See all the Videos on how Various Accessories for the Pop-Ins Work here
It's been awhile. I've been working away like an elf on a new collection for sometime ... since my last post.
Last night, I might've stayed up past my bedtime sorting out the 'how to' on these 3 earring(s) / bracelet / extender pieces for the new holiday collection going into The Maker's Mark Newmarket, Ontario, shop in November.
Here's a Princess Necklace - before clasps - still playing around with the design.
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[I just got a new rebounder with bungees and bounced last night - it gives me energy. I think I need to get my bounces in during the afternoon from hereon in though.]
SooOOo - my mission, besides staying healthy as I sit at my bench and desk and table, day after day, is designing these pieces has been to make them as multi-functional as possible with lots of moving pieces with various ways of wearing the same thing. Now, with this particular piece, I feel, I've finally succeeded in pushing every boundary and getting it to work well.
In all the necklace/bracelet sets there are 3 functioning earrings ... the small hand-made sterling hoops can be worn alone. Small doughnuts can be added to the sterling hoops and worn with the bracelets and necklace (each big knot undone is a bracelet) and/or the doughnuts can slide over the (knotted bracelet) clasp and be worn as seen below - as more of a statement piece that goes with the Choker.
Part of the trick in designing is knowing when to stop. I find, I always go overboard first to figure out where the end of the plank is. You, Pirates, know what I'm talking about.
What we're looking at (above) is a 16" Choker Set with all the pieces (except the sterling hoop which I am still designing - I think I'll make it a wee bit larger). There's a bracelet tied into a knot ... ie, when it's untied, it's a bracelet and the bracelet can also be used as an extender for the necklace (as can be seen in the red 20" Princess Necklace, also above). The clasps are magnetic and interchangeably, and easily pop together.
Originally I made the little round doughnut that the sterling hoop earring hooks into (over the magnetic clasp) soley for the Choker set.
I decided that only the Choker needed it because more often than not (not knot) I felt the extender would be used more on the shorter 16" piece to lengthen it ... then that would leave just the one bracelet/earring, making the set less versatile than I'd wanted ... so I made these two smaller doughnut earrings and designed them so they were also the same size as the magnet clasps (so they easily slide over, totally hiding them, if two are used, or hiding just half, with one; incrementally diminishing how much silver is shown. The little doughnuts can also be used with the sterling hoops if a smaller earring is desired - instead of wearing the larger statement knot).
BUT - horror of horrors, I discovered the larger knots don't sit well on the sterling hoops - there was difficulty centring them and I gave it a quick pass. I'm here to try to make life fun and easy not to frustrate everyone (and yes I realize reading all of this might be somewhat frustrating but if you're this far in, stick with it ... it's complicated making things simpler sometimes).
I gave myself a day to sort things out with the earrings. And at the last minute, running into a big issue I'd not foreseen was almost crushing. I really thought I could just make a simple silver hoop earring and loop it through the larger knots but - Ohhhh noOOo - the balance was off. Balance is one of the biggies in design. It's one of the Three Elements of Design (the other two are Harmony and Rhythm. You might find others mentioned if you google this but they all fit into these three).
So Balance. It was fiddly finding center easily ... and so I set it down and walked away ... knew to do something else while my monkey mind solved it ... a relaxing bath - always a good thing at this point.
Reaching the end of the line, is a huge part of the creative process. It means your Saturation Point has been reached. Now waiting for the BIG AHA MOMENT creeps into the picture.
Be ready ... be ever soOOo ready.
And then it came to me ... slide the donut over the earring's knot clasp and see what happens ...
ét VOILA ...
No, running through the street wet and naked after midnight, Archemedis-style, no that didn't happen ... instead I tried it and saw that they looked great from all angles.
Working in 3-D and designing in the round is more complex.
OK Commercial Break but not really - well, just a little ... to end things off.
Back in May when I began the hot detox challenge with Julie Daniluk, none of this was even a twinkle in my eye - just sayin' ... but I think it's what helped me turn the corner ... health-wise and that means, physical, intellectual, spirituaal and emotional improvements happened that have helped me stay the course.
It feels good to turn another ToDo into a TaDa.
Tomorrow I start couture sewing classes!!!
I have to prep for this today.
And rebound before 4pm.
WhOot!
