here you will find updates, news and pictures of the workshop and some of the cool tools we use to make our beautiful jewellery.
Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 +0000 2009
every colour goes with every colour...
Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 +0000 2009
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Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 +0000 2009
amazing art
hello again
She was born in Sweden, worked in Brazil and is now settled in the Portland area. The prolific illustrator and mixed-media artist Linn Olofsdotter is a global citizen of the most interesting kind. Her own life in different locales gives her many sources of inspiration and most likely helps her flex her illustration muscle to meet the needs of a vast variety of clients.
Fri Aug 14 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Marrakech Coloured Bracelets
New bracelets!
Made with my favorite coloured silks, such delicious colours. Each bracelet has a bell, a camel and a textured heart charm in .925 silver. They have silver bead detailing and a nugget of Citrine, the stone of good fortune. They are adjustable so any one can wear them. They look cool if worn together with other silver bracelets. Pick your fave color ;)
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
wire and rods
Most of our jewellery is made by molds, but there are some pieces you just cant do that way and have to make them individually by hand like the 21 hoop bangle and the matching pendant. By doing it individually each piece is unique and organic. These pieces take a long time to make because the manipulation of the silver rods takes time - and there is no short cut! You have to pass them though the draw plate pictured and reheat accordingly. Its totally worth it tho, everyone loves these pieces and are one of our best sellers. They're cool because they are tactile and interactive.
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
ingots, rods and wire
When the summer is over and we have smelted the silver scraps in our workshop, they look like a rectangle ingot and can weigh anything from 30 - 90 grams depending on what we decide we need. It takes a bit of practice pouring the liquid silver into the ingot maker, you have to pour it in one go and quickly so that it comes out in one nice smooth piece. They feel heavy and dense. Oscar, my brother, is the master of this and i get him to come in do it for me. You can also make stick shaped ingots, like a really thick match stick. As you can see they are a bit dull looking but when they are manipulated into sheet or long sticks, you buff them and they come up shiny! It´s a long process that can take up to a day to flatten and stretch a hand full of ingots on the milling machine as you have to heat each piece up after putting it though the mill several times or it will flake and become brittle and will be unusable.
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
insiration, scrap books and new ideas
New ideas are always popping into my head, specially when i am actually making a piece jewellery, which can be quite distracting! Inspiration comes from anything and everything - tv, nature, places i have been to, other peoples work, colours and textures...I have so many different ideas and things i want to make and almost anything is possible, if you can imagine it, it can probably be made....you just need the time, as the jewellery process is long but totally worth it! I draw my ideas out on a bit of paper and keep them for later pinned on my pin board along with cool pictures i like or inspire me. I also have a scrap book i stick pictures into - mostly stuff from magazines and brochures i pick up when i am out and about.
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
jewellery books and silk bobbins
I have been armed with my camera today taking some pix of interesting things around the workshop that you might like to see. Here are some of my treasured jewellery books that I have purchased though the years. They are always good memory joggers and have cool techniques I would like to try soon, if i ever get the time!
A box of my new silk bobbins arrived last week from the USA, Greggie put up these shelves for me and this is where they live- they are such beautiful colours I need to see them all the time. We have used these lovely silks to make our new knotted bracelets for the summer. Every colour goes with every colour.
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
more molds
We have made quite a few bits now, am getting quite a collection of molds....
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
home made tumbler
This is my home made tumbler made by Oscar my brother. He used a rotary chicken motor that cost 40 euros and 2 sewage containers for plumbing, (new ones, of course) which cost like nothing. He put it together is a mater of hours, soldered together and attached wood frame to hold it all in and wired a lamp switch on the left hand side to turn it on and off. All i had to do was fill it with steel shots and add water and concentrated soap. It works brilliantly and its really handy having 2 separate pots. A new tumbler can cost up to 300 euros and this one just over 40 euros!!
Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 +0000 2009
silver recycle
No silver is wasted in the mimo silver workshop. All the bits of silver left over from making hoops and tags and all sorts of different things, are collected and put into a box so we can recycle it by smelting it back into ingots ready to work with again. It turns into liquid silver at 1700 F so we try to only smelt in the winter when its coooool, as it gets REALLY REALLY hot in the workshop in the summer here in Marbella!
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Infinity & beyond
My Tag Mate from Infinity Stamps. It wasn't cheep, but it was worth it. Does the job.
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Tag me baby
Here are my new tags. I make the actual round tags myself out of 0.36 mm sheet of silver and a disc cutter and make the hole with a drill bit on a stand. Then I put the disc into my Tag Mate and give it a whack with a hammer. Now all my jewellery is taged with my brand. They take a while to produce, but they look cool.
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Dragonflys
Dragonfly pendants at the soldering station ready to add a hoop so we can attached it to a silver chain. Above is the finished piece with a textured hammered effect. Ahhh very pretty.
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Mold me too
This is the mold with its plaster casing on and the finished silver piece sanded, buffed and ready!
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Mold me
This is what a rubber mold looks like on the inside (and my hand). With this mold you can make as many identical pieces as you like by injecting hot wax into it.
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Rings in progress
These are a few rings I am setting onto silver bands....am getting there sloooowly...
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
Scoubies
These are my newest creations. They are made of silk which I have knotted personally. I have named them Scoubies. Am currently finishing off the other colours and the end caps, which I have had to make from scratch and took FOREVER.
Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 +0000 2009
My showroom
Here is a picture of my showroom in Marbella. Its quite an ecclectic space. I especially love the silver logo on the turquoise wall Greg (hubby) and Oscar (brother) put up for me. Its huge.