The Chinese Knot Collection
I’ve already written about my process of design and how to cultivate creative through poking and classical music. So let’s talk about what it takes for a piece of jewelry to make it to production.
Several hours of debate and poking. Part of that poking includes this list of questions:
Is it strong enough by itself to be a statement piece?
What category does it fall under?
Does it meet the requirements of said category?
Can it be “broken” down into several coordinating pieces (i.e. Collection)?
Classic maille is the foundation of my jewelry design and sometimes you need something simple yet makes a strong statement. What’s a bakery without the staple chocolate chip cookie? What kind of engineer didn’t study calculus? Everyone has to start somewhere in order to lay out the foundation. So for me that’s where it all begins.
The next step is analyzing and being able to see a weave that can be broken down into either smaller “bits” or somehow manipulated into being adorned by beads. This particular skill has taken me years to refine and there are days when it’s still a challenge. But it’s all part of the journey, if you really want to get all philosophical about it. Sometimes it’s finding the perfect maille bit for certain beads. Other times it’s about showcasing the maille encrusted with beads.
From the photo above, you can see the versatility of the Chinese Knot Collection between it’s chainmaille foundation and how well it lends itself with the stones. I really outdid myself with that collection and I have to figure out how to top it. Now that’s going to be a challenge.
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