Articles

Kevin Coates,‘Labyrinthus Hic Habitat Minotaurus’, 2000, 20ct gold, picrolite, white gold. Stand: red stone, ebony All objects can tell stories to those prepared to listen; jewels, by their very nature, are perhaps able to relate the most personal. The story of the piece I have chosen from my own collection of jewelry is one of

Joyce Scott, Run Down On the Highway of Love, 1986, mixed media A Cautionary Tale I often tell clients who are hesitant about buying a piece of artwork that they should think about it for a while. If it haunts them, they should seriously consider purchasing it or someone else may scoop it up. From

Marion Fulk I have asked Marion Fulk to contribute to the ongoing series of Collector’s Choice. She is a new member of the board at AJF and an impressive contemporary jewelry collector from Little Rock, Arkansas.   My favorite piece of jewelry is the necklace I wore to my wedding in November 2009. The wedding was

Collaborative Candleholders Susan Cummins: Can you tell me something about the history of your gallery and how you got interested in showing metalwork and jewelry?  Rosemarie Jaeger: The gallery was founded in 1989 in a baroque listed building in Hochheim near Frankfurt. For the first decade ceramics and sculptures were the main themes of the

Sofia Bjorkman Marta Mattsson, Black Beetle, brooch, 2011, beetle, copper, cubic zirconia, 80 x 30 x 20 mm  Susan Cummins: Can you give me some insight into your fascination with the repulsive? Marta Mattsson I have always been drawn to both biology and art and when I was growing up I had a personal battle,

Six Months Wasted by Keith Lewis part 6 This is the beginning of a series I am calling Collector’s Choice. I asked each collector ‘What is your favorite piece of jewelry in your collection? And how do the qualities reflected in that piece describe something about your whole collection?’ One of the first to answer

My favorite tool is without any doubt the ‘mouth-blowing torch’ or ‘blowpipe torch.’ I am always fascinated by our extraordinary capacity to turn stiff and solid metal into something fluid. It is somewhat reminiscent of the alchemical process. Sometimes when I solder, especially with the mouth-blowing torch, I feel that it is like a meditative

In a continuation of the series called Maker’s Tool I asked a group of jewelers to talk about their preferred tool. Mah Rana, my next choice has contributed to the AJF blog in the past and is an articulate and thoughtful maker from London whose transitional moment may have impacted her timeless choice.

What is my preferred tool? Well, perhaps not such an easy ask, trying to chose one from a collection that has grown over the years. I first thought about choosing the ‘safety back’ needle file, sometimes known as a barrette file. Why? Because that and the round tapered needle file seem to be the only needle files that I rely on when I am making jewelry, which I’m sure reflects some insight onto my working practice – but let’s leave the analysis of that revelation for another time.

At the moment I am without my own workshop and have been for two years now. Moving house and waiting to have the garage rebuilt into a new workshop has meant that the majority of my tools and equipment are stored away in boxes and will be for a while. A difficult adjustment to make at the beginning, but I bought a large tool box on wheels – the sort you buy from a hardware store – and made a careful selection of hand tools to go in it. So currently my workshop is on wheels and I am able to do whatever the jewelry term for ‘couch-surfing’ would be. (Perhaps it’s ‘bench-surfing.’)

Karl Fritsch’s bench Amongst all the tools that I love there are two that are my most favorite. I can’t work when either of them is missing. One is the little knife in the middle of the photograph, which I have used for placing stones ever since I learned stone setting. With the knife and