Earrings Project

I'm working on a couple of projects that might lead to multiple orders of the same (or 'sameish') item.

It's not typical of me to repeat my pieces, but there is the possibility of a good business opportunity and I want to see how this plays out.

 

One style of earring started out with a piece of silver that had already been cut for discs.

I keep my silver in a special bag that only comes out for special projects.

Even though the price of silver has dropped from its recent high price of almost $43.00 per ounce in 2011, I still tend to be conservative in using my supply.

 

I wanted some surface texture,

so I used my trusty hardware store hammer and pounded away on some paving in front of my house.

 

After measuring and marking,

strips were cut, filed and sanded.

 

I knew I was going to do a simple earring design and wanted a slight curve to the strips.

I normally use my wooden dapping block for that kind of forming, but wanted a slightly less pronounced curve.

I wanted only a smidge less, but often that little smidge is what makes a big difference.

I use that base of my steel bracelet mandrel for broad curves, but I didn't want to form the strips on metal.

Metal on metal forming can sometimes flatten a textured surface....just a bit.

And again, that little bit can make a big difference. 

Searching around the house, I located a thrift store wooden bowl that held bits of whatnot in my studio.

 

Perfect!

I used one of my large daps and got the subtle curve that I was hoping for.

Green pearls wrapped with fine silver, balled wire dangle from the bottom.

Simple and elegant.