Surprisingly, Pink

When you think of rustic-industrial, pink probably doesn't jump to mind ~ but, isn't it a nice little surprise?!

THE coolest lampwork glass with nailheads by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads; one-of-a-kind, handmade, patina finished, pewter charms by Inviciti; vintage glass pearls.

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Stacked, mismatched headpins!

 I had one lovely, drool-worthy, orphan headpin, by Kimberly Rogers.   So, I thought I'd make a stacked mate using a small headpin by Pipandmolly, then layer a rhinestone spacer, a shimmery matte teardrop lampwork bead by Kay Mallery and a rough cut piece of pyrite.  I topped both off with yummy vintage AB faceted crystals for a little symmetry .

Many thanks for stopping by today!

Loralee xo

LoraleeKolton ~ artful in beads

Gone Industrial....

Hi everyone.  I have been making lots of new earrings for my upcoming earrings only FB show.  I always make several pairs of the same design with slight variations....I keep making the same design until I'm either bored or I run out of supply.  In this case, I ran out of the Petra connectors.

A group shot, just because 😄

1. with a pair of vintage raw brass filigree beads.

2. With little chunks of tanzanite

3. with little druzy geode chunks

4. and with peace beads

These plus many more will be available in my FB show on Wednesday the 16th from 9pm BST/4PM EST in The Earrings Show group.  Hope you can pop over.

See you again soon.

Suhana 💜💜💜

My Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads

Shady Sinner

I seem to be in the minority when I say that I really don't prefer jewelry/beads/components that include words. Which is an odd thing for me to say, being a self avowed word nerd, bookaholic, and walking dictionary. There's something about the bluntness (?) of it that doesn't appeal to me. It's hard to describe, other than you will 99.9% of the time never see these in my work. The same goes for beads and charms that feature humans or body parts. But that's another story.


HOWEVER. 

 
When my latest order of ceramic beads from the insanely talented and lovely Claire of somethingtodobeads arrived, she included a generous pair of freebies: grungy twirled smooshed ceramic beads stamped with two simple, devious, wicked words---SHADY and SINNER. 

Now, when I laid eyes on this pair, my first thought was oh, now that's cheeky. And my next thought was wait, those actually kinda go together. Followed quickly by a grin and an oh yes, challenge accepted. 

 
And, thusly, today's pair of earrings was born. I torched my own fat-bottomed copper headpins, strung each ceramic bead on, and then topped them with graduated stacks of rusty, crusty, patina-riddled bead caps---no two the same. I dotted the top loop of each with some silver solder, gave each earring a good oxidation bath, and then hung each from one of my long curvy copper ear wires. Swingy, potbellied little devils.

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

My Favorite Things

Favorites---we all have them. 

Whether it's your favorite color (olive green), favorite food (garden-fresh tomatoes), season (autumn), author (Cormac McCarthy), shoes (black biker boots)...the list goes on. We can learn so much about a person by looking at their favorite things. See, look how much you just learned about me? Of course, we as humans are much more nuanced than a condensed list of favorites, but these are great starting points. 



One of my most favorite stones---and honey, I've worked with a LOT of stones---is chiastolite. A form of rosy brown andalusite and otherwise known as "cross stone", this wicked material features completely naturally occurring black graphite crosses or Xs at its center. The iconography of the cross goes back thousands of years across untold cultures. I love the provenance and fluidity of such a symbol.

So any time I see a nice piece of chiastolite, I tend to snap it up like a hamster---hoarding it away for future use. These little teardrop pieces weren't in my hands very long before they spoke to me. I gave them wee soldered caps and dangled them simply beneath vintage wood beads and ratty pronged black metal bead caps. Ever so slightly industrial and gothic (see aforementioned proclivity for black biker boots) with a crunchy earth goddess vibe thrown in for good measure. Hey, that pretty much sums me up.

OK, now tell me some of YOUR favorites!

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Lively Up Yourself

vintage industrial hoops, red river jasper

Isn't it funny (for those of us here in the Midwest, at least), how we were concerned and complaining about how warm it was on Christmas (+60F degrees!)? And now that the holidays are all over, a cold snap has set in and it's 20F degrees and we all feel like we're dying? I guess you could call that funny. Or perhaps nature's form of karma. 

I actually prefer a cold winter, myself. It just feels more natural that way. If we didn't have the biting cold in the dark months, we would not as deeply appreciate the pleasure of a sunny 80F degree day. 

I tell myself that, at least.

lampwork glass by Kimberly Rogers, brass hoops

So as I sit here typing, I'm bundled in an insanely poofy knit sweater with a bunchy turtleneck that is a mile high. I'm surrounded by at least two of our three cats. I have on my embarrassing hot pink fleecy socks that I loathe but, dammit, they get the job done. I'm doing my best to keep warm. 

I suppose that desire also crept into my jewelry last week as I created several sets of earrings using red, a color that I have grown to appreciate more in recent years. Hot-blooded, tempestuous, uncontrollable red...

ceramic red lilies by Claire Armstrong, wood beads

Hope your holidays ended up on a high note and hope your new year is a deliciously creative one!

Happy Wednesday,
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Rough Around the Edges

I'll be the first to admit that I'm rough around the edges. I like things that may be considered ugly or junky or taboo.  I like being a black sheep. I like my jewelry to have some bite.

I'm big on re-purposing elements in my jewelry---not from a tree-hugging recycle-hound standpoint (not that there's anything wrong with that), but from a "I really love the look of this old bead/rock/found object" standpoint. Stuff may be busted or have a crust on it---a patina of time, if you will. I like that.

Along these lines, one of the things I love playing with are vintage industrial metal bits.  They're old, they're beaten up, they're rusty, they may be broken and unusable in any other application. I like the challenge of looking at an object and then figuring out how to bring it back to life in unexpected ways.

Like this pair of earrings that I made for myself that feature some old industrial metal rings. What they were used for at one time, I have no idea. But they're pitted and corroded and covered with a layer of dark green verdigris patina...and I love them. I kept it simple by hanging them with two unusual lightweight vintage German wood beads. Each bead sports a little filigree bead cap to add some verve, plus my own headpins, ear wires, and soldering. Blackened metal because YES, please.

These are the kind of earrings that I wear everyday. They make a confident statement without clubbing you over the head. Some people may call it an "industrial chic" trend, but I just call it ME.

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

A Time Before Kings

Every so often you either stumble or make a calculated fall into a design or an aesthetic that really takes you. More than just an "oh wow, I really like how this came out" kind of way. But in a "THIS" kind of way. 


As I've continued to play with copper and fold forming in the studio, I found myself gravitating toward elemental glyphic shapes over the last week. No complicated over-wrought heavy designs. Just simple eye-catching statements that end up saying more while actually saying less.

 



The end result (or perhaps just the beginning?) is a series I'm dubbing "A Time Before Kings", due to the primitive ancient finishes and the glyphic symbology. My love affair with purposeful firescale results in pops of thick blood red while pockets of raw copper and blackened darkness add light and depth.  






I considered using these metal charms as part of larger designs, but in the end decided to let them speak on their own. 

Sometimes you need a break from the norm so you can explore further along down the path.

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Junkyard Queen

"One man's junk is another man's treasure"...

It's an aphorism that we've all heard before, right? I've always found it curious how something that some would consider junky, worn out, used up, and ugly could appeal so much to me. There's something about having a soul, having lived through a storm or two, having a story to tell. A little metaphor for us humanfolk, don't you think? The things that make us the most interesting and emotionally rich aren't always the things that make us pretty.

 



I know I'm not the only one out there who loves the junkyard aesthetic. I channel this primitive rustic look in all of my jewelry, but I was particularly tickled with how this recent earring pair came out. Rusty washers handmade by Kiyoi Designs out of steel metal clay, little blue kyanite shard "collars", and perfectly mismatched etched agate and carved wood bead toppers. 

 



These babies sold in a snap to my dear dear friend Susan who is a vintage-loving antiques freak like myself. I loved them so much that I created a second similar pair to share the love - available now in my shop. Embrace life's beautiful imperfections...y'know what I mean?

Happy Wednesday <3
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Industrial Chic

 

I can't believe that it has been 10 days since I was in Washington, D.C. for the ArtBliss workshops. While I was there, I got to meet all sorts of people that I had only known online. I got to meet and connect with teachers that have been my idols, my mentors and are now my friends. And I got to learn some really cool techniques that I suspect will be showing up in my work.

One such idol-mentor-friend is Stacie Florer of Soul to Substance. She is truly a delight to be around. Her cheery personality just bubbles with enthusiasm. She is a gifted teacher with an easy-going style that is encouraging and generous. I spent all day on Saturday, September 28th in her Thin Gauge Metals workshop. 

Usually, when I have worked with metal, we are using a much more stiff gauge that necessitates using heavy equipment, jeweler's saws and the like to work with it. But the metal that I used in these earrings was 30 gauge, so flimsy that you could wave it in front of you like a piece of cardstock. However, when you are done with the manipulation to achieve these interesting textures, that look to me much like folds in fabric, then layering and even riveting, you get something so much stronger yet completely lightweight.

I created these steampunk-style earrings using copper, brass and perforated aluminum (?) along with a rivet just for fun. While these are very cool and edgy, they are not quite my style. However, I have bought the tools and more materials so that I can do something that feels a lot more like me. I already have one pair that I have made in a completely different shape and everyone who sees it says that it looks more like me. I am sure that more metal earrings will be coming from my hands soon!

So, that makes me think... is there a shape that is most like you?
Do tell!

Bordering Punk

My experiments with cold connection sometimes lead to unexpected results. I was rummaging through old components that never seem to be quite appropriate and found these perforated discs. Maybe they could finally find a practical use? It is always a challenge for me to find the right eyelets or rivets for the limited size holes I can punch, so when I found some components that would work together I was relieved. With me, earrings always starts out with a rustic or tribal character using hammered copper diamond shaped connectors and patinated jump rings. These still have that rustic feel, but with a little bit of industrial and almost punk style.

Back to School by bohobeader featuring a brown leather jacket

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire