Friday, December 21, 2012

From Gallery To Reality - The Custom Tale

A couple of months ago, I celebrated here (with no little sense of wonder) that this necklace had been selected to be part of an exhibition a the Kentucky Artisans Center.  


A short time later, a gentleman contacted me, asking if I could recreate the necklace, without the woven centerpiece, at 20" long.

If you've ever done custom work, you understand how this seemingly simple request can hid any number of unexpected stumbling blocks.

The biggest problem for me was that I no longer had any more of the cobalt blue oval beads.  The tiger iron, bone, and jasper?  Check, check, and check.  But not the blue.

Thinking the shape was perhaps the important thing to preserve, I suggested some sodalite ovals that I had on hand.  But it was the pop of the vibrant color, rather than the bead shape, that he was after, so I was on a search for beads in the proper shade of blue.  Oddly enough, it's really, REALLY hard to find a vibrant cobalt blue bead that isn't too light or too gray.  Especially when you're desperate to find them.

Several tries later, we hit on success:

Lapis was the answer!
So this was mailed off earlier this week, and I hope that it's now wrapped and waiting under a Christmas tree, ready to make someone smile!

5 comments:

Alice said...

Both pieces are beautiful! I'm so glad you were able to find just the right blue beads for the customer. Congratulations on the custom order.

KJ said...

See, I knew there was a reason why I am so reluctant to part with my favorite beads by using them in a piece of jewelry- they might not be there for the next piece of jewelry.

Glad you found a solution.

Have a Merry Christmas Bobbie.

AntiquityTravelers said...

Both are wonderful pieces! but I have to say that I just love the feel of the original one ... so tribal and wonderful!!

Karin Slaton said...

Smile, she will! And I'm thinking squeals of surprise, too!

Kepi said...

Both pieces are gorgeous!