'LOCKDOWN CREATIONS'
COMPETITION WINNERS
In our November Newsletter we asked you what you had been creating during lockdown - we have been blown away by the responses we have received from all over the world - thank you all so very much! Congratulations to our winners - featured below...
Ian Hall
Ian has crafted this gorgeous dog brooch for a 50th Anniversary gift. It is predominantly made from Argentium 935 Silver, with a 9ct rose gold tongue, 22ct gold collar, a dog tag engraved with the letter 'L' (Roman numeral for 50), and onyx cabochons for the nose and eyes.
This brooch is a little different from Ian's fine jewellery work, which includes a very special collaborative piece, presented as a gift from the British Jewellers Association to Queen Elizabeth.
Cynthia Eid
Cynthia Eid is one of the Argentium Silver Guild's founder members, and has been working with and teaching Argentium Silver for many years.
Her jewellery and hollowware designs incorporate tactile textures and forms, often with accents of gold. We love the organic nature of Cynthia's lockdown creation.
Tess Jordan
"I love working with Argentium because of its color and amazing properties. You can fuse it, do keum-boo and even enamel. It feels like the possibilities are endless, which really appeals to my curious and explorative nature.
During lockdown I have been drawn to exploring textures and shapes."
Circinn Studio
This Guardian Angel necklace, created for key workers during the first UK lockdown, is a reminder that you’re never alone and there is always someone in your life to draw strength from. Circinn Studio are featured in our online article - 'An Angel to Watch Over You'.
Christine Zock
"This Argentium hollow ring would have been quite difficult to make with regular silver. With Argentium, it was possible fuse the whole piece, making it much easier. I
love to create hollow shapes with Argentium, it gives you totally new possibilities, without the mess of flowing solder. I used 1.0mm Argentium sheet to give stability and weight. The result is a very strong ring, without being too heavy."
Silberfeile
Elaine Venditti
"I've been smithing for several decades and switched to Argentium several years ago. I love it's fusibility as well as being able to manipulate it while it is super annealed. It gives me the ability to create fluidity in my designs that no other metal can do."
Table Jewellery by Eve
Bobbie Marquette
"I love sawing and piercing, creating layered pieces like shadow boxes as well as flatter multi-layered work. Argentium Silver is the perfect metal, especially for all the fusing I do. I love that it doesn’t create firescale, it stays bright and there is no solder to clean up. I use Argentium Silver in almost all of my work."
BM Charmed
Ely Greenhut
Each one of Ely's personalised jewellery items is handcrafted, with intricate details, pierced with skill and precision.
David Phillips
David uses square, half-hard, Argentium Silver wire, without solder or glue! These stunning creations celebrate the beauty and form of the gemstones, in a unique and elegant style.
Starchild Creations
Angela Canham
Angela has worked throughout lockdown and her jewellery making has been her saviour. She has enjoyed practising her Argentium Silver skills, producing pendants and rings and incorporating bezel settings with colourful gems.
"I absolutely love Argentium and I am so pleased I found this wonderful product."
Kris Martinez
Kris carefully entwines and weaves Argentium wires to make gorgeous jewellery items.
She incorporates unique, hand-selected tumbled stones, along with Swarovski crystals and beads, freshwater and cultured pearls.
Slightly Twisted by Kris
William Maegaard Ingtoft
"Before I design I usually immerse myself in a creative process - seeking inspiration in nature's creations, abstract art or architecture. My own unique jewelry style is often characterized by mixing organic and stringent elements, while experimenting with colours and contrasting objects."
William Scott Jewelry
Jess Finn
Each one of Jess' jewellery pieces is meticulously cut by hand to create stunning interlocking shapes and beautiful cut-out designs. Her jewellery is finished to the highest quality. Simply beautiful!
Gorjess Jewellery
Deborah Vollmer Dahlke
These Keum Boo Anticlastic Argentium earrings with 23ct gold, have been handcrafted by Deborah in her Hill Country studio, Austin, Texas. Her artisan jewelry is truly unique, and many pieces are one of a kind.
Austin Birdstone Studio
Yvonne Froehlich
"Last year, when watching JewelleryMaker TV, I came across Elizabeth Hunt demonstrating Argentium Silver. What a revelation! Who knew that you could fuse silver and that there was a material which hardly tarnishes? This had to be investigated further."
"It didn’t take me long to realise that, as no solder was used, this could be the perfect opportunity for a very special 12 year old to get involved. Our granddaughter was coming to stay for a couple of days before Christmas and the kits were perfect for her to make a surprise Xmas gift for her mum.
Well, another Argentium addict was born - it’s the perfect medium, under supervision, for youngsters to be introduced to metalsmithing. One demonstration from me and she was away and it wasn’t long before she had a complete set of jewellery for her mum, along with a few pieces for herself of course!
Another of my other passions is stone setting so imagine my delight when I was able to get hold of Argentium tube in which to set my pretty gems. Imagine the design possibilities of fusing tubes together. My Argentium journey continues" ...
Livon Designs
Coleen Creeden
"When Ambergris Caye (Belize's largest island) had the first reported case of Covid-19 in early March, our entire island was put on a state of emergency lock down. The island economy, dependent on tourists, came to a sudden stop and many of the island residents found themselves without a job, or way to feed their families.
Luckily for the community, a food bank has already been operating at local NGO Hope Haven Children’s Home and Community Center. They have been distributing food to over 2000 families since March 25, 2020. As I watched online as their many volunteers tirelessly fed the community, I wanted to contribute to their efforts, but I had lacked a spark of creativity. Their selfless efforts inspired me to make my most complicated fusing project to date. I re-imagined the 'Hope Haven' logo in a pendant and earring set and it has been donated to them for a future fund raiser. I also wanted to keep on giving to Hope Haven, and to do this I made my first collection 'Hope Is Love', with 50% of sales from this collection being donated to their ongoing feeding program."
FantaSea Gems
CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners!...
You will be receiving an Argentium flame proof apron and a flux kit, with handy brush dispenser.
