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AWG to Inch Conversion
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Pricing and Cost
Why does this item cost “this”? How do you determine your price? Negotiable?
First, for a comparison basis, browse sterling pendants online where you can find the cheapest ones like k-mart.
You will find a 1.6 gram 3/4″ diameter (supposed .925 silver) mass produced Saint Christopher pendant there for thirty bucks plus tax.
These are made in China and are most likely made from a silver clay or “paste”. Injection molded into mass molds and then baked.
This injection mold product is used in leau of actually melting and pouring silver for obvious reasons.
The results of these pieces I have tested are below .925.
I use fine .999+ pure silver. I will also use .925 on occasion when I need a different contrast or strength.
My pieces weigh from 5 grams to a whopping 15 grams of silver but, the silver is not the bulk of the cost for each and every piece.
Believe it or not, the materials to make one of my items exceeds over half my asking price.
Since I don’t have a storefront and I don’t drive around trying to sell my stuff, my overhead for sales and marketing is minimal.
I do have a separate shop completely set up for this and there is a lot of specialty jewelry tooling required.
Blades, wheels, papers, chemicals, polishes, stones, oils, bits, files, casting sand, oxygen, acetylene, bags, rags, towels and many other DAILY consumables are gone through as well.
So, what is art worth? What is MY art worth?
Relevant questions which are not actually considered in my pricing.
Direct answer is the fact that I base my pricing on materials before any other consideration.
For instance, I sell a turtle for $80.
I have made this item completely from scratch with great care. This takes around 10 to 12 hours for one turtle.
The materials are about $45. Final cost before marketing is about $55.
Honestly, I wish I could sell my items for less but, I cannot cut into our family’s grocery money, I must contribute.
Hand casting using traditional methods is very difficult and very few people do this.
Heck, there are only 500 blacksmiths in the U.S..
So, is my creation worth twice the cost of materials? Many seem to think much more than that.
The $2 to $4 per hour I sometimes make is just enough to keep it going.
But, the face of the recipient of one of my items is priceless. Why else would I do this?
I am an unknown artist. I will persist. This is what we do.
(However, tips are appreciated)
There are those however, who need MORE of a basis for comparison.
Some folks may need to have the difference between my work and expensive cookie cutter jewelry explained a little more.
Should this be you, just walk into any-mart, a department store or “high end” mall jewelry store and check out the jewelry.
You will NOT find .999 fine silver.
You will NOT find hand made items let alone hand cast.
*You WILL find silver plated and SUPPOSED .925 silver.
You WILL find a $100 piece that was mass produced for the lowest possible cost and materials.
You WILL find that item weighs at least half of one of mine, for the same price, half the silver.
You should know that many of these places pay AT LEAST $10,000 a month for rent for a small store in the mall.
The prices must pay for the overhead! An item that costs them $8 will be sold for around $100. Craziness…
I have been guilty of purchasing from these places in the past. I learned the hard way.
So, it’s all about what turns you on but, when you are going to wear an item, should it not be as special as possible?
I guarantee that EACH AND EVERY ONE of my items are made with positive energy, love and great care.
With great moral support from my wife, I plan to continue exposing unique items as they manifest, full time.
Support the artisan that floats YOUR boat! Not the ones coming from overseas factories.
The deep luster and strength make it a great medium to create jewelry and art. I prefer to use ONLY .999+ fine silver when I create a new piece and I pay a premium.
When I stamp .999 on the back of my item, you can rest assured that it is the finest silver available.
*I have tested relatively expensive items stamped .925 as low as .820. Some were even lower or plated! Be very wary of mass produced “silver” items folks!
Turtle For Sale
I will be making another today 11/29/2014.
You may pre-order if you want. Just use my contact form and mention the item you wish to pre-order.
SOLD
I just completed this today.
I am offering it for sale.
I will post more pictures, details.
Price is $80 cheap.
This is 8g of .999+ fine silver. Completely hand cast, shaped and one of a kind.
Onset is a black tiger eye which really complements the dimension and depth of the silver.
The 18″ 2mm leather cord is highest quality I can find.
The connections to the toggle clasps are hand wound by myself with waxed black cotton cord.
As soon as I bring this out in the public, it will sell quickly for $100.
Visitors to my site can see and purchase my items before anyone else!
Why? Cost. These items do sell for twice what I ask from inside a jewelry store.
It costs money to get my items out to stores or shows. There is a a lot of overhead in a jewelry store. That cost must be absorbed into the piece.
My costs are very close and already but, bypassing all the travel, storefront, postage fees and so on, allows me to MAKE MY ITEMS AFFORDABLE.
This is exactly what I want. The ability to create high quality pieces, have people flip over them, be able to afford them too so, I make enough to keep it all going.
About
When I was young I had a very short experience at the Dayton Art Institute. I attended for a few months in a class for “gifted” children. I was amazed at the talent of the people around me and to me their offerings dwarfed any talents I retained. I did not realize until I was older that everyone has a distinct talent and vision which remain unique. Some will see the artists vision, some won’t.
I have been working with production tooling, wood and metal in one way or another most of my life.
As a toolmaker, I used to take blank pieces of steel to a vertical mill to begin the process.
I made tools and tool components all the way through heat treat, black oxide and final assembly.
There were many intricate pieces for presses and pneumatic machines.
The tolerance on many parts had to be within one thousandth of an inch.
Both artisans that create a physical piece and the performing arts have been involved in the tooling that has shaped me. Perhaps this personifies a skewed vision as I see art and beauty in just about everything.
A bridge (like the one below) is a wonderful example of cold steel and mechanics adapting to and respecting natural surroundings. The bridge will flex with wind, load or flood. It will stiffen and moan in sub zero temperatures while bearing the load of tons of ice and snow. The bridge provides a path to to the other side while providing an extra aesthetic to the surrounding beauty for hundreds of years. A bridge like this “lives and breathes” in some perspective.
I try to incorporate this type of mechanical art in all my pieces. I work a piece in my hands shaping and grinding with small stones and abrasives for up to 10 hours straight.
Each and every piece has a particular flow that was dictated to me by the metal, I just shaped it via path of least resistance.
There is a madness to my methods and I hope it comes through at least a little.
As I mentioned elsewhere, it’s all about what turns you on but, when you are going to wear (or share) an item, should it not be as special as possible?
I guarantee that EACH AND EVERY ONE of my items is made with positive energy, love and great care.
With great moral support from my wife, I plan to continue exposing unique items as they manifest, full time.
Support the artisan that floats YOUR boat! Not the ones coming from overseas factories.
This Suspension Bridge, located in Youngstown/Boardman Ohio, was erected in 1895, and spans Mill Creek connecting the east and west sides of the park. Charles Fowler of the Youngstown Bridge Co. designed the structure. The Suspension Bridge is the oldest bridge in Mill Creek Park and measures 86 feet long and 32 feet wide and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It has been called the Silver Bridge. By whatever name it is known, the Suspension Bridge with its lacy arches and soaring spires has provided romantic imagery for countless artists and photographers over the years.
You have to see this in Person. The large straight pieces you see on the sides, are linked together with appx 4″ diameter “pins”. The whole length is a huge flexing chain. Very cool.
Photography
Silver is very difficult to photograph. Especially when flat like a guitar pick. I have a great camera that I purchased just for the best close up macro on the market. I also have two photo tents and multiple backdrops. My lighting is two daylight spiral florescent bulbs in fixtures pointing through the sides of the small tent with the camera tripod above. I have a dedicated area just for the set up.
Here are some random images that stay in my mind this year.