04/06/2026
Beading was my gateway into the world of jewelry and eventually metalsmithing.
Twenty something years ago when I first started collecting beads and components to make earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, sterling silver was generally under $5 an ounce (anyone got a working time machine??). After a slow a steady rise, 2011 saw a jump to $30-$40 an ounce. At that time I was still just beading and hadn't really gotten into metalsmithing yet so buying small components was still fairly affordable.
By the time I took my first metalsmithing class in 2016 the prices had thankfully dropped back down to the $15 to $20 per ounce range and stayed that way for a few years. In class we learned to measure carefully and salvage what we could in addition to testing things out in copper and brass first. This was where I really began to experiment more with copper and brass and found out I love the warmth both of these metals bring.
Over the last 2 years as Silver prices have steadily increased and I have been expanding my own home studio, I started incorporating more brass and copper into my jewelry. While I always made my own headpins to add beads to my earrings, I always made them out of Sterling Silver even if the main part of the earring was copper or brass. Recently, with Silver prices tripling in cost just in the last year alone, it was time to adapt which means I've started making headpins in brass and copper now.
They might not look or finish up quite as "pretty" as Sterling ones do, but I really like the handmade quality they give to the new earrings I've been working on. Plus it keeps a little more $ in my pockets and yours.