Category: handmade silver jewellery blog

Handmade Silver Jewellery – carving silver animals! This blog describes how I hand-carve wax into tiny animals before casting into silver jewellery

Over the last week or so I have been *slightly* obsessed with making tiny silver animals. Rather than hand piercing them from silver sheet I wanted them to be more realistic, and a bit more 3d so I decided to have a go!

All too often nowadays people think it’s okay to simply make a mould from an item they’ve bought, and cast a piece from it – which is very simple since the invention of silver clay. Apart from all the copyright issues, where is the skill in that? I decided that my animals were to be made from scratch, all handmade silver, 100% by me.

First off, I started with a sketch of the animal before moving on to make a Fimo model (other polymer clays are available!) Here are the first stages of my silver moongazing hare:

The final silver casting was still quite rough, so I spent many hours filing and sanding to get the contours and appearance right, then after a bit of polishing here’s the final result!

I’ve also added a cute little silver cat to the collection, made in the same way – she’ll make a fabulous pin or pendant.

Any requests for more handmade silver animals? I’d love to hear what you think! Jo x

If you’re interested in how I make my silver jewellery you might like these blogs:

• Argentium is the new silver
• Making the bangle with silver rings

As 2020 has spiralled into something unrecognisable, following the rapid spread of Covid-19, I just wanted to update you on the changes I have made to the business to help keep us all safe.

As I already work alone in my home studio, I have no issues with social distancing, but as many suppliers are closed, I can only work with the gold and silver I already have in stock. This means that I may not be able to make some custom orders.

The London Assay Office is currently closed, meaning that new work can not be hallmarked. It is illegal to sell unhallmarked work which is over the minimum weight (7.78g for silver and 1g for gold) if  described as gold or silver. This means that any new pieces I make weighing over this amount can only be described as white metal or yellow metal if I am to sell them legally.

All my jewellery is cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner before being packaged onto a jewellery card, and sealed into a cello bag along with an anti tarnish tab. From the moment it comes out of the ultrasonic bath it is only handled by my gloved hands.

The packaging that I am currently using does not include my usual presentation boxes  to make my orders  “letterbox-friendly”. Instead your jewellery will be secured to a jewellery card, to ensure it arrives untangled. It will come wrapped in tissue paper, then packaged in a mailing box which will fit through most letterboxes. Please note that I am using First Class postage rather than Special Delivery, so that your order can be posted without queuing in a Post Office. It also means that you won’t need to collect any undelivered items from a sorting office. As such I will be offering free postage for all items posted to the UK .

If you are sending the jewellery as a gift, just drop me a note at checkout if you would like it gift wrapped, and I can send it direct at no extra charge. I can also include a hand written message in a card if this is helpful, please just ask!

Finally, please note that post is a lot slower to arrive than normal. My Postie tells me that it is busy just like Christmas, but with more sunshine!

Wishing you all the best, stay safe and stay well. Jo x

For those of you who, like me, are self employed running their own small business, you know how much hard work goes into setting up. There’s all the “glamorous” paperwork side to do, notifying the Inland Revenue, arranging insurance, etc. but there’s also the fun bits that let you stamp your own personality on your business – choosing your business name!

For those who don’t already know, I named my business in memory of my beloved furry soulmate Lucylou. It seemed like a great way to remember a good friend, and so Lucylou Designs was born.

When you’re several years down the line and trading happily, what do you do if you discover someone else has subsequently set up a business under a similar name? First step is don’t panic! If they are selling an entirely different product to you, then there is probably no need to worry, customers will realise you are not the same. However, if they are selling the same category of goods as you, then that is when things get tricky.

You don’t want your customers buying from them in error, and you may not want your brand “diluted” by association with their goods if they are not of the same standard as your own. That is where a trademark comes in to protect your business brand. Your business name is classed as your trademark whether you have registered it with the Intellectual Property Office or not, but registered trade marks give you more rights under law, and make it easier to prevent others from using your name.

For more information about registering your trademark follow the link to the .GOV website and avoid the websites that will charge you for the process. https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/register-a-trade-mark

I read lots of scare stories about how you really have to use a solicitor to register your trademark, but ignored them and did my research online, then completed the process myself online through the .GOV website for a fraction of the cost of a solicitor. It was straightforward if a little slow. After 4 months I was the owner of a shiny new certificate to prove that Lucylou Designs is my registered trademark for the next 10 years. This means that I am able to stop anyone from using that name to sell jewellery items, or a name that is confusingly or deceptively similar which may misdirect customers.

If you’re sitting there thinking it is not worth the effort or expense, just consider what would you do if after 5 years of running the business you had built up from scratch, someone else came along and started using a really similar name. So similar that their customers were calling and emailing you by mistake. That’s what happened to me, and I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I am that I took those steps to protect my brand, my business, and my years of hard work! A simple cease and desist letter along with proof of registered trademark is all that was required to resolve what could have otherwise been a huge setback to my business brand. What a difference a little ® can make!

How to break a creative’s heart

So, what is the best way to break a true creative’s heart?

That’s simple, a guaranteed way to break any creative’s heart is to say that their claim to their designs is a falsehood. That they are copies. That all they represent is fake.
Not to say it to their face, not to lay your concerns at their door, not to even entertain for a moment that you could be mistaken only compounds the pain. Yet this is what happened to me, and why my heart is broken.

When I saw the post on your page saying that you were being copied, I felt truly sorry for you. Your designs are always beautifully executed, and I felt your pain. It was only after I shared a design of mine, that your indirect response over your “original design” made the penny drop that you were talking about me! I was shocked, upset, devastated, and then I did the stupidest thing I could have done – I went back to your page and read the comments and accusations about me. It left me feeling sick to my stomach. No, my name wasn’t mentioned, but the attack on my character and my life (because yes, what I create here is part of my life) was so far from the truth I could have wept.

Against my better judgement, a few days later, I read another post. This time it was about how some people will never understand jewellery design. Once again it seemed aimed at me, an effort to diminish what I create, another arrow that found its target.

So as you don’t know me, let me tell you who I really am.
I don’t have a degree in jewellery design, what I do is intuitive and comes from my soul. It is created with love, passion and meaning and I wouldn’t change that for the world.
I’m a sensitive soul, I feel others emotions, I worry about how they feel, and what they feel about me. I’m doing something I love. I create pieces that all have great meaning to me. I even name each hare because they all have characters and personalities that evolve during the design process – they are like my children.
My style of design is recognisable through all my pieces: the progression and process is there for all to see, so if I were plagiarising you and others as stated, then this continuity could not exist.

Jewellery is 80% design, and 20% engineering, an idea can only be constructed in a limited number of ways, so on occasions things may be appear similar. This doesn’t mean they were copied. Perhaps if you’d addressed me directly I could have put your mind at rest that my designs are all my own, but that didn’t happen. So since we had no opportunity for an open and honest private dialogue, I have responded in this way.

I’m guessing that you must have felt hurt and angry and set out to say things that would make you feel better. I’m not sure if it worked, but I hope it did, because I have no wish for you or anyone else to feel upset. As a good friend said to me, there is already enough pain in this world , and I have no wish to add to it. I still think your work is beautiful, but I have a feeling I won’t be able to see it now without feeling that stab of pain in my soul. So from one creative to another, I hope you can understand why my heart is broken.

Some photographs of my last lot of commissions for this year