Brass Conch Necklace

This necklace was born from a happy mistake - I have it strung on 3 metres of brass chain so that I can loop it and layer it as much as I like.

The Virtue of Patience

Last year, I created my very first hammerhead shark brooch - and to say there's been a bit of interest in it since I began wearing it around would be an understatement! It's taken me months to get myself sorted and find the right kind of brass to reproduce this little critter, but after the aforementioned success of the weekend, I'm now able to start replicating it.

He's not going down without a fight though - I've so far been useless at adjusting my patience levels to take into account the thickness of the brass I'm using with the fragility of my saw blades, and so far I have broken at least 15 blades just trying to cut around this guy. Maybe it's newbie naivety, but I'm picking it's just me and my impatience to have him cut out and in my hot little hand, ready for filing and shaping. Too much pressure equals lots, and lots of broken blades, and a grumpy Nikki.

My Weekend

This right here, is evidence of a successful foraging weekend at the local building and metal recycle centres. It's so ridiculous that I spend my weeks eager to hit the junk yards on a Saturday, and get antsy if we leave it too late to head out as I worry the best bits of brass will be picked over. Hah! The things we stress about eh?

However, as you can see, Saturday was successful in foraging terms, so I'm armed and ready to get cracking with some of the jewellery orders and requests I've got backing up!

And yes, these grungy looking pieces of metal will be turned into amazing pieces of jewellery - watch this space! There's something really awesome (and kind of random!) about wearing a brooch or pair of earrings knowing that they used to be a kick plate on a door. I love the pre-loved condition of this sort of brass compared to the new shiny yellow sheeting you can buy.