So two interesting ideas came up during the show on Saturday, and for one of them I’m going to ask for some crowdsourcing help.

I’ve been getting into doing japanese weave earrings lately. They are tons of fun, in part because they are inherently sculptural, so I can make some crazy shapes. These crazy shapes are made up of different size links, connected by either one or two tiny links. Which means they kinda sorta look like molecules. Middle school text-book two-dimensional 80′s style molecules, but nonetheless.

I do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of simple molecules so I’m asking you, my dear readers, for suggestions. If your suggestion works (and if you want it) I’ll send you a pair of the super-dorky earrings you designed. Classy!

So here are the variables: shape, connection, link size and material.

Shape: I can make ‘molecules’ in three basic shapes. 1. is a rosette, 2. is a diamond, and 3. is a triangle. Please note that rosettes do not have to have the outside ring be finished. They work just fine as a central circle with a half-circle of links around it too.  (edit: These shapes are of course combine-able, to a limited degree.)

Connection: In the rosette, I used a single connector link to hold the outside links to the inside links, and used a double connector to hold the outside links to each other. In this case, due to the diameter of the wire, I needed to to it that way. This is the main reason for the ‘if it works’ caveat above. Depending on the shape, I can’t always do covalent bonds where they need to be. Another thing to note: The bonds don’t have to be the same color. In #2, the central bond is half one metal and half another.

Link Size: Knowing close to nothing about chemistry, I thought that maybe link size could be used to imply the nature of the atoms… like atomic weight maybe? In #3, you can easily see that it’s not hard to work in noticably larger atoms. In order to make a good earring, I think it would be best to restrain yourselves to three atom sizes or less.

Material: I can work in aluminum, silver, and copper. 1. is made entirely of the aluminum, although the lower double-bond and big link on #3 are also aluminum. #2 is made of silver and copper.

Please guys, help me out here. I’m going for the ‘dungeons and dragons/WoW chemistry dork who presents an appearance of normality in public and sends sneaky social signals looking for others of their tribe’ niche market.

You don’t have plans for Saturday yet, right? Because just like me, you are awesomely behind on planning the activities for the next four or five weekends. Allow me to encourage you in your procrastination. Instead of planning when you’re going to do your holiday shopping, clean your house, find that perfect turkey recipe and negotiate sleeping arrangements for your extended family, come to a Craft Fair!

Hell, it may even help with the holiday shopping part.

I’ll be there with bells on (well, not me personally, but I do still have a pair of jingle bell earrings) and jewelry for sale.

I think all artists do this, but I’m honestly not sure.

I go through periods of ‘la la la, everything’s fine ‘,  followed immediately by ‘Shit! Shit! Everything’s on fire! And not in the good way!’

Well, we’re in the latter sort of time now. Since my show in July, I’ve been coasting on my laurels.  Last week, I realized just how tardy I am in applying for holiday craft fairs and shows. Ooops.

So I’m whipping my jewelry stuff back into shape. (And applying for spring shows.) As part of that, my Etsy page is active again and full of fresh stuff. I’ll be adding more over the next few days, so keep checking back!

So I had my big show last weekend, and it was awesome.

I flew/drove up to the frozen north, slept, and then got to work with all the last minute things that needed doing. I enlisted (er…perhaps pressganged would be more accurate) the family to help sort and price my inventory, and also set up my rented tent. That evening we had an inservice + question and answer for all the people that were going to be helping sit my booth, and lots of nummy Thai food. (Yes, we do have cuisine other than pasties in the U.P.)

Up at 7:30am, begin setup at 8:15am, and shoppers started arriving at nine. The early wave was the for serious shoppers: these people made a full circuit of all 153 booths in half an hour or less, and then went back and bought up what they wanted before the official open-time at 10:00am.

It looked something like this:

I was quite happy with my booth. For one thing, I lucked out on location: I was basically on a corner, and I was on the edge where people tended to enter the show. Also, I was conveniently placed as to wind/rain, which we had a bit of. (Note the blocks at the base of my jewelry racks, which are keeping them from taking flight in an unexpected gust.) As to things I had control over, things went the way I’d thought they would, which means there were no major disasters and I mostly got things looking the way I wanted them to.

My booth:

Apparently, a major selling point was my ability to make alterations ‘while you wait’. This is something of a misnomer, as I did end up taking two pieces home for more extensive alterations, but I mostly got things fitted (when necessary) on-scene, and the client went home happy. I did the alterations for free, reasoning that selling a piece and making a positive impression was worth $10 worth of work.

What I wasn’t expecting were the two people who wanted me to make alterations to jewelry that, um, wasn’t mine. Uh… no.

Expect tasty leftovers to start showing up on my Etsy page shortly. I moved about half of my earrings, (one pair literally three minutes after I’d finished them!) and perhaps a quarter of my necklaces and bracelets. If I could do one show this good a month, then I could quit one of my two day jobs. Incidentally, that’s been my stated eventual goal for the last few months: To be making half of my income from what I technically term ‘art stuff.’

And now I am going to become re-acquainted with my teakettle and my couch, because during all that gladhanding something decided it wanted to try to colonize me. ‘Night.

Remember a few weeks ago, when I mentioned I felt harried and overworked? Well, this is why.

I’ve been making chainmail jewelry since college, and it fills the same mental niche for me that knitting would for any sort of normal person.

I’ve been applying for juried craft shows with my jewelry, and at the beginning of October I got into one. The initial elation was followed immediately by a sudden terror: I had nowhere near enough pieces.

So, that’s why I’ve been distracted and haven’t been posting as much as previously. I spend all my free time wrapping wire, cutting links, and assembling. At this point, I consider making earrings to be breaktime.

After the show (which is on the 22nd, details to follow) I’ll put any remaining pieces up on Etsy for your perusing (and buying!) pleasure.