Shop-FAQ is a list of questions YOU may have. If your question is not answered here, please send it to us thru our ‘contact us’ page. If we add it to our FAQ list, we will send to you a Coupon code for a discount as a gift from us to you. Thank you.
Why do you feel that your business is relevant in today’s world?
Hand-Crafted compared to mass produced, is 1-of-a-Kind and personalized to a special individual to be cherished by the receiver for a long time to come. Some 1-of-a-kind will make only 1 pattern, BUT will construct it in many different colors. This cuts the cost down from only creating 1 (one)-of-a-kind.
*Mass produced is a filigree of sameness with no individuality.
Timeless – Re-purposed, Recycled, Sustainable materials.
We like saving our heirloom vintage jewelry items from the landfills and also using these same items to design and create 1-of-a-kind pieces of artisan jewelry. As the items we salvage usually don’t have a huge amount of beads or other components, we are very limited as to how many jewelry pieces can be designed from our finds. That also means each piece we create will never be copied by someone else.
Seed Bead patterns
In 2018 Sande began to learn techniques in the very small beads, called seed beads. Until she learns to create her own patterns, she has and will continue to purchase patterns from others. These seed beads items are Water Proof. They may be worn in water as long as there is no bleach in the water. Bleach will rot anything, even people.
Of the 3 terms listed
1- Professionally finished is the highest level This means the work is actually done by, or supervised by, a professional to ensure the best results. The term is used quite often in the world of Artisan Jewelry to describe work done on custom pieces made of natural metals and minerals. The pieces are always finished with rounded ends on the wire, no scratches, and all loose ends tucked under.
2- Handcrafted Items are indeed made by humans, but above and beyond that, the term indicates the application of skills, techniques, and handiwork which denotes uniqueness and professional quality. Examples of handcrafted components include those with intricate designs or made from natural materials from the earth, glass seed beads, lamp worked glass, polymer clay, glazed ceramic, porcelain, natural wood and many other natural materials.
3 – Handmade Items – Entirely made from raw materials and fabricated by hand. No purchased links, clasp, chain, rings, etc. In today’s world Handmade & Handcrafted seem to be interchanged quite a lot. Some platforms will not accept Handcrafted as a description. They will change that word to Handmade when posting your product description to their platform. So finding items actually Handmade is very hard to find. A knitter would have to make her own yarn, a jeweler make her own wire.
***********************************************************************
Statement jewelry is any kind of jewelry that allows the wearer to make a big, bold, distinctive, stylish declaration of their personality: that they are interesting, unique and command your attention.
What is a Mineral?
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and inorganic represented by a chemical formula. Each mineral of the same identifier will always have the exact formula composition. That is what identifies it from a rock, which can be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals and does not have a specific chemical composition. A diamond can be called a rock, but a rock can not be called a diamond. The difference is the composition of naturally occurring substances which create the diamond and the rock. The diamond always has the exact same composition of minerals and a rock never has the same composition of minerals and / or non-minerals.
What is a Slab?
A slab is a mineral which has been sliced (Cut with a saw) from its natural shape into flat pieces, usually about 1/4 inch thick. Kind of like slicing a ham. Depending on the size and shape of the outer mineral, many slabs may be cut from the same mineral specimen. All with differing colors showing on the flat sides and shapes for the edge.
What is a Cabochon?
A Cabochon is a slab which has had a specific shape cut out of it, depending on the color and design of the mineral. Kind of like cutting cookie dough shapes. Most Cabochons are cut into oval shapes. Some are cut round, square, triangle, or donuts. The edges are smoothed, the top side is domed, and its back side left flat. They are cut in all sizes from the size of a dime to a very large belt buckle. All Cabochons are polished to a very bright shine to show off the design and color of the mineral.
What is Wire Wrap?
Wire Wrap is a technique to surround the Cabochon in wire for the purpose of containing it so that it can be worn as a pendant to show off the mineral design and color.
*The Bail is that portion of the wrap where the chain or cord will go thru the wrap for the mineral to be worn as a pendant. Usually a square wire is used to contain the mineral in a wrap and more than one wire is used. Since several wires may be used, they need to be wrapped with a smaller wire at different intervals around the wrap in order to hold the square wire in place.
These smaller wire wrap-a-rounds are called bundles. Beads and/ or other materials may also be added as a part of the design of the whole piece.
What are Woven Beads? or Bead Embroidery?
Woven Beads are beads usually of a small size. Manufacturer’s give them sizes of 10/0, 8/0, and 6/0. Retailers also call them 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm. The mm being millimeters. Woven Beads are used to decorate around minerals and other materials to create a pendant. These small beads are sown onto a backing while creating the design. Last, a permanent backing of suede or leather is sown on to cover the sewing threads and complete the edge of the design. Bead Embroidery can also be a design sown into a fabric using beads as the design element. A backing covers the threads on the back of the embroidery to give it stability and beauty.
Nouveau or Deco.
Nouveau design was inspired by natural forms, while Deco put geometry front and center.
Acrostic –
The practice of making jewelry by numbers and their meaning.
Is any glue used in the woven bead pendants?
NO glue is used in the design or creation of any woven bead or bead embroidery pendant on this web site. All beads and decorations are sown onto the woven bead & bead embroidery designs. Felt has been used for the permanent backing on some pendants. Leather and suede is most often used.
What is Bakelite?
This is a name the Australians coined for synthetic resin made from phenol and formaldehyde. Used a great deal in the 1920-1940 costume jewelry age. Bakelite is usually plated to give it a gold or silver look.
What Wire metal is used?
This Web-Site only uses Sterling Silver, Red Brass, or Copper in the wrapping of it’s wire wrapping designs, bails on the bead embroidery and all wire designs.
What is Plating
Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solder-ability, to harden, to improve wear-ability, to reduce friction, to improve paint adhesion. Jewelry typically uses plating to give a silver or gold finish. Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold on the surface of glass or metal, most often copper or silver.
What is Polymer Clay
Polymer clay is a type of harden-able modeling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It comes in a variety of colors, worked by hand and is usually combined in various mixtures of styles and shapes to create all types of jewelry and decor.
Define Gemstones
A gemstone or gem (also called a fine gem, jewel, or a precious or semi-precious stone) is a mineral, which, when cut and polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks or organic materials that are not minerals are also used for jewelry, and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity engraved gems and hard-stone carvings, such as cups, were major luxury art forms. A gem maker is called a lapidary or gem-cutter: a diamond worker is a diamantaire.
We would really like to know what other questions you have for us. Please send them to us thru our ‘contact us’ page. Thank you.