Speaking of multiples and manufacturing, for quite some time now I’ve been thinking about how I can make the process of creating findings for my handmade jewelry easier and faster, while not going down the path of buying mass produced findings which I feel might take away some of the character from my work and which I could easily make myself.

Unfortunately I mostly find the repetitive work involved with making components to be pretty boring - it’s not a job I ever really look forward to. Findings for my handmade earrings I find particularly tedious due to the number of steps involved, the need to make matching pairs and the fact that they always get used up in twos - so while I might think I’ve created a decent pile of of them they disappear very quickly.

My Dad is a toolmaker by trade and I mentioned this to him when I was visiting at Christmas. He was inspired to have a go at making a couple of jigs for me for two of the designs I use. But unfortunately what he thought would be an easy task turned out to be a lot more difficult than he imagined.

Some time later he handed the job over to a family friend who is an engineer and who has a history of creating machines which bend wire, from very basic manually operated jigs through to enormous, automated machines.

And this week finally these three little steel jigs arrived which will enable me to much more quickly and accurately shape the earring wires without the need of pliers. Hooray!

The earrings will still need their ends softened (to avoid scratching on the way into a piercing) and I will still hammer some of them to add some texture and shaping to the wire. But having these tools should save me some time - and hopefully some RSI as well!

Having said that, I’ve not yet figured out how to use them!!! But I will. And life will be good.

While I think of it, let me share with you a ‘tool’ that my Dad did make for me some years back after I complained of not having a tumbler - and not being able to afford one (bearing in mind that tools and equipment for jewellery makers are very expensive in Australia).

He pulled together some bits and pieces lurking around in his shed (including, as you can see, some leftover paints!) and made me this wonderful rotary tumbler. I’ve used it for years now on a very regular basis and it does such an excellent job.

Thanks Dad! And thanks also to Brian for his efforts with the earring jigs - it’s very much appreciated.

I went to an interesting couple of talks on Monday night at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney which were organised by JMGA-NSW - primarily as a carrot to entice members come along to learn more about an awarded exhibition that the organisation is planning to hold later this year.

The first speaker was Brenda Factor, an artist and maker with a background in jewellery and metal. Brenda is also one of my fellow JMGA-NSW Committee Members. View an example of Brenda’s work.

Brenda spoke about the evolution of her work, encompassing wearables through to large scale sculptural pieces (which, as she pointed out, can still be packed up to fit inside a small box).

One of the key points which came from Brenda’s talk and which particularly interested me is her obsession with creating multiples and how this has evolved over the years.

Previously she had dealt a lot with commercial manufacturers to help her create multiples using techniques such as laser etching. However, in recent years she’s moved away from this and while her multiples obsession continues, she now undertakes this work primarily by hand. This results in multiples of items which all have subtle - and sometimes not so subtle - variations.

The second speaker was Oliver Smith and I was particularly pleased to hear him speak as our paths had previously crossed, but in a way he’s most likely completely unaware of.

A few months back I was sitting in my local cafe doing some work when I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation a couple of seats away with someone who was clearly a contemporary metalsmith. Obviously this doesn’t happen every day, so I kept listening in, especially when it dawned on me that the conversation was in fact an interview which would be appearing in a magazine I read anyway! Eventually I realised it was Oliver Smith and I had an urge to go an say hello and pick his brain about a few things … but I politely sat in my corner and kept working instead!

Oliver very much works as a metalsmith rather than a jewellery maker, using traditional forging techniques to create items such as cutlery, bowls, etc.. In fact, items relating to food are a particular focus of Oliver’s work. You learn more about Oliver and see some examples of his work here.

Although their making practices are enormously different, like Brenda, I think it’s fair to say that Oliver is also interested in creating multiples in his work. However, while he still clearly does a lot of work by hand, Oliver seems to be embracing the idea of working closely with industry and using commercial processes to have multiples of his work made.

I was particularly interested to hear about his involvement with having his cutlery cast in stainless steel, as it’s something I have thought about myself. Oliver described the process whereby a ceramic able to withstand incredibly high temperatures is used in a similar way to the investment utilised when lost wax casting items in precious metals (which have a much cooler melting temperature than steel).

It was also interesting to note from Oliver’s slides the very different finishes of a handmade silver spoon to the same spoon which has been cast in stainless steel, with the steel having a much more muted finish that the bright silver.

Having made some cutlery myself which I’d love to revisit with a view to possibly putting into production one day, this is something I was very pleased to learn a bit more about - even if only briefly.

The hand that feeds by Simone Walsh, sterling silver, 1999

So both speakers gave me some food for thought particularly about issues to do with multiples and methods of manufacture. Of course I do make multiples of the jewellery I sell in my Etsy jewelry shop and other places, but for the most part they are entirely made by hand, so as with Brenda’s artworks, each of the pieces varies slightly from every other I’ve made in the same design.

As I’ve written previously, this is something I’ve come to love about what I do - and even enjoy pushing to a degree to emphasise the handmade nature of the work.

However, I have also been thinking a lot about the possibilities of putting some aspects of my work into larger scale production and what would be involved with doing so. To someone coming at jewellery making and metalsmithing from a visual arts background (as opposed to a trade jewellery background), the idea of working with industry and even of figuring out which type of industry you need can be very daunting.

And as both Oliver and Brenda pointed out, doing so can make some aspects of making much easier, while other aspects suddenly get more difficult. It’s also certainly not something that takes the soul out of what you make as some people imagine - especially as many commercial manufacturing techniques still require a lot of handmaking and other work both prior to and after the manufacturing stage is complete.

For instance, the hand cutlery pieces above were made by having the end pieces cast in sterling silver. In this case I actually did the casting myself as I had access to the equipment at the time, but these days I always get my casting done commercially - they do a better job than I could and it is a lot less stressful!

However, the shaped hands were handcarved by me in wax - a very labour-intensive process requiring a lot of concentration and an eye for detail. Also when the pieces came out of the casting process in sterling silver, they still required an enormous amount of cleaning up to bring them to the smooth, shiny finish you see in the photograph. Additionally the handles needed to be made by hand and soldered to the tops of the cutlery.

As you can see, the idea that casting is somehow as easy as photocopying is completely untrue!

So, yes, ideas about multiples, manufacturing and the handmade are things I am left pondering, particularly as of late I’ve come to really enjoy some of the aspects of making by hand which I used to either dislike or be ambivalent about - such as saw piercing - while at the same time I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make better use of industrial processes.

Etsy Labs is a space which has been set up by those hard working people at Etsy in their new premises in Brooklyn, USA. The goal of Etsy Labs is to: “… provide a space where Etsy members can be creative together, learn from each other and share their skills.” And the vision Etsy has is that one day these labs will be found all over the world.

You can learn more about Etsy Labs on their website and you should also visit the Flickr page for the Labs where lots of interesting developments can be seen.

The Labs have been looking for donations of materials and equipment while they’ve been setting up, and a while back I sent them a bundle of fabric and other sewing materials I’ve accrued over the years but have never managed to use (which is hardly surprising given that I can’t sew to save myself!).

Plus I stuck in some very Australian chocolates as a thanks to all at Etsy for their efforts in keeping the place running and trying to keep everyone happy. This photograph is from the Lab’s Flickr photostream.

I also included a selection of fine crochet cottons which belonged to my late grandmother, Peg Lawton, who was an astonishingly good crocheter. She created the most beautiful, fine lace-like work - including once making a very intricate and heavy bedspread for my aunty and uncle which took a very long time to complete.

I’m sure she would have been thrilled to imagine her cottons ending up on the other side of the world with a view to people she’s never met making use of them.

I’ll write more soon about my Nan’s life and also her amazing crochet work. I’m hoping to soon start work on a collection of one off pieces of jewellery and objects to celebrate her life. My plan is to hold an exhibition of these pieces in due course - hopefully in Adelaide, Australia which is where she spent most of her life and was dearly loved by a diverse array of people.

I’ve been busily making and listing some new work for my handmade jewelry shop on Etsy - and hope to have even more of the stuff to show you soon! Not everything is in my shop as yet, so keep your eyes peeled!

This disc choker is made entirely from sterling silver. It features three domed discs, two of which feature an etched pattern with the etched sections oxidised black.

And there’s a pair of matching domed disc earrings too!

I’ve also made these sterling silver chain earrings with delicious yellow vintage glass beads which are shaped like a stylised flower. I’ve made a few of these earrings with different vintage glass beads, including these earrings with lovely green ‘wavy’ beads.

I’m really pleased with this red vintage button bead chain made with sterling silver. I’ve had these beads for a while now, but it’s taken me ages to come up with an interesting way to make use of their unusual design, which features two holes side by side.

I’ve threaded each end of a loop of sterling silver wire through the holes prior to beading the ends to hold the beads in place. The outcome is a striking and unusual chain - one I’m very pleased with!

And of course there are matching button bead earrings too!

I made some of these shaped flower pendants a while back, but its taken me a while to photograph and list them. The flower pendants were inspired by a vintage illustration I came across. They are made with sterling silver and have been left with a matte finish. This pendant features a turquoise gemstone bead. There is also a version featuring a yellow jade gemstone bead.

Plus I made these oxidized sterling silver earrings with lovely translucent milky blue vintage glass beads, along with a matching lariat necklace.

Finally, I have stocked up on even more of these really lovely and unusual vintage glass beads. The beads are mostly from the 1940s to 1960s. They come from a German glass company which closed down in the 1970s. I thought I should grab as many as I’m keen to use as once they’ve sold, they’re gone for good. I’m looking forward to working through my stash!

You can see more photographs of new work on Flickr.