I thought it appropriate for the very first post of this brand new site to focus on the beginning. The first seeds of an idea that gets the ball rolling and causes someone to start thinking about making their own handcrafted jewelry. It began many years ago for me, when I first learned about gemstones and became completely entranced with them. The beauty of the stones was incredible, and I was also fascinated with their metaphysical lore. I began to collect them and soon I had so many that I thought it would be fun to sell them and start a little business at the local flea market on the weekends. It was a pretty nice once, with indoor booths and air conditioning… a necessity for the Tampa Bay area… and my little weekend business was doing pretty well.
I was married at the time, and my husband used to come with me every weekend and help out, along with our one-year old daughter. Neither of us liked to sit in the same spot all day, so we took turns manning the booth, and walking around the flea market to see what was there. I was always checking out other shops with jewelry and stones, and one day I happened to spy the very first piece of wire jewelry I had ever seen.
Frankly, it was quite hideous. I was astonished that anyone would have actually paid money for that piece, and as I recall, it was in the $30 range. Since I was buying and selling stones myself, I knew the stone in the setting was probably worth about $1.00. Having been the artsy type all my life, and being proficient in a good number of crafts, of course my first thought was, “I could do better than that!” And with that, the seed was planted in what would eventually become my sole business and source of income to this day, twenty years later.
I asked the booth owner a few questions about the jewelry piece and about the wire, but he wasn’t of much help. Back then, in 1988, there was very little information on the subject, and… no internet. I already had several sources in place for smaller jewelry stones, but where to get the wire was another story. And I had no idea what was available, or what type to get, or what sort of tools I would need. And the more I learned, the more I realized there was to learn.
I’ve come quite a long ways since then, and as this site continues to grow and unfold, I will be sharing all of my expertise, sources and knowledge with you. My goal is to make things a lot easier for new wire crafters than it was for me, and to offer tips and resources for the more experienced artist, as well. I am also hoping to get lots of feedback, and to develop an interactive community, whose members help each other solve problems and grow in their craft.
I would love to hear other’s stories of how they first became intrigued with wire jewelry, so please feel free to leave a comment!
Many wire artists prefer to use fine metals in their work, primarily gold and silver. There are several varieties including solid gold, gold plate and fine silver, but the most common for the wirecrafter is 14k gold-filled (or rolled gold) and sterling silver. These metals are very durable, easy to work with and cost-effective. They are generally available in two tempers, half-hard and dead soft, each being used for different types of wire projects. They are also available in many different widths or gauges, ranging from very fine, threadlike wire, to very thick and heavy wire.
