22:40 - 2005-11-18
FSOJ Week 9: I've never met a Newfie I didn't like
FSOJ Week 9: I've never met a Newfie I didn't like :-)
His Kiwi lover
Is a Copper Fanatic
But... "it MUST be dull"!
Got an email last week from a guy wanting a copper bracelet for his girlfriend. She's a complete copper fanatic and already has several copper bracelets that she wears. Apparently she completely abhors silver, and "don't even talk to her about gold". He described her as being a very "organic" person, so I immediately thought of Linda Chandler's Freeform bangle from her "Woven Wire Jewelry" book.
We exchanged several emails and he liked the design. The one stipulation he had was that the bracelet absolutely positively could not be "shiny". "It has to be DULL," he said. He was keen to come in person, but I tried to put him off. With two small kids, and being in the process of packing for our move, our apartment is not fit for visitors. But on the weekend he decided on the spur of the moment that he *absolutely* had to drive down from Barrie, an hour & a bit north of Toronto, to come over to look at the sample of the bangle first hand.
He turned out to be much younger than I expected. And it was my husband who picked up from his accent that he was a Newfoundlander. He's from Paradise, just outside St. John's. (I can only imagine how much fun it is to tell people you live in Paradise :-) ) Most Newfoundlanders I've met have a fanatical attachment to The Rock, and are the friendliest people you can imagine. He was no exception.
He drove 1 1/2 hours here, and 1 1/2 hours back, all for a 10 minute meeting about a $45 bangle.
This is a very special gift for his girlfriend who is currently studying in New Zealand. She's home for only a few short weeks. He liked the weight of the sample, but I don't have that gauge in copper. So we agreed to make it in 20 gauge wire, but three stranded, instead of two.
My first attempt was a screw-up - er - a test piece. I tried tumbling it in sand, but didn't like the finish. Oh... it might get to look like I want in about a month or so, but I don't have that long. With the second attempt, I pre-sanded the strands with a scotch brite pad before constructing the bangle. Worked better, but I think I'll trek up to the college on Tuesday and see if I can borrow the sand blaster to get a really dull finish...
On the sample I had, he didn't like the clasp. It was too frilly. Here's a closeup of the one I finally did:
And here's the inside:
Fun project...
He's coming to pick it up next week.
29/11/05 Update: She loved it :-)
I did end up sand blasting the bangle. Here's the final finished piece:
