Self Assessment

This is the time of year when I spend a couple of weeks going through my stock of made-up pieces of jewellery, and work out what, if anything, is looking a little jaded, and needs to be taken apart again. It used to really upset me to do this, after all, everything I make carries a substantial investment of both love and time. But in reality, if a piece hasn't found a new home either through my website or via a show or event, then I have to face up to the fact that taking it apart and using the focal beads in a new way, is the only sensible option.
And by doing this, I am confident in the knowledge that the customers who see me at various events over the summer, will be looking at fresh, bright, attractive jewellery, rather than pieces that might have been out on display last summer and have lost the newly-made gleam.
This process can be rather tedious, and it involves cleaning up a substantial quantity of silver in the tumbler, but with the shocking rise in silver prices over the last year or two, every tiny piece is very precious.
I'm also in the process of working out what new pieces I need to make, often to match up with existing necklaces. One design that proved very popular last year was a decorative necklace featuring high grade freshwater pearls combined with clusters of tiny gemstones and lots of silver. I've made this in three colours - creamy beige, peacock black, and silver grey. So yesterday I made a matching bracelet for the silver grey necklace - Belle Etoile - with the other two colours to follow shortly.