Sway Silver

Quartz crystals in a variety of shapes & sizes on sterling silver chain

Christmas is one month away! I’m attending the first of several parties tonight. What to wear? What to wear? A shimmering skirt with a black fine knit sweater and the frosting is this necklace I whipped up. Clearly festive! It’ll go with every colour of the rainbow adding a touch of glitz with no fear of clashing. Love Quartz! Love shiny silver! (Well for the holidays anyway! LOL)

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I’ve been making personalized jewellery for a few years now. I love the process of taking a list of significant attributes and creating a piece of heirloom quality jewellery that represents a person or people. The piece is precious to the recipient and it makes the giver feel great that they have been able to find such a unique and personal gift. With each charm usually comes a story. It’s an honour when people share such special memories with me.

Last week I launched a new line that takes the  idea of personal to a whole new level! Fingerprint jewellery. How much more personal can you get than the actual impression of someone’s perfect & unique fingerprint? I have had a great response and I appreciate the buzz that has been created just by word of mouth and facebook recommendations.

By gently pressing a digit into soft putty I’ll make a mold of a precious finger/toe.
The mold is reusable so I only need to do this once allowing more than one piece of jewellery to be made using the same impression.
Pendants/Charms are made of fine silver and oxidized to bring out the highlights of each unique impression.

• Single Print with name $45
• Double Print $55 (initials on back)
• Mini Charm $30

Creative changes can be discussed to customize your piece. Price will be set based on design and material needed.

Indicate birth month or add some colour with a Swarovski bead $4

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of being part of the Guelph Art on the Street show. As with every show there is much planning and prep work that goes into it. Not just the making of jewellery but the booth has to be weather proof, accessible and welcoming to the traffic. Early morning set up includes jockeying for parking near your booth, lugging heavy tables and wrestling with the wind as you raise your canopy. Yesterday was a hot day! At only 8 am it was a humid 22 degrees Celsius and it got hotter as the day wore on. The wind gusted playfully and unpredictably sending anything that wasn’t well secured flying to the pavement. Luckily jewellery isn’t very fragile and the wind is more of a nuisance than an adversary. However, nearby the sound of  breaking glass could be heard periodically from booths with framed drawings and photos and beautiful glass objects.  My heart broke for every piece that was shattered knowing the artist’s work and livelihood was lost with each broken piece.

You might wonder why artists and artisan’s go to such trouble with no guarantee of selling enough to even cover the cost of the booth space. Well for me, despite all the work and risk involved, the best thing about street shows is meeting the community. People come out to wander, to chat, to look at creative hand made things and be touched by what the makers offer. They buy with their hearts because these things are made by people that have lovingly made them with their hands. When you buy hand crafted you make a connection with a person who has a story to share. The art speaks to each person uniquely. It is my pleasure to meet each person. Each comment and question is welcome as it also sheds light on whether a design needs reworking or a price needs adjusting and keeps me talking about why I make jewellery, how it is made and what brought each item to be there.  Street shows enrich my  story as each piece made from my heart finds a home.

My booth at Guelph Art On The Street

If you attended the show. Thank you! I will be posting some of the work that you saw here. Some will make it’s way to the Cambridge Centre of the Arts Gift Shop others to Edissi Fine Arts in Kitchener and some may be posted on my Etsy or my icraft canada sites. Please contact me via email at heather@swaysilver.ca to find what you are looking for or have a special design made for you.  If you’d like to keep in touch email me and I’ll add you to my email list so  I can keep you informed of where you can find me teaching classes and where my jewellery is for sale once in a while.  (I promise never to share your info.)

Rustic Dandelion Ring, .999 silver, sterling silver, SOLD

Leather Bangle with Turquoise SOLD

Turquoise & Blue Striped Agate Bracelet (Sold), Hammered Pebble Links Bracelet, Turquoise & Smoky Quartz Confetti Bracelet (Sold)

Twig & Nest Necklace (Sold)

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Remember when she was born? That little bundle? All pink and squirmy? Precious and new? How fast they grow up. Now she’s a little twinkle toes twirling her dance steps across your kitchen floor.  Practicing, practicing for the big recital.  Tutus, ballet shoes, starlet in the making! What a proud moment for her as she’s made another leap to your Big Girl.

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It’s been a year since I added Precious Metal Clay to my roster of jewellery making skills. I’m happy to say it has broadened my design capabilities and has made my life easier. Replacing my previous acid etching technique with new metal clay methods is less harmful to the environment and to my health and because it is made of recycled silver my solid silver designs are actually GREEN! Happy Earth Day!

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