Skip to main content

Have it Your Way...


 I love watching custom car reality shows.  I like watching the team pull various talents together, I like the resourcefulness, and I like to watch an idea become reality.  But, I really, really, like the look into what it's like to pull thoughts from a client's mind, to shape those thoughts with hints of what they enjoy, to fuse everything with what will actually work, and, hopefully, create something fantastic.  This is really what custom is supposed to be about - adventure.  Like most adventures you embark on with a stranger, the first custom project with a new client or artist is exciting, full of possibilities and hidden expectations.


Clients have come to me with an idea for an engagement ring, a pendant, earrings, brooch or something innovative and new.  No matter the item, the conversations we have about musical tastes, favourite people, most memorable travel spots, and dreams for the future are what give me the information I need to create something beautiful and personal.  Usually, it sounds like a nice chat, nothing to do with jewellery, but I am hard at work collecting evidence for a style profile.


Once we are in general agreement about a concept, and I have an idea of the preferred budget, it's time to lay out some sketches for approval.  These are like mapped out suggestions for where we should go, and what we should do.  The thing to remember here, is that the budget and preferred timeline are like mileage.  You can go clear across Canada with enough time and money, but if it needs to be done quickly and you only have so much gas, you may have to adjust your plans to a really fun day trip.


When the design is set and the deposit has been paid (sometimes before the sketches, depending), it's time to relax.  I mean it, relax!  Especially if you are the client.  Designers/Makers may check in if an issue pops up, or an opportunity to improve the piece, but generally, this is a waiting game until the piece get its finishing touches.


Eventually, we get to the big reveal - the breathtaking view.  It's important to be honest.  Hopefully, you are honestly blown away, and cannot wait to tell the story of your wonderful journey to a beautiful piece.  That is the goal of any custom goldsmith anywhere.


What would you like to have made?








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for leaving a message!

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing the new "Focus" line of aspiration rings.

I have been working on a new line of “dream driven” rings, which are now available at Jewel Envy in Toronto, and soon online. This line is based on a simple idea – stay focused on your dream. Many of us have vision boards, or other ways to inspire us and remind us of the things in life we want to manifest. However, once those visual reminders are out of sight, they can be out of mind. My vision is two-fold. One, a beautiful, easy to wear ring that helps to stay focused when making decisions about time, money everyday, all day. Two, a constant reminder of love and support as a loved one works towards their dream.  The rings follow a motif, but are elegant and subtle, leaving it up to the wearer to share the deeper meaning with those they deem worthy. Our dreams and goals are varied and individual as we are, but the Focus line has launched with three rings which look beautiful with or without the aspirations: Focus - Writing a Book:  This is designed with the aspirations of some...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inspiration Interview with Erin Groff of Pulpa Paper Products.

Artist Erin Groff of Newark, Ohio, creates with fiber that is cotton mixed with various recycled fibers, dyes, and botanicals from the garden. The cotton and additives are soaked, possibly dyed, and beat into a pulp. Once this pulp (slurry) is created, it goes through a screening and pressing process and then left to dry.  Erin built on the education she received from Columbus College of Art and Design, played, experimented, and now sells her art and sculpture online.  This is what she has to say about Inspiration... What insipres you? Ahhh, a timeless question, "what inspires me?" Sometimes it seems so difficult to find and other days I can find it in the way the sun hits the trees, the way a child plays, or even as simply as the taste of really good peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When have you had your greatest "A-ha" moments? Keep in mind artists, that sometimes it isn't about how GREAT your art is, it's about how GREAT YOU BELIEV...
1 comment
Read more

New Topic: Courage

The first thing I would like to say about this topic is that it has taken me a long time to differentiate between courage and recklessness.  I will forgo posting wikipedia definitions of each, and say that I believe the deciding factor is in the measurement, concern, and knowledge of risk.  I have come to believe that if a person has no concern of any risk, or refuses to consider it before throwing himself into a ridiculous situation, he is reckless.  As adorable as it is, I firmly believe it does no good but to serve as a warning to others.  Courage, for me is when you know the risks, you know how hard it is going to be, but there is a lot depending on your success, so you push through a ridiculous situation, trying to cause as little damage as possible, with your drive focused on a larger good.  My confession is that my greatest moments of courage have come after moments of recklessness, when I've been clobbered with the consequences of my actions and had to w...
Post a Comment
Read more