Cuff Happy

After taking a long break from making cuffs,
I got a request for more cuffs.

Oh, the peculiar nature of things.

A few years ago,
I had discovered the techniques of fold forming
and was almost giddy with delight as I powered my way through the forming and shaping
of brass, bronze and copper cuffs.

Then....

not much happened.

While my cuffs generated a healthy amount of interest,

they did not generate a healthy number of sales.

Cuffs can be tricky.

They either fit well or they do not fit at all

which can make them a hard sell.

While I felt pride in the work I was doing,

I just couldn't justify keeping my focus on something that was not helping me to make money.

This may be another exercise in frustration,

but it's kind of fun getting back to the aggressive hammering required for fold forming.

I cut some blanks from a sheet of brass....

annealed and began folding and forming.

The 18 gauge brass that I used hardened quickly,

so I had to anneal numerous times.

Even with the repeated annealing,

the brass was a bear to manipulate.

I began shaping with a sinusoidal stake,

and was not able to get too far beyond that beginning.

I decided that was not a problem
since the limited forming on the stake
still resulted in a subtle, anticlastic curve that I find quite lovely.

No pickling was done
since I wanted to keep the natural patina that formed with the annealings,
but I did clean up the raised folding lines to create surface contrast.

Displaying cuffs has always been a bit of a challenge for me.

If I want them to sell,

the cuffs need to be viewed in a favorable setting
that hopefully makes them enticing.

A few months ago, I found a small box with 12 compartments at a local thrift store.

Priced at $2.00,
I was pretty sure I could figure out a way to repurpose the box.

Although the box was designed to be used in a vertical format,

I realized that in a horizontal format,

the compartments would be perfect niches for my cuffs.

To become compatible with the other pieces that I already use in my display,

I cut cubby-sized sections of foamboard

and covered them with cream colored burlap.

After painting the box white,

the burlap inserts were set in place.

And there you go.....

a proper cuff display.

More cuffs on the way!