unicornmeat

The ResonanceToronto etsy shop is a relatively recent discovery for me, but I’d say it’s already in my top favorites for ogling resin rings.
Confession: I actually had A DREAM about the Saturn ring, where I found it in a gutter and got to keep it. Needless to say I was disappointed to wake up and find no new ring on my hand. Yes I really am obsessed with rings.
Some of these items are similar to things I try to do. The interview made me notice the similarities don’t end there. (Most notably the last question!) So it’s no wonder these awesome rings are invading my dreams.

How did you get started working with resin?
I only started working with resin just over a year ago. I began by making small dog breed charms to sell at a Toronto Dog Fest for canines and their owners called “woofstock”. From there I started my first Etsy store named “Zougeebean”. All of my Zougeebean products are animal inspired and a portion of the sales go to helping animals in need. I taught myself to make silicone molds for rings and other resin creations. When I started to get into more time consuming and intricate pieces I open my second Etsy store called ResonanceToronto. All the Pieces in this store take hours to make and come at a higher cost. Honestly, I taught myself everything I know by surfing the web….and learning from my mistakes.

Do you turn to anything in particular for design concept ideas?
Well, as I said, my Zougeebean store is completely animal inspired. Animals are my passion, so it is easy to find inspiration from these products. For My Resonance store I find my inspiration mainly from photography and colour. I love snapping shots of random and abstract objects and preserving them in a wearable art piece. I also love playing with colour…mixing and matching. Finding inspiration is easy! If you have a passion you have an inspiration. All you have to do is Ask yourself: what is my favorite food? What is my favorite season? Where is my favourite place? What is my favorite activity/hobby? What is your favorite film? I have made resin jewelry inspired by watermelons, bocce balls, my pets, snowballs, Sunday morning breakfasts, vampires, Oz, favorite vacation spots and much, MUCH more. Inspiration is found in any feeling or memory. If you can think it, you can create it. I am actually in the process of writing a resin art book to spread inspiration and allow people to learns from my mistakes and mishaps:) .

You mention that you use a number of different resins in your pieces. What are some of the specific properties that lead you to choose? I’m curious about urethane resin because I don’t see it used as much. Does it have a strong odor like polyester?
Well…All of my Zougeebean products are made with epoxy resin. It is easy to mix, readily available, and safer to use indoors. Unfortunately, it may yellow with age and softens with body heat. Urethane is very solid when cured, more scratch resistant, won’t yellow, but has more toxic vapours and has to be purchased at a specialty shop. The odour is not strong, but it does produce fumes and a respirator should be worn (they are surprisingly easy to find at any hardware store). Polyester is stinky and sticky, but polishes to a beautiful shine.

Are there any other specific types of materials you do work with, jewelry or otherwise? (eg woodworking, paper, sewing, etc)
The list is on going! I make wedding cakes, sew dresses, stained glass, silk screening, soap making, oil painting…pretty much anything I can teach myself to do on the internet! haha

Any jewelers who were or are inspirational to you?
I actually don’t know any, but I can say I was inspired by my late Aunt’s love for opulent costume jewellery.

Do you listen to music while you work? (if so, what lately?)
Good question!…I do. My favourite thing to listen to is Jazz Standards (1920′s-1940′s), but lately I purchased the Jeff Healy CD “Adventures in Jazzland”. It is a really fun and upbeat dixieland/new orleans type music….really cool.

Here’s another Flickr find- more beautiful resin from around the world. I shared this the other day, but decided to elaborate.
The lady behind Ventana Violeta is Nelly Vázquez, working out of Mexico and creating a vast variety of jewelry from resin. I think there might be something for every resin enthusiast among her collections.
Check out her website for more jewelry, and her flickr for photos of works in progress, as well as all of her fabulous displays.

How did you start working with resin.. have you taken any classes?

I studied industrial design, so there in college i learned how to work with resin. Although the techniques i apply now , i learned on my own. I mean encapsulating and pretty much every detail have come to me with practice. Nobody really taught me that.

What type of markets do you sell at? In the US there is a fairly
large “craft fair” circuit but I don’t know about Mexico. Do you
travel much to sell jewelry?

I dont travel much, in fact my sales are still in a very close circle. I do a lot of direct selling. I have participated in expos and that has given me a chance to get to know people with small boutiques so i have some sales with them even though its not so often. I have sent 3 packages to norway cause my boyfriend lives there right now and i announce my products in a Buy-sell web page called FINN.NO (thats why i got my pay pal account) I’m interested on selling on ETSY.

Right now im focused on getting into 6 museums and 6 stores here in DF. Have my first museum delivery this tuesday.And ill continue in bazar Fusion which has worked very well for me.
But i do wanna travel, have plans for going to Barcelona next year and am dying to go to Norway.

How do you achieve such a complete spectrum of colors?

This has come on its own, with practice. My first designs didnt have so many variations. I do measure the amount of colour i put in the mix, well i try to,at least in my mind cause its not so easy to do it precisely. The pigments come in a jar and are oily type so i cant get the exact amount. I think this is how i’ve been able to do so many colours. So i just try to remember the mix. And i give them weird names like “upset smurf” or “bleeding raspberry” ahahaha.

What are your future plans for your jewelry designs?

Well , at first i thought. I´ll experiment lots of shapes and mix them with lots of different techniques (all with resin) and when i feel like i have finished and have no more resin new ideas then i`ll start with silver.
Now that i keep on getting more and more into working with resin i dont know if i ever wanna stop using it.
So i have some plans to do resin with silver, but also continue experimenting other materials, may be more acrylic, also use some LEDs, may be some other metals like aluminum or stainless steel.

Is there anything outside of jewelry that you turn to for inspiration?

Yes, i like to sing and i run a lot at least 4 days a week. Also like to move around in my bike.
And I have a very happy dog that inspires me plenty and in certain moments i like to calm down and meditate for a while. Those journeys inside me keep me alive and inspired. Monotony kills me so as long as i can do fun different things everyday i’m okay.

Do you listen to music while you work? (if so, what lately?)

I listen to music all day long, I declare myselve addicted to my ipod. I lovefunk, jazz, electronic, little rap, hip hop, punk, electro clash and my recent favourites are Alice Russell, Micatone, Cro Magnon, Vive la Fete, Funk como le gusta, Dj Vadim, Stero Total….

A resin team has been started on etsy which is nice.  But I can’t wait to do the craft fair later this month.  Out of a desperation to think or do anything about my jewelry, I sometimes read the message boards at etsy.  They’re the worst!  So many people whining, it just makes me want to make a list of people never to buy from.

BUT that is neither here nor there, and has nothing to do with my interview with Milkwood Design here.

More nice resin bangles, unmistakeably hand-crafted, pretty stuff.

How’d you get started working with resin, and do you have any formal training?
I couldn’t afford to buy Dinosaur Designs!  They have a bit of a cult following in Australia, but are insanely expensive.  I studied Textile Design at university, and have always loved creating 3D works as opposed to drawing or illustrations, and so I thought “I can make that!”.  I took a short course – about 15 hours – which covered the basics of mould-making, different resins, and design options such as embedding materials/paper.  It took a few months to refine my technique and get a feel for what will and won’t work – so I’ve probably learnt the most just through trial and error.

Do you look to particular things for inspirations for your designs?
I love natural shapes, forms and colours – so weekends away result in a million photos of plants, stones, or colours that I’ll want to keep in mind when designing a piece.  I also love texture.  As resin is a transparent material, creating pieces with different surface textures and depths creates a bounce of light and change of colour, which is for me, the beauty of working with resin.  I’ve got some pieces in development that have a strong textiles element – I love the idea of creating something hard and structured to mimic the appearance of a material that is usually soft and flowing.

Before you begin to sculpt a piece, how clear of an image do you have of a final product?
I sketch out all my ideas beforehand – which is not really my style, but if I don’t have a concrete idea in my mind of what I want to achieve, I usually just fluff about and waste time!  I have two small, (darling) children, and most of my work is done after they have gone to bed – so I really need to make the most of what little time I have.

Is there a particular stage of the process that you enjoy the most?
Definitely the sculpting and forming of the model, and the resin pour – I love mixing up the colours, and creating unique patterns and blends in the pour.  The bit I hate, hate, hate is…. the sanding.  It takes SOOOO long – and is dusty.  And wet.  And did I mention it takes ages?  I’ve refined my mould making process to eliminate a fair bit of it, but it is something I want to work on some more over the coming months.

Any other skills or hobbies, and if so, do they have any relationship with your jewelry design/creation process?
I wish I had time for hobbies!  This only lasted as a “hobby” for a few months before I started selling wholesale – so looking after the kids combined with the resin pretty much takes up any spare time I have now.  My knowledge of textiles has helped in the development of different concepts – and all the little tricks you learn through various creative projects that pop up around the house / work have helped with forming models.  I am a massive hoarder of junk.. which I guess is kind of a hobby.. and I’ll often find inspiration from a scrap of material I’ve kept from somewhere!

Any favorite jewelers, artists, designers, etc., you’d like to mention?
Of course, Dinosaur Designs – the organic shape of their items is divine.  But Sobral is the king of resin – in terms of versatility, range of ideas, and COLOUR – amazing work – well worth checking out.  I’m also a big Georg Jensen fan – timeless pieces, amazing form and shape.

Skinner Studio has all these different approaches to resin in her shop.. casting, coating, layered, domed over images.. combines with polymer clay, natural materials, found images… and more. BUT they all comprise a really cohesive collection. When I first paged through the shop I could get a sense of a motivated crafter with tried methods and a subtle yet distinct style. What more can I say? Lots of pictures here.

Tell me about the origins of your interest in resin.. early experiments, ideas, etc.
My interest actually started with an interest in PMC, or precious metal clay. I was reading a book about PMC and it had a section on using resin like an enamel. It was the first time I’d really even noticed that resin existed, and it looked so exciting! When we were dating, my husband had given me a necklace that was a tiny rose bud encased in clear resin. It was and still is my absolute favorite piece of jewelry, and my first attraction to resin was to see if I could make something similar. The hardest part was finding blooms timy enough, but I was really pleased with how they turned out.

Some pictures of my first floral pieces:

My next experiment was painting within layers of resin, and using multiple colors of resin and swirling them together:



As a successful etsy seller, what have been some of your favorite comments/compliments on your pieces people have bought?
The atlas jewelry pieces carry special meaning for many people, and I have been told multiple times that a gift recipient literaly cried when they received their special present. Another sweet, sweet customer bought some of my real rose resin pendants in memory of her brother, who used to give yellow roses to her and her mom. I made them simply becuase I thought they were pretty, and I was so touched that they could be so important and special to someone else.
how do you stay motivated? Do you have a specific time of day or days of the week that you work?
Usually, I’m motivated by my custom orders – so I HAVE to work on them, no procrastinating! When I have to make a batch of resin for a custom order, I always make extra and use it to try out some new ideas, or just make more of the same items. It keeps me moving forward!

I probably work at least a little every day – I am on the computer every morning (spending way too much time I must admit), and usually pour resin in the late afternoon or early evening. That way, they can lie undisturbed through the night while they cure and are ready to take to the next step when I wake up in the morning.

Have you had any big challenges or disasters?
I can’t think of any real disasters – I’ve had plenty of spills, but I work on an old table and try to wear my less-than-favorite clothes so that there are no tragedies.

My biggest challange is being balanced. I have 2 little boys at home, so I need to make sure everyone (and the housework – ugh) get the attention they deserve. It’s so easy to get involved in a project and before I know it, half the day is gone! I really try to limit my working time and try to go somewhere fun and interesting everyday.

Any particular future ideas or other skills you want to learn?
My latest obsession invloves combining resin with clay. I have lots of ideas that seem fantastic in my mind, but when it comes to implementing them it’s much harder than I imagined. I really love the contrast of bold bright resin against the crisp white clay:

These are my first experiments (pretty rough, as you can see) but it’s given me a better idea of what is required and I’m thinking of ways to refine my ideas.

I would really love to learn some metal working skills – using shears, hammers, and dangerously hot soldering tools…
But that’s still going to be in the future – one thing at a time for now.

Some of my favorite pieces:

Also check out her resin supplies shop and blog for even more awesome photos of ideas and works in progress.

Thanks for sharing all the photos, skinnerstudio!

Pulp & Paisley‘s etsy shop has been one of my favorites for awhile now. I like the big necklaces loaded with beads and loops accentuating patterned discs. The color combinations are appealing to me..

You mention you’ve been making jewelry for 10 years.. how long have you been selling? What inspired you to start?
In 1997 I got a job at a bead store in Ottawa and I worked there for four years until I went back to school. I learned a lot while I was there and needless to say, accumulated quite a collection of beads! I finished school, got married and while on my maternity leave in 2005, I began to make jewelry again. My son was a good sleeper, so while he napped, I made jewelry, which is more fun than cleaning! I got an enthusiastic response (on my jewelry, not my messy house), so I started selling in a local shop and then craft shows and then a few more shops and then more craft shows and now I’m on etsy!

You have a very distinct style, do you remember any jewelers or particular pieces of jewelry that have “influenced you”?
There are so many incredible jewellers but I can’t think of anyone off-hand or any pieces. I will see pieces where I think “Damn! I wish I’d thought of that!”, but then I’ll move my work in a completely different direction.

What (if anything in particular) has provided inspirations for jewelry items you’ve made or in your shop?
I’ve always been inspired by interesting colour combinations and now that I’m using paper in my jewelry, I feel like my head is going to pop off with the endless selection of paper patterns and colours. It’s always changing and never boring for me.

Any other types of crafts or hobbies you like to do on the side?
I love sprucing up thrift finds when I can, but mostly my jewelry and my family (I have two little kids) consume every waking moment!

Any other new ideas/plans/things you want to learn?
My to-do list is enormous! I can’t seem to make things fast enough, so that I can get onto the next idea, but my husband and I are planning to start blogging this spring, which will be an interesting endeavour and I think I might jump on the moustache (jewelry, not grow one!) bandwagon for the summer….and my hot air balloons are coming soon.

I love the simplicity and colors of the bangles created by Bronwen, aka whizzbangle on etsy. I admire the simplicity, restraint, and lack of candy sprinkles. Amateur that I am, it’s hard for me to resist the urge to throw in one too many ideas in an effort to be super-original.
However, as you can see from the whizzbangle shop, it is possible to make an impression without a ton of rhinestones, glitter, and candy.

What led you to take an interest in resin? What other materials have you enjoyed working with?
Resin was just something I saw on a TV segment while I was in hospital recovering from a hernia operation. They made bangles, I like wearing bangles. It was a natural progression.

Other materials I have used with resin include glitter and Pearl-ex powders as well as normal resin pigments. I have experimented with spice powders after making a batch of kasoundi (spicy tomato chutney) and seeing the colours of the turmeric and paprika and chilli as you measured them out. Coffee beans, beads, an old shirt, my falling apart Birkenstocks… I am really enjoying the creative challenge of making these inclusions work with resin and work as a bangle.

Why do you prefer to make bangles over other jewelery?
I have never liked to wear a watch, but I really like to wear bangles on my left arm. I think I like the way they respond with your activity, dancing wildly with big hand gestures, resting while you work at the computer, the odd ‘clank’ to remind you they are there.

I’ve noticed a lot of resin artists/sellers on etsy and the web are in or come from Australia. Is there a particular reason that might be?
I can’t think of any particular reason… Resin is an interesting medium that lends itself to many applications – from beads to pendants to bangles – and on a small scale. And maybe they saw the same segment on a lifestyle show that I did and thought “I can do that”. Maybe there are others who saw the potential for resin drops and spatters all over their husband’s workbench!?

What kind of feedback do you get selling at the market, especially from “non crafty” types?
I get really good feedback from markets. I have set up my stall to be a bit “different”, so people are intrigued. I think people like to touch the bangles, see the colours in sunlight (and twilight at one market), feel the clink/clank as they slide down your arm… all these things are missing from online selling, so I think a market stall really complements a site like etsy.

Do you feel that some people look upon resin as just plastic and not understand the value?
I find almost the opposite… polite scanning of my stall at first, but then when they discover they are RESIN bangles, polite looks turn predatory.

Any other jewelers whose work you covet or admire?
I do like Dinosaur Designs. I hadn’t heard of them until I got into making bangles myself, but the colours and shapes they use are fabulous.

WHIZZBANGLE on etsy.

—
In other etsy news I joined a “team.”

so I may be posting about that now and then.

I came across the photos of Anne-Miek Bibber’s jewelry on Flickr, and thought it’d be a good start to some profiles of people making interesting jewelry out there, particularly with plastics.
Anne-Miek Bibber’s Flickr has some nice photos of experimental jewelry made with a wide variety of materials.

How long have you been making jewelry and do you have any particular kind of training?
I have been making jewelry since childhood, always collection broken pieces from old aunts and my mothers friends. I was always creating, drawing and painting. I finished art school, the “Rietveld Akademie for fine Art” in Amsterdam and later I took courses silversmithing and pottery. ( I made lots of ceramic beads too.)

Do you ever sell jewelry or do you just make them as art-objects?
I do sell some of my jewelry, sometimes as “art-objects” but some women are brave enough to wear big bald pieces, like my two meter button necklaces! And the “Rose-garden collection is even quite popular, beacause light and colourfull and easy to wear.

Have you or anyone else ever worn some of your more experimental, large pieces out into public at an event, etc?
I wear a big piece myself on an opening night, often with a hat and a long skirt. So lots of my friends do not recognize me, because I love to be comfortable in jeans and a teeshirt.

How do you feel about jewelry in relation to fashion, for example are the pieces you create more like “sculpture” or could you envision creating jewelry for fashion shows and shoots?
I love “sculptural” but I always make sure, a necklace really fitts a human body!
I feel my process of creating is too slow to keep up with fashion, and worse I do not have the “feel”, the “touch”, needed to be in the fashion-rat-race.
But than many Dutch fashion desingers make long-lasting-fashion. So I really do not know, it depends on your definition of “fashion”!!

Do you have a particular favorite material?
I love glass & ceramic beads and gems, alas for big bold pieces not very practical, a necklace made from these materials will be very heavy, and cause a bad back and pain in the neck….That is the beauty of cups, deodorant-roll-on-balls and other plastic stuff it is very light and so comfortable to wear.

If your favorite material is not something traditional, are there any traditional materials (eg metal, wire, gemstones, beads, polymer clay, resin) that particularly appeal to you?
I love amber, bone and coral very much too, great colours and structures and above all a very nice warm feeling while wearing, alas those materials are quite expensive when I want to make a real big piece. I know investments pay back, but I am a better artist than a business-woman

more of Anne-Miek Bibber on Flickr