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 My Goal is to create chic and sophisticated handmade jewelry for all the Savvy women out there! Another must → my handmade jewelry must be beautiful, contemporary designs that are both original and unique! I hope to cater to those who value the workmanship, effort and creativeness of the jewelry-making artisan. As I grow as a jewelry artist, I have come to love silversmithing more and more. As such, I am focusing more on all sterling silver handmade jewelry pieces. I still love gemstone beads and Swarovski Crystals, but I am now using them as accents in my designs instead of as the focus of my designs. As such, you will see reduced prices on many of my beaded handmade jewelry. Please take a look around to see all of the wonderful products I offer! What distinguishes me and my handmade jewelry designs from bargain, reduced price jewelry? I do not simply "assemble" premade commercial components. Although I appreciate the simpler designs, every piece of handmade jewelry I make lovingly has my aesthetic and creative *stamp* on it. I also never produce duplicate designs using molds, casts or prefabricated designs, truly making my handmade jewelry one-of-a-kind pieces. I carefully handcraft every jewelry piece with ♥, attention to detail, and purpose to create exceptional, unusual and innovative designs. I am constantly working on improving my craft and my webstore. It takes commitment, a plethora of time, and quality resources (equipment, educational, materials and otherwise). Because making handmade jewelry is another form of creative expression for me, with few exceptions, I have no interest in repeating designs. My passion is to make wearable art and experiment with new ideas and patterns every time. Hopefully, my art speaks to you ... I really love sterling silver so my handmade jewelry line is devoted to this exceptional precious metal (although I have begun including gold into my designs). Although I have a few trendy designs for those who like the popular styles and I have a few simple designs for those who possess an understated style, I am now focusing on jewelry that is chic, beautiful and timeless. Because I have such a passion for the creative process, I will continue to make new handmade jewelry items and put them on the Savvy Silver website all of the time ... So, please come back often so you can see my latest pieces of handmade jewelry. I specialize in quality handmade jewelry
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All of my handmade jewelry pieces are made of sterling silver wire and findings (I never use base metals or silver-plated metals) - with one exception which I explain below. Also, I have also begun incorporating 14kt gold-filled beads and wire as well into my jewelry designs for its beauty and affordability ... So, what are findings? Findings are the component parts or materials used in making a piece of handmade jewelry. So, for example, jump rings, which can be round or oval in shape, are considered findings. In the above picture, you can see I used oval jump rings, as well as a lobster claw clasp, which is also a jewelry finding. These pieces are always functional, but I use them as part of my handmade jewelry designs as well. I like to use heavier gauge wire in my handmade jewelry designs because of the thick bold look, as well as the strength they offer the piece. I use lighter (and thinner) gauge wire for either wrapping my handmade jewelry designs or to allow for the stringing of beads with very small holes.
Sterling silver is made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The copper, which is combined with the pure silver to add strength and scratch resistance, is also known for its propensity to tarnish. Click on cleaning sterling silver for advice on how to remove the tarnish from my sterling silver pieces, with and without gemstones and crystals.
What do I do with the sterling silver wire? My favorite thing to do with my sterling silver is to solder and "wire-wrap" to create unique handmade jewelry. Wire-wrapping encompasses many things, but basically this method of creating handmade jewelry involves bending, twisting, hammering and otherwise manipulating the sterling silver wire into pleasing shapes as well as to create functional handmade jewelry designs. For example, you will see that I love circles, so I often wrap the wire into varied hoop shapes and build off of this design. I also like to create abstract patterns. Although there is a beauty in symmetry, the abstract patterns will often be asymmetrical - but balanced, nonetheless. My work is very experimental. Yes, I often am inspired and have ideas in mind, but when I actually begin wrapping the sterling silver wire, the work evolves into its own form. This experience is very much like my paintings, which you can view from the top navigation link.
It really is the uniqueness and discovery of the design for the first time that thrills me about making handmade jewelry and that is why my jewelry pieces are all one of a kind. You will often see jewelers that speak about original and unique pieces, but if you browse their stores (especially online), you will see references to duplicating a design for new customers. For me, this duplication defeats the claim that it is one of a kind or unique, so I am mindful of what I have created before in deciding what my next piece of handmade jewelry will be. Hopefully, when browsing my store, you will see that all my pieces have their own character, even if they start from the same building blocks.
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