Hand-Crafted:
what does that mean?
Why do I call my work hand-crafted rather than hand-made. Am I just trying to be fancy?
No. It seems to me that 'hand-made' is too often used to describe things that would be better described as hand-assembled or hand-finished. There are many who, for example, simply buy a factory-made bracelet or pendant blank, stick a stone on with glue and call it hand-made. I'm not saying that what they produce is no good, but just ask you to understand what you may be buying for the (presumably) low price.
Some beading work is much the same (a rare few make their own beads), but I am happy to acknowledge that many beaders produce some very pleasing and artistic work and I admire their skill.
So, I'll get off my soap-box and be more specific about what I mean when I call my work hand-crafted?
Do I mean that I make everything myself, by hand, from scratch?
No. Obviously(?) I buy in things like garnets, sapphires, pearls and
most beads, but I also buy in most clasps and chains (especially the
snake chains that I favour so much). Sometimes I buy chains
pre-assembled, but often solder them together myself. I will
get tasks like gold-plating or polishing of large items done by
specialists.
However, I buy my silver as sheets and shaped wire, rods or tubes, and I variously saw, file, hammer, drill and solder it to form your piece. I make my own settings, jump rings, collets and I rarely use glue. I use some powered tools, but most are not. One of my favourites is the bow-drill, (pictured). It's an age-old design, used one-handed and ideal for drilling small holes in delicate items.
After fabrication, the sanding, polishing and buffing begins. It generally takes as long to polish a piece as it did to form it (and longer still to create proper satin or brushed finishes).
Most of these processes are slow and painstaking, but it is worth it: metal that has been worked by hand has a different, higher quality feel to that which has been cast, and hand-polished edges are crisper, details sharper.
The art of the silversmith began thousands of years ago and, although I make use of some modern tools, I hope to bring some of their traditional values into my work for you to enjoy.
I am slightly embarrassed to call my work craftsmanship, but I suppose that is essentially what I am saying when I call my work hand-crafted rather than just hand-made. Judge for yourself.