Unique Handmade Items

Handmade items appeal to me on many different levels. I love knowing they were made by one individual who is usually very passionate about his/her craft. I love knowing who made the item, knowing his/her name and what motivates him/her.

I also love that handmade items are unique, different from the mass-produced items available at the local mall. Who wants to have the exact same item as all the neighbours? I’m my own person, and I want the things I own to reflect that.

Some handmade items are one-of-a-kind. Those are my favourite kind. One-of-a-kind pieces often seem extra special. Some are more complex in design and take longer to make than other pieces. Others are made with unique materials that can’t be obtained in large quantities. And some are very fanciful and seem to have pushed the maker’s creativity to new extremes. But whatever it is that makes a one-of-a-kind item special, if you buy one, you know that no one else will have an item just like it!

Here are some one-of-a-kind pieces from the members of the Starving Artists Team.

by Michele from MC Stoneworks

by Meredith from Meredith Hilt Desings

by Dianne from Dianne Karg Baron

by Jeanne from Two Chicks Too

by Melissa from Melissa Beads



Featuring artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Quote Me - Rita Rudner

My husband gave me a necklace. It’s fake. I requested fake. Maybe I’m paranoid, but in this day and age, I don’t want something around my neck that’s worth more than my head.
~Rita Rudner

What is your opinion on fakes?

I’m not adverse to shopping in the discount stores. And discount doesn't necessarily have to mean fake. But working to a budget means that some things need (and can) to be bought on the cheap. Wrapping paper, coloured pencils, shampoo to use as hand-wash….

But when it comes to jewellery – well, that’s a different matter.


Once upon a time (in my poor and broke student days) a gorgeous necklace for 2 bucks was considered a find!

Now I pick them up and think about how poorly they are made, the individuals who were paid pittance to make them and how as a mass-produced product there is no ‘unique-ness’ to the design.

But as a independent, handmade artisan valuing our work, and more importantly getting others to understand the value of handmade, is really difficult.


A really interesting read on the subject of pricing and market pressure was highlighted recently at the Crafting an MBA blog.
Titled Etsy and the Culture of Cheap it provoked a lot of discussion and thought. I’m hoping to source the book mentioned through our local library and have a read for myself.

So enough ramblings from me... back to fakes?

Would you wear a necklace that cost more than your head?

Please Note: The gorgeous designs pictured are from 2 very talented members of the Starving Jewelry Artist team - Maison Milli and Erika Price. I am in no way implying that their work, materials or designs are fake or inferior.

You can find a complete list of SATeam Etsy shops at SATeam on Etsy.

The Starving Artists Forum features Artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team, and many others. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

SATeam Sez . . .

It's FRIDAY!

The Family Jewels sez: Good morning everyone!!!!!! Happy Friday!! I isted a new necklace; it's simple, but I just adore these stones!! I got a FAT strand of them at the Gem Faire a while back. They were spendy, but i could use these things forever and not get tired of them!

SATeam sez: When your stone is that fabulous, simple is best! If we'd been there, we'd have bought some, too!

Jewlie Beads sez: Jenifer, your pendant is beautiful! I listed a couple pendants and a pair of earrings.

• Swirled Heart Pendant
  
• Rustic Copper Hoops
  
• Goddess Pendant
  

Gotta hurry and take MIL to another appointment. She had one yesterday, today, and another one tomorrow. Whew! I can't wait to just have a day at home. LOL!

SATeam sez: Wow! We love your new listings. We hope you get more time to yourself so that you can make more beauties for us to enjoy!

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Fireball Beeds sez: Love your heart pendant Jewlie! I seem to have missed the entire week.. not sure where it went! I finished a bunch of non etsy stuff... I did list Winter Morning on Monday.  It was kind of neat as the sun was rising while I was bringing the beads into the house and the sunrise was identical colours to the bead!

SATeam sez: We love your beads! They let us have a little bit of nature with us always.

Once again, the members of SATeam have been busy curating treasuries. Here are a few of our newest ones for your viewing pleasure:

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

"Know When to Fold 'em"

I love moving metal…hammering and manipulating it into dimensional forms…imparting textures using stamps, punches, rolling mills and finishing techniques.

One of the most intriguing and satisfying metal techniques I have experimented with is fold-forming. Fold-forming is like origami using sheet metal instead of paper. This is a fairly modern technique invented by Charles Lewton-Brain around 1980 as a completely new way of forming sheet metal quickly into wonderful dimensional shapes and textures, from a single sheet of metal without any soldering. The primary tools employed in this technique are fingers for folding, hammers, mallets, anvils & rolling mills for forging & forming and a torch for annealing the metal.

The dynamic and fascinating shapes that one is able to achieve using the fold-forming method are unique to this technique. The metal can be worked into high-relief forms that imitate the look of chased and soldered forms.

Charles Lewton-Brain has committed himself to sharing his knowledge to educate and build a community of metalsmiths. He is the founder of Ganoskin and the Orchid Forum. I am really glad that he has decided to give away his vast knowledge and welcome us to learn more about metalsmithing. To quote Lewton-Brain, “The secrecy shrouding so many techniques is evidence of small minds trying to protect small properties.

”

Click image for more about fold-forming and Charles Lewton-Brain

Some fold-forming technique from SATeam members.

The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Supplies

Check out these recent SATeam listings for lampwork beads, jewelry components and tutorials! Click on any picture to learn more about the item.

The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

The green thumb

I don't have a green thumb. I have eight fingers and two thumbs that are all black. Why that is, I have no idea. I say hello to a plant of any kind and it drops in agony never to recover again. If you don't believe me, ask my mother about the cactus incident. On the other hand, maybe better don't ask.

I love to look at plants, but try to keep my distance. Only in summer when our neighbors go on vacation, I take care of the plants outside and water them when it seems to be time. It's not a real garden in our backyard, so the task is not impossible, not even for me.

I think there is also something like a green thumb for jewelry making techniques. Of course there is a lot of hard work behind it, lots of patience, looking at tutorials, trying things over and over again, perfecting single steps, but there is also the inspirational spark that lets you choose one or several certain techniques in the first place.

Even if you develop, start pushing your own limits, learn new things, there will always be that first love somewhere in a little corner of your mind. I remember the moment I met mine very vividly.

I have no idea if the following examples are results of such first loves, but they show a variety of techniques carried out beautifully.

So let's open the door to the enchanted team garden ........

These copper and silver chainmaille flower earrings are from the shop of Glass Addictions.

She says the flowers remind her of medieval times and I can only agree to that.

My Precious tempts us with the raspberry plant, beautiful encased florals.

These lampwork beads are like little crystal balls giving you a preview of what might await you if you see the whole garden.

These star flower earrings come from Melissa Meman Designs.

Czech glass dagger beads are wrapped together with sterling silver wire to make up a colorful and fun design.

Here's the key to the garden, now why don't you have a stroll there and take some time to stop and smell the flowers.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists Jewelry Team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current Etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Eye Candy: Focus on Hearts

Valentine's Day is coming soon; we don't want anyone to panic, but unless you act quickly, the best hearts will be gone. There's also that pesky matter of shipping; shop now so that you you won't have to tell your valentine, "your heart is in the mail!"

Click on any photo to learn how to give one of these beautiful hearts to your valentine. Of course, this is only a small selection of the wonderful heart-shaped jewelry available from SATeam; to see more click here!





















The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Things That Make You Go "hmmm...."

Here are a few interesting uses for garnets.

Indicator mineral for diamonds: Garnets and diamonds form under high pressure and/or high temperature, so prospectors often look for the more abundant garnet in the hope of finding a new source of diamonds.

Weapon: In the past, garnets were fired from guns. Can you imagine using such a pretty stone as a weapon?

Illumination: According to legend, Noah used a garnet lantern to light up the way for the Ark and steer it during the night.


I'm sure you will agree that these pieces by members of the Starving Artists Team are fabulous uses for garnets.

Featuring artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Quote Me - Mae West

I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.
~Mae West

They say a girl falls in to one of either two categories – diamonds or pearls?
Which one are you?

I'm definitely a pearl girl. I simply adore the timeless-ness of pearls. Don't get me wrong. Diamonds are timeless as well, but there is a living quality to pearls. They come from a living creature.

It can take many, many years for a natural pearl to grow. In the 1920's-1940's a pearl could be cultivating for up to 5 years. Imagine the nacre on them - they would glow gloriously.

Did you know that you shouldn't store your pearls in plastic for that very reason. That they still "breathe" and should be store in fabric.

And now for a little bit of trivia... Mae West was well known for her bawdy double entendres?

You may have heard some of them -

"When I'm good, I'm very good. When I'm bad I'm better."

"Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

and my favourite..

"I used to Snow White, but I drifted."

And that she was sentenced to 10 days in jail for "corrupting the morals of youth".

Be sure to see more gorgeous pearl and diamond-esque jewellery from SATeam.

You can find a complete list of SATeam Etsy shops at SATeam on Etsy.

The Starving Artists Forum features Artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team, and many others. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

SATeam Sez . . .

It's FRIDAY!

SATeam has a home in the Starving Artists Forum and we'd like to share it with our blog readers. Here are a few links to give you a taste of the scope and diversity of the Starving Artists forum. We'd love to have you join us.

One of the things that makes our community so special is the generosity and kindness of our members. Periodic jewelry swaps cement friendships, and challenge us to think outside of the box. Plus, they're downright fun and bring out our silly sides! If you'd like to see what we mean by that, check out these threads:

• Earring Swap - Who's In?
  
  
• Guess Your 'who' The Winner Wins a Pair of Earrings!
  
  
• New Playground - All Earring Swap Pics Go Here! Play nice!

Or, if you'd just like to see the eye candy, you can see a slide show of the earrings received so far. Just click on "Start the slide show" after you follow the link.

And, speaking of eye candy . . . here are a few links to some of the pretties that are currently featured in the Show and Tell section of the Starving Artist's forum:

• Rings Of The Funky Type more exploration with resin.....
  
  
• Wip - New Wedding Piece Thoughts appreciated
  
  
• Sterling Silver And Glass Brooch
  
  
• Rising From The Ashes
  
  
• Earrings Again

As always, the members of SATeam have been busy curating Treasuries on Etsy. To see this week's collections, pop on over to:

• Sateam Treasury Screen Shots January 18-24
  

That's just a brief taste of what's happening this week on the forum. Every week brings new information, ideas, friendship and, of course, eye candy. Come join us, and get to know the members of SATeam and their friends on the Starving Artists Forum.

The Starving Artists Forum features Artisan handmade creations by the Etsy Starving Artists jewelry team, and many others. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

Supplies

Check out these recent SATeam listings for lampwork beads, jewelry components and tutorials! Click on any picture to learn more about the item.

The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.