and some pottery from here http://listaselid.is/"

Clare also tells of a group of women from all around the country who knit sweaters from handspun yarn, since sheep are one of the only animals that can survice there, and sell them in various shops for about $120-$150.


The highlight of her trip, however, was the 4x4 day trip through Iceland on Track.

"There are no roads there in the Winter (they bulldoze new roads in the Spring) and very few people go there out of season. We hiked a glacier and saw some of the most amazing landscapes."

You can find more photos on Clare's flickr page.

Thank you for sharing, Clare!

You can also find an intriguing post on Iceland design on Design*Sponge.

Charm Swap 3 Progress updates

Just one week away and everyone is working so hard to make the post deadline by Saturday, February 28th! I'm excited to see everyone's design take shape and get closer to the finished charm. Most of all I want to thank everyone for their hard work on this project. If you are getting excited too and want to join in, we will have two sets of charms for sale in the etsymetal store. One set will be assembled into a complete charm bracelet and the other set will be sold per charm. All proceeds benefit etsymetal.


tuizui charm's has the water cast sterling cups each carefully enameled.



rubygirl used antique filigree to make this piece.



ninagibsondesigns is serving up some coffee (or tea!).



aubergine228 made one of a kind castings from natural artifacts.



Kathryn Riechert is making a sun rivet on her scenic charm.



ashleyjewelry made these copper forms to be encased with colorful polymer clay.



stamp has punched over 100 disks to create this charm.



Istanbuldesigns etched her owl design on bronze.

Lisa's Pieces

1. Where do you live, and where are you from?
I was born in a suburb of New York and lived there until I was 12. I have lived in Connecticut; Massachusetts; London, England; Paris, France, Florida and currently live with my family in a suburb of Chicago.

2. How did you get started working with metal?
I have always done some kind of craft or another. When I was 26 I had no interest in football and the only other thing I could find to fill my Monday nights was a class in Jewelry making. From the first night I was hooked.

3. What are a few of your favorite pieces at the moment?
My favorite pieces of my own work are generally the more layered, complicated ones.


4. What inspires you (artists, objects, interests)?
I can be inspired by pretty much anything. I often “see” great ideas in strange or mundane places. One of my favorite pieces I made after a major oil spill. Another I was inspired by a TV show set. Also I am a book addict and have 100’s of art, jewelry, metal and other books. I especially love some the work of some 1950’s and 1960’s jewelers.

5. Do you have any other artistic interests?
I have closets full of craft supplies. I have gone through all consuming phases of knitting , scrap booking , rubber stamping, painting on glass to name a few. Now I try hard not to spread myself to thin but focus on my jewelry.

You can find more of Lisa's work in her Etsy Shop!

Weekly Review: Fresh-Baked Bread

Lately we have been talking a lot about the economy, in the Etsy Metal forum...it's fascinating (and heart breaking sometimes) to hear how we all are experiencing the same crisis but in different ways. We are a global group, after all. Shannon, aka rubygirl, posted a wonderful recipe for fresh baked bread that only takes 5 minutes a day to make. You can check out the recipe here.

image via Mother Earth News

Studio Songs - What we're listening to while we work

I love finding out about new music and my fellow etsymetal members are a great source for some amazing new bands. Here are a few of our recent favorites.

Flogging Molly

Gogol Bordello

M. Ward

Kirsty Maccoll

The Felice Brothers

The Mountain Goats