Antidote to Jeweller’s Block!

~ kayjay338

Half the fun of making jewellery is thinking of the design.  It is amazing what can become of a gemstone and a reel of wire.  You’ve heard of writer’s block…well have some sympathy for us jewellery maker’s too as we have jeweller’s block!!

I have said before that most of my designs are freestyle and I think organic is a good word to use.  Let me explain; I have my materials, but no pre-planned design.  If I am using a cabochon (flat backed stone) for example, I will wrap the stone to secure it, but the main design will flow where the wire takes me.  The problem lies when ‘jeweller’s block’ sets in – where does the design go from here, or that’s not going to work, or what do I do now?

This Red Stripe Agate is a typical organic design which was created without the design being planned.
This Red Stripe Agate is a typical organic design which was created without the design being planned.

I often find that when I do reach jeweller’s block I simply place my piece down and return to it the following day.  A fresh mind can work wonders.  Am I my own worst enemy for not pre-planning my designs?

Work in progress - Green Onyx with gold coloured copper wire. Another organic design.
Work in progress – Green Onyx with gold coloured copper wire. Another organic design.

I previously received an order to make a tiara for a wedding and in that instant, I had to draw the design I had in mind to receive the Bride’s approval before I commenced the actual design (you can read more on this here).  I have also recently received an enquiry for an order – 6 bespoke pendants, each one to feature a heart.  Well, I thought, there’s no getting out of this one…planning is definitely  required.  So I have put pen to paper (well, pencil actually), and have designed 6 variations of a heart.

one of the 6 heart variations for a custom order.
one of the 6 heart variations for a custom order.

Then something dawned on me;  I am actually building up a portfolio of designs.   When I think about it, I can compare organic designs and pre-planned designs to e-readers and books…you don’t have to have just one as you can enjoy both, each having merits of their own.  In other words, I don’t want to stop creating organic designs as it’s very much a part of what I do, however, it has also dawned on me that pre-designing could  be the antidote to jewellers block!

Is there any part of your lifestyle that’s organic or freeform, or does planning help you?

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Hannah Spannah Coco Banana

8 thoughts on “Antidote to Jeweller’s Block!”

  1. I often have writers block and I find, as you said, that putting the pen (or laptop) down and returning to it in a few hours time or the next day helps a lot. Inspiration always seems to find me when I’m not looking for it! Planning helps me in some situations, such as managing household and work tasks, but when it comes to writing I find it’s impossible to plan. It’s just the way I work I suppose. Your designs are beautiful! x #FindTribe

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  2. It’s really interesting to get a insight into the world of a jeweller. I love all the pieces that you have shown and I realy like how you design a lot of pieces as the stone and wire guide you. You must collate all of your hand drawn designs into a file or book – it will be so nice to look back in 5 years time as well as being a portfolio. Thanks for linking to #findtribe

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