I cover my favourite materials briefly in my introduction, but I thought it'd be nice to tell you a little more about the materials I use in my designs from all my collections.
MATERIALS USED IN THE CLASSIC COLLECTION:
Lampwork Glass Beads
As I'm sure you have probably seen, my absolute favourite material to work with is handmade lampwork glass beads. I buy these from a range of very talented UK Glass Artists. Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fuelled torch to melt rods of glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. The main types of glass used in lampworking are soda-lime glass, often called "soft glass," and borosilicate glass, often called "hard glass." My peices mainly feature soft glass, but occasionally I'll work with hard glass as it tends to have a wonderful mystical quality to it that leads to the colours shifting dramatically depending on the lighting. Whilst the glass used in my pieces may be known as soft glass it is fairly strong. I only buy beads from artisans who kiln anneal all their work. Once a bead has been annealed the internal stresses have been relieved, resulting in a piece which should last for many many years. Mass produced imported beads are cheaper to buy, but they have not been annealed and are at risk of cracking, so I never use these in my pieces. To me each lampwork bead is a work of art in its own right. Often lampwork artists only make a set on beads once, making the jewellery you buy truly unique.
beautiful lampwork beads by Annelyse Taylor
Silver
I generally only use silver in my pieces as I prefer it to base metals or electroplated metals. You may have noticed from my item descriptions that I work with three types of silver:
1)Sterling silver.
This is the one many people are familiar with. It is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, this is usually copper. This percentage of copper is necessary to strengthen the silver.
2)Karen Hill Tribe (Thai) Silver
This silver has a slightly higher silver content than sterling silver and tends to be a little more expensive to purchase because of this. Its silver content is usually 95% to 99% in silver purity. This silver is mixed with bronze which strengthens it.
3)Bali Silver
Bali silver beads contain the same equivalent silver content to sterling silver (92.5%) Bali beads tend to use both copper and brass to strengthen the metal. Many places sell imitation 'Bali style' beads using base metals at a cheaper price, but they are poor imitations of the beads made by the skilled tradesmen of Bali who have been making these beads for years.
As I work a lot with silver I have my own individual hallmark registered at London Assay Office. Any piece of jewellery I make that contains more than 7.78 grams of silver is sent in to them to test and Hallmark-providing you with piece of mind that the item you are buying contains at least 92.5% silver content. If an item is hallmarked it will say so in the product description.
Bali silver beads, beadcaps and spacers, sterling silver wirework & small beads
Ceramic Beads
I use both coloured and silvered ceramics in some of my designs. All of them are greek ceramics. Silvered ceramics give a nice shine and are a cheaper alternative to Sterling/Bali/Hill Tribe Silver, making them perfect for jewellery on a budget. These are more resiliant than electroplated beads due to the way they are made. At their base is a clay bead,formed then fired in a kiln. A coating of copper is applied to the clay base, then the bead is fired again. Finally a third layer of silver is applied, and the beads are kiln fired for a final time. This fuses the metal to the bead and makes the coating exceptionally hard-wearing. I love these beads they look great teamed with both lampwork beads and coloured ceramics as they add a touch of sparkle and come in a great range of shapes.
silvered ceramics teamed with sterling silver & lampwork glass beads
MATERIALS USED IN THE MURANO GLASS COLLECTION:
Murano Glass
Murano glass is a well known type of glass, and for good reason. It has a really beautiful quality and is both vibrant and has a real shimmer, as it is often made using gold and silver foils. It is handmade on the little island of Murano in Italy close to Venice, where beadmakers moved in the 14th Century to protect their art. The Murano glass suppiers I use get the beads directly from the glassworkers on Murano island. Unlike the lampwork beads I use, these beads are reproduced by their creators, but I love the look of the glass so much I can't resist working with it.
This range also uses sterling silver and a mixture of filled and vermeil gold findings.
Murano glass earrings teamed with both silver & gold findings
MATERIALS USED IN THE BARGAIN BOUTIQUE RANGE:
Genuine Gemstones
I work with a large range of gemstones, including agate, jasper, amethyst, jade and many many more. Some of these gemstones are dyed and some are natural.
Freshwater Pearls
These add a beautiful elegance when they are used. I work with a variety of different types including keishi and biwa pearls which can add real texture to a piece. I also work with almost round pearls that add a touch of class where ever they are used.
Ceramic Beads
see info on ceramic beads mentioned previously.
silvered ceramics and rice grain shaped coloured ceramics
Wooden Beads
I use a variety of wooden beads, some left natural and just varnished, others painted with beautiful decorations
gorgeous red, black & green painted wooden beads
Ribbon & Cord
I use both hand dyed silk ribbons and organza ribbons in my jewellery, as well as real leather cord
Coloured Copper Wire
This adds another dimention to my jewellery and allows to me to create wirework pieces in a variety of colours. I also work with normal copper wire and silver plated wire in an attempt to keep the cost of pieces in this range down.
All pieces in this range are finished with sterling silver or copper unless stated otherwise.