fidget. ring. spin.

the spinner ring (also known as a worry ring) is an ancient design, like the puzzle ring.  and by now, you probably know that i have a thing for wearing and making rings. the basic design is a stationary band with a separate, thinner band that spins around the stationary band.  some more elaborate designs have more than one "spinner" band, and some sport more detailed textures and finishes.  some ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) experts suggest using a spinner ring as a fidget device for some patients.

i have been mulling over both figuring out the mechanical logistics of the spinner ring, because i have been dying to make them myself - both for me to wear and to put in my shop.  seeing as that i am largely self-taught and pretty stubborn in regards to doing things myself, it's taken me a while.  but i wanted to share the story of my prototype (see above) with you. 

i definitely was a little smarter in that i used copper instead of wasting sterling silver - believe me, i went through a LOT of metal in figuring this out and the price of sterling is brutally astronomical these days.  and i still don't have the design down properly.  the large copper band is not flared on both ends like it should be - one side is actually buckled, because i smashed it a little too hard (yeah, out of frustration).  the twisted middle band is probably too textured to "spin" and also slightly too small around the larger band, so it doesn't move very much.  while the flat band is even and, surprisingly, smooth and lovely (thank you, metalsmithing class!), i am sure that the rustic, unfinished quality of the twisted band also impedes it's movement.  polished up, however, i quite love it.

i wore it to work on thursday (thursday being the day from h*ll - team meeting day) in the hopes that it would help me concentrate and not get in trouble for texting.  while it isn't a "spinner ring" exactly, it definitely is a fidget ring in it's own right.  perfectly sized, it fits on my index finger and sits comfortably against my skin.  it's easily accessible, and the play in texture between smooth and twisted is fabulous.  i found myself spinning the actual ring between my fingers all morning instead of grabbing my BlackBerry.  and i could fidget with it while doing meeting minutes!  funny enough, whenever i put it down, someone else would pick it up and fidget with it as well.  and the copper, being the conductor that it, picked up the heat of the wearer.  (i've learned that my hands aren't very hot, while M's are extremely warm and K's are quite cool.)

so while i'm still trying to perfect the art of the spinning ring, i'm pretty happy with the "fidget ring" that i ended up with.  stay tuned for more.  (as long as i can put it down long enough to do some work.)