Designer Toy World Cup
When I was invited to create an entry as part of Team Australia for this year’s Designer Toy World Cup it came as a bit of a surprise as I’ve never made or decorated an art toy before! But never one to pass up an opportunity for a fun art project I accepted with relish. Obviously I severely underestimated the amount of time it would take me but that’s par for the course as I tend to get a little carried away when given free rein. When transforming my little DIY Bobby I wanted to stick to what I know best; metal. So it seemed like a no brainer to me to give him a suit of armour. Sir Bobby was born. From the very beginning I envisioned Sir Bobby as some kind of demon warrior king so I designed his armour in a Medieval Gothic tracery style, complete with a skull motif subtly worked into the breastplate. This guy isn’t messing around.I hand pierced everything including axe, shield, breastplate, epaulettes, crown and visor from brass sheet and did a little bit of hand engraving to pick out the necessary details. After shaping the flat metal to the contours of Bobby’s body and riveting the pieces together, my knight was in need of some chainmaille to protect his precious little vinyl head and thighs. Now this is where I may have mismanaged my time somewhat. Making each little link from scratch I went through metres of brass wire and gave up a solid chunk of my life to fashioning his coif and skirt. Worth it. https://www.skadijewellery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sir-bobby-finished_Medium-1.mp4 Sir Bobby was starting to look like he was spoiling for a fight but he wasn’t quite tough enough for my liking. Obviously he required head to toe tattoos. To match his armour and emphasise his slightly supernatural aspect, I painted Bobby with some medieval style foliage. I lightly pencilled the design all over his body then carefully painted it in black so it was just visible. I then went over it in a gloss topcoat to give the contrast of the glossy vines on the matte black body. Even though most of the painting is hidden by his armour, I like that you catch occasional glimpses of it through the holes. Sir Bobby was then ready for assembly and his trip to NYC to join all the other Bobbys! I hope he plays nice. The competition begins June 1st 2019 at the Martian Toys booth at Five Points Festival in NYC. If you’re close by check it out! If not you can see all of the incredible the entries here:@martian_toys@designertoyworldcup@redlife1972 https://www.skadijewellery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sir-bobby-finished_Medium.mp4
How a Skadi Jewellery Design ring is made
Do you want to know how a Skadi Jewellery Design ring is made? If you’re anything like me you’ve probably lost a significant portion of your life down the vortex that is ‘how is it made?’ videos. I recently watched a feature length film on the making of a brass sculpture in which not one word was uttered, it simply showed the process from beginning to end. I was mesmerised. This post is for those of you who share my fascination. It all starts with a flat sheet of sterling silver and a design; in this instance a personalised monogram ring with the initials DJC. I print my design onto some adhesive paper and stick it to the silver sheet. A small hole needs to be drilled into the negative space of every single cell which needs to be cut out. In order to cut out the enclosed cells of the inside of the design, the blade in my saw frame needs to be released on one side, threaded through a drilled hole, then fastened back into the saw frame. As you can imagine this a time consuming business for every cell! https://www.skadijewellery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/VID_243900604_164922_605.mp4 Once the design is entirely cut out I can remove the adhesive paper to magically reveal the shape of the ring to come! I hand engrave some carefully calculated lines around the monogram to add the details required to distinguish each letter and have them stand out from the frame. The silver then needs to be annealed (heated up) with a torch to make it more pliable. This way I can then bend it around a ring mandrel to create a basic ring shape and solder the two ends together at the back. I then put it back on the mandrel to hammer it into a perfect circle. From there it’s just a matter of a good sand and polish and it’s ready to wear! Not including the time it takes to design the piece, a ring like this can take 3-5 hours. I hope that knowing how much time and effort goes into the making of the rings on your fingers gives you an even greater appreciation for their beauty! Of course there are hundreds of different ways to make a ring but I hope you’ve learned something from my process of choice. If you have any questions or you’d like to know how any of my other pieces are made don’t hesitate to leave a comment. If you’d like a personalised monogram ring of your own follow check out the listing below or fill out the custom request form. If you’d like to see more of my jewellery making process check out my instagram. commission your own monogram ring
Skadi Ambassador – Dragonfly
Skadi Jewellery Design has a new face! And as you’d expect it’s clever, creative and very attractive. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with the wonderful Dragonfly for 2 years now so I am delighted to announce that she is the new Skadi Jewellery Design brand Ambassador! She has essentially held this role the entire time we’ve worked together by continuously representing my jewellery in spectacular new and creative ways, but it’s nice to make it official.I’m so excited about our future partnership as Dragonfly shares my love of characters and stories but adds a whole new enchanting perspective. I believe we’ll inspire each other to some truly extraordinary fantastical creations! Dragonfly (real name Margarida or Gui to her friends) is based in Portugal and has been working as an alternative model for the past 10 years. In that time Dragonfly has represented some wonderfully talented and well respected artists and brands such as Alchemy Gothic, The Gothic Shop, Vilindery, Burleska and Curiology. She is also an exceptionally talented photographer and is responsible for all of the styling and make up involved in her work. A genuinely creative and versatile Jack of all trades, this is one woman worth keeping an eye on! You can find more of Dragonfly’s amazing work here: Blog Instagram Facebook
Making a ring video
Usually when someone sees my work for the first time their initial question is inevitably “how is it made?”. More often than not people assume all of my work is laser cut (who would be mad enough to cut out such small details for hours a day right?). Even after all these years I still get immense pleasure from the look on people’s faces which range from pleasant surprise to downright disbelief when I tell them I make all of my metal pieces myself. When I mention I often make the chains myself too they look at me like I’ve just told them I’m Elvis. Immersed as I am in my work I often forget that not everyone knows exactly how jewellery is made. Thanks to the brilliant photographer Nelli Huié who put this video together (and rather masterfully condensed 3-4 hours of work into under 2 minutes), I can finally show you how one of my custom monogram rings is made from start to finish. Enjoy! P.S. If you have any questions about the process please don’t hesitate to post a comment below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_knm_5rmQ&t=4s Order your very own custom monogram ring
Artist Feature – Mahafsoun
Artists rarely thrive in a vacuum. It’s so important to at the very least expose yourself to the work of fellow artists, and at best collaborate with them. This process gives you perspective, pushes you to greater efforts and in most cases enhances your own creativity. It’s somewhat gestalt; ideas collide and the product is greater than the sum of it’s parts, it’s something neither artist would have come up with on their own. I believe it’s vital to learning and development. Call it artistic evolution if you will, and you don’t want the figurative creative gene pool to stagnate! So when opportunity comes knocking you shouldn’t ignore it. When Mahafsoun first approached me with a view to collaborate I was cautiously optimistic. I’ve been approached by quite a few models, stylists and photographers, some still honing their craft, some with exceptional talent and some who are just hoping to get their hands on some free stuff! Amazingly, I had never actually come across Mahafsoun’s art previously so – as with every unknown potential collaborator – I looked up her work with a mix of apprehension and excitement. As I slowly scrolled through her images several thoughts ran through my mind; the apprehension evaporated immediately, I couldn’t comprehend that this was the first time I was seeing such stunning work (why had no one pointed this out to me previously?!), I felt privileged that she had sought me out, and finally, the prospects made me dizzy with delight. Obviously I sent an immediate reply in the affirmative and haven’t been disappointed for a moment since! For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure, Mahafsoun is a Persian bellydancer with Azerbaijani and Egyptian heritage who also dabbles in singing, composing, modelling and photography. A real renaissance woman! Disappointingly for us mere mortals she’s also incredibly nice and gracious. This remarkable combination of talent and charm understandably seems to inspire fierce loyalty and creativity in her fans. I best know her work as a model. While predominantly alternative in style, Mahafsoun has a natural beauty and willingness to experiment which makes her truly versatile. I believe what makes her unique and so inherently engaging is the fact that she does what she does for the love of the art. She appears to approach every concept with joy, determination and imagination and it shows. The reason I mention this is not to gush about what a wonderful person she is (even though she is lovely!), but because it’s an attitude we could all learn from; when you remove pretention from the equation what you’re left with is endless possibilities. In writing this feature I finally got the excuse to learn about Mahafsoun’s perspective: “I approached Skadi Jewellery in May of 2014 for a collaboration, having found her creations days before that. I fell in love with the detail behind each piece she created, to the point where I thought they were all laser cut. They had to be, for being so perfectly done! I was so impressed to learn that she hand cut them all. It made her creations even more precious and personal. I couldn’t imagine anyone coming up with her intricate designs. The first few pieces I modelled for her were breathtaking. A ring, a mask and a bracelet. I was mesmerized by the detail and the delicate designs that were such a lovely statement to the images. I wear her ring and bracelet out a lot now. I love designs that are actually wearable. The second time I had the pleasure of shooting for her, I was wearing a custom made chain headpiece with my initials on it. No one has ever made something so personalized for me. That piece has my favourite mineral on it – amethyst. It is perfection! I’m so happy that our artistic paths crossed.” Mahafsoun I continue to be inspired by Mahafsoun’ talent, enthusiasm and friendly professionalism and I look forward to whatever our future joining of forces will bring. Be sure to keep watch, I believe she will do great thing and if I’m lucky, Skadi will be part of it! *Instagram:www.instagram.com/mahafsoun * YouTube:www.youtube.com/Mahafsoun* Facebook:www.facebook.com/MahafsounArt* DeviantART:www.Mahafsoun.deviantart.com* Model Mayhem:www.modelmayhem.com/Mahafsoun
Creating an heirloom
I got to thinking more in depth about creating pieces of lasting beauty this week with several custom monogram projects strewn in my path. Custom pieces are by far my favourite thing to create because I’m working in collaboration with the client. This results in a combining of ideas, styles and stories which manifest themselves in a piece of artwork which is always a pleasant surprise to both myself and the client. You can never really anticipate what will happen during the design process and what wondrous beauty it may produce. But what makes a piece special? Something that you won’t get bored of after wearing it for a month? Something that you want your children or friends to love and cherish and add their own story to when you’re gone? I believe there are three key elements to such a miracle of creation; classic appeal, story and personal attachment. Classic appeal is about the aesthetic and feel of the piece. It goes without saying that a well balanced and visually pleasing design is vital to giving any piece of wearable art longevity but there’s more to it than that. The piece doesn’t need to be expensive and diamond encrusted to be memorable and extraordinary. It doesn’t need to be gaudy to catch your attention. It doesn’t have to be based on the style of a certain time period (in fact that may even do the piece harm and make it dated. It helps when considering the design to think about styles that have managed to remain timeless and consistently pleasing in form). What really matters is the client’s personal taste because that’s part of the story of the piece. They need to love looking at it for the rest of their lives. The challenge is to synthesise their entire life experience and all the things they find visually pleasing into one tiny piece of wearable art. No mean feat, and it takes great communication to produce the finest results. Story is about creating a visual and tactile memory aid similar to smelling a cake which reminds you of your 6th birthday or a perfume that makes you think of your grandmother. Maybe it’s not even as specific as a memorial piece but gives the wearer a strong feeling or a sense of self. It’s also important to remember that the making of the piece is part of that story so ensuring that process is as pleasurable as possible is vital! Important factors to consider when designing the piece is why the wearer has requested it be made in the first place, how to create the trigger which will release the infused memory and how to make it unique to that wearer. These considerations are doubly important when someone is having the piece made for someone else because then you need to amalgamate at least two stories. The trigger may involve a place, event or even a date and finding the right symbols to communicate these things but also coordinate with the aesthetic requirements of the piece can often be quite challenging! Personal attachment is about what makes the piece unique to the wearer. The simplest way to achieve this is by creating a locket into which they can insert a photo or text. The use of a monogram, initial, name, date or pictorially, a family crest or symbol are also common methods used to elicit the desired memory. I find the most interesting pieces manifest themselves when you have to get more creative. Quite often I’ve found people wanting to include a reference to their affinity with a certain animal, their beliefs or even a specific season. The beauty of it is that there’s no idea too small or too grand because the art is a piece of them, dictated by them, and for them alone. And if the piece gets passed down the character of it’s first owner will still shine through even as the next person adds their own memories to it. I hope this small insight into the design process will aid you when searching for or creating an heirloom of your own. Remember to take the time to consider exactly what would make it special to you so you’re making an investment rather than acquiring another forgettable bauble to get tangled amongst all the others at the bottom of your jewellery box. If you’re searching for a gift which will be treasured be sure it includes the elements of classic appeal, story and personal attachment and you can’t go wrong! Discover your own personalised treasure here
