New Jersey Trade Show

The tradeshow was a great success. You should have been there! Or maybe you were! There was a big turnout and fun was had by all.

Preparing For the Craft Show

I can hide in my studio all day making all the jewelry I like, but there comes a time when your jewelry must be consumer tested! On September 23rd I show my jewelry at the Ridgewood Craft Show, and it's a good testing ground to see if what I love doing is loved by the consumer who appreciates handmade jewelry.

It's when creativity, quality, pricing, and salesmanship comes into play, and with help from my friends, I display my goods. It's always been like this - before machine made, highly engineered, or branded goods came into the market place. Artists and merchants have sold their goods on the streets and backroads of communities all over the world. Whether it's peaches grown with loving care, cloth, or jewelry, it must go to market.

I have shown at craft shows in the past, but this show has a special meaning to me - I have come a long way over the years and worked hard to learn new techniques and studied with other artisans. This show will highlight many of those new techniques - Kumihimo, paper jewelry, polymer clay and metal embossing. So, "Right this way, buy a piece of handmade jewelry"!!!

Kumihimo - Ancient Japanese Art From

In my quest to find unusual jewelry techniques and a little bit out of the ordinary, I have discovered Japanese Kumihimo. It literally means interlaced threads, and is an ancient Japanese art form of braiding. It was originally used to lace together the body armor of the Samurai, and when the Samurai were banned from Japan, it found its way into Japanese theatre, costumes and the tie that fits around the obi.

There are still Kumihimo societies operating in Japan but for the most part they keep their braiding techniques secret. However, with a little research and dogged determination, I have uncovered resources for many types of the braids and configurations used. The braids are executed on a wooden Muradai using threaded bobbins and tension to create uniformity in the braids.

I am on a mission to learn many types of knotting and braiding to compliment my metal embossed and polymer clay pieces. By far, Chinese knotting is the more difficult, if only because of the incredible detail that goes into forming these knots. I'm getting there, but this is a more timely process, and requires a little bit of meditation thrown in.

Metal Embossing is the Greatest

I have started designing metal embossed jewelry using pewter and copper metal sheets. It's amazing how versatile metal can be. I am using abalone shell and mother-of-pearl embedded into the metal and backed with wood disks for support.

The tools are incredible, and I was lucky to meet a woman from Mexico who has been working in this medium for quite some time. She definitely knows all the tricks of working with metal and primarily works with home decor items. There is a strong heritage of metal embossing in Mexico and Spain, and it is evident in the techniques and style that she uses. I have been able to adapt my own designs to this fascinating art form, and I am enjoying working in this medium.

I am currently designing pendants and pins that are unusual and lovely. Check out the photo on this page of some of my first designs. Sure to be more!

New Website Up and Running

The new site is up and running and better than ever. Much easier to navigate and lots of new designs.

Check out the new category - Knotted and Braided. I have been dilegently learning Kumihimo - Japanese braiding. It's fun and creates wonderful braids for very unusual necklaces and bracelets. Very different.

Enjoy shopping!

Ruby's Passage to India

Wow, I just got back from my 1st trip to Southern India and what an experience. Wonderful people and fabulous jewelry and fabrics.

I brought back the most gorgeous silk and chiffon materials for my new line of handbags. They are in the making and will be up on my website very soon. The color combinations are exciting - like a closet full of saris'. Spicy oranges and reds, cool blues and sea greens and soft browns. Something for everyone.

Paper Beads - Who Knew?

You know once in a while you should go through your storage, you never know what you'll find. I came across some old origami paper I had tucked in a book. The page was on jade, and I have no idea why I bookmarked this page, but obviously I gave up on origami.

I rolled the paper into tube beads, finished them off with sealing wax and wala - very interesting beads for a new necklace. Since I found it on a "jade" page,I decided to use jade and aventurine beads to pull it together.

Now that I have pulled everything out into the middle of my studio, I think I'll spend a little more time hunting.

Back from Tucson and Cookin'

Back from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, and it was cookin'. All the new materials, tools, and gems you could ever hope for.

I bought wonderful gemstones that you will see in my sterling silver jewelry online at www.rubysransom.com. Stones such as sunstones, Australian mokaite, rose de frances, Imperial jasper, bi-color citrine, Rutilated Quartz, Watermellon tourmaline, Apple green jade (jadeite), Lemon Citrine, Mexican opals, Deadrite,and Ruby Zorisite.

All of them yummy and in beautiful and unusual colors and sizes. I bought a new material called Wirelace that is delicate and in many colors and sizes. Beautiful tiger beads to match up with my African bead selection.

I am also going to start working with a mixture of textiles and stones. The fabrics are gorgeous, and will give my customers such a new and different look. Not anything they will find at their local department store or jewelers. This is for those who appreciate handmade and quality jewelry crafts.

So, what are you waiting for - go take a look.

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

I am on my way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show this Thursday. I have scoured the trade booklet to make sure I see all of the vendors on my list. This will be my first show, and I don't want to miss anything.

I am looking for new stones and findings primarily that will give an extra lift to my jewelry pieces. It's what makes handmade jewelry special. The show is in every conceivable building in Tucson, and I will not be able to see the whole show. I would have to stay 2 weeks to see everything, but at least I have a plan.

I like the excitment of trade shows - meet other buyers and designers. It's creatively stimulating.

Buying a Kiln

What a whole production to buy a kiln! I had no idea the things I would have to consider - voltage, maximum temperature, window or no window, shelves, would I have to have my home's electricity overhauled or the placement debate of inside or outside my house.

I have researched over a month to make sure I was buying the correct kiln for firing PMC. I have wanted for a long time to expand into this area. Once you have worked with polymer clay, PMC seems like a natural progression. I enjoy working with clay, and I want to continue to explore this medium. I like the feel of clay in my hands and the ability to fashion it into so many shapes and figures.

I am running to the store every other day to buy a new color or try out a new polymer clay. I have left over clay that I know I will use. PMC is a whole different story. It's much more expensive, and I have to work with much smaller amounts to create a piece. But that's the rub.
I have to give often a lot more thought to the piece in order to get the most for the amount of clay I have to work with. It is more refined to me than polymer clay. There is such joy in pulling it out of a kiln, burnishing it, dippping it and polishing.

My kiln should be here in a week, and I haven't stopped thinking of all the pieces I would like to create. Oh where to begin is such a problem! I am glad to know www.rubysransom.com will be able to add more sterling silver to its inventory.

Handmade Jewelry

There is a great deal of competitive jewelry designers online, and it's hard to get yourself noticed. Since my website, www.rubysransom.com is new I am working everyday to reach out. I know my designs are not like everyone else's, and yet everyone is trying to capture the same audience.

It is a constant process of reinventing and remaining original. What is original for that matter? We all accumulate motifs, materials, subject matter and style that we use as jumping off points when sitting down at the work table. It's unconscious that we integrate what we have seen and experienced before. The key is to experience that creative force anew day in and day out.

Putting Thoughts into Action

I am working hard to promote my website, www.rubysransom.com, in order to do what I love and create value by getting feedback from my customers in terms of sales and comments. I am currently working on "faces" in my line. Buddha faces, faces of mythical forest creatures, moon and sun faces.

It must be primordial to respond to facial expressions either positively or negatively. But it does get a response. I find I pay more attention to facial expressions more than ever.

I read somewhere yesterday that " Men wear their autobiography's on their faces and women wear fiction. Hmm, seems kind of harsh, but there may be some truth. However, I believe there are some things that can't be hidden or covered up. It's in our eyes that we give away our thoughts and truth.

Who is a jewelry designer? Are we artists or craftsman? There has always been a debate in the industry. I have always felt I was a little of each .

I fall asleep at night and dream of designs - drawing it out on paper, erasing and erasing, jotting down which stones I want to incorporate into the design, what colors should I use to pull the piece together. What textures will make the final piece a standout. Sometimes, when it's a really wopper of a dream, I can see my hands moving the clay and the piece finished (that's rare). It always seems to be changing even up to the time the next day when I sit at my workspace and begin to recreate the piece I dreamed.

Some designers do not make technical drawings. They might say it gets in the way of the creative process. Others, it's essential. I do both depending on my mood. I am a regular at the library - they know me well. I scour art books, and even children's books to get ideas for motifs and subject matter.

As a jewelry designer, I want my pieces to be true to its source. If I am designing an African mask then I want it to be true to its original maker. It becomes a link to the past and respectful of the original designer who took the time to make a magnificent mask. I then use materials that are found in the area the mask maker might have lived. One of my research books, Beads, An Exploration of Bead Traditions Around the World. by Janet coles and Robert Budwig is a wonderful resource. The poor thing is dog-eared and worn thin, but only because it's an excelent guide for finding sources. Many times I will use a bead similar to the ones outlined in the book or use it as creative tool for designing one in Polymer clay or sterling silver. It's important to keep the piece a reflection and not a copy.

So, I like to think of myself as a touch of artist that delivers quality craftsmanship and designs with the customer in mind. That brings it together for me. As long as the dreams keep coming, I am delighted to keep doing what I love best - Creating!