Thursday, May 8, 2014

Knot Earrings -- sizes, designs & more

I get a lot of requests for custom versions of these earrings, so I thought a post was in order to cover the different designs & sizes. So first, let's cover the different designs:

1) 3D spiral knots -- I can make these in different spiral configurations:  double spirals, triple spirals, even single spirals if the rings are the right size and make it tight.

Double spiral knots in 14k white gold fill
Triple spiral knots in 14k rose gold fill


Triple spiral knots in sterling silver

2) Flat spiral knots -- These look like flat swirls, sort of reminiscent of a pinwheel. They usually have a hole or opening of some sort at the center, but if I pack enough rings into the design, the hole is almost not even noticeable.

Flat spiral in gold fill & silver

3) Fan knots -- These are a particular arrangement of a double/triple spiral knot, which  means extra attention has to be paid when soldering these to the posts. The result is a knot that has one side of it fanned out like feathers.

Solid 10k gold flat spirals on sterling posts








Aside from knot styles, there are many different sizes as well -- I make extremely tiny ones (around 3-4mm), up to very large ones (half inch diameter or larger).
Vermeil & sterling fan knot earrings

I often am asked about sizes and what they look like when wearing. I don't have any real "model" shots, as I would have to be my own model (front-facing cellphone cameras are not particularly good), but with the help of some mirrors and my regular phone camera, I have managed to snap a few.

I have also made some size comparison photos showing several sizes of earrings with known-size objects like a penny & rulers.


Size comparison #1 -- sizes are shown


Size comparison #2 -- against a ruler, sizes shown in text

Super tiny flat spiral knot earrings

Small/medium flat spiral earrings

I hope this helps anyone looking at some of my knot earrings & wondering how big they really are!

New designs, new techniques

My last post here was in 2011 -- that's how busy things have been! But, busy doesn't mean I haven't been working on new items for my Etsy shop, of course -- think of it as me just not spending time writing text for this blog and spending that time more wisely:  designing new pieces!

A closeup of one of my knot earrings


Over the past couple of years, I've expanded my offerings of chainmaille knot earrings, and because of that, I get a lot of questions about the sizes of them, so I'm going to dedicate a post just to describing the different styles and sizes I typically offer. Please be sure to check my latest posts for that -- it's coming very soon!


I've also been working on offering faster and easier ways to order customized versions of my chainmaille bracelets. There are a lot of maillers out there and I know you have options, so if you want to buy a straight heavy gauge steel byzantine bracelet, you want to be able to pick the size easily, and be sure that I've received that information with your order. Because of this, I've created a section of my shop called "Made to Order". These are items that I create just for you when you order them! Sure, I usually have one already made up just in case someone needs one in a hurry, but I only use them in an emergency.

 I'm also offering some new twists on classic favorites, like a square wire 14 gauge byzantine bracelet, many classic chainmaille designs in long lasting but less expensive metals like jeweler's bronze & brass.


18 gauge byzantine in bronze and sterling
14 gauge byzantine in square stainless steel
I've added a lot of new Celtic inspired designs as well in earrings, rings, and even necklaces.


Celtic triangular knot pendants done in 14 gauge sterling silver

Bronze celtic knot ring (plain finish)
 Making these 3-interlocking oval ring versions of one of my all-time favorite Celtic knots has become something of a passion for me in the past year or so -- it has been really fun seeing what metals I can use to create them and seeing how many different twists I can put on something so very, very simple. Above, you see some pendants featuring this knot, and to the right is a ring with the design.

Below is yet another fun twist on Celtic knot designs only this is a necklace made from stainless steel and glass.

Celtic twist necklace in stainless steel & glass
Please visit the "Celtic Knots" section of my shop for even more new designs! Some of these are one-of-a-kind and others are designs I can make to order.