ain't she a peach!

This is my first official real blog post on the new blog.  Seemed like a perfect time to share a new treasure straight off the design table. 

I've had this on my to-do list for months ... my half of a trade.  The key element was to be chunks of lapis.  Initially I was figuring a necklace/talisman/dangly sort of piece.  Then my client/friend suggested a bracelet ... which utterly threw me for a loop.  Big chunks of lapis in a bracelet ... what to do, what to do?  I had no idea.

So I've been pondering and a week or so ago, I thought of turning my ladder bracelet components on their sides and stacking them between the lapis.  What I would need to do is drill two holes in each of the small nuggets.  Only thing, I wasn't sure if I had any decent diamond drills on hand and I'd need to do some scaling down of the chunks and my lapidary skills are pretty basic and that's being kind.

Yesterday I decided it was time to dive in and see what I could do.  I remembered that I had a diamond cut-off wheel that I could use to score the nuggets and then cleave through the rest of the piece with my chisel - that worked remarkably well.  The hole drilling started off kind of grim - I was using worn drill bits - less than effective.  So I took a break and came back with fresh eyes to peruse my stash of old diamond drills and was thrilled to discover some good ones.

Nuggets sized ... holes drilled ... now to work on the engineering and assembling details.  

The process of designing a new piece is always about working out lots of details.  Quantity of elements, position, knotting or weaving or just stringing, single or multiple ply cord, spacing, flat or vertical, button and loop or hook and link closure ... you get the idea.

Finally, after only a couple of tries, I nailed it.  That's the other thing, when figuring out a new piece, it usually gets assembled, taken apart and reassembled multiple times. 

I have to say ... I am utterly thrilled with the results.  This is a showpiece for sure.  Now, I'm waiting to hear from my friend about sizing ... I took a guess on the length and my fingers are crossed that I guessed correctly.  Otherwise, it'll be taking it apart one more time.

But for now ... see what you think.   The Lapis Cairn Bracelet ... definitely will not be going into production!

Leave me a comment and say Howdy ... just to help me breathe a bit easier after my leap off into the abyss of this whole new web venture.

l i g a - kvk