DUT Fashion show...

These are a couple of photos I managed to quickly snap backstage at the DUT fashion show in between the frantic wardrobe changes. One of the fashion students, Carmen Freeman, used my jewellery to accessorise her 3rd year range. The experience was definately interesting... the hectic rush of models changing, and designers quickly fixing garments made me really appreciate our calm exhibitions!

more enamelled earrings...

These are pairs of earrings I made to sell online in my new Etsy shop! While making these (and others in previous blogposts), I decided to solder the posts on with the enamel attached. In the past i have always set the enamel last so that no heat from my flame comes into contact with it incase it cracks or discolours, but this didnt seem to happen! yay! I am very pleased with how the enamel handled the heat while soldering. From a design point of view too, i think the enamel without claws holding it in place looks much nicer, and not as fussy.

Earrings for etsy shop

I am loving using patination in my pieces! I am really happy with how these patinated copper and silver studs turned out, I plan to sell them in my Etsy shop!

Enamelled Coral Earrings

These are the earrings I made for a lady from Denmark. She wants to sell them in her gallery, yay! They are the same as the earrings that i made last year which were inspired by colourful layered coral.

Enamel Coral studs

Finished Ring

I love the effect that the patina gives to the copper! it reminds me of the slimy mossy surfaces you see in rockpools. And the way the patina solution flows to the shape of the ring gives it that organic, unpredictable quality that you find in the natural world.

another chain...

...but this one doesnt tangle as much :)

with this chain i didnt make lots of forged twisted ends, because it turns out, those twisties hook on all sorts. Instead I folded the ends over and soldered them so that they can't be hooked.

Patina Earrings

Ring before patination

Patina Ring

For this next piece i want to make a large ring, like a showpiece. Using the copper and patina technique I'll get the same colours that can be seen on my patina necklace, the shank will be sterling silver. I would ultimately like for these pieces to look like a collection.

playful chain

These photos show the new chain that i recently manufactured. I wanted to try different links with this chain. I managed this by twisting, melting, and forging parts of the links. I think the chain looks lovely on its own, but i may add a pendant to it that won't be a permantent fixure.

the only hiccup with this neckalce is that the links hook on eachother, which would take time to untangle before wearing...

Patina & Silver Necklace...

These photos show two of my necklaces placed on top of eachother. For my next piece i want to incorporate the silver and the patina in a similar way, so that it will be a series/collection of three necklaces. For the next necklace i would like to manufacture a new chain, perhaps introduce forged links?

Playing with watercolours

I have never really enjoyed painting with watercolours (I'm more of an acrylic kinda gal), but todays experimenting went alright i guess...


We were taught about colours and using their complimentaries to create shadows. I painted some little shells, sweet man.

The above watercolour painting was painted by my great gran. Her watercolour skills were amazing :)

KZNSA jewellery

For the student showcases at the KZNSA gallery, we have to make pieces for the christmas season :) I'm planning on making simple (ish) pieces that can be affordable for customers, but still have my style/Btech theme.

Snazzy Photos

Photographs taken by Natasha Schoeman.

new pretties...

Little silver and enamel clammy earrings...

Thinking...mmm.

My B-tech Theme is based on the ocean, its colours and its creatures. I have always been drawn to the ocean, but have never been entirely sure why. Throughout my B-tech year I will be manufacturing jewellery that relates to the sea and in the process discovering where my love for the ocean stems from.

These are some interesting facts/statements that I found in the foreword of ‘Into The Deep’, written by Don Walsh.

“It is difficult to comprehend the ocean’s breadths and depths, let alone the splendid diversity of its life.”

I agree with Don Walsh’s statement, beneath the oceans surface is an incredibly vast variety of creatures and corals, most of which only a select few have seen first hand.

“Earth – it really is the wrong name.”

According to Walsh, the oceans cover more than 70% of the earth’s surface area, and living space hidden beneath its surface is 543 million cubic kilometres. Looking at these statistics it is understandable how one could feel so removed and out of touch with this huge expanse of water.

“More humans have visited the moon than have been to the deepest part of the ocean.”

I love this statement. Mans fascination with the depths of the ocean is very similar to mans fascination with space; both of these places are not immediately accessible or tangible.

It's so blue and stuff...

My patinated necklace is complete! And i really love it...

The pictures above are close ups of the patinated copper elements. I sealed the patination with a matte waterbased glaze.

The above picture is from my photography book, 'Into The Deep'. It was this picture that i used as a reference and inspiration for this piece.


I am really pleased with how my necklae turned out. I learned alot about patination, a process i have never used before. If i ever make this necklace again, one thing i would change however, is the lenth of the chain. Personally i love longer chains, but if this chain was shorter the patinated elements would be spread out and ultimately better displayed.

applying patina solution

above are copper elements that i placed between two piece of cotton wool soaked with the patina solution. The cotton wool starting sticking to the copper and gave it a thick blue coating with was not ideal...

I then tried painting the solution on the pieces which seems to work better. The solution still pools in the grooves of the metal so it gives it a natural 'unpainted' look.

patina earrings...?

Once i had patinated the copper elements for my necklace, i noticed how lovely the inside looked. I would like to make earrings with these elements but i will change the silver attachment. The piece of silver wire, at the moment, will be covered and bent into a jump ring which will allow it to be attached to the necklace. For the earrings i will solder a longer pieces of wire and mould it to some of the grooves in the copper so that it flows with the piece and doesn't look 'stuck' on.


above are some scribbles from my design book while I was thinking about how to attach the shepards hook/wire to the earrings.

test pieces continued...

The above picture shows my copper elements that were taken out of the solution and then put back in, to further the patination... they were left in for too long and started to disintegrate.


The above test pieces were successful :)