Ok, let's put a face to these words... Nice to meet ya!

Somehow, I have very few pictures of myself. In this era of constant photographing and sharing and pinning, I never bring camera with myself and never think of the smartphone that I do carry around. And even if I do, posing for pictures so often seems to me like waste of time and losing that special moment that you wish to capture. Kind of sacrificing a real-time memory for a digital memory.

But this weekend there was a really special event. There was a huge book fair in my city, which is a special thing for me every year, but that's not what I had in mind. My very dear friend got her first book published! And not only that, but it was a hit! And not only that, but it's a magic fantasy novel for children that I totally adored from the first paragraph I read, some year and a half ago!
So, it was a real picture time.

And all this intro (I talk too much, I know) was for that I realized that there are few pictures of me on the internet and that it would be nice to show you who is behind this blog and chainmaille jewelry and shops and all.

So here I am. Hi, guys, nice to meet you :)
(I'm the one with short hair)

<3 <3 <3


Funny TV voice:
Time for a commercial: The model on the pictures wears prototypes of stunning chainmaille earrings with spikes and a breathtaking sleek cuff chainmaille bracelet. Available at Etsy, Zibbet and DaWanda shops!

This is men's world...

Well, actually, it's not! At least when it comes to jewelry.

I was thinking about it the other day while I was trying to sort pictures into albums on my Facebook and Google+ pages. I had some doubts with cathegorizing men's jewelry as such, because I can clearly see those pieces on women as well. And that picture looks good. So, is all men's jewelry actually unisex?

I have several pieces that I think of as men's jewelry. At least I did in the moment of their creation. But by the time they were done, I realised it's something I would wear too.

Stretchy Copper, boys or girls?

It's kinda logical because, hey, I make those. I have some picture of them in my mind before I start. During the process I put them against my wrist to see how they look, I try them on to check how the weave behaves, to estimate the length etc. I wear prototypes for a few hours or a day to examine if everything is OK under normal usage conditions. Then I take pictures, I model them to show how they look on the wrist... So I finish the process with unisex piece of jewelry instead of men's, if you get me.

Ok, this one is maybe too chunky
for my whrist...

For example, I love these stretchies, I even made the brass one for myself and I wear it regularly. Before them, there were some copper bracelets and mixed metal bracelets. Strong, simple, macho... until I put them on. Magically, they turn into a bit chunky but feminine piece of jewelry.

This magic works even with my chainmaille neckties, the ultimate men's accessory I have. I love men who love chainmail ties and are ready to wear them. My modern knights. But when I finished the one below, I put it around my neck and took a picture of myself in the mirror to send a mms to my girl friend. Then there was 'wow, let's see how it looks on a silk dress!', 'wow, and how about black tight top?', etc. Pictures were flying from phone to phone and two girls messed everything up. I still love my chainmaille knights, though. And I restrained myself from modelling the tie for my shop pictures. No real man would ever buy that.

So, talking about dilema from the beginning, I resolved it by defining a category as 'Chainmaille for him (that girls can borrow to wear)'. So far, so good.

Honey, your tie is just perfect for
my corset!

But I wonder, is there a men's jewelry or it's all unisex? Or is it just me, overrelating with my trinkets? Do you borrow your man's stuff? And turn them into something unrecognizable feminine?

<3

10 Awesome High Fantasy Items

Looking at today's prevailing genre in literature, movies and popular culture in general, it seems like this is the age of high fantasy and good time to be a child.

I'll tell you something from personal experience: If the child is raised on Tolkein, he/she will remain a child forever. Nothing can develop the imagination (and idealism, sense of good, importance of general cause and bunch of other stuff) like old and new masters of fantasy. I'm 35 old woman who still decides to start fencing training every time she reads or watches LOTR. If I'm home alone I even try some moves with my bread knife or a knitting needle or ruler. Fantastic feeling!

So, that's where this list came from :)

1. The White Tree of Gondor by DrommeLund

Who wouldn't want The White Tree of Gondor on his shelf or living room cabinet? Eirini of DrommeLund is one of my favorite fantasy artists, I follow and admire her work for some time now. She finds her inspiration in nature and fantasy and her pieces really look like they emerged directly from some legend or fairytale.



"Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea!
West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree
Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old.
O proud walls! White towers! O winged crown and throne of gold!
O Gondor,Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree,
Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea?"

 

 

 

 

2. Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost Bracelet by CobwebCorner 

Fantasy masterpieces are full of exciting quotes that inspire artists all around. And they are good to be reminded of from time to time. Wander off to CobwebCorner by Carla Ekman for this brass bracelet with LOTR wisdom.

 

 

3. Custom LOTR Toms: Middle Earth Map by PoppyBouquet

While we are still at LOTR, I want to mention one of the most important things for all fantasy worlds: you have to know your map! Simply you have to. You don't want to stumble to some scary place unprepared. One of the good places to keep the map are the shoes, like these Middle Earth Toms by Hannah Rasmussen of PoppyBouquet.

 4. Game of Thrones Inspired Wooden Box by UrdHandicrafts

Or, you may have your map on your treasury chest. Ramona of UrdHandicrafts is my colleague chainmailler, a great chainmailler, I must add, but her creativity doesn't end with little rings. She has a whole collection of LOTR and Game of Thrones products, like this wooden box with map of Westeros, and also other history inspired and fantasy items.

 

5. You Know Nothing Jon Snow T-Shirt by 21CenturyClothing

"You know nothing, Jon Snow" is a quote that sublimes all the men-women issues. Rarely is such a big truth said with so few words. They just know nothing. Wear it on a Game of Thrones inspired T-shirt by Rosie Gaunt of 21CenturyClothing.

6. Vintage Army Messenger Bag House Stark by DesignByWendyBgd

Well, this is my favorite. I love vintage army bags and backpacks and my countrywoman Wendy from DesignByWendyBgd does a magnificent job embellishing them with Game of Thrones house sigils and mottos, as well as other fantasy motives. If you ask me, there is no better place to apply GoT sigils.

 

7. A Castle Ring by WoolandBrass

Ok, I'm a chainmailler so I'm by definition inclined towards knights-and-stuff inspired jewelry, but what fantasy girl are you if you don't fall for this solid brass castle ring? Striking and robust but yet so romantic. Kudos to Saranya from WoolandBrass.

8. Lily Fairy Bracelet by TangoCatGems

For more feminine and delicate tastes, for elvish princesses and fairies, here is a Lily Fairy Bracelet by Janice from TangoCatsGems. I love this detailed wire work and combination of brass and freshwater pearls.

9. Accio Milk Baby Onesie by bareit

This one made me laugh so loud! Well, this is how it looks like when fantasy fan becomes a parent :) Harry Potter for a newborn and after we shall move to more serious levels of the genre. Early education is important. And it seems that toddlers find the Accio milk spell very easy to perform. Thank you for this hilarious onesie, Larry from bareit.

10. Screw This I'm Going to Narnia Poster by GeekChicPrints

What to say about this Narnia inspired poster designed by Chris from GeekChicPrints? It kinda naturally belongs to an end of such a long blogpost :) Don't get me wrong, I enjoy blogging so far and I hope you enjoy reading, but go away from the monitor already, go read some fantasy!!!

<3 <3 <3

Four Hands Handmade

Handmade is fun, regardless the age.
And autumn is inspirational, also regardless the age.
This is a joint project of me and my 6-year old goddaughter.

I took really thin wires in raw copper and forest green and weaved a delicate tube chain, loop by loop.
My goddaughter took nut shells and dry leaves she collected the other day in the park and, using a toothpick, made a little boat for a photo prop.

P.S. You may buy the necklace, it's already listed in my shops, but the props are not for sale. The little author sold them to me (oh, yeah, I paid real money for it, she is saving for some sticky ball or something, I didn't quite understand), and I'm not reselling those :)

So, welcome!

Oh, dear, I have a blog now... :)

Well, it sounded like a good idea to have one as my amazing hobby took off into entrepreneurship realm, so I made one. By coincidence, it happened just around one significant anniversary, my first year in the world of chainmaille. Good sign, right?

So, it was October 2012 when I discovered this exciting technique that immediately took my heart. You know, I was never a craft-oriented person. All my life my creativity bursted in some other areas and I have never developed skills nor even deeper interest in any craft. Earlier that year I realized I need... something. A calming activity of my own that will take me away from stress of everyday life. I had an urge to do something with my hands and to feel productive. So I started researching.

I spent summer trying several different crafts and the results were, well, miserable. You should have seen my experiments with polymer clay, omg what a disaster that was! I will probably feel the deepest respect for polyclay artists till the end of my life. And decoupage, too. A 7-year-old could do better. Quite discouraging, believe me.

Then I stumbled into chainmaille somewhere online and decided to try it. A bag of rings and a pair of totally inadequate pliers and the magic simply happened. Pieces of the puzzle simply fell to the right place and the big beautiful picture appeared.

Picture taken on October 11th 2012

I still wear my first piece, a Turkish weave necklace with an orange silk cord in the center (the size of the rings was totally wrong, so I it was quite hollow and I needed that cord to keep the shape).

My second project was already fully wearable Orc weave copper bracelet, the one on the picture. It's in my mom's possesion now.



So, it was all about finding the right medium. I helplessly fell in love with working with metal, I like its strength and roughness. My 'math brain' enjoys dealing with shapes and connections between them. And my passion for medieval history also outbursted in using this ancient technique to make something beautiful and usable in modern age.

Viking knit triple necklace

A year from that moment my craft still excites me deeply. I've never expected this journey to happen and I've learned soooo much. Many, many new weaves - luckily, there are still many more to learn. I've learned the Viking knit, too. I plunged into the unknown world of online selling and that was a challenge itself, I struggled with business plans, had to define the market, to choose the right venue, to take good pictures, to learn SEO... what a simple jumpring can make of one's life, huh?


A year from that moment I have 3 shops: on Etsy, the biggest marketplace for this kind of goods; on Zibbet, the fast growing handmade venue; and DaWanda, the multilingual Europe-based handmade market. And, oh, dear, I have a blog now :) Looking back, all I can think of is 'Wow! What a journey!'.

From now on, I'll try to share the steps of that journey here with you.

A place where magic happens...