How's It Done?

So, I mixed a few colors of polymer clay to resemble the natural tones of a live mushroom, and rolled the clay around a wire, topped with a clay mushroom cap carefully shaped with a manicure-tool, and with the point of a pin, applied clay polka dots to the cap.  Likewise, I created mini succulent plants with the green tones of the clay, rolling out and slicing tendrils and pressing them together to form a miniature aloe/agave. 

I began with a variety of miniature glass vessels.  In went the elements of our full-size terraria; colorful sands and bits of fragrant reindeer moss.  I wanted to add something extra-cool; living mushrooms can’t really be cultivated in a terrarium (or at least, to my knowledge) though I’d love to give it a go, but I thought of a way to incorporate adorable little mushrooms into the necklace version, by creating them out of polymer clay.

I love terrariums; the idea of an entire ecosystem existing under glass, green things growing and thriving, bits of nature you can keep close-by on a table or desk.  We make contemporary terrariums at Hieropice, but only sell them at shows, due to the risk of damage during shipping.  I wanted to make a version of our terrariums available to customers who can’t make it to shows in New England; a small, portable version of them that could be worn.

Someone inquired recently about our Lost World Mini Terrarium Necklaces, and how they are made.  The short answer is, very carefully!  Joking aside, they’re the product of a lot of intricate work, and I appreciate the question.  For artists who handmake work for sale, the process is often ignored in favor of the appearance of the finished product.  If you’ve ever hand-made anything, you know that the process, the work, materials, skill, and effort that went into it is 80% of the finished product’s significance.  And those of us who hand-make for a living really love it when someone appreciates the work we do!  So here’s a bit on the process of making these pieces.
I trimmed the wires and the pieces went into the oven, and afterwards, I strategically placed them in the vessels with a narrow pair of tweezers.  Adding additional Spanish moss or sand, and sealing with waterproof adhesive and a decorative stopper finishes them off, and they’re hung on meticulously-selected chain.  Each one is unique, incorporating some elements and not others, created with color, contrast, and balance in mind.  That’s the process, in a nut-shell, and thanks to the fan who inquired!

Purple Power

Some time ago, I asked my friends, what color jewelry could you use more of in your jewelry box?  Almost all of the responses were "purple!"  And rightly so, because purple's a great color.  So I've made a terrarium necklace that's all about it, and just listed it today, on Etsy!  Check it out, here.

Branching Out, in more ways than one!

This time of year feels like a strange in-between period; partly Winter, but on the cusp of Spring; it feels like we're all waiting for something coming soon, but not soon enough!  I'll be celebrating my birthday in the latter half of the month (yay!) and am looking forward to taking a small weekend trip to Maine.  But at Hieropice, we've also had some pretty cool developments, including a feature in Bev Feldman's Linkouture blog, wherein she interviewed me about the inspiration behind Hieropice and its wares, as well as some other fun info, including the ridiculous origin of my brandname, Hieropice.  Check out the interview here, it's a quick read!
      I also decided, hey, I love nature-y things, and I have favorited all of these nature-y items by Etsy sellers over the years, so I'm going to go ahead and make a treasury list of all things branch-related (shown above).  The result was pretty interesting.  Branch lamps, branch t-shirts, even an Iphone dock made out of a massive branch of wood.  See how creative Etsy sellers are?!  Those crafty so-and-sos.
      Soon, I will be launching a new line of jewelry.  Not going to go into too much detail yet, as it's still crystalizing in my brain, but I'm excited about it.  It'll be a new venture for me, with a bit of risk involved, and who doesn't like risk?!  It's not anxiety-provoking at all!  :) 
Enjoy your Saturday, all!

Old South Church Christmas Craft Fair

  Alright, I'm no longer in denial about it pretty much being Winter now.  Fine, fine.  It's cold.  It snowed today.  Again.
  But... That also means that the holidays are upon us!  I LOVE Christmas so much, for purely non-religious reasons.  The lovely music that never changes, the leafy garlands and pine-smelling wreaths everywhere, red berries, snow, beautifully-wrapped gifts with big ribbon-bows, hot chocolate, cider and eggnog with cinnamon, twinkling lights and giant, animatronic santas that would be tacky any other time of year, ice-skating, and that love-your-brother vibe.  I think that vibe is my favorite.  That warmth.  I love the palette of this time of year, the white, red, green.  It's abundant and alive in the midst of a time of year that can be a bit bleak here in New England, before everything renews in the Spring.  Last year, I went to midnight mass at this unique Catholic church in Waltham, and the service was mutli-cultural, with singing from Congolese congregants, pine-bow decor from its Italian congregants, and all of this hushed singing in the darkened church and candle-lighting throughout the service that was just wonderful.  Looking forward to exploring a new church of different denomination this year, and experiencing some new traditions.

  It's also a crazy, crazy time for a small independent jeweler/artist/crafter like me.  I am grateful for all of the opportunities, and wonderful customers.  But I am in complete work-mode.  I'll be doing a few craft shows in December, beginning with the Old South Church Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday, December 1st.  The venue for this show is stunning, a very old, exquisite church in the heart of Boston, with all the charm a church of its age brings.  From what I've seen, they deck it out quite extravagantly for Christmas as well, so I'm just excited to get to be there!  If you're in the Boston area, come by 645 Boylston Street (Copley Square) between 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM and say hi!

Happy holidays!

Dara