Good as Gold.

I had a friend give me her stash of gold this week and ask me to make her something.

Here she is weighing in at 20gms.

A funny little "cuttlefish casting" ring shaped piece, consisting of many different strains of gold, many different karats and many memories from its owner.

I'll admit, I was excited but was a little scared. I'd never worked with gold before.
Well, I've taken it in my stride and played with it as I would silver. I forgot about its preciousness and just let loose and had some fun...........

I started off by heating her up.

And slowly melted her down into this little blob.

Here she is, now a blob and still weighing in at a tidy 20grams!

This is her after I'd rolled her through the mill a number of times. I couldn't photograph and roll at the same time!

Now what to make of her? A ring......

Or a perhaps a pendant..................??

BEFORE.

AFTER.

Hmm.
I've just spoken to the lovely owner of said gold and she is all for a nice chunky gold ring.
She has even provided me with two  gold bands to work with and to attach the disc onto.
Stay tuned, I'm hoping to finish the ring next week and will post more pics when I do.

Sales are go!

Today, just as I was feeling a little disenchanted with the whole selling on-line thing, guess what???
I made my first Etsy sale!
I'd only just been reading about how hard the competition is, especially with jewellery and how if you don't add items to the shop on a daily basis your listing can get lost in the quagmire.
I actually went looking for a listing. I typed in sterling silver tribal earrings, some of my "key words" and I flicked through page after page until I finally  found my listing, which I'd listed only a few days prior on page 40!!!! Forty pages in, can you believe it?

How is anybody meant to find me?
Me, who is different from all the rest!
Me, who stands out in the crowd!
Actually the earrings that I sold today were listed only 24hours previously, so I guess they were still close to the front page in search results.


So anyway, in keeping with the Etsy success stories out there, I'm going to try and list everyday (or there abouts) to keep me nearer to the front pages in the search results.
I'm also adapting my jewellery and working on a range, that can be made to order.
The way I've allways worked  is to make one-of-a kind-pieces,  I actually kinda pride myself on the fact no two pieces however similar are the exact same, I mean how can they be when they are handmade.
Ha! Quite often not even  the earrings in a matching pair are the exact same.
The time has come to loosen the artist beret and put my business cap on, I guess.

While I'll continue making my wearable art pieces and supplying them to galleries and gift shops.  I think I have to be a bit more user friendly with myself and the selling on-line process and  produce an actual range of pieces that can be made repeatedly and listed in the etsy shop. I can make them to order, which working in the studio full time really lends itself to, I mean, I can make the piece the day it's ordered and package and send it the next.
I can  press "re-list" on the Etsy shop site, therefor saving me time and energy because I won't have to re-photograph and re-write the entire listing every time something sells.

The pics are what I'm hoping to be the start of the new repeatable range..................

Also if you haven't yet seen it, please check out Evaelena's blog in which I'm featured as this weeks maker.

Getting my "Moon" on!

Thought I'd share a first look at my new "Moon" collection.
I've been working on this series for a month or so now and have listed some of the early examples  in the Etsy shop, you may have seen?
Two moon rings and earrings?

Anyone who reads Murakami will no doubt see a link here. Yep, I'm a big fan, and yes, this is most probably where the inspiration subconsciously came from......
But hey, The moon!! Whats not to love?
Gosh, really if I want to get down to the nitty gritty I may as well mention Nick Drake's Pink Moon, Van Morrison's Moon Dance and Cat Stevens Moon Shadow while I'm at it and Mikey would be horrified if I didn't pop Michael Jackson's Moonwalk in there also........ Yep, its true I love the moon!

So in keeping with the tribal aesthetic I absolutely adore here is a peek at some "Moon" designs.
Soon to be available in the SHOP

Rings around the Moon Bangle

Half Moon Tribal Earrings

Cresent Moon Tribal Earrings 

Had fun today photographing new work for the the online store.  RedPeg Etsy

Thought I'd share some of my favourite pics.........

Sterling Silver Ring with garden hose.

Sterling Silver Ring on Rust.

Earrings in Mulch.

Earrings with Rusty Tank.

Ring with wrens nest.

Earrings in the grass.


I love the contrasting materials.
 I love the way the silver looks in the environment.
I love how the natural elements really lend themselves to the shape and colour of the jewels.
While I know jewellery is best displayed on the body, I really like the idea of taking it out of context and presenting it in a completely different way, focusing on it as an object and taking it away from its intended function.
Must be the sculptor in me!

Etsy Shop is go!

I've resisted the idea of selling through Etsy for sometime now. Don't get me wrong, I love Etsy and all it stands for and promotes and I do a fair bit of shopping on there. I just had this awful feeling of putting my work out there in a big open pool like Etsy would leave me wide open to copying and cloning. I know they say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but this is my livelihood and RedPeg's main ethos is unique and on-of-a-kind, I don't like the thought of being robbed by others of my creativity and my designs.
I've kept my work quite guarded for sometime now. Selling only through Art Gallery gift shops and what I thought to be worthy outlets. More recently I've also started on the handmade-designer market circuit.
This I guess was kinda shooting my self in the foot by limiting my audience and by limiting the audience also the potential buyers.

Having started work  full time in the studio (yay),  its great being able to make things all day but I also need to get it out there. No point making beautiful things to adorn and be beautiful and make people happy if they don't leave the studio. Well, I'd wear them, but there is no money to be made in that.
I've said before I need two heads and an extra set of hands, so then I could wear more necklaces, more earrings and have more fingers for rings..........Ha, right, good look huh.

So I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post, I guess what I want to say is, I'm on etsy!
I've done it! I've jumped in that pool too.

The thing I love doing most in the world is making jewels, I have forever, whether it was sculpting window putty in my dads shed or hammering nails in wood, I was allways tinkering and creating.
And anyone who has known me for a long time will attest, the old saying, "Give it to Gab, she can wear it around her neck"...............It's true, its what they all said.
I thought it cruel, but now I think its cheeky and fun.
And true.............
My etsy 

Big industry sounds from the Studio this week as I've been busy making some pieces for  Belinda who is opening "Just a Smidge" in a vintage caravan in Bowral on Friday. She's decked out on old 1971 van and is selling unique Australian  handmade goodies.
The van is located in the carpark of Dirty Janes Vintage Emporium.
https://www.facebook.com/dirtyjanes?fref=ts.
Anyone in the Southern highlands will be familiar with Dirty Janes!

I received the call from her after  Canberra Handmade  Market
canberrahandmademarket.blogspot.com/‎
My details were passed onto her by Justine from Rabbit trap timber,
http://www.rabbittraptimber.com.au/
a fellow Highlander whom I met and traded with at the market.
Seriously, if you like reclaimed timber with an industrial edgy styling check out "Rabbit-trap timber", I'm so happy with my bread board and can't wait to cross paths with Justine again for some more bartering fun.

Been  fine tuning the blog this arvo with Rosie (thank-you
Rosie) and have worked out a few little quirks, well, worked out a few and found a few more. Probably a good thing it's still early days as I'm a bit of a luddite with my new found blogdom.
Not even sure about these links working properly................?
I'm sure on other blogs its just the name as a hyperlink........Without all the www and dots?.

Bear with me people, this maybe a bumpy ride but it'll be well worth it!

This is a sneak peek at a pair of the tribal earrings at "Just a Smidge"

Here I am, I've entered the blogging world.
I resisted and held back for as long as I could but have finally taken the plunge and landed with a splash into the blogmire that is the "RedPeg Eco Studio Blog Spot".
Hold your breath people, this thing is deep!
I hope to keep a record here of my goings on, not only in the studio and my creative endevours but other things of interest and fun things that I'm doing here in this beautiful valley on the lovely far south coast of NSW.