Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Another "Redo"

I noticed while reorganizing after the chaos that is the "tear-down" following a show, that one of the polymer bicone beads on this faux lapis lazuli choker was cracked. The tension was too tight on the stringing wire and the sterling spacer bead had worked it's way into the beads end.



Not sure what I was going to do, it was obvious that repairs at the least, were inevitable. Luckily, this neckpiece was constructed in two separately strung parts, so I wasn't going to have to deal with back portion and all the smaller seed beads.

First, I looked through polymer components, but nothing suitable was available. Next, I considered sterling and/or coiled wire beads. It wasn't just a matter of closing up the gap left by the bicones - this piece needed both the interest and the length provided by these elements.

Finally, I sorted through my miscellaneous beads. I found two black onyx parts from a pair of interchangeable "door knocker" earrings (remember those?) But, given their size, they didn't look right in the same space as the bicones - too big. I moved the smaller ingots outward, provided a slide for the onyx with a couple of sterling crimp tubes and hung them with large jumprings. They don't lie completely flat, but hang at a bit of an angle.


I like it! This choker looks updated and a bit more interesting, don't you think?