Not long ago I discovered how shockingly toxic most commercial beauty products are. What does this have to do with jewelry? Well, it turns out that costume baubles—another thing that so many women have on their bodies for much of the day—can also cause gnarly chemicals to seep into your system. This may not cause alarm in many people right now, but I predict that in the future, more women will take note. Just as foodies are picky about the provenance of their ingredients, health-conscious women will become more discerning when buying things they lay on their skin. Leonor Heleno, a jewelry designer that I admire, assures her customers that there’s no nickel or lead in her designs. (Her site is where I caught sight of the issue, and this is one of her necklaces pictured here.) Personally, I have been a (slightly guilty) fan of the ridiculously cheap and on-trend accessories at chain stores. Now I’m looking at those products differently.
Archive for Fabricating
I spent hours and hours making a bracelet for my friend Jen. I stayed up til dawn making a clasp that would connect and cover the ends of a braided strand of leather and grosgrain ribbon. When Jen, who is a jewelry designer herself, came to dinner, I had some questions for her. What were these little silver geegaws that were in a stash of supplies she had recently sold to me? Oh, those, she said. Your use those to cover up little knots of thread or other things that don’t look good.
Oh.
That is exactly what I’d needed the night before.
Jen didn’t know the technical name for these beautifying clamps. I dubbed them “cache-misères,” after the French term for anything that hides a mess underneath. The two words literally mean “misery-hiders.”
It is said that design is solving problems. In my designs, most of the problems I solve are ones I have created myself. This bird nest pendant is an example.
I had glued the round silver “jumps,” which attach the chain to the plastic nest, to the plastic nest itself. Nathalie, the owner of the store that is carrying this style, gently told me she was worried it would separate too easily (like when you get a pen between your pendant and a piece of paper).
I decided to fix it with my new Dremel. A Dremel is a handheld rotary tool used for everything from drilling to buffing.Pictured on the left are the homeless abalone birds awaiting their new home as I drill a hole for threading through the chain.
Ignoring the advice of my friend Toast, a motorcycle mechanic who gave me the tool, I did not use the cooling goop that she gave me apply to the plastic before drilling. I also didn’t test the Dremel on anything before using it on a “live” piece. So as I drilled, I saw some smoke and watched some of the plastic turn to liquid. I also didn’t hold my hand all that steadily. Result: ugliness.
But I didn’t panic. (My rule is “No need to panic unless someone is putting Jews in ovens.”). I tried to buff over the gaffe, but could not get the buffing tools onto the Dremel. So I hand-sanded it until the damaged area was smooth.
Then I looked for something to cover the gaffe. What is a bird nest near? Tree branches, leaves, fruit. I got out all the metal leaves that I have collected, even the petrified wood that looks like black twigs, but decided in the end that a cloud-like silver shape would look best over the spot.
I’ll be honest. I like the nest better without the silver cloud. But I know now that the pendant won’t come apart. And I learned yet another lesson about patience and testing toold and techniques on something first before drilling into a piece that isn;t even technically mine anymore. It goes back to Nathalie’s boutique today.
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