RustyCon!!!! and down time.

Just a quick heads-up to everyone out there:
The Etsy and Artfire stores will be closed until February 1st while I attend RustyCon (1/18-1/20) and then take a desperately needed vacation.  If you happen to be at Rusty or otherwise at the Sea-Tac Marriott, please feel free to drop by my table. I'm in the far right corner, across from the GoH tables.

If you need to get in touch with me while I'm out, email is your best bet (info@nightshaderose.com), as I'll be checking the inbox daily.

Thanks, and I'll see you next month!

WARNING: New Art in Progress

So, I was working on this thing tonight, and I learned a couple of things:

1) that I'd forgotten how time-consuming the larger pieces are. They take significantly longer both to fire and to cool down afterward. Luckily I also had a bunch of little pieces to work in the in-between times. And...

2) My waves are the best waves ever. This is with just one color layer in the wire, so it will only get better from here.

SALE TIME!!!

Just a quick heads up: Everything in the NightshadeRose Studio ArtFire Store is 20% off through Monday!  So, that's jewelry, buttons, art, claws, and hair combs at prices you probably won't see again until I get bored with the inventory next summer. There are a few more new pieces that will be listing on Friday and Saturday as well, like this awesome handpainted enamel medallion:

So come take a look around. You might just find that perfect gift for someone special (or maybe even yourself).

The Return of Forged Hairpins! (among other things)

 The forged Bronze Hairpins are back in stock at both Artfire and Etsy, with a sleek new look that's easier to use and holds fine hair even better.

They will soon be joined by a version in sterling silver, for those who want a slightly different look.

Copper claws are now listed on ArtFire, along with brass and bronze, and should be making their way over to Etsy shortly.

I knotted up 3 pearl strands during Orycon, so expect to see those showing up soon (and there's another gem show next weekend, so who know's what I'll come back with!).

OryCon Recap

One of the great things about shows is that I get to actually see all the things I've been working on, all together and finished.
This is the stuff I took to OryCon, as laid out on my hotel room desk on Thursday night:

I had them all out because I was doing the final labeling and check-in.  I've recently changed up my inventory system to account for multiples of any given item, so I had to put item numbers on everything (thus the profusion of tiny tags).
This next pic is just the tray of buttons.  They are far more awesome displayed all together than individually scattered around the studio.

So the con itself went alright.  I'll probably be back next year. The most positive upshot of the whole thing is that I think I've found the niches I want to settle into, and I now know I have a fairly wide variety of things I can consistently reproduce, so I can now start marketing to various sorts of applicable shops. This will be a whole new adventure.

Current inspiration!

Snow by Nom Kinnear King

This is a gorgeous painting, but please pay attention to the comb in the upper right.

I now have 3 pieces in the works based on that comb. Something about it just made me want to make it.

One is a fairly straight interpretation, ivory that is carved in, but not through, around the swirls. It will be tinted in the carved parts to make the pattern pop. The second will be pearl, carved through and cut out. It is turning out the be the finest saw work I've ever done. The third will actually be copper and bronze wire filigree, hinged onto a tortoise comb. This will be my first properly hinged comb, and if I can get this to work out, expect to see more metal ornaments hinged onto acrylic bases.

Maintenance, claws, and OryCon

So, first, the Bronze claws are up in the Artfire shop! Find them here: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/NightshadeRoseStudio/1/7/244034//

I'm finishing up copper tonight, but they may not get listed online until after OryCon.

Speaking of OryCon, I will be holding down a table in the dealers' room there from 11/2-11/4. The studio shops will be unavailable from 11/1-11/5. If you happen to be in/near Portland, OR that weekend, come see me.  I'll have all the claws and loads of jewelry and accessories.


So last week I ended up having to take a day for studio maintenance. I was trying something iffy with the enamel, and it ended with fairly large glass drips on the bottom of the kiln, which means stopping everything, cooling off, scraping down the affected surfaces, and re-coating them all with kiln wash (an easily removable ceramic coating that prevents any mishaps form sticking to the kiln surfaces). While I was at it, I took some time to clean/organize everything else a little bit, and take some pictures. So, here is the reasonably current state of my studio:

My bench:  always at least kind of a mess. :-)

Enameling station: all those little cups are the different colors and blends that I've been working with.  This will get a good cleaning after OryCon.

Kiln Shelf: scraped down, and with a new coat of kiln wash drying on the surface. The kiln was will dry to a lighter green  and then turn white during the first firing cycle.

Kiln with shelf in place.

All the small tripods I use to support the jewelry pieces when firing.  I 've gotten 6 more since this pic was taken. I might be approaching having enough now.