i've finally gotten around to making one of the intertwined rings with thick half round sterling wire. i actually made it for myself - i'm definitely a "silver" girl, always have been. the width of the wire is more than the thickest round wire that i use, and the flat side gives it delicious movement (which makes it perfect for fidgeting.)Read more...
the fabulous studioregency featured my smoky quartz wedding ring set in her socially conscious treasury. the whole blood diamond issue is definitely a hot topic - and definitely impacts everyone. the wedding industry is a HUGE one - there are two things people don't scrimp on, and that's their kids and weddings - and of course, the diamond industry takes a huge chunk of the financial benefits. i have to admit that i wasn't necessarily thinking of blood diamonds when i created my "alternative" diamond wedding line (i was actually thinking about my business's bottom line and my reluctance to crack or destroy a REAL diamond with my torch) but this treasury brought it to the surface for me. yes, there ARE beautiful alternatives to diamonds! a smoky quartz CAN be a girl's best friend! (and save you some $$$ so that you can splurge on those elaborate letterpress invitations)
on a less serious note, i was just thinking that i would much rather be staying home today instead of going to work and watching a good movie. like high fidelity, definitely one of my top 5.
showing off my new design - a stylized infinity symbol is repeated along the length of both this wedding band and the matching engagement "diamond" ring (as with my other engagement rings, the "diamond" is reclaimed sterling - just awesome and another excuse for me to melt metal.)
for some reason, every time i look at this set, i hear ben harper's "forever" in my head. so here it is for your listening pleasure - as interpreted by miguel tavares.
for a while now, i have been making these intertwined rolling "puzzle" rings - in a combination of sterling, copper and brass. my version is a simple one of course, but the history of these rings is rich, somewhat misogynistic, and skeweredly romantic. and it was quite the puzzle on the manufacturing side of things to figure out how to solder the rings together in the right order so that they fit together properly.
all the legends imply that the ring originated long ago possibly somewhere in Turkey where a king or nobleman had it designed as a wedding ring for his beautiful wife (hence the term "turkish wedding ring") . the ring itself was made up of many pieces and was so intricate that if she ever took the ring off (with the intention of being unfaithful to him while he was away slaying dragons or going to the office, i suppose) , it would be almost impossible for her to put it back together without him - because he was the one with the solution. kind of romantic, i guess, but i really do hope that he had one made for himself so that she would have had a similar guarantee of fidelity. and perhaps they could have also worked on their communication skills. but that's another discussion altogether.
nowadays, puzzle rings are used as a symbol of love, usually given as a promise ring, wedding band, or token of affection. the more intricate ones usually come with the "solution" so that if one does find themselves hopelessly befuddled, the ring can be put back together. my version is (obviously) a more simple one - just three rings linked together, allowing the wearer to roll it back and forth over their finger, which is the perfect distraction during boring meetings or family reunions. and while it is definitely not a guarantee of anyone's fidelity, i can pretty much guarantee that my rings will be cherished.
on that note - talking about love... nothing like a little pop song to start off the day.
the smittens. 100 roses. because that's darn romantic.
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