Unexpected discovery

Recently a friend of mine Gabor visited me in Bristol. We have not met for seven years, so there was a lot of things to catch up with. I also raised my dilemma about creating jewells for guys, and he discovered and fallen in love to this piece of bracelet, which was one of my experimental pieces.

So the bracelet for males was already in my 'collection', just we had to 'find it'.

The very first male bracelet (part 1)

For many years I was thinking that it is so strange that I can come up with a jewellery for ladies, but I am struggling to create a piece of work for guys.
Last weekend I spent my time with my friends in Nottingham and they gave me a present, which was a stunning semi precious stone.
This stone inspired me to come up with something for males.
I am sharing with you every step of this milestone - designing the first bracelet for men!
The first idea was to create something which is more like a watch (no 1. and 2.), however after wiring around the stone I realized that it would look much better if I rotate about 75% (no 3.).

Back to the roots

On the left picture: necklace made by Zsuzsanna Ilovay

On the right picture: the author (left) and Zsuzsanna Ilovay (right) around 2000 in Pécs (Hungary).

Sometimes you need to stop and look back where you came from, who influenced your life, and Zsuzsanna Ilovay is one of them.

She is not only gave me a great set of skills by sharing with me the secrets of jewellery making, but also we had long conversations about life. About fears and how to face with them.

Zsuzsanna has a brilliant imagination, she has her own romantic world which is reflected on her work as well. Reach in details and colours, reminds us to a forgotten world which we can recall from our childhood only. A world of magics.

She allowed me to express my own style, which is simple, easy to wear, practical every day pieces.

The way as the material suddenly forms a shape in my hands is totally amuse me. The process of making these items are like a conversation with a good friend. You might have something in your head you want to discuss, but you end up somewhere totally different. And it is fine. This makes it full of life.

So Zsuzsanna, if you read it, thank you for your friendship and your teach of life.

Business cards

I decided to give out business cards with my orders to make sure people will find me.

I spent half of the day to make the wording OK. My aim was to say what I do, make sure people will remember the key points, and keep everything simple.

I am not sure about the front page and the image on it, however I am satisfied with the result of the back page. What do you think?

Earrings and accessories

My order arrived from the manufacturer and the new accessories allowing me to produce more professional works.

The technique never been a problem, but the findings and clasps were handcrafted from wire as well, which are not as appealing as a nicely designed clasp masterpiece.

My first work using the items from my latest order was a couple of earrings made from sterling silver wire, lapiz lazuli beads and platinum plated stainless steel earhooks.

The whole thing would not work nicely without a camera which can produce good enough super macro photos. The Fujifilm Finepix S1700 does the job pretty well with the super macro mode. You can go as close as 2cm from your object. Impressive.

My next step is to set up my on-line shop at etsy. I am so excited!

My order is on its way... finally

To start a business you need few things. For example something to sell. In my case it is going to be the jewells I produce with my lovely hands. To produce jewells I need accessories. In my case ear hooks, clasps, beads and wire.

I have some fine silver and sterling silver wire, also I had some semi-precious stones, however the whole thing would not look round without professional clasps and hooks. And if I was there I ordered some lapis lazuli beads as well, just to brand my work with the silver and blue colour combination.

Jewellery Reloaded

In 2000 I was lucky enough to meet with a wonderful artist Zsuzsanna Ilovay. She introduced her technique to Hungary how to create magical jewellery from thin wire with very simple tools. As we become friends she shared with me the secrets of this art, and I started to design my own jewells.
For many years I was busy with study and work, but now I settled more in Bristol, enjoying the work at Simpleweb and have enough free time to restart my hobby.

With this entry in 2010 I celebrate the restart of my hobby-business.