Ring Display

I tend to be a 'do-it-yourself' kind of person. 

I always made the Halloween costumes when my kids were younger....none of that store bought stuff here!

When I was in college, working in the experimental fields for the Vegetable Crops Department, I learned how to can homemade preserves.

And when it comes to my jewelry displays, I like to make them so that they are distinctly unique.

A few months ago I made a series of 'Lunar' rings, but struggled with displaying them in an effective way.

I wasn't interested in purchasing the velvet cone displays that are offered in most wholesale jewelry catalogs, and had ideas of making my own display cones out of sheet metal.

Before I undertook that project, I saw a fabricated display offered by one of the vendors at Philadelphia Bead Fest that caught my eye.

I begrudgingly admitted to myself that I actually like this fabricated display, even though it wasn't perfect for my needs.

When I saw that it was priced at $20.00, I decided that I could make modifications so that it would become perfect.

When purchased, there was no backdrop behind the display cones.

I considered this a problem since background information would compete for attention when all focus should be on the rings.

I pulled out the white burlap that I've used for other displays and stapled some to the back.  Since I could still see through the burlap, I added a layer of polyester batting followed by another layer of burlap.

Now the focus is where I want it to be.

One of the things that I tell students in my workshops is to carefully consider what the back of their pieces look like.

I take my own advice when it comes to my displays, and I learned this the hard way.

Years ago, I was in a holiday show at a local art center and expected my location to be along one of the walls. 

I was instead located on a large table in the middle of a gallery space.  Although another display was behind mine, the backs of my display pieces were clearly visible as people moved through the gallery and it was not a pretty sight.

I felt somewhat mortified that I had not planned for that possibility and have since made sure that the backside view is clean and presentable.
The backside view of my new ring display is a bit lumpy at the edges because of the tension from the staples, but I've decided that I can live with that slight lumpiness.
The staples were covered with vintage velvet trim that I happened on hand which happened to be a perfect color complement to the wood of the display.