Creating Jewelry Out of Meaningful Objects, or How I Learned to Shoot a Gun and Like It

By: Andrea Morici

Senior Designer at Beadaholique.com

I am a peaceful person, for the most part.  I love tranquility. Being in nature, curling up with a good book and a hot cup of tea, spending time with friends and family, visiting museums, making beautiful jewelry, and listening to music are just some of the things that make me feel truly blissful.  I despise violence and I am terrified of guns.

So, how did I find myself having the time of my life blasting giant holes though a simulated "bad guy" target with a Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun? Allow me to explain:

Let me first just reiterate: I really am a peaceful person, honest to goodness!   I also happen to be a faithful student of Krav Maga, a brutal form of hand-to-hand combat.  It literally translates as "Contact Combat." I began studying Krav Maga because I believe it is important for women to be able to defend themselves.  Krav taught me how to finely tune my reflexes to my advantage.  It showed me that even someone as little as myself can put up a fight if need be.

Part of my training includes learning how to defend against attacks by various weapons, such as knives, sticks, guns, and even hand grenades!  We practice with fake weapons, of course, but we always treat them as though they were the real deal in order to make the attack as true to life as possible.  Even though I had had many hours of practicing gun defense with the fake guns, the fact remained that I was still terrified of the real thing.  I finally decided to face my fear.

A few of the other Krav Maga ladies and myself approached one of our instructors one night after class.  Would he please take us to the shooting range where he practiced and teach us how to properly handle, load, and shoot a variety of real firearms?  He very kindly obliged.  We picked an evening, met up at the training center, piled into our instructor's car, and off we went.

The shooting range reminded me, strangely, of a bowling alley.  There were numbered lanes, and a kind of stale smell in the air.  The big difference was that you rented deadly weapons instead of shoes. We bought our ammo and targets, grabbed a pair of safety glasses and some ear protection, rented a Glock in addition to the 9mm and shotgun that my instructor had brought, and made our way from the lobby into the shooting gallery.

After a brief tutorial on the basics, the instructor looked around.  "Who wants to go first?" he asked.  Nobody said anything or made a move at all.  Finally, (I don't know what possessed me!) I stepped forward.  "I'll go!"

I was shaking fiercely as a grasped the weapon.  I heard the words, "Nice and easy..." spoken from somewhere nearby.  I took aim directly for the middle of the target's paper chest.  I slowed my breathing...gently and steadily squeezed the trigger... "BOOM!!"  It was so incredibly loud.  

I surveyed the damage.  My aim was true.  The bullet had torn a hole in the target, dead center.  I heard my friends clap and congratulate me.  "Wow!  Great shot!!"  Still shaking, I carefully set the gun down and stepped away.  After that, everybody else had a turn shooting the handguns, and then we tried a few rounds on the shotgun.  I couldn't believe it...  I was enjoying myself!

Dead Center Shot

One thing you immediately notice at the shooting range is the massive amount of empty bullet shells littering the floor.  The drifts of brass shells kicked my jewelry designer's brain into high gear.  I discretely picked up a few of them and put them into my purse.  I made sure my Krav buddies didn't notice, because I was pretty sure they wouldn't understand why I would want to collect little pieces of gunpowder covered garbage.

We all left the gun range happy and excited to have done what we just did.  The next day at work, I fished the shells out of my purse.  I picked out a smaller casing (a .22) and made sure it was relatively clean of residue and had no dents.  I chose two lovely spikey green Kyanite beads, and using E6000 glue, I glued them securely in the shell.  I used 22 gauge (appropriately enough) gold colored Artistic wire to wire-wrap a bail onto the top of the bullet.  For the chain, I scavenged all of the bits and pieces of bulk chain left over from other projects and joined them together, creating one 30 inch long chain. Some pieces were gold plated, others brass.  They were all different lengths.

I love the overall effect.  I love that people will compliment me on my necklace without even realizing what the pendant is made of.  I'm still afraid of guns, but I love that when I look at my necklace, I am reminded of the time I faced my fear... and had fun doing it.

Now it's your turn, dear beader-reader.  Tell me about jewelry that you have made to commemorate special moments in your life using found objects or treasured artifacts.

-Andrea

Vive la Vintaj Revolution!

Designed by Kathy Mannix

By: Andrea Morici, Senior Designer

It is hard to remember life as a jewelry designer before Vintaj Natural Brass Co. came along.  Let's cast our minds back--what materials did we, as beaders, have available to us?  Well, we had our beads.  Beads are ancient, and although many new types have been designed over the centuries, not many can claim to have revolutionized the industry.  After all, it is rather difficult to reinvent the wheel.  What about metals, findings?  We had silver.  We had gold.  We did the best we could with what we had.

As someone who has had very little experience with soldering, I often found that I was searching for ways to create pieces that appeared more "metal-smithed", as opposed to just simply "beaded".  My options were limited as far as how to display a focal bead and make it look like it was placed in a real jeweler's setting.  This notion was especially difficult for me since I desired to evoke a vintage feel with my work.  I'm sure some (if not most) of you can relate.

Enter Vintaj Natural Brass Co.

Vintaj was started by sisters Wendy Mullane and Jeanne Holland along with their good pal, Jess Italia-Lincoln.  It all began when the two sisters were teaching a jewelry design class to a women's group at their church.  One day, a fortuitous thing happened:  Jeanne decided to pry open a filigree bead and wrap it around a glass bead, creating a technique that the folks at Vintaj have since dubbed "creative settings".  When they asked Jess Italia-Lincoln to climb on board, her marketing acumen and keen eye for unique design further propelled the sisters' vision.  Thus, Vintaj was born, and the world of jewelry-making has been (in this humble beader's opinion) forever changed.

In the past decade, the price of silver has nearly quintupled.  The price of gold has climbed into the stratosphere.  So it is no surprise that, for a while now, beaders have been experimenting with new, more affordable metal options.   Simultaneously, trends have been leaning toward vintage and earthy looks.  This is the perfect storm that helped make Vintaj as popular as it is.  The old-fashioned brass stampings, with the signature Vintaj natural, earthy patina are so versatile in color and in function.  Finally, I can display my most precious beads by wrapping them like little treasures in warm, antique-ish stampings.

We, as beaders, are very lucky to be practicing our craft during a time of great innovation in the industry.  The plated items that have come along in the past several years are of a much higher quality than those that used to be available.  Also, we have seen some very interesting metals (and metal finishes) take center stage.  Not only brass, but also copper, pewter, gunmetal, bronze and Shibuichi (among others), are becoming popular alternatives to standard silver and gold in the world of jewelry design.  And almost every metal or plated metal is available in antiqued finishes.  Of course, you cannot have all of these beads, pendants, and stampings coming in cool metals and finishes without the accompanying findings and chain, which are now widely available.  We are fortunate to have these options at our fingertips.  I personally think that Vintaj may have had a hand in opening the door to this brave new beading world.  For that, I thank them.

Designer Profile: Andrea Morici

Andrea is the senior designer at Beadaholique.com.  

She has designed most of the hundreds of free instructional projects you can find on our website.  We sat down with her to find out how she keeps coming up with design after unique design.

Andrea Morici senior designer
for Beadaholique.com

Beadaholique:  How did you get interested in beading/jewelry making?

Andrea:  I have always been artistically inclined, and I really enjoy working with my hands. Beading is such a comprehensive art form because it contains elements of visual layout, color composition, textural juxtaposition, even a bit of math. Plus the finished product is utilitarian; you actually get to wear your art!


B:  What is your educational background in the arts?   What was your favorite art subject?

A:  I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. My concentration was in painting, and I always thought it was such a shame that I had to whittle my interests down to such a fine point. Even though my focus was on painting, I absolutely adored my sculpture, printmaking, metal and wood shop, photography, and (of course) jewelry making classes.


B:  You have a distinct personal fashion sense, and a distinct design aesthetic.  How would you describe them?  

A:  Thank you... I think!  Once again it goes back to that artistic, right-brained curse. I am constantly thinking, "What can I do to make this piece unique?"  Perhaps there is a bead or a finding that has a traditional use, well, I try to visualize it in a non-traditional setting. It is the unexpected little details that make a piece interesting.


B:  What are your current favorite materials to use for making jewelry?  

A:  Oh, there are so many! Working at Beadaholique is like being a kid in a candy store. I have nearly limitless resources, which makes designing such a fun adventure. Lately, though, I have been having a great time playing with all of the amazing Steampunk items that we carry, and I'm loving the Patera collection.


B:  How do you arrive at your color palettes in your jewelry work?

A:  I am a self-proclaimed color addict, and I draw my inspiration from many different sources. Sometimes I am inspired by colors of the natural world, sometimes I like crazy, unnaturally vibrant color stories. I love odd color combinations that somehow work well together, or variations on a traditional color scheme. One of my favorite websites is colourlovers.com where you can create your own customized color palettes and patterns. It is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone in the design world.


B:  Is there a technique that you haven’t tried yet but plan to soon?

A:  I'm getting really excited about all of the resin molds we are getting in. I can't wait to try them out. Also, I love the idea of fine silver wire fusing and I can't wait to experiment with it as well!


B:  Do you work best in chaos or an orderly workspace?

A:  I have to say, I believe my workspace is a combination of both. It is organized chaos. I try to stay on top of everything, but as any beader knows, this is easier said than done. You may start one project, only to be distracted by something else. Beads and findings inevitably pile up, and as long as I can remember where and why I made said pile, I consider myself ahead of the game.


B:  What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?

A:  Over the years I have collected mostly vintage pieces from resale stores. I love those pieces, although my favorite jewelry was given to me by loved ones. As a birthday gift one year, I received two stunning turquoise and silver necklaces. One of them, from my parents, was a large and interesting chunk of turquoise set in sterling silver, and hanging from a sterling snake chain. The other was a bizarre and enormous antique art deco era silver and turquoise piece, given to me by a friend.


B:  Is there someplace people can purchase jewelry or artwork that you have made?

A:  I am in the process of setting up my Etsy store. I'm really excited about it!  More details to come.


B:  What inspires your creativity?

Everything from music to fashion, the past, the future, magazines and websites... I am inspired to create by so many things!


B:  Who inspires you in your creativity?

A:  Once again, I have to be broad here, because I am surrounded by creative beings who make me want to create. These include my family, my friends, my boyfriend, and of course my coworkers!


B:  A little bird told me that you are also a musician, and that you’ve appeared on a number of records.  Care to elaborate?

A:  I find so often that people who are into the visual arts tend to be involved with music, as well. I'm no exception. It is the right-brained thing, I think. I began taking piano lessons at age seven, and by the time I was in my early twenties I was playing keyboard and writing songs for my first band. A few years ago I was asked to sing for a well-established band that I really admired. After many tours and several albums together, I am still so humbled and honored to be a part of this musical project.

Monday's New Arrivals at Beadaholique!

We are constantly getting neat new 'stuff' in at Beadaholique. We used to just pop each item up on the website one by one, as the photos got done, as the descriptions got written, in between doing other things...the result was that our New Arrivals category, while large, was usually a jumble, and its size actually made it difficult for anyone to really get through it.

Lately, we've been sorting our New Arrivals into concise, exciting (well we think so) groupings. On our home page it is now easy to see the groups of arrivals from the last two weeks, and you can click through to see every new category of stuff for up to the last six months.

So feel free to check out the beads, findings or supplies that most interest you: New Pandora-Style Crystal and Birthstone Beads, Pandora Style Metal Beads, New Mixed Media Materials, including Lisa Pavelka Waterslides, New Craft Wire in Half Round and Square shapes, New Steampunk Buttons, new Batik Beauties and Sassy Silkies Fabric Beads by Kristal Wick, or some really cute antiqued Alphabet charms (which remind me of old typewriter keys).

Have fun!

-Sarah