Hi. My name is Laura
Bracken. My daughter Monica and I run
Bracken Designs, a place to find one-of-a-kind jewelry and the occasional
off-the-wall goodie. Although I am
constantly on the move creatively, I tend to do things a certain way. For those who are interested, however, I love
to explain why I do things the way I do.
I
am an intuitive jewelry maker, which means I don't plan out what I'm going to
make, but that also means I rarely accept custom orders. I feel very strongly about the components I
use. Whenever possible, I buy directly
from other artists (lampwork, Bali metal work, polymer clay, etc). I like the idea of something that was forged
or crafted by someone’s hands. I like
the idea of something that was made when a person is happy and “in tune” with
their creation. I also think maybe
certain things contain "vibrations" if they are made in certain ways,
by certain people, and not overly processed.
I
can't presume to know why people buy the jewelry they do and so I don't try to
analyze that aspect of the craft too much.
VISUAL
My
assumption is that first and foremost, people are visually attracted to certain
pieces of jewelry. I expect visual
aesthetics to be at the forefront of someone's decision making.
LONGEVITY
After
that, I would think quality craftsmanship is important. A customer wants to know that if they buy
something, it will hold together under normal wearing conditions. If they spend a large amount of money on a
piece of jewelry, they expect it to last much longer than something purchased
at a dime-store. Wanting to create long-lasting
jewelry is also the reasoning behind the fact that we don't use 24 gauge wire
or headpins unless the design calls for that specifically. Otherwise, we use 22 or 20 gauge wire, so the
charms and dangles have less risk of bending and/or breaking off. We also wire-wrap when
called for rather than using jumprings.
BALANCE
After
that, I think there are more subtle things that are still important. Is the piece physically balanced? Personally, I can't stand when a bracelet
spins around on my wrist to constantly hand upside-down. This is one of the biggest reasons I often
add a counter-balance charm.
COMFORT
Is
the piece comfortable? Are all
wire-wrappings tucked in, are sharp protrusions filed down,
do the components grab hair, etc?
EXPENSE
Lastly,
I think a piece should be priced appropriately.
If I use AAA gemstone and solid gold, that item will be priced at a much
higher rate than if I use a common gemstone and sterling silver. My prices are almost entirely based on the materials
I use. Second to that, I price based on
how much of my time was used in creating the piece.
Following are some of the
components I prefer and why:
Precious Metals: I rarely work with base metals or plated metals
because there are so many people with metal allergies as well
as I worry about lead exposure.
On the rare occasion that I do use something other than sterling silver,
vermeil, or solid gold, I will disclose that.
Some of my altered art and found object jewelry contains vintage metals
of unknown origin.
Crystals: I use Swarovski because
they sparkle more than any other crystal.
On rare occasion I will use some unknown vintage crystals, but I will
disclose this.
Lampwork: I only use annealed and cleaned lampwork glass art. Because of the current proliferation of
mass-produced glass beads in the industry, I only purchase from people I know
and trust.
Gemstones: I purchase my gemstone in-person and from sources I have
trusted for years. I’m not overly fond
of treated gems, so I rarely use them.
Click here to visit my website which has my blog, galleries of past designs, instructional articles and more
