Welcome to my newsletter!

To all new subscribers: Welcome! I hope you enjoy this newsletter. If you’d like to read past issues, you can find them here: Barbara Kay Jewelry Newsletter Archive.​

To all subscribers: I am sorry I have been so behind with getting this newsletter out. A combination of family issues and a dead computer has put me behind with a lot of things, including the newsletter.

Finally, to those who have been following this newsletter: I have made some decisions about how I want it to look moving forward. Trying to include both jewelry information and metalsmithing tips is not working well. Moving forward, this newsletter will be all about my jewelry - including behind the scenes views of how I create my jewelry, but without the details that a metalsmith might be most interested in. If you are interested in metalsmithing tips, please send me an email; if there's enough interest I will put together a separate mailing each month.
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Barbara Kay Jewelry News

I am excited to tell you that I have been accepted to take part in two local events in August:

​The Vancouver Arts and Music Festival on August 2, 3 and 4. This is a big event that includes all kinds of things for the family, including lots of music and art oriented activities - and me, of course!

​The Washougal Arts Festival on August 10. I will be set up along with about 25 other local artists. This should be another fun event.

I have also been invited to participate in this year’s Clark County Open Studios Tour, but that is not until November. Let’s enjoy summer first!

I will include more details in next month’s newsletter. If you live in the Clark County, Washington - or even Portland, Oregon area - consider saving these dates on your calendar.

New Jewelry

I won’t be listing new items in my shop until after August, as I am focused on growing my inventory for the two August events. But I thought I’d share a few new pieces here - all of which you’ll be able to see in person in August if you come see me then. And of course, they may find themselves in my shop after that if they don’t sell at the shows.

Pendants are my favorite type of jewelry to make, especially when I have great stones to play with! Here is my favorite recently completed pendant. This one features a lovely Sonora Sunrise (or Sunset) stone, and a whimsical image cut out of the back.

I will make quite many more earrings during the next few weeks - most of them wire and beaded - but here are a couple of stone set earrings I finished recently. The ones on the left feature little round amber cabochons and a texture created by melting silver dust (collected when I saw and file) onto the surface and sanding. The earrings on the right feature chrysoprase teardrops. The leaves were first stamped, then cut out and soldered to the hammered silver "stems". I added a little leaf to each ear wire as well.

I don’t make as many stone set rings as other types of jewelry, but I’ve been pushing myself to make more. I have a number of them in various stages of progress right now; here are a few finished rings. From left to right: Rhodocrosite in an oxidized (darkened) silver setting, Fire Agate, Variscite, and on the right Calico Lace Agate.

I have also been working on cuffs. More about that in the next article!

Celebrating Cuffs

The cuff bracelet has been worn for centuries - for over 7,000 years!

Cuffs can be found in illustrations - and as artifacts - from all over the world. In many cultures, including the Mayan, ancient Egyptian, Greek and Chinese, cuffs were used to show social class and family rank. They were often made of gold (worn by royalty) and silver, as well as bronze - and in China, jade. As a status symbol, they were worn to represent power.

They were also used by soldiers, both as part of their armor to provide physical protection and as a talisman to give spiritual power and protection.

In some Native American cultures, cuffs have symbolized strength and power as well. Usually made with silver, turquoise and coral, they gave their wearers spiritual protection, healing and created a connection with nature and the divine.

Over the centuries, the cuff as a form of jewelry rose and waned in popularity. Fast forward to the 1900s, when the cuff once more became a power symbol.

In the 1920s, cuff bracelets were made popular by Coco Chanel. The story goes that she took a variety of jewels that had been given to her by past lovers to a jewelry designer friend (Fulco di Verdura) and asked him to create something new. He made her a pair of cuff bracelets with a Maltese cross design, which she wore so often that they became part of her signature style. Many similar cuff bracelets were made by Verdura’s company over the years. Numerous celebrities have their own versions of this iconic bracelet.

Then in the 1940s, Wonder Woman became the first female superhero. Her creator, psychologist William Moulton Marston, believed in empowering women - not something generally espoused at that time. He decided to use cuff bracelets to both symbolize - and to actually embody - Wonder Woman’s power. They were almost indestructible and could protect her from any weapon.

The 1970s and the women’s liberation movement brought cuffs’ popularity back again. Women like Jackie Onassis wore them prominently, as did other powerful women. Since then, they have also been worn by numerous comic book heroes, both men and women. Superhero movies show them prominently.

Currently, cuffs have again gained in popularity. Skinny, wide, simple, complex, with stones or without, stacked or single, made of base metals such as copper, bronze and brass - or of silver and gold - whatever your style, you can find a cuff bracelet to match.

Wearing a cuff bracelet

Cuffs are traditionally a band worn around the wrist. They usually have an opening (about 1 to 1 1/4) which allows the cuff to be put on and off, rather than a clasp. Putting a cuff bracelet on and taking it off correctly is important to protect the cuff as well as to avoid scratching yourself.

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The best way to put one on is to press one end of the cuff into the soft part of your forearm (inside your wrist) just above the wrist bone.

Then circle the other end around your arm in a C motion.

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To take it off, do the same thing in reverse: slide the cuff around so one end is in the middle of the inside of your wrist. Press into the inner wrist and circle it off your wrist. Avoid opening and closing your cuff!! That will weaken the center of your bracelet to the point of possibly breaking.

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If you need to adjust the size of your cuff, it should be done very carefully – and you should not adjust it more than about 1/4 inch at the most. Begin by warming the metal a bit with your hands (hold it for a while) so the metal isn’t cold when you begin. Use very gentle pressure on the lower parts of the cuff - the parts closest to each end.

Avoid bending from the center of the cuff; the center is most likely to crack if it is bent too often. Be very careful as you do this and try to do it only once.

I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think, and what you’d like to see in future newsletters.

I will be back with a featured stone in the next issue!