Sterling Silver Fabricated Anemone Ring
October 30, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
Here’s a new twist on an old favorite. This ring was fabricated (as apposed to casting) using Sterling Silver sheet and wire, oxidized to enhance detail.
My prior Anemone designs (seen here) were all hand sculpted using Precious Metal Clay (PMC). The benefits of fabrication vs. casting / PMC are: 1.) Longer Wear due to greater density (often years longer on ring shanks and prongs); 2.) Crisper and Cleaner detail of a design; 3.) Greater resistance to scratching; 4.) More brilliant polish.
If you are interested in finding out more about the fabrication process, I would highly recommend checking out Review: Art of Hand Fabricated Jewelry Design | All Things Metal Clay
Looking for Inexpensive Jeweler’s Saw Blades for your Chainmail Production?
October 25, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
I go through Jeweler’s Saw Blades like crazy when I make jump rings. Saw blades normally run $13.00+ a piece and can drive up production costs very quickly, so if you seriously produce jumprings for chain and chainmail, here’s a great source for inexpensive replacement blades.
Enco Industrial Supply currently sells them for $5.12 a piece for 1 1/4 blades and offers blade sizes from 1 inch to 4. Make sure you accurately measure your blade before ordering.
Hope this helps!
John
Resources:
A few of my jewelry tools
Organizing Beads And Jewelry Making Tools
USA Weekend “Our 2007 Most Caring Athletes” Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash wears cuff links by John S. Brana
October 22, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Press
Read the entire Special Feature
Cover and cover story photographs by Brad Trent for USA WEEKEND Grooming by Kelly Stedman; styling by Rodney Hall Cover credits: Nash: suit, tie, belt and pocket square by Brooks Brothers, shirt by Thomas Pink, cuff links by John S. Brana, shoes by Ted Baker; Wade: suit, shirt and pocket square by Elevee, belt by Brooks Brothers, cuff links by Tracey Meyer, shoes by Florsheim. Inside credits: Nash: sports coat by Brooks Brothers, T-shirt and jeans by Boss Hugo Boss, shoes by Prada; Wade: blazer and shirt by Elevee, shoes by Converse by John Varvatos"
New Blue Topaz Hand Fabricated Men’s Ring
October 20, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
New to the Tonga Collection is this men’s hand fabricated ring. I hand fabricated this ring using 4 sheets of Sterling Silver and one sheet of PMC (used for the side “Tonga” texture), then set it with a 7.5 carat faceted Blue Topaz. Stay tuned for more ring additions to all of my Men’s Jewelry Collections.
New Textures Added to the Sea Cliff Jewelry Collection
October 19, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Copper Jewelry
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with various textures and techniques to perfect my skills at anticlastic raising. This bracelet was done in sterling silver using traditional anticlastic raising techniques. I tried to pay particular attention to minimizing marring by the forming hammer, sanded using 400, 700, and 1000 grit sandpaper, then buffed to a mirror finish.
The next texture I tried was chasing. Chasing is a technique that is used to groove, furrow, channel , or indent utilizing the plasticity quality of metal. In this case, I used copper. Chasing is a relatively slow process, but with lots of practice can result in a continuous surface of metal essentially of the same thickness and texture. This is the exact opposite of the previous technique where you try to minimize marring.
This bracelet uses the same chasing technique, but instead of a chasing hammer, I fashioned a custom hammer by cutting groves into the face of a flat hammer (similar to a meat tenderizer), then fished off the bracelet by raising it.
The last application was to texturize the copper using a traditional ball-peen hammer.
For a great resource article on Anticlastic Raising by Michael Good, check out Jewelry Artist Magazine July 2007 AdornmentCraft
Tahill Galleries presents John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry Trunk Show on February 9th, 2008
October 17, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
February 9, 2008 – San Mateo, California – John S. Brana Trunk Show – 10:00am to 9:00pm. Just in time for Valetine’s Day, Tahill Galleries features my exclusive premier of two new jewelry collections for Spring ‘08.
National Association of Women Business Owners Annual Holiday Bazaar featuring John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry
October 17, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
Join me on December10, 2007 (between 6:00pm to 9:00pm) for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Annual Holiday Bazaar and Dinner at the Omni Hotel, 500 California Street, San Francisco. Enjoy an evening of networking and business development along with featured Artisan business owners (including John S. Brana – DistinctiveJewelry). Cost: $40 NAWBO members, $65 guests. Click here for more information and registration.
John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry at Redwood City Art Center – December 1-2, 2007
October 14, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Events
December 1 – 2, 2007 – The Redwood City Art Center presents “Art On Broadway.” Join
San Francisco Bay Area Artisans, including myself (John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry),
for Redwood City Art Center’s annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Bazaar. The
show runs from 10:30 to 5:30 on Saturday and from 11:00 to 5:00 on Sunday.
For directions, please see the RCAC website.
Janice Dickinson wears Chased Copper Isosceles Earrings from John S. Brana – Distinctive Jewelry
October 5, 2007 by John S. Brana
Filed under Press
MIAMI BEACH, FL – SEPTEMBER 27,2007 – Janice Dickinson and Nick Fielding at The New and Improved Miami Live September 26, 2007 in Miami Beach, Florida. Janice is wearing Chased Copper Isosceles Earrings.
Click here to buy these earrings!
