Work in progress

A special order for a very lucky grandad:

I'll show you the finished product when they have been approved by the two willing helpers!

In case you could not tell, they will be a pair of cufflinks with the grandchildren's actual handprint embedded into fine silver.   Ok, actual handprint is a bit of an exaggeration - I follow a process to make their actual handprints into a miniature stamp which can then be pressed into the soft clay.   Clay?!   Indeedy.  If it does not look like silver (let alone 'fine') in the photo, it is only because this is Art Clay Silver, a soft, mouldable material that needs to be fired so that the binder and the water holding on to the silver particles can burn away and those lovely silver particles can sinter to produce a solid silver piece.    It's [almost] magic!

I've flown!

This is one momentuous week.  This is the week that I have given up my job to concentrate on my jewellery work.  This is the week that hopefully, will imprint itself on my memory as THE professional turning point.  This is the week that will also be remembered as one of the most exciting, scariest and busiest ever. 

And it is also a little bit of a sad week, so many goodbyes to so many lovely people...