Making Filigree, Step 3.5

Having realized that all those tiny little pretties might get lost, step 3.5 is cleaning up my bench and work area! Yikes!

(click the photo to see notes and details!)

Photo-Blog; My Studio

Today is a photo-blog day for me, featuring my studio. Click on any of the photos to visit them on my Flickr page and read notes/comments.

Inching Along The Kitchen Floor, Following The Light

The sun came out today, and through my kitchen window I was lucky enough to recieve some direct sunlight, in the form of an 8 inch beam. I put my lightbox on a chair, added my full-spectrum lamp, and, on my knees, followed the beam as it moved across the room, frantically taking pictures. Later today, I will be scrubbing the floor. Anyway. I took my blog commenters advice which included changing the ISO speed from 400 down to 50. The results? Less grainy, yes. But spectacular? I'm not so sure. I played around with colors of backgrounds, props, angles and exposure times. These were my best shots:

(old versions - click any picture to enlarge)

The verdict? Its an improvement, and I'll try to get in some more re-takes before the suns goes to too low an angle. But I still wish I had one of these:

What I'm working on - Feb 7 2008

What I'm working on - Feb 7 2008, originally uploaded by Nicole Solo.

Makin' Filigree! I've sold four heart pendants but need more, and even though they'll be a little late for most Valentine's day shoppers, I think they will be a great addition to my shop. I ran out of my favorite venetian box chain though, so I have to make do with crappy craft store sterling silver chain. Pooey!

Bench - Oct 9th

Bench - Oct 9th, originally uploaded by Nicole Solo.

Wowzas, I am a slob.

Spent the last few days recovering from a stupid repetitve-motion injury.. And playing with my dapping set!! Whee that thing is fun! I made earrings and more earrings and a couple pendants, and some charms.. Been sawing out all sorts of little shapes and playing with copper and brass. Now I just need to figure out what the next *must-have* thing is gonna be! Bees, perhaps?? In any case, new listings to come soon!!

Studio Shot Tuesday - August 28th

Bench - August 28th, originally uploaded by Nicole Solo.

I've been making tons of rings again! I've finally got my bench set up - though I obvously lack in organisation. I'm going to have my handy-dad make me a custom pliers stand and maybe more. Plus I got replacements for my stolen equipment! *Phew*!

Bogo Success

Well, my part of of the PDXEtsy's first big BOGO sale was a success. I made 11 sales, to 11 new customers :) I have almost all of their orders made up and shipped off! I had so many orders, I ran out of charms for my packages. So I sat on the floor next to a tired bunny and made a ton of them. Bunny helped.

Bench, Aug 21

Bench, Aug 21, originally uploaded by Nicole Solo.

I've been in a funk the last few days, all I can think about is my upcoming visit to the Tri-Cities (even though my favourite part about visiting my family is when we get back home to Portland, lol). I feel bad about neglecting my poor bench but haven't set up my flexshaft or any equipment yet to really take advantage of it. I DID however get a little kick with a custom ring order, so I made some rings, and dabbled with a bit of leftover wire I wanted to form into cool earrings. Didn't quite turn out like I planned, but hey, I'm creating here!

Studio Shot Tuesday!

I joined in to show everyone a photo of my studio, as it is today, Tuesday! You can see my soldering station, littered with projects in the works and random tools, and my new jeweler's bench! (though it looks a little empty as I haven't put all of my equipment on it yet)

View everybody's contributions or add your own, here.

My Workspace

Here it is, my astonishingly clean workbench! Aside from what you see here, I also employ: an open sliding glass door (just to the right of the table), a desk fan to blow any fumes out said door, a jug of water, and a fire extinguisher. I'm sure there's more.. I have a dozen or so pairs of pliers, a couple small anvils, hammers, and all my beads and findings etc scattered around the living room but this is my new soldering setup. I can't do too much obviously, because I had to start small, with a butane microtorch from Rio Grande. My "bench" is a four-foot costco folding table, I have a really ugly cheap Target rug underneath (just in case..) and I stand, rather than sit, because I find it more comfortable. The nifty pegboard backsplash was custom made for me by my super-handyman Dad. Next on my list of things to order: Weighted-base third hand, tumbler for polishing since my flex-shaft is not available right now, a lamp ^(!!!), and eventually a better torch.