Not all that glitters…

Not all that glitters is gold; sometimes it’s a handful of Herkimer Diamond quartz crystals.

These are just begging for a gorgeous new design!

A Look Around My Workspace!

Welcome, online friends! Come on in and have a quick look around at my workspace. ( It’s almost never this clean!)

Fellow creative business owners and jewelry makers – what does your workspace look like? Share! I’d love to see.

Shop & Site Updates

I’ve been staying very busy this summer!
I’ve gone on several trips, joined a tennis league, and kept adding more items to my shop.
In addition, I’ve expanded my shop options – along with my Etsy shop, you can also find my products on my new stand-alone website, http://www.torchfire-studio.com.

Here’s a quick peep at a few new items!

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rough and refined.

Happy Friday!

Today I’m sharing a new creation that I really like!

I love river rocks and beach stones – they are so smooth and rounded and absolutely perfect for carrying around in your pocket just to take out and admire.

That would explain why I am so excited about some new stones I ordered – they are smooth little beauties from the Great Lakes area. Perfect shades of neutrals and blacks that inspire so much creativity – I can hardly decide what to do with them!

To a few, I’ve added eyelets to use as charms on a necklace. I particularly like them drilled in the center. That way I can make them into neat designs like this one.

I fabricated a silver bezel setting for one of the center drilled stones, and nestled a little green faceted emerald in the center. I love the juxtaposition of faceted and smooth stones, black and color. rough and refined.

This is certainly a design I would love to expand upon – I’m planning earrings, necklaces and bracelets with a variety of different stone combinations. I’m particularly excited to do a slightly larger moissanite. I think it will really sparkle.

The shape and smoothness of the river stone makes it nearly impossible to resist rubbing it every once in a while.

I really enjoyed making this ring – I’ve discovered a love for solder stop-flow, an anti-flux liquid that ensures the previous soldering steps remain solid. Even with the different hardnesses of solder it’s easy to undo some of the smaller operations with just a little too much heat.  Call me lazy, but just a little dab of this stuff makes multi-solder operations a no-brainer.

In other news, we’re trying to get Chewie used to spending more time in his little enclosure. His surgery is on Monday, and afterward he will be whiling away the hours in his (cute zebra print) house. He’s currently getting food and treats only inside of it, and we’re gradually increasing the time he’s zipped in.   I wish now that I had been more proactive about crate training when we first got him!  Hindsight, etc.

Ben has the day off from work, and we’re going to finally take the tree down. (Embarrassing!) I have been dreading it. It’s a gorgeous tree with lots of white fluffy flocking and I really do like it.  BUT!  the second you start taking it down, it emits a gauzy white film that envelops every surface in the house.  So it’s a two – part operation of undecking the halls and dusting. Boy, is that January to a T.

I’m off to fortify with more coffee and a dust rag! Happy Friday! xoxo

 

 

a few creations.

Those of you that follow me on other social media outlets may have seen some of these new lovelies already, but that’s ok, right?

oxidized copper bangle bracelet set

rainbow topaz earrings in matte silver

genuine ruby ring in 14k gold and sterling silver

hammered 14k gold wedding band set

As always, you can find my creations for sale here.

I’m going to try and update this space more often, as part of a new take on the new year!

Tomorrow: a ring with hidden inspiration!

Long Lights

Here it is, autumn already! I have been enjoying my morning coffees out on our new back deck and noticing just how long the sunlight has grown.
I’ve been altogether lax in my online presence, save for keeping the shop functioning, and I’ve failed to shed any light on our recent events! We found a cute little home to call our own for a while, and my dear husband is spending his days doing job training for his new position. My first priority was (of course) to unpack all my jewelry equipment and get my shop up and running again as quickly as possible. It was a serious discomfort to find that my business would have to function for a full week without internet service, but I made it through and emerged unscathed (albeit a little wild-eyed).

Somewhere in the tangle of moving, two milestones were celebrated: I turned a whopping 27 years old, and TorchFire Studio celebrated its first birthday on September 9th. We spent my special day frantically ironing out issues with the moving truck rental / moving helpers and packing up every single item in our home. TorchFire got a similar treatment, but I did make note of the date and reflect for a moment on the progress my little business has made (a lot!). It has been an interesting first year and I’m curious to see how much I can learn in the next one! In the meantime, I hope that the 2013 holiday season kicks in soon – I’m ready for a challenge!

This Week in the Studio

Yippee! My shipment of 14k gold arrived this week!

I set aside some time to create a few simple ring styles that are perfect for everyday. I’m excited that gold is back in fashion again — there’s nothing that compares to that golden glow when I pull finished pieces from the tumbler. I look forward to adding more gold items to my shop in the near future!

Hope you all have a great weekend and stay cool — it’s crazy hot here this week!

This Week in the Studio

This week I made and shipped out some orders, experimented with the ancient jewelry technique of Keum Boo, and started playing with some fun items that aren’t made to order! What an idea.

Most of the things that I sell aren’t sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. They are typically made upon order, in the customer’s size. I thought it might be fun to have a few options that are ready to walk out the door!

Hope that you are enjoying your Independence Day today with fun and thankfulness. Ours will likely not include fireworks due to (way too much) rain.  I wonder how well hot dogs grill up in a downpour?

We’ve Got a Winner!

Thanks to all who entered the TorchFire giveaway and helped celebrate 200 sales!

Rafflecopter has spoken and the winner is … Dana Rodriguez!

Congrats Dana! You’ve won a set of three Sterling Silver Dots Rings handmade just for you!

Celebrating 200 with a Jewelry Giveaway!

Hello, lovely friends! Today I’m celebrating a little milestone – 200 sales on TorchFire Studio!

I’m sharing the love with my TorchFire fans by giving away a set of three of my sterling silver Dots stacking rings, made specially for the winner! (In your size, of course!)

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Want to enter? It’s easy! Click on this link —-> (a Rafflecopter giveaway
and follow the instructions and complete your entry to win some fun jewelry for your awesome self!

Stay tuned: I will announce the lucky winner on Thursday!