Tangentine

Screenprinting experiments

April 27th, 2011

With our imminent continental move I realised just how much craft supplies I’ve accumulated during the past two years. I also have to pack my jewellery – the perfect excuse to take some time to play with screenprinting – something I’ve always wanted to do.

Whenever I learn a new craft I always experiment – and yes – that means a lot of not so perfect prints (I just call them mistakes). To keep my morale up I give myself a side goal – use the supplies by making packaging for my jewellery.

Here you can see some thank you cards and ring boxes I’ve made with my screenprinting mistakes. Slight misprints, bleeds and blocks on the screen would not work for proper prints – but it’s a perfect recycling solution for the high quality paper I use to learn the craft. I have to admit – I love them.

I also made cards and paper envelopes for each piece.

Not too shabby. All my jewellery (and it was close to 150 pieces) now have their own handmade cards, envelopes, containers – nicely stored in ziplock bags. Ready to be packed into boxes just before we move or send off to buyers. I’ve used up most of my paint and learned a lot about screen printing.

I should have done it this way from the start and have already come up with a grand scheme to index and store everything after the move. (I am an information architect and can’t resist a good organisational structure.)

Now I just have to find a way to get through all the moulding supplies I still have.

Posted in My stuff | 10 Comments »

Interactive animal toys

March 11th, 2011

I love good design.

Product design is a very satisfying passtime and there are many parameters you need to think about. It is a marriage between creativity and logic. Design following function. Durability and artistic vision.
Those are the things that draw me in with good design. But every now and again you come across a piece with that something extra. An excellent addition on top of those principles.

I’ve always been a complete sucker for interactive objects and multi-purpose designs. PeonyForest‘s animal toys embody all of this in a brilliant design.

Owl

Her magical owl is the perfect example of my idea of an excellent design. It’s an adorable toy and you can also use it as a necklace or fridge magnet.

How cool is that!

Be sure to check out her other pieces. I’m also the happy new owner of a Coco the lop-eared bunny from PeonyForest. I can’t wait to get it so that it can have a long happy life on my desk.

Photo credit: All product images are copyrighted by PeonyForest.

Posted in People | 155 Comments »

Playtime at the craft zoo

March 5th, 2011

Well, not really. But sometimes when I’m experiment mode, I do feel like a little monkey. Just trying things.

I’m working on a new range of pieces, but still need to crack the method of fulfilling my vision. I decided to look at Shrink Plastic, it’s something I’ve had my eye on for a while, because it’s a flexible material that results in a strong acrylic flat piece.

What is it?

Basically it sold in sheets, about the thickness of 300gram paper, and you draw/ stamp onto it. Then you pop it into the oven and it shrinks (between 7 and 9 times) depending on which brand you use.

Attempts

My first attempt was an unmitigated disaster, I did not put it onto a baking tray and it overcooked. My dear husband says it looks like demon spawn and I have to agree. Anyway, this morning I had much better luck with it.

Shrink plastic steps

As you can see, there is still a lot of work. But I had a very enjoyable and productive day. I even got to draw a bit, something I haven’t done in an age.

Posted in Design process, Experiments, Process | 153 Comments »

Playtime: Balancing discipline and fun when running a craft business

February 16th, 2011

My favourite part of the design process is to make prototypes. It suits my personality. I’m a dreamer and I like to figure things out. The problem is that often results in a lot of half-finished projects.

Last year my personal focus was to finish things. But knowing myself I also started building in a bit of playtime into my schedule every day.

The importance of playtime

Creativity

It’s the equivalent of staring at clouds. It may not look like you’re doing work but your brain runs in the background and all of a sudden, bam! New ideas start pouring out.

Improving skills

With this one I draw the analogy to the importance of play in the development of mammals. Similarly to, say, a lion cub, learning to hunt while playing. Playtime is important to me in developing my skills as an artist.

Note: this is quite a big field of study, so I apologise for the passing reference.

Failure

A.K.A Lessen self-imposed pressure. The short of it is, you’re not setting your expectations to finish something that’s polished enough to sell. Because you don’t worry too much about the end product you focus on the process and learn something along the way. (If you’re lucky.) Worst case scenario – you had some fun.

Evolution

It’s important to the evolution of your work. If you always consider yourself to be ‘on the clock’ while creating it stifles the progress of your work.

My playtime

Today I spent my playtime prototyping some bracelet clasps.

I’m really happy with how it turned out.
My idea’s evolved – I know how to make my rivets invisible now. It’ll look better.
The catch is a bit short, so I need to tweak that for comfort
I’m testing the piece. I know it’s easy to open and close with one hand.
I used to be a rubbish riveter. But I’ve been practising a lot. This was however the first time I riveted metal onto a soft object. So it was good to play around with the rivets to see how much leeway I have with leather.

I’ve been struggling to get some of my other bracelet designs to work. This base piece will solve those problems and hopefully I can turn those ideas into beautiful pieces now that I’ve figured this base design out.

Now, I really hope my new copper solder will arrive tomorrow. Because it will look so much better if the catch is soldered on.

The best thing about it? This one belongs me! Mwaahahahaa.

Posted in Craft business topics, My stuff, Process | 66 Comments »

Artist feature: The Hope Tree

February 10th, 2011

I met the lovely Hayley from The Hope Tree in the Etsy forums. We are both South Africans dealing with the interesting and sometimes challenging aspects of living in a foreign country. As such it was easy to become online friends and we’re already planning a meet-up in South Africa later this year.

Hayley sells French vintage pieces in her Etsy shop. They are beautiful and one of the ways she’s learning about her new country. I love the little stories her pieces tell.