Archive for the ‘Handmade jewellery’ category

Back at the bench

Photograph taken at my jewellery making bench.
The view from my jewellery bench today.

It’s later than I’d expected, but this afternoon I finally got back to my jewellery bench to do some making work.

It was just a tentative step with only three pieces being made for delivery to a couple of shops, but it’s a start.

This week I also need to get stuck into a big batch of etching now that I finally have some silver stock after running out of the required pieces late last year.

However, before then I need to do a massive clean up in the studio! Nothing has been touched in there since I downed tools just before Christmas and the room looks like it has exploded.

So tomorrow I plan to be back in there giving it a good clean up and re-organisation. Plus I hope to finally get back to actually finishing off the space after it was converted from an old three-walled shed into a four-walled studio after moving into my home last year.

You can see the progress made so far in these posts from last year: Progress on my new jewellery studio and Back to business.

I’ll share more of the evolution of my studio as it happens.

Shiny new website!

I’ve been working ridiculously long and hard hours over the last couple of weeks to completely redesign and rebuild all of my site, including this very blog, the handmade jewellery shop and the main website.

And finally I’m very pleased to announce that it is all launched and up and running! Hooray!

Screenshot of the new handmade jewellery shop.

The rebuilt shop does feature some updated functionality, but at this stage I haven’t included a currency exchange method. I hope to look into this further shortly.

The new design has been tested across all modern browsers and back to Internet Explorer 7, but if you see anything odd or find anything that isn’t working properly, please get in touch and let me know the details.

However, if you’re still using Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) … well, you’re out of luck! The site no longer supports this very old and out of date browser and I strongly recommend you upgrade to a modern browser, even if to the latest version of Internet Explorer. You can learn more here.

I hope you enjoy the new design – I’m feeling very chuffed with it, myself!

Farewell to the US dollar …

Screenshot of my handmade jewellery shop.Not that the dollar is going anywhere, but I have now closed my US dollar shop. My Australian dollar shop is now my primary online outlet.

You can find my handmade jewellery shop at: www.shop.simonewalsh.com.

If you have bookmarks to the old web address for my Australian dollar shop they will automatically redirect to the new address.

This is a change I’ve been thinking about for some time – and was in part decided upon after I undertook a currency survey a few months ago.

Running two largely identical shops meant a doubling up of work and fees, which wasn’t ideal. Also the nature of my business has changed and I’m making fewer sales to US customers and a lot more to customers in Australia and Europe. This meant that the US dollar shop was less relevant to the majority of my customers.

So now I’ve streamlined to just one shop, which should make my life easier and buying less confusing for local customers in particular!

I’m planning to make some changes to the shop functionality and layout in the near future. As part of that I plan to add some functionality which will give an idea of prices in various other currencies. Checkout will still be in Australian dollars at this stage, but if you aren’t in Australia you will at least have a good idea of what your order will cost you in your local currency.

Last minute Christmas deliveries

Elizabethan etched and gilded teardrop earrings.Well it’s been a very busy festive season for my handmade jewellery shops!

But there are still a few days to go, so here are some delivery details for those last minute purchases.

If you are in Australia then you still have a few more days for pre-Christmas deliveries.

However, I strongly suggest you use the Express Post delivery option when you checkout from here on in.

My suggested cut off for Christmas deliveries by Express Post in Australia is midday on either 21 or 22 December, depending on where you are.

22 December should be okay if your delivery address is within the ‘guaranteed next business day delivery network’ from postcode 5241 – learn more. If you are not in the guaranteed area, Express Post items still arrive the next day more often than not, but it’s best to allow an extra day in case.

If you need items delivered outside of Australia for Christmas, you’re pretty much out of luck at this point – there is only the smallest of chances they will arrive in time.

For orders which don’t necessarily need to arrive prior to Christmas, I will be posting them out as normal. However, be aware that there are a number of public holidays at this time of year in Australia which may slow down post-Christmas deliveries.

Season’s greetings!

If I don’t get a chance to post here before the big day, I wish all of you a very happy festive season!

And a big thanks to everyone who has supported an indie business this year.

New pendant and earring designs

Two new pendant designs and a pair of earrings have been added to my jewellery shops.

Circles etched pendant with a rhodolite gemstone setting.

I’ve been making these pieces for a little while and selling them through some shops, but hadn’t had a chance to photograph and list them online. But finally they’re up!

Above is a circles etched dish pendant with a deep rose coloured rhodolite gemstone setting. The pendant is striking, but small and delicate. It has a shiny finish and hangs on a sterling silver chain with handmade findings.

Circles etched pendant with a citrine gemstone setting.   Circles etched sterling silver post earrings.

To the left is another etched circles pendant, but this one has a faceted citrine setting in sparkly yellow.

On the right is a pair of circles etched post earrings which match the pendants. They are simple dish-shaped earrings with the same contemporary circles pattern etched into them.

Free shipping for Christmas!

Circles etched cufflinks with rhodolite and citrine gemstone settings.You can get yourself some free shipping in my handmade jewellery shops just in time for Christmas!

But be quick – free shipping ends soon.

Just enter the code FREESHIP when you checkout to receive free standard delivery anywhere in the world. Note that this doesn’t apply to Express Post deliveries in Australia.

The code is valid in both of my shops:

Christmas deliveries

This is probably a good opportunity for a reminder about my suggested Christmas delivery dates for 2011.

The very best way to ensure that your festive seasons purchases arrive on time (and that the items you want are in stock) is to order as early as you can. However, below are my suggested cut off dates for Christmas deliveries:

  • 13 December for deliveries outside of Australia
  • 18 December for standard post deliveries within Australia
  • 21-22 December for Express Post deliveries within Australia*

Note that these dates do not guarantee your order will arrive in time, but it is likely to. If you order later than these dates your delivery may still arrive in time, but it’s less likely to.

* 22 December if your delivery address is within the ‘guaranteed next business day delivery network’ from postcode 5241 – learn more. If you are not in the guaranteed area, Express Post items still arrive the next day more often than not, but it’s best to allow an extra day to be sure.

Thanks to all who dropped by in Canberra

Just a quick note to thank everyone who visited my stall at the Undercurrent Design Market at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on the weekend!

Handmade jewellery market stand.

I hope you found lots of handmade goodness!

Come and see me in Canberra

Are you in Canberra or know someone who is? I’ll be selling my handmade jewellery at the Undercurrent Design Market at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra later this week.

Handmade rings and pendants with gemstone settings.

You’ll find market only prices and market only jewellery pieces, so be there or miss out!

This is the first market I’ve done in many years and it’s taken a massive effort to get ready for it (which is still ongoing!). In the last two and a half weeks I’ve made around 100 pieces of jewellery – something I wasn’t even sure was possible!

Above is a photo of just a few of those pieces – rings with etched circles and rhodolite settings, plus some matching pendants (not yet on a chain) which are not currently available online (one pendant has a citrine setting).

I hope to undertake a small number of design markets over the next 12 months. After Canberra I may possibly do another pre-Christmas market in Adelaide. I’ll keep you posted!

If you are able to come to the Undercurrent market in Canberra, it’s on Friday 25 (5 to 9pm) and Saturday 26 November (10am to 4pm) at the National Portrait Gallery. It would be great to see you there!

Christmas pudding tokens now available

Christmas pudding tokens, charms or coins.One of the most popular handmade items in my shop at this time of year are the Christmas pudding tokens I make.

I’m happy to say that they are back in stock ready for the festive season!

The pudding tokens are all etched with a variety of vintage Christmas illustrations and are made using pure silver, so they’re safe to use with food.

The tokens come in a set of six, along with a copy of my family’s Christmas pudding recipe (which can be made on the day!) and delicious brandy sauce recipe.

The tokens come in a padded box so you can keep them safe when not being used.

You can find the tokens here:

Endlessly making jewellery

Well, it feels a bit like that at the moment!

I’m spending very long hours every day at my bench as I prepare for upcoming markets and the festive season in general. I currently have a scarily long list of pieces to make!

I thought I’d share some photos of incomplete pieces and scrap, so you can see what’s been happening on and around my bench.

Saw pierced sterling silver.

Above is a saw-pierced piece of sterling silver with several designs ready to be cut out, including medieval arabesque earrings, the front panels of two Elizabethan cage pendants and a flannel flower earring.

Below is another sheet, also with designs ready to be cut out, including an art nouveau pendant and butterfly wing earrings.

Saw pierced sterling silver.

Finally here is a photograph of the sterling silver scrap I have accumulated over the last few months.

Scrap sterling silver.

Once this box is full of scrap which cannot be used in some other way, it will be sent to be refined and recycled into new silver sheet and wire, ready to be used all over again.

Be a festive season earlybird!

Handmade sterling silver chain by Simone Walsh.It seems unbelievable to me too, but Christmas is almost upon us once again!

Things get rather crazy for my business the closer we get to the big day. To encourage you to shop early I’m offering a 10% discount across my entire handmade jewellery range!

When you checkout, enter the code earlybird11 and the 10% discount will be applied to your order.

The code can be used in either of my shops:

Be quick!

The discount code is only valid until Wednesday 9 November 2011.

Findings, findings, findings

In the lead up to Christmas I always do my best to make sure I have plenty of handmade jewellery findings – the components used to finish pieces of jewellery, such as ear wires and clasps.

Handmade jewellery findings.

I tend to go through them at an alarming rate over the festive season, so it’s always good to try to stock up beforehand.

Almost all of the findings I use in my jewellery are handmade – and handmade by me rather than by someone else! This means I’ve been spending a lot of time forming, hammering, soldering and finishing a variety of findings recently. And I still have a lot more of this work to do!

So I thought I’d share some images of some of the findings I’ve been making recently as I build up my stock levels.

Handmade jewelry findings.

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