Seadragon Silver

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Seadragon Silver Hand-crafted silver jewellery, using seaglass from the beaches of North Norfolk and beyond.

Apologies for the radio silence, it's been a difficult year tbh, and even harder now. Some of you might follow me on my ...
11/06/2024

Apologies for the radio silence, it's been a difficult year tbh, and even harder now. Some of you might follow me on my garden account on IG () so you may already know, but for those of you who don't — we had to say goodbye to our sweet Molly last week. Cancer came silently and swiftly, and took her from us within days.

I held her in my arms as we let her go to sleep. I miss my little weirdo, who was seemingly obsessed with my ankles and never happier than when I let her squirm under the duvet and she could curl up in a ball between my feet. Every evening, she would settle me down to bed; keeping me company while I played word games on my phone, and literally 10 seconds after I switched off the bedside light, there would be a muffled thump as she jumped off the bed and trotted off to do whatever it was she did while I fell asleep. But wherever she was, she would reappear the moment I stirred, my little night-time shadow who would walk me to the loo and guide me back to bed in the darkness, purring gently all the while to let me know she was there.

She loved the garden.

Molly 💔 23 November 2009 - 5 June 2024

17/04/2024

Part of my "From My English Garden" collection, these earrings were hand-crafted in sterling silver using precious metal clay, using moulds of a leaf and a twig from a buddleia in my garden.

Each leaf and twig was crafted separately, then the separate elements soldered together. I began by making siligum moulds of the leaf and twig, then used Art Clay silver which was torch-fired to create the finished pieces.

Also included are peridot cabochons — peridot is one of the few gemstones which occur in only one colour. Peridot is also one of the three birthstones for August, and is believed to offer protection, as well as promote love, happiness, and prosperity.

Made by Seadragon Silver

Day 29: VisionLAST CHALLENGE DAY!!! 🥳🥳🥳I have to say I started off really resenting doing this (even though I decide...
29/03/2024


Day 29: Vision

LAST CHALLENGE DAY!!! 🥳🥳🥳
I have to say I started off really resenting doing this (even though I decided of my own volition to do it ha ha); I've never been good with being told I *must* do this or that or the other, and follow a set list etc. I remember even at primary school, being baffled at being commanded to line up in an orderly fashion and shuffle along with my classmates as we waited our turn to return to the classroom after break time... I'd regularly get caught by the scruff of my jumper by one of the nuns as I attempted to break out and just GO. Patience was never one of my strong points.

But as this month as progressed, I've come to actually enjoy putting my brain and imagination into gear to dream up stories and posts for each of the day's prompts. Best of all, I feel like I've really been able to have fun with some of my genius ideas (cough 😅), like "Moment Of Calm" a couple of days ago, and again with today's prompt of "Vision", which was partly inspired by the fact that I am starting to notice my eyesight is getting a bit shabby. I can only work on bright sunny days as my work bench is right under a window, so that's perfect. I do have a bench lamp, but even on its optimum setting, my eyes don't feel comfortable. I'm waiting until my birthday in May before I schedule another eye test, because I'll be 60 then and here in the UK, that means it'll be freeeeeee 🥳

In terms of my vision for the future of Seadragon Silver, it's not complicated. Find inspiration in being outdoors and by the sea, make beautiful things, and hopefully continue to bring joy to everyone who chooses my jewellery... Thank you for being part of this month's journey! And please do keep stopping by to see what other shenanigans I get up to.


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

Day 28: PackagedDecided to do this the other around so have a look at my stories today to watch the full (un) packag...
28/03/2024


Day 28: Packaged

Decided to do this the other around so have a look at my stories today to watch the full (un) packaging process 🤭 This is basically my set-up for sending out: jewellery in a little plastic baggie (necklace chains at tucked inside to keep them from tangling), which then go inside one of my little satin purses, and accompanying them are a business card and a Seadragon Silver "care card" which has basic tips and hints for taking care of your jewellery properly.

All that is then placed in a padded envelope, and that's it. No gift wrap, no ribbon, no handwritten note. All my care and love has already gone into making the piece you've bought, and my gratitude expressed in the pretty, minimal choice of packaging 🙏🏻💕


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

28/03/2024

In case you missed it on my Stories yesterday! Still makes me laugh 😅

Day 27: A Moment Of CalmNo one has ever described me as a calm person. I operate at varying levels of constant stres...
27/03/2024


Day 27: A Moment Of Calm

No one has ever described me as a calm person. I operate at varying levels of constant stress or fretfulness, and yes, I often drive myself crazy. I do try to take slow, deep breaths but then my mind starts wandering and boom, I've found something new to fret about. This is why, as much as humanly possible, I totally avoid watching the news, listening to the news, and reading the news, because it's never good news.

I love a good distractionary tactic, naturally, and making jewellery is great for that — and all the hammering, sawing and blasting things with a hot flame is also a great way to release stress 😅 Plus, I'm lucky that Mr Seadragon makes me laugh, a lot.


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

Day 26: Call to actionFor small makers and independent little businesses like mine, community support is so importan...
26/03/2024


Day 26: Call to action

For small makers and independent little businesses like mine, community support is so important. More than likely, few (if any!) of us have budgets for advertising or promotions, so we rely on our friends, family and the community at large for support and to spread the word!

This is why social media can be so important, where we share our stories, our successes, our failures, our fears — in short, a window into our usually chaotic worlds of juggling the everyday with the exceptional, from remembering to pick up more milk to wrestling with a deadline or a tricky piece of jewellery we're trying to complete.

There are four little things anyone and everyone can do to help us along, that take seconds and cost nothing. So, today's prompt of "Call to action" is dedicated to you all — follow us on social media, like our posts and pictures, drop us a comment (even if it's just a thumbs-up emoji or smiley face!) and, for that extra little sumthin'-sumthin', share one (or two!) of our posts to help us reach a wider audience.

And believe me, when you do, the cockles our of collective hearts are aglow with warmth and gratitude 💕


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

Day 25: Product storySome of you may remember seeing the photos I posted when I originally unveiled my small collect...
25/03/2024


Day 25: Product story

Some of you may remember seeing the photos I posted when I originally unveiled my small collection of ohajiki jewellery in late 2022/early 2023. I knew of ohajiki from the years I spent living in Tokyo as a child in the 1970s, when my father was posted to the Japanese capital for a two-year stint as an attache with the Malaysian embassy. I didn't find out about seaglass ohajiki until many, many years later, and was thrilled when I was able to buy these pieces from the lucky woman who'd found them on a beach in the coastal prefecture of Kanagawa (that's her hand in the top left of the first collage of photos, holding the precious pieces).

It took years for me to pluck up the courage, and to have sufficient confidence in my abilities, to create jewellery using these beautiful seaglass ohajiki. Half of me wishes I'd kept at least one piece for myself, but then I know how much joy they must be bringing to their new owners now.


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

Day 22: Positive This is another prompt that, to be completely frank, I haven't a clue what it means. Which I guess ...
22/03/2024


Day 22: Positive

This is another prompt that, to be completely frank, I haven't a clue what it means. Which I guess is good because it makes me think and consider, rather than fall back on an easy response. So, given the really grim times we had since 2020 when the world changed forever, and the currently gloomy outlook for the future, what we need is positive vibes, good karma, whatever you want to call it.

To me, that starts with how we treat each other: everyone, no exceptions. And what seems to be missing in so many ways is simple kindness. It costs nothing, hurts no one, and makes everyone feel a lot less sh*tty about life in general, pardon my language but it's true.

So as well as being kinder to ourselves, let's also be kinder to each other 🥰


www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

Day 21: Details Drilling seaglass is one of the most confounding challenges facing anyone who's starting out making ...
21/03/2024


Day 21: Details

Drilling seaglass is one of the most confounding challenges facing anyone who's starting out making jewellery using seaglass. How hard can it be, you ask?

Truth is, it's not that hard, but getting it right can be a challenge. There are umpteen how-to videos on YouTube (which is where I learned how) and they're all good, solid basic instructions, some better than others. One thing which I never saw in any of the many, many different videos I watched was addressing the final, finer details. Yes, drilling a hole through seaglass is easily achievable, but you also want it to look nice. Often, I see pieces in which the edges of the drill-hole are chipped, sharp, or rough; or the hole isn't quite large enough for the jump ring or attachment being used.

So I developed a four-step process, probably not original but as I'd never seen or read anyone else doing it, I did have to work it out on my own 😅 And it's basically this:
1. Drill ¾ of the way through on one side
2. Flip the piece and continue drilling until you're through
3. Then, use a slim, tapered diamond-coated bit to carefully enlarge the hole, on both sides
4. Finish off by tidying up and chamfering the edges of the drill-hole using a 2mm diamond-coated ball burr

And there you go. And remember all the basic rule: always drill in a shallow tub of water, wear eye protection and, if you're like me and worried about inhaling microscopic particles of glass dust suspended in the fine spray of water caused by the drilling, wear a good, proper face mask too.

www.instagram.com/seadragonsilver

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