i smell spring.
and i am smelling it from our “true” pittsburgh home,
goodbye townhouse rental, hello 1903 victorian just east of downtown.
snow abounds, and yes, recedes and disappears in the sun.
hooray as hunter, logan and i would say!
we are inheriting the last third of a community garden and damn, to my kids and i love to dig, sow and reap.
we will have pumpkins this fall, just you wait…

in this garden/backyard of ours i envision a fabulous wee smithy of sorts, next to the pumpkins.
basically an amish barn that takes up residence in our backyard, providing a safe for me to work with fire.
a place in side for jewellery, outside adjacent, my 250lb anvil and my forge.
a smith adjacent to a jewellery studio!

grateful inside and out that our move is complete and psyched about setting up my new temporary studio (till i get this barn you know). back to work with a wave of really cool new clients (return of some old) and some new newsletter subscribers (thanks maureen-burke.com, for featuring the “life chain”!).

and i am thinking…
i want to send out a newsletter as a house blessing, create something for you guys, whilst manifesting a barn raising for me
but i would like your opinion.

what would you like to see me run a special on right now?
mother’s day, graduations, spring! all on the horizon,

would you like to see some OM pendants, wishbones perhaps…
on sale as they say?
so happy to hear anyone’s response.

it would be great to finally have the opportunity to finish the astrological pendant line.
john is a huge proponent of these little guys and i daresay, they are so simple and pretty, charms indeed.
was thinking that i could offer a really great discount to all who commission the first of their sign (leo and sag are the only ones finished).
any and all thoughts are so welcome and appreciated.
i love making OM’s, wishbones and peace signs, but perhaps you want a discount on custom creations or just good old peace signs?
so many possibilities….:)

now i must to garden exploration with my wee companions and baby wolf. the snow is melting so that i can actually see soil.
hooray

shine sun, shine
xo
heather

oy. me and this computer.
seems my website’s shopping cart is not properly working through microsoft explorer, or some such b.s.
that’s computer speak for “big snafu” you know…

so a BIG APOLOGY to everyone who has encountered problems.
personally, i have little patience for difficult websites and when buying online, i want it to be easy.
a huge thank you to all those who have persevered and called me on the phone! i so love that.

and for now, i am disabling (read, john is disabling) the shopping cart.
if you fancy a lovely little hand forged bauble,
peace sign, wishbone, rune, OM or astrological pendant…call me.
phone is always better in my opinion
xx
heather

my web designer (aka husband) asked me to proof the faqs link of my website as he has provided answers to some basic questions as to how one commissions a custom piece of jewelry.
pretty funny, check it out before we update.
love the one word answers…and yes, there is a bit more to designing and creating a bespoke jewelery piece.
okay so let’s say we are designing a gift for your sister.
ideally, we actually connect on the phone and chat, engaging in a dialogue about your sister’s style, personality, lifestyle.
a few questions to get my creative juices flowing….
is this a piece of jewellery she is going to wear everyday, or rather a “special occasion” piece?
…how much wear and tear will this piece of jewelry withstand?
i seem to make a lot of rings (always had a thing for rings) and so…
does she do a lot with her hands? a gardener, a surfer, a blacksmith?
will this be worn with other jewellery that she wears everyday already?
are we adding to this ring later on? (in the case of an engagement/wedding ring combo)?

oh wait, this is for your sister, right…sorry

does this gift commemorate an event, i.e the birth of a baby, a wedding anniversary? if so, can we incorporate anything symbolic in the design?

ideally, i like to listen to the answers to these questions over the phone…subtle nuances that help me to free form/brainstorm. from here i can begin to design.
ideas at first, conceptualizing the feel of the piece…

here is a good example.

dean called, wanting to custom design a piece of jewelry to celebrate the birth of their first child, due in a few days. as i listened to him just talk about his wife, i immediately saw a necklace. as a new mom she wasn’t going to be fussing with jewellery, so something she can put on and not have to take off seemed appropriate.
as the mom of two little ones, i immediately saw nursing infant, ripping at shiny golden gems. note to self, sturdy chain with a pendant soothing to the touch.

dean mentioned that they had been married for some time and were excited to become a family of three. this made me think, it would be cool to represent all three of them in the piece…how about three forged yellow gold rolling rings, interlinking circles, attached to a sturdy gold snake chain.
dean wanted to incorporate his son’s birthstones. i want to incorporate stones to represent him and his wife as well. i see these interlocking rings in my mind, “sort of like the olympic rings” and he says, “perfect!” dean is involved with the u.s. olympic sailing team and he and emily spent a blissful time together in china during the summer olympics.

i flush set one side of the center link with imperial topaz, november’s birthstone, and the other side with three white diamonds, graduated size to represent him, her and bambino.
here is what she said:

“Thank you so much, Heather, for your beautiful work! I love the three rings — both their style and their meaning. The topaz and diamonds are the perfect combination, too. And the chain makes the whole thing come together beautifully.”
Happy New Year,
Emily

often, someone who finds me on the web, emails…just wants a “quick quote” on a piece that has excited them. sorry, not really possible.
all of the portfolio pieces on my site were designed especially for someone. a unique piece of jewellery is going to have as many custom variables as the person for whom it is being designed.
pretty fun process
be so well
heather

ahh, i love my birthday and yesterday i got what i really wanted. a bit of sleep. it was too tempting, so cozy as i lay down with the kids for afternoon nappy time. too be honest, i think i am fighting the cold they both have had…garlic warrior here i come!

 
yes, tired but inspired. we cleaned the studio yesterday and as the sun gleamed through the doors today i took a moment to bask in the sun and be thankful for my hammers, my rolling mill, anvils and various implements of fire. reflected on the creations of the past year, who they were created for, the challenges through which i have grown as a smith and an artist. how funny to hear me define myself and yet how affirming.

 
one of my favorite custom engagement rings is back in the studio as i create a matching wedding band in 18k yellow gold. stunning ring. such weight in solid platinum with really beautiful, conflict free diamonds, (yes, very conscious of conflict free mining, the kimberly act as ’tis called in the industry). the diamonds in this ring are actually man made diamonds. perfect in every way.
 

one of my favorite ever engagement rings

 
continuing work on a really meaningful commission brought on by the life chain project. sue and i are designing her life bracelet. each charm made individually to celebrate and aspect or person in her life. to celebrate her 50th in march. so enjoying it, but no pictures yet.

 
for my birthday gift to myself i am making the aquarius pendant for my astrological symbol jewelry. the symbol makes me think of lightening and at the same time, i love the intimacy between the two lightening bolts, nestled together. i haven’t finished it, but hoping to in the next couple of days.
 
so thank you for sharing my happy birthday to me musings. i am so very very blessed.
spread love, share peace, and be so very well,
heather

WEDDING RING RE-MOUNTS IN STERLING SILVER

to be able to make something that is inherently beautiful, even more so…
ahh, indeed one the the great feelings that creating art brings to the spirit.

this is the joy of remounting a really beautiful stone. taking a special, or not so, piece of jewellery, disassembling it, and designing anew.
and in this economy, i think so many of us are looking for ways to refresh and rejoice without breaking the bank (isn’t it because the banks broke that we are looking for ways to conserve!)

so i am totally loving the wave of engagement ring re-mounts that i have been rocking here in the studio.
first a beautiful round solitare diamond that belonged to her grandmother, he wanted to remount the solitare onto one of my simple forged concave bar rings, but the cost of gold and platinum weren’t working themselves into his budget. always loving diamonds and silver together, i made the suggestion. such an economical way to get something so pretty.

after all, silver is very reflective. even more so than gold of any color. thus, a hefty silver bezel mount will greatly enhance the light, color and cut of a diamond.
**main drawback is that the silver will tarnish (so will gold for that matter), as always, just keep a good silver polish handy and give your ring a 3 second dip every once and awhile (connoisseurs is good brand).

so they had me forge a substantial sterling concave bar ring and gave me liberty as to how to set the stone. i ended up forging a second band to match for him and it was such fun getting to rough up the silver. and while not for everyone’s taste, i find this really gives the ring depth.
you gotto love this request from a client.
“…just make it unique, make the diamond shine and give it a sexy hand wrought feel”

after making a full bezel, i cut out away at the silver to allow more light to shine through the diamond
ultimately, what i love about the final piece is the uniqueness of the ring. there is no other quite like it, simple as it is, and the symmetry of the band is offset by the cut outs of the bezel.
okay, sorry no photo of this ring yet. however, he is a professional photographer and has promised to take a good picture of the ring this weekend and i will post it then.

i do have a photo of another sterling diamond ring that i was forging at the same time.
a sterling silver remount with the prettiest, whitest, princess cut diamond.
the ring used to be this pretty little princess cut diamond in a very elegant, very delicate white gold band.
lauren, petite and beautiful, happens to be an ice hockey player.
a bit hard on her rings, continually misshaping the white gold band and she was worried about the integrity of the setting, not wanting to lose the stone.
i ever so gingerly forged a really substantial sterling bezel around the diamond, mounted it onto a really dense, hand forged band, and damn, if this stone doesn’t look fabulous.
sparkling beyond…and one day they can set a pretty princess cut stone into her original engagement band (i save the original ring to reuse whenever possible…special if they have a little girl someday) and later on, lauren can upgrade to platinum.

so if you have been longing to re-do a special ring, engagement or other, consider sterling.
at under $500, you can seriously rock a whole new look for your stones!

My first glowing jewelry testimonial of 2010–Thanks, Mark, there’s not much that makes me happier than responses like this from clients like you!
 

Heather,
 
Susan opened the box containing the 22 carat om pendant on Christmas afternoon and was completely blown away! She absolutely loves it and has not taken it off since she put it on Friday.
 
She has excellent taste and gave me (and you) the best complement when she said, “This is so beautiful. It is exactly what I would pick out for myself.”
 
Your suggestion to go with the rawhide necklace was perfect and it really looks good. I took some pictures and I will try to get one to you this week, but I just wanted to say thank you for helping me to make this Christmas extra special.
 
Your work is exquisite and we will be back!
 
Take care,
Mark

 

Yes, I am still finishing the last few jewelry orders for holiday gift giving in the studio and have been pressed for time with holiday preparations for the kids, in-laws visiting, etc– but this email I received today is too good to wait!
 
I love getting feedback like this on my work (for obvious reasons) and sharing someone else’s words is the best way to share with you why I love my work and why I love working with my clients.
 

Heather,
 
It just arrived and it is beautiful! I can’t wait to give it to her, she will love it.

 
Thank you for rushing the shipping, I do appreciate it. I also enjoyed talking to you and will definitely keep in touch…
 
I’m still having trouble seeing snow on the beach (it just seems wrong) and we did get over a foot! The next day the sun was out and it was the coolest sunset with the water and snow all lit up in a golden glow. I hope you, John, and the kids have a fantastic Christmas and New Year! Good health!
 
Mark

 
Thank you Mark and all of my wonderful clients this holiday season- it is truly my pleasure to get to know you and create for you at this special time of year. I wish you all a magical holiday and fabulous 2010!
 

22 karat gold om pendant

i make peace signs every week. next to my custom designed jewelry, peace sign jewelry is my most popular request.
 

so what makes this particular peace sign so special?
 
the man who it was made for.
 
one morning a couple of weeks ago, i received a call from a gentleman looking for peace sign jewelry. he had a 60 s peace sign back in the day, is well versed in the history of peace sign, and has a deep respect for custom made jewelry. what makes him so special to me? the grace and eloquence with which he conversed and the profound message he shared.
 
nine years ago my new friend went into the hospital for routine surgery. a grave error occurred and he was given a large dose of a medication, not meant for his condition. the medication went to his brain and emergency brain surgery was performed.
 
his speech is slow and labored, he has difficultly giving simple information such as his address and phone number. and yet, he is so kind and forgiving. his message to me was simple. never, ever, underestimate the power of the brain. in the initial stages of recovery, he could not communicate at all, yet he could understand everything. (bear this in mind if you ever are visiting someone in a coma!).
 
be so gentle with those who seem less intelligent, for inside there may be someone who understands and feels so much more than they are able to express. the brain is so complicated…
 
so when i forged my new friend his 60’s peace sign, i wanted to add something special, to let him know that his message touched me in a special way. i am a cancer survivor, as they say, and i am one of the “lucky ones”, so i wanted to thank him for sharing with me.
 
i forged a handmade “s” clasp and welded it onto the chain. it is a little expression (and we didn’t even photograph it), but he should receive it on monday.
i so hope that his new custom handmade jewelry, forged by fire brings him as much peace as the information he shared with me.
 
peace, love and compassion to all,
 
heather
 

its getting busy here with holiday decorating, kids’ winter fair at the Waldorf School here tomorrowand holiday gift orders shipping depsite not getting as much time at the bench as I would like.

i wanted to make enough time for these pictures though, because every time i forge a new bar bracelet, i am so glad i still make them the old fashioned way, one at a time from flat bar stock with hammer and fire. i even roll out and hammer the links into shape, and of course every volute-style clasp starts as straight round stock, too.

this is why every forged bar bracelet i make is unique, and invested with more of my personal energy, care and love that might be apparent at first glance.

so here are pictures of the bar bracelet i just shipped a week ago, along with the had sewn leather pouch that i ship my custom jewelry in, a great detail for unique holiday gifts.
 

new wide bar bracelet December 2009

 

Wide bar bracelet and pouch