Soldering clamps- tips from Master Goldsmith James Miller FIPG

This is a post about Soldering clamps that James Miller posted for members of the Metalsmiths Unite 2.0 group on Facebook

this is an example of one of James Miller's works- gold and enamel, with hand cut crystal.

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If you don’t already know James (aka Jim Miller) it is safe to say that he is one of our most accomplished goldsmiths in the MU2.0 group- He is known for his precision piercing and enameled goldsmithed works that have been used or worn by many notable clients such as sultans, royals (British monarchy) and the upper crust of British society. 



 the following is the post on the Metalsmiths Unite 2.0 wall ***********************************************************
James Miller- “Gloria Lenon asked about my stainless steel soldering clamps, I have posted this before, but for anyone who missed it here is my soldering clamps details sheet. I use 0.9mm. thick stainless steel sheet, pierced into strips of about 4mm x 100mm, then bend them to shape with pliers and they last a surprisingly long time. Sorry to those who have already seen this before.”

Jim Miller : http://www.allmetalsinc.com/.../SSH036.htmlStainless Sheet 20 Gauge (Grade 304) - Buy Small Quantities Online - Allmetalsinc.com 
www.allmetalsinc.comBuy Small Quantities of Stainless Sheet 20 Gauge (Grade 304) at the Allmetalsinc.com Online Metals Store


from MU member Jennifer Polson - Jim, how are you cutting your strips of steel? You mentioned piercing, are you just cutting strips with your jeweler's saw, or are you using separating disk? I bought some steel from Industrial Metal Supply in California, and it may be about 18 gauge. IMS used their big sheet cutter to make strips for me, they're between 5-7 mm wide. Should I try to halve them?



Reply: Jim Miller Jennifer, I use 0.90mm. thick stainless and yes I just pierce the strips with a jeweller's saw.Most of my clamps are made from 100mm. long strips of 3mm or 4mm widths.


 

MBZ-Also- it should be noted that James has a book written about him and his astonishing works of art- 
it can be found online at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Work-Master-Goldsmith-Collection/dp/0719801028



Thanks for reading- May the Flux be with you!- Maureen BZ 





Artist spotlight- Joe Diemer

Hi there Metalsmiths Unite fans and friends-Today on the MU blog I'd like to introduce you to Metalsmiths Unite member Joe Diemer........

1. MBZ-How would you describe what you do as an artist?
Joe Diemer-My training is in illustration and metalsmithing, but my business is centered around stainless steel wire-working. I make objects for the home such as birdcages, spice racks, and coat hooks, and a few things for the body such as hair ornaments and bracelets.
Conceptually, I want my art to be uplifting to the spirit, so to that end I'm working to revive the devices of pre-moderist art, such as complex ornament. Much of recent design history is about mass, and removing "superficialities". I'm turning this thinking inside out by making the ornament itself the structure and removing the mass.

2. MBZ-what inspires your designs?
Joe Diemer-Radiolarians, Islamic tile, Louis Sullivan, Alphonse Mucha - anywhere I can find graceful geometry and harmony.
I sketch shapes and patterns that resonate with me and then I rearrange them, trying to find newer and more complex designs that feel right. Then I move from paper to wire and "extrude" those designs three dimensionally (on the z axis) until they have a real force of their own. So, much of the inspiration happens during the process.

3. MBZ-how long have you been involved in this type of making?
Joe Diemer-I've always liked to draw and paint and in college I studied illustration, but I come from a family of builders - my dad's side were carpenters and my mom's side were glassworkers from Italy. So as a boy I had plenty of workshops to tinker in. I made my first cages for my older sister who was always bringing new animals home. Having familiarity with finishing carpentry is helpful for making the jigs; they are often more complex than the finished products.

4. MBZ-where are you located?
Joe Diemer-Portland, Oregon. My workshop is in the Eastside Industrial District next to a 100-year-old plating business and several custom bike builders, so there is plenty of metalwork to see here.

5. MBZ-do you have a website?
Joe Diemer-I do have a website (www.handmadebirdcages.com) but the facebook page (www.facebook.com/JDiemerArtisanry) is more fun because I occasionally do giveaways and I like the interaction. I'm also on Instagram as joediemer but that feed is a much less formal view of the world than my other sites (i.e. it also includes non-metalworking.)

6. MBZ-what other ways do you market your work?
Joe Diemer- I do the Chicago One of a Kind show. I may do the next Buyer's Market show. If anyone has suggestions for a show that would be a good fit for my style please let me know.
I'm in three galleries in Portland and I do a lot of commissions.

MBZ- Joe also won a Niche award this year! http://www.nicheawards.com/category/2013/professional/home-furnishings-proffesionals/decorative-accessories-home-furnishings-proffesionals/

7. MBZ-do you teach? if so, where-
Joe Diemer- Not really - I've still got a lot to learn! But I have done a few lectures and demos on specific subjects like brazing and electropolishing and I make sourcing handouts to help local artists. I'm completely open with my techniques and artists regularly pop in my studio to experiment - so swing by if you find yourself in Portland Oregon



8. MBZ-any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
Joe Diemer- Yes, here are a few things that probably don't get said enough to newbies:
- Be nice to everyone, no matter who they are, but have thick skin if your art is in public.
- Beware of titles and pedantry (and those who overuse them). These things may open some doors in the short term but kill creativity.
- Meditate, or regularly make mental space to think quietly, deeply, and sometimes very specifically about your work. The best muses often have soft voices.
- Write handwritten cards to your galleries or collectors (preferably when you're in a good mood).
- Risk looking stupid. Curiosity is more important than honor. There's something to learn from everyone, and don't be shy about approaching very important people.
- Experience all of the arts. They inspire each other.

9. MBZ- where do you envision your work going in the next year?

Joe Diemer- I've been awarded an artists residency in southern Bohemia for October and November, so I plan to paint while there and then make the blueprints for the next body of work. I'm pretty amped to explore in person what I've only read about and I'm looking forward to seeing how it changes me. Right now I'm making informal 2D work for the upcoming Kickstarter rewards to fund this trip, and it's been a super fun departure from normal.

10. MBZ-anything else you would like to share?
Joe Diemer- Why yes there is - I leave a permanent invitation for all here to honestly comment and make recommendations on my work and my concepts. You are welcome to say exactly what you feel. I realize that MU is mostly jewelers, but please don't let that difference stop your opinions - I appreciate their keen eye. Jewelry was one of the places where decorative ornament was able to "hide out" when it wasn't welcome in architecture etc. so I highly value the opinions. Thanks for the interview!

*********************************************************************
Joe- thank you for sharing your stunning works with us, I look forward to seeing more in the future!
I hope you all enjoyed this interview everyone! Stay tuned, I post a new one every once in a blue moon, when I have a willing subject and a few open hours. :-)
ciao for now- may the flux be with you! - Maureen BZ

Calla Gold (yes that's her real name!)

Hi there Metalsmiths Unite friends! I had a free moment this morning so I thought that I would revive our interviews on our blog...
Today I thought it would be great to introduce you to my friend Calla Gold... A lovely jewelery designer that I have had the privilege to meet a few years ago, at the Tucson gem show.

MBZ: How would you describe what you do as an artist?
CALLA GOLD:I am a designer of jewelry. Looking at my client’s body type, face shape, lifestyle, personality and the feeling they want to exude with their jewelry choices I put together a piece of jewelry they’ll love that they feel they have been part of designing. I believe there is a jewelry designer in each of us. I put my ego in a box and try to let it be as much about them as I can. I do a lot of listening as a designer. 



MBZ:what inspires your designs? (be it music, nature, beekeeping...)
CALLA GOLD:I love the jewelry I design to have a feel of kinetic motion and for a ring, to make her hand look good.  I am inspired by tree branches and clouds and swirly oil smears and water and old crinkly leaves. Other wonderful designers have given me aha moments with their sheer audacity. I’m like a kid sometimes, oohing and ahhing and needing to be cattle-prodded to move on as I fixate on some speck of beauty.



MBZ: how long have you been involved in this type of making? (how did you start?) I was a door to door salesperson for Fuller Brush. The first woman Fuller Brush Man west of the Mississippi or so I was told. Taking my sales skills and a dream I started Calla Gold Jewelry after apprenticing with a no-store jewelry sales gal. I was just selling, then some repairs, then drawing on napkins and designing jewelry. I never lost sight of the fact that I needed to sell stuff, so the design grew slowly as I focused on selling. I nurtured the flame that I could design jewelry and after years of sales made that a larger part of my income stream. 



MBZ: where are you located?
Calla Gold:I am in Santa Barbara California. It’s on the Pacific Coast in a ridiculously pretty setting between the mountains and the sea. We have a Spanish architectural motif that permeates our downtown. When you drive around the ritzy areas and there are a lot of them, the landscaping is beautiful. I’ll walk the hill neighborhoods marveling at penis like flower sheaths, and smoky, velvety big stinky petals of some exotic plant and marvel at a carpet of different leveled plantings grey, green and droopy, staggered by the vision, the beauty and the no doubt stupidly expensive bill of the visionary landscape architect. I am inspired.

MBZ:  do you have a website?
Calla Gold: I have a website with a gallery that shows the different styles I can design in: http://www.callagold.com
I am active in social media, posting three times a week on my Facebook business page: http://www.facebook.com/callagoldjewelry
I am a mad crazy jewelry blogger, posting weekly to explain things to jewelry lovers, opine about jewelry trends, explain why some men never buy their wives jewelry, and show things to brides to be like “The Sixteen Steps of Jewelry Design” and liked that: http://www.callagold.com/blog
Oh wishful thinking that I had some way to sell my jewelry online like an e-commerce site. I think it will happen, but I haven’t made it happen yet.

MBZ: what other ways do you market your work?(shows, galleries, brick + mortar stores)
I often have a table at a Wedding Showcase. Those are good for me since I custom make a lot of wedding and engagement rings.
Business trade shows for women’s groups are something I go to. I do the whole dress up like a business lady and wear reasonably well behaved jewelry that I’ve designed and go to mixers, networking meetings and promote the fact that I do repairs and custom work.  Once I’ve done their repairs and established myself as no slouch in the care of their jewels out comes the inherited and unworn, the old boyfriend jewelry and the re-purposing and re-designing begins. I start small and come on strong in the end.
I do not have a store. Coming from a door to door background I felt more comfortable visiting clients in their comfort zone. Many of my old Fuller Brush clients became jewelry clients. Many of my cleaning business clients became jewelry clients.
I love not having a store. But it means I do upwards of five hours of calling a week to stay in touch and follow up on the ladies I’ve met at the meetings to get the appointment.9 I do appointments all day long 4 days a week.) One day in the workshop and one day blogging, writing bids and doing a mountain of paperwork. I love it all!



MBZ: do you teach? if so, where-
Calla Gold: I do private one-on-one jewelry business and small business consulting. I do a lot of over the phone consulting. I also teach at Women’s Economic Ventures in Santa Barbara in their Sales segment of their multi week entrepreneurial training.
I occasionally speak at local business groups and have spoken in Las Vegas and at the MJSA EXPO in New York.
Running my SMART group is I guess a form of teaching. Social Media Action Relationship Tactics is what the acronym is for. For about two or three years I’ve run this group, where we share ideas on social media actions and co-market for each other online. I started it when my new website went up and I started blogging so I could drive people to my site.

MBZ: any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
Calla: If you can’t afford a website yet, a Facebook business page is essentially a free website where you can showcase your work and drive interested people to.
*Your job is to sell stuff to make a living and pay the bills. If you have to sell other people’s stuff to get that done, do it, if you are making a living you have the opportunity to hone and improve your craft and have the time to find where your clients are and  what they want from you.
*See what people like best about your work and focus some of your new output on that, even if it’s not your vision. Not a cat person? Everyone buys the few cat things you make? Make more cats, you can do the bats later! If you’re making a living you’ll be able to keep being creative and find your ideal clients who want bats.

MBZ:where do you envision your work going in the next year?
More cool hand engraved and pierced through designs. It’d be great to have more creative clients pushing me in new directions.
In a perfect world I get some e-commerce thing going.



MBZ: anything else you would like to share?
Calla: I’m having fun sharing on Pinterest. I show my stuff and stuff I like: http://pinterest.com/callagold/
A passion of mine is to get people excited about jewelry again including their own unworn pieces. When they don’t have old dogs in the jewelry box anymore they start feeling more creative and ready for the new stuff and new styles. Here’s a video where I explain what I like to do: http://youtu.be/dnlSsztsF8A
I’m sharing the reason’s men don’t buy jewelry for women blog post. I love it, it makes me laugh and makes my clients laugh: http://www.callagold.com/santa-barbara-jeweler/my-husband-never-buys-me-jewelry%E2%80%9D-the-fifteen-reasons-men-don%E2%80%99t-buy-jewelry-for-women/

LOL, that's great Calla! thanks for submitting yourself to an interview!
I hope you all enjoyed this interview and get inspired to go out and make something beautiful today!
May the flux be with you----
ciao-  Maureen BZ

Member interview with János Gábor Varga (aka Blind Spot Jewellery)

Maureen Brusa Zappellini (MBZ) here, Hello! I'm so happy to be bringing you this interview with one of our long time members, Janos Gabor Varga, (aka Blind Spot) He always has such interesting work to present to the group and a very specific point of view- Plus he has found a way to make quirky but sell-able work, which he sells online Etsy (where I first met him) and Bottica.com, as well as in shows and markets in and around his current home near Genoa Italy. Read on and find out more about this dynamic metalsmithing artist in his own words!

János Gábor Varga (aka Blind Spot Jewellery

MBZ: How would you describe what you do as an artist?
JGV:One of my first experiences with jewellery was an exhibition on ethnic rings in the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest, my hometown. There I saw beautiful works made by peasants, shepherds, soldiers, prisoners. People without art or jewellery education, equipped with simple tools and materials but with an elemental will to express their desires through a ring. It really touched me but it was much later when I got involved with the craft. In that time my interest was ethnomedicine (exactly ethnoveterinary) and I studied agriculture from college to uni. My means of expressing myself was written and spoken language. When I left Hungary I had difficulties with learning English and nearly everything I did or learnt before was hard to apply. So I felt that creating objects, wearable art could be my way of expressing myself.
Apart of a short evening class I never studied jewellery or art.  But I believe that you are an artist if you do art. Then others will judge if you are a good artist or not. Same applies for being a jeweler and for many other trades, fields.
I try to establish an intimate relationship with the materials I use and to create meaningful objects but I would like to do it in an inviting way: like if it could be done by anybody who has the will to express desires.
So, as an artist I would like to celebrate dilettantism. Whatever you studied, I would like to encourage you to trespass into other fields - and fertilize it with all your previous knowledge.



MBZ:what inspires your designs?

JGV:I am very much inspired by old buildings, tools that were used a lot. I think that when you are in good shape, the whole word around you becomes the potential source and inspiration of your work. That is a state of mind what we are looking for, it is very intense and joyful.

(Below is a short video Janos posted recently on Youtube, showing him playing with hot forming Iron at his bench)

 

Here is how that piece turned out:

MBZ: how long have you been involved in this type of making? (how did you start?)
JGV:
It has been about 11-12 years. I started it short before I left Hungary, my country of origin. It became a passion and more than hobby in the UK and some years later my work, in Italy where I came 8 years ago.


MBZ:where are you located?
JGV:I am located in a small village near Genoa, the port of Northern Italy. It is a really picturesque medieval village in the mountains of the Apennines,  with a castle, a stone bridge and a charming center. My home/workshop is right in the high street (main street?).

 

This village has centuries of silver filigree tradition and even though I do very different work, it is important to me that I am surrounded by other artisans. We often help out each other with advices, tools, etc. I came here about 8 years ago, I love this place and this people and I consider it to be my home.



MBZ: do you have a website or etsy/artfire etc store? 

JGV:Yes, they are:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlindSpotJewellery
http://boticca.com/blindspotjewellery/


MBZ:what other ways do you market your work?(shows, galleries, brick + mortar stores)

JGV:Every so often I participate in shows. I think they are good occasions for presenting your work, meeting other artists and it is good fun too, I love opening parties! Brick and mortar shops are also important but I could never afford to do what I do without selling online.


MBZ:do you teach?
JGV:Till now I occasionally had the opportunity to teach. I really enjoy it so I hope it will happen more often. I have had a couple of beginner private students. In 2011 I have been invited by the State Art College of Venice to keep a presentation and workshop of one day on ferrous jewellery. Last year  the  Spanish (Catalan) Arsenal Art College asked me to take a trainee for two months. It was a very interesting and good experience.



MBZ:any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
JGV:
I would say that these days a jewellery artist got to be online and communicative. It is also important to make good pictures of your work, so learn how to use a digital camera, a light box, how to retouch your photos etc.


MBZ: where do you envision your work going in the next year? (artistic direction)
JGV:
I would really like to have some solo shows where I can present some of my collections all together.


MBZ:anything else you would like to share?
JGV:I am particularly attracted to iron. It is not much used in jewellery but I think it should be. It’s nature allows you to explore all sort of motions and forms and it makes you feel that the finished object you look at, is the result of some dramatic changes. It is a strong and sensitive metal and a pleasure to wear, both for women and men. Some years ago I riveted an iron bangle onto my wrist so together with one of the first rings I made, it is a permanent jewel and it means to me that iron and me got an affair with each other 

(This is Janos' latest project posted on his photostream on Flickr)

Thanks Janos! It was great to get a bit of your story - I'm happy to have you as a member of Metalsmiths Unite and I look forward to reading your future posts and seeing more of your point of view- Blind spot and all!


Links~~
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/
János Gábor Varga
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/8381076800/
or:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/5802636862/in/set-72157604664516611
Campo Ligure:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/2802168589/in/set-72157619103616794/
my work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/4614559063/in/set-72157623352142686

http://www.flickr.com/photos/janosgaborvarga/7211234606/in/set-72157623352142686

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=419403855947&set=a.7731145947.22485.628670947&type=3&theater

MBZ Metalsmith: Tucson Gem show 2013- Early February

MBZ Metalsmith: Tucson Gem show 2013- Early February
Here's a slice of the Tucson pie:

Tucson Gem show 2013- Early February

 Ahhh, February In Tucson!
It has something special, really,
something for everyone- but the one thing
that I am really clued into is exciting for my line of work-
I am a Tucson resident (year round, have been for 20+ years) and a Metalsmith- I didn't move here for golf

No, it's not because of Rockabilly Valentines ball at Hotel Congress or the latest biking gadgetry being welded into art at BICAS , the fabulous make your own bike collective down near the train tracks....

Great hiking trails to enjoy here!

All of that is great- it is pure Tucson-however,  I moved here to get away from the Boston winters and to be close to the incredible culture of metalsmithing that has developed here as a result of the mining, cowboy and native American traditions as well as the Gem Show.
or, should I say,
"THE Gem Show(s) "

So, I thought I'd do a insider's report from the front lines:

A report about the Gem show's subtle effects on my life. Subtle? Yes, I work in jewelry some of the time, but am lately much more inclined to using a piece of reflector before a faceted garnet. Also, I've lived here for years, so really, I have enough back stock of things from years ago, when I overindulged on things I just thought were beautiful, but didn't have a clear plan for.....

in short, I've been there enough that I really don't relish going anymore- and the Gem show(s) have instead become for me the time when a whole bunch of my friends and fellow metalsmiths are in town! And since I founded the group Metalsmiths Unite back in 2008 my pack of metalsmithing friends that visit town keeps growing and growing.

MU Chill Lounge 2011 (during the freeze)

I always look forward to the Metalsmiths Unite Chill Lounge night during gem show (4th annual this year!) If you are a Member of MU you can find out about this year's gathering on our home page on Facebook- (just look under the "events" tab on our FB page and you will be brought to the page with all the info- any problems, contact me via private message)


Other than getting together for the group gathering I get to visit with out of town friends---
In fact,  I get to see Lisa Slovis Mandel tomorrow- she's another Pewter person- in fact, she wrote the book on it! here's a link :-) The Pewter Studio by Lisa Slovis Mandel(it's a great book BTW- just wish I had met her before it went to print, because I would have loved to have had a couple pieces in the book...oh well, there's always volume 2!)

ciao for now-
Happy trails, and May the Flux be with you!
Maureen aka "Bzap" and
Daisy Doodle

Anyways, Gem show visitors, we Tucsonans are very happy to have you grace our fair city once again- Thanks for coming and bringing all of the great business! We do appreciate it! I hope you can wait just one more year for the streetcar project to be finished downtown. (it's going to be great when it is finished!) And we wish you fabulous weather during your stay. Please pass the word around about how much fun Tucson is to visit in the wintertime! We love getting the business!



PS- here is a handy link to the Gem Show Guide-
It is the BIG directory of all of the things happening at the shows in Tucson- you will need it, believe me! :-)

Jim Dunakin Interview

Today we are going to get to know another one of our very talented artist members of metalsmiths Unite: Jim Dunakin. Jim has been a member for a couple of years now- he is an active member, posting almost every day- is very open and helpful to other members and has been kind enough to share many ideas about techniques with us as well. He is a self taught metalsmith and Lapiderist (stone cutter) and creates delightfully colorful "eye candy", with impeccable craftsmanship.
So, without further ado....here's Jim Dunakin! enjoy!

MBZ (Maureen Brusa Zappellini) - Hi Jim- Thanks for taking the time to do this interview- I'm sure other Metalsmiths Unite members are interested in reading about you and your work.OK, for starters,  How would you describe what you do as an artist?

JD (Jim Dunakin) - Hi there- Well, I Generally describe myself as a jewelry artist, although studio jeweler would certainly work as well.

MBZ-what inspires your designs? (be it music, nature, beekeeping...)
JD- I think my primary inspiration comes from tribal cultures. There is no one tribe I would associate my work with, as I tend to draw from many different influences. I am careful never to co-opt specific tribal designs, as these obviously belong to those tribes, and can have significant meanings to them, both tribal and familial. However, we have all descended from one tribe or another, often forming new tribes along the way. I think this is important in that all humans have this in common. I believe this is one reason primitive styles and symbols can elicit feelings from so many people, even those who may no longer associate themselves with a specific tribe or culture. More often than not, these types of designs cross many cultures, and some have been in use in one form or another for many thousands of years. Again, while my work doesn't necessarily incorporate symbols, per se, the primitive influence is evident in much of my work.
On the other hand, living in the modern world, I've also been known to mix this primitive feel with modern influences such as architecture and mechanical devices.
In addition to these influences, several artists have inspired me. My two favorites are Albert Paley and Charles Loloma.

MBZ- how long have you been involved in this type of making? (how did you start?)
JD- I've been making jewelry in one form or another for about 38 years. I began by piecing coins, and turning them into pendants and earrings, in 1975. At about this same time, I made puka shell necklaces, which were all the rage at that time, and sold these and the coin jewelry at swap meets in Sand Diego, where I lived at the time.
Also during this time I had a friend who was doing some beautiful silver smithing work. He was self-taught, and had a unique style that I really liked. I asked him about teaching me this art, and he didn't feel that he would make the best teacher. However, he was very encouraging, and told me what book he had learned from (Indian Silversmithing, by Ben Hunt), and where I could purchase it. He did also give me many helpful tips and advice, both on the metal working and also with making tools and equipment.
I found this book to be very useful, because most of the techniques used in it were fairly basic, including soldering, stamping and so forth. It also had much information of making various tools like stamps and punches, and shaped dies for dapping.
Since that time, I've done a lot more reading on various techniques and methods, including repousse, chasing, raising, forging.

MBZ- where are you located?
JD-My wife and I live near the tiny town of Reed Point, MT, population 96. It sits along the Yellowstone River, in the south-central part of the state, somewhat in the foothills between the Rocky Mountains and the plains. Our home, which we've built ourselves, sits in a little valley that opens out to the south. We have a clear view from here, with open ranch land between our home and the Beartooth Mountains. Our nearest neighbor is about a mile away as the crow flies, but from here we can't see a single house or light in any direction!
It's a bit isolated, since we often get snowed-in during the winter, and more often we get get "mudded-in" in the spring, often for weeks at a time! During these times we do go out occasionally for groceries or to ship out jewelry orders. In those cases, we have to hike out, to a vehicle we leave up near the county road. It's a 1.5 mile hike each way, with groceries on our backs, but its a lovely hike up a beautiful canyon, so we always enjoy it. But for us it works, as we love the solitude and living so close to nature.


MBZ-do you have a website or etsy/artfire etc store? (put a link url here too if you want readers to click through to your site)
JD-We no longer have our own website, however, you can see our work at Dunakin Design on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunakin-Design/214539771101?ref=hl
People can also contact us by e-mail at: dunakindesign@itstriangle.com

MBZ-what other ways do you market your work?(shows, galleries, brick + mortar stores)
do you teach? if so, where- (add a website link if you would like)
JD-About 80% of our sales are through the nearly 30 galleries around the nation that carry my work.

MBZ- just as a little treat I thought I'd add a link to Jim's recent internet radio interview with Jay Whaley on Metalsmithing Benchtalk... http://www.blogtalkradio.com/whaleystudios/2012/11/29/metalsmith-benchtalk-with-jim-dunakin

MBZ-any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
JD-I think I would just tell people to follow their dreams. If jewelry is something you are passionate about, by all means you should pursue it.
- where do you envision your work going in the next year? (artistic direction)
At this point I've learned to be open, and just let God lead me where He will. I never know what direction my work or my life will be heading next, but it's always turned out to be something better than I could have planned myself!


MBZ- thanks so much for taking some time to introduce us to your work and give us a little more insight into the Jim Dunakin experience :-) I am very happy to have you as a part of our community!

MU Member interview: Rameen Ahmed

From time to time I like to post interviews of metalsmithing artists from our group- today I am featuring my friend, Tucson metalsmith Rameen Ahmed:

MBZ: Rameen and I met while working at Krikawa, a local indie jeweler here in Tucson- where we worked as goldsmiths together for a few months. We have kept in touch over the years and have been able to enjoy time together recently as roommates at the 2012 SNAG conference. I consider her to be a good friend, and a fine metalsmith- her designs are whimsical, architectural and modern.
Here is her interview:

Me and Rameen at the SNAG conference in Scottsdale last spring

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MBZ:How would you describe what you do as an artist?
RA:I take what I have learned in art and architecture and give it a 'wearable form'.

MBZ: what inspires your designs?
RA: Ideas, materials, mental acrobatics with form

MBZ: how long have you been involved in this type of making? (how did you start?)
RA: 10 years. Recent recollection of a long ago question, "What do you do with dolls?" Answer, "Play with them!" Mystified and proceeded to take apart my metal belt and making doll jewelry at age 7!!

MBZ: where are you located?( email if you want to share, or city/town that you live in)
RA: Tucson, Arizona. rameen@rameenahmeddesigns.com

MBZ: do you have a website?
RA: yes, it's at  www.rameenahmeddesigns.com

MBZ: what other ways do you market your work?
RA: Trunk Shows, Art Shows, Juried Submittals, Galleries, Membership(ADC, SNAG), Online Membership (LinkedIn, FaceBook, Crafthaus), Snailmail Postcards... working on making FB work page! (MBZ aside: Wow! that's great Rameen! you have to help me get more organized!)

MBZ: do you teach? if so, where?
RA: Mostly visual arts, architecture/landscape design. Part-time at Tucson Museum of Art, elementary & middle school - local Montessori & Rameen Ahmed Designs.

MBZ: Rameen, do you have any sage advice for newcomers that you would like to share?
RA: Yes! Let your passion lead you...

MBZ: where do you envision your work going in the next year? (artistic direction)
RA: Fearless deliberation, I hope!! By that I mean pushing ideas that are/have been percolating.

MBZ: anything else you would like to share? (your choice-how we met? What you wish for as a holiday gift? any good jokes? you can even put your flickr/twitter/blog links here too)
RA: One of the best parts of working at Krikawa was connecting with you and other 'benchers'. I do appreciate the opportunity to have improved my technical skills quite a bit at the bench there.
What else, let's see... I'm terrible at punch lines! But, here's one of my favorite quotes from the Dilbert Principle, "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
MBZ: I love Dilbert! Thanks Rameen! :-)
Ciao, and May the Flux be with you! - Maureen

ps- yes, it was funny to work with someone who has a name that sounds like an echo of your own...Rameen, Maureen! LOL it's all good