Search results (tags) for: "custom wedding ring"

Handmade Weddings: Five Sisters = One Amazing Day

2009-06-02T17:00:00-05:00

Ann Marie Popko, a.k.a. superduper and cocktailparty, lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans and has been designing accessories for almost 20 years. Her professional creative life includes hair accessories and hats, Mardi Gras costumes, nature photography, pecan cookery and newsletter writing. In this installment of Handmade Weddings, Ann Marie and her family share their story of putting their creative brains together for their sister's big day.

There are five sisters in my family. Growing up, our parents always encouraged creativity, and as adults living in the age of Etsy, the Popko family operates seven Etsy shops! When our little sister Crystal announced that she was going to get married, we all pulled out our specialties (and learned a few new ones) to grant her wishes in style.

The Shower

Crystal’s creative mastermind jumped into gear as soon as her boyfriend John proposed. She is incredibly talented; she studied sculpture at her university and has a thriving Etsy shop, popko, where she sells her butterfly wing and fused glass jewelry. It was no surprise that she would design her own wedding, or that she would enlist her uniquely creative family to carry out her vision.

The bride-to-be chose a delicious pink and orange color scheme, so our crafty Mom, a.k.a. sewsoft, whipped up 40 cheerful cotton napkins and cooked all of the food for the shower. I made my Love at First Bite sweet and spicy pecans, put them in white organza bags for all of our guests, and designed custom photo hang tags to make them extra special.

The Ceremony

The August wedding was held in an historic 1820’s building on top of a mountain in western Massachusetts. The stunning panoramic view of the Connecticut River Valley was glazed with sun and sparkled all around with bright blue skies. John painted plenty of signs to make sure all of the guests found their way up and down the winding mountain trail.

The ring bearer was our year-old nephew Julian, and his job was to carry token rings up the aisle in a nest created by our sister, April (his mommy and Crystal’s maid-of-honor). She decorated a straw nest with marabou feathers, ivy, birds and miniature eggs.

April also used leather, buttons and embroidered ribbon to create tiny lederhosen suspenders for Julian to wear — a nod to our eastern European heritage.

I designed the bride’s hair accessory, the “Velvet Kiss,” made with peach velvet millinery leaves, antique silver sequins and a tiny spray of ostrich feathers. It was made to highlight the peach details in her sandy-metallic wedding dress. The groom and his groomsmen wore boutonnieres I made to coordinate with Crystal’s hair accessory. The great part about all of these accessories is that they are everlasting mementos of a special day, unlike fresh flowers which usually don’t make it past the conga line!

The wedding bands were designed and created by our sister Monique, a.k.a. gurlygirl, using the lost wax method. She hand-carved the rings out of wax, cast them in white gold and set the stones. (In a nutshell…she’s a professional metalsmith and it’s not as easy as it looks!) Since John spends lots of time around trees as a leader of adventure and sports trips, Monique carved a leaf texture into his ring. Crystal was inspired by a 50-cent thrift shop ring and asked Monique to recreate it as a continuous golden circle of hearts and diamonds.

The Reception

As guests walked into the reception (a rustic red barn a few miles down from the mountain ceremony), they knew right away that this was a handmade wedding. It was my job to grow flower boxes full of wheat grass to use as bases for the seating designations. I had never grown wheat grass before, but when the bride asks, one must deliver! Big sis Monique hand-wrote each guest’s name on a card and attached them to twigs we had gathered from the yard, and then we stuck the twigs in the grass. It was a fresh and lovely welcome to the festivities and it wasn’t very expensive to create.
Guests were asked to write well-wishes and advice for the newlyweds on one of 100 yellow cardstock birds (lovingly hand cut by our mom and sister April), and hang them on a tabletop wish Ttee. Also at the entrance was a wonderful clothesline display of images featuring Crystal and John throughout their six years together leading up to their wedding.

The maid-of-honor designed the cake toppers. She gave Crystal’s lovebird a veil (I guess because the bride didn’t wear one herself!) and she gave John’s a flotation vest and a paddle (he's an avid kayaker). The dinner tables were decorated in the pink and orange color scheme, and we created everything on the tables: hand-etched glass vases with rocks picked from our beach in Cape Cod, leaf-shaped table numbers, menu cards, flower arrangements, centerpiece plates. We were a hardworking and faithful crew!

Crystal and John gave their 100 wedding guests favors from the heart. They made fresh strawberry jam and mango-ginger waffle syrup. (Can you believe that even the fruit colors are on theme?) Middle sister Noel hosted a wrapping party at her house, where we poured some wine and went to town with cellophane, ribbon and hang tags designed by Crystal. (Note the rounded corners on each tag, done by us with a special craft punch.) Making all of these things for our sister’s wedding day was an extra special honor. If we could do it all over again, I think we would…there are still two more single sisters in the family!

(Above Photo: Alan Arsenault)

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Handmade Weddings: Diamond Setting

2008-07-15T11:15:00-05:00

I love jewelry. I love designing jewelry, making jewelry, wearing jewelry, and looking at jewelry. And as a bride-to-be, I was so excited (and lucky) to have the opportunity to design a ring around the most beautiful diamond I have ever seen.

I was initially drawn to "Cherish – precious topaz" by Al Krafcik aka Beyond the Rockz because of the ring's clean lines and handmade prongs.

I convoed Al and we started working together on a setting for my diamond. Our convos turned into an Alchemy request, which turned into a wax model, which turned into a gorgeous white gold ring. And then Al offered to set the stone in person, so that my fiancé and I could watch him set the diamond. And now you can watch too!

Check out this video of Al setting my diamond in a custom made Beyond the Rockz design. Do you have a stone that you want to set or do you want a one of a kind piece of jewelry? You can create an Alchemy request or request a custom item from one of the many amazing jewelers here on Etsy.

See more posts in the Handmade Wedding Series.

Handmade Weddings: liskidder's Custom Ring

2008-03-25T14:40:00-05:00

Soon-to-be-newlywed liskidder is not just an Etsy seller, she's also a buyer! She had that super-important little thing — her engagement ring — made by fellow Etsian esdesigns. This all transpired before Alchemy was up and running, but if you have a hankering, esdesigns now takes custom Alchemy requests! Lis tells us all about it in this installment of the Handmade Wedding Series.

liskidder: I found Elizabeth Scott aka esdesigns through the Etsy Metal Team's website etsymetal.com. I was particularly drawn to two of her ring designs, Oro Verde Citrine Ring and Shoreline Ring and I decided to see if she would be willing to combine the two designs with a different stone. I convo'd her and told her, "I've been tasked by my fiance with designing my engagement ring. We got engaged a couple weeks ago and because he knows that I'm anti-diamond and pro-handmade he has let me take control of the ring. I love the ocean and my favorite color is blue, and think that the finish you do that looks like water is beautiful."

esdesigns: The items I make the most for weddings are my Keishi pearl lariats and the matching earrings. My Birch Bark ring has been used for a wedding band several times recently and I'm working on a custom order for some ginkgo pieces in 18k gold. Lis chose a design similar to some pieces I make often, so it wasn't difficult, and she was great to work with.

liskidder: I know next to nothing about gemstones, so Beth did all kinds of research for me to help me pick a good quality sapphire for the ring. She was so careful to make sure that the ring would be perfect at every step of the design process. For example, when the stone that I ordered arrived, Beth found an inclusion in it, and she sent it right back to switch it out for a flawless one. It was so awesome to know that I could trust her to take care of things like that.

esdesigns: I spend most of my time working with silver so having a chance to use gold and sapphire was exciting. The hardest part was finding the right stone. The sapphire I decided on has a slight greenish tone which fit with the ocean idea.

liskidder: When the ring arrived I literally held my breath opening the package. When I put it on, I was so excited because it was absolutely gorgeous, it fit perfectly, and it was exactly what I envisioned when I first contacted her. My fiance was really happy with it too. And I get compliments on the ring all the time, which is great because it allows me to talk about Etsy!

esdesigns: I don't know if Lis mentioned this already, but I'm working on a set of rings for her wedding, and they'll match her engagement ring!

Lis also had her invites does from fubabee. Lis and Beth's story reminded us of this Etsy Love Story by ArtWearbyCaron and MissMeander that we posted around Valentine's Day. Watch the video and prepare to be moved! If you had your ring made on Etsy, let us know about it in the comments below!

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Handmade Weddings: Custom Rings from a Jeweler's Perspective

2008-03-24T12:40:00-05:00

Many Handmade Wedding Series readers want to break the mold with that very meaningful item — the ring. As a jeweler who has done many custom rings, Monique Leon aka gurlygirl brings her experience to the jewelry bench — er table — with this how-to for buyers. She also offers custom orders through her Alchemy.

Custom designing jewelry is exciting and challenging for the customer as well as the producer. Wedding or commitment jewelry is extra special because the piece will reside with the wearer for a lifetime. Bridal head pieces, tiaras, combs, groomsmen and bridesmaid’s gifts can also all be custom designed and created to coordinate with the vision of the client. Here are a few suggestions to help you collaborate with your designer.

RESEARCH:
A lot of times I'm approached by potential clients who desire a custom made item/rings and they really aren't sure as to how to articulate their ideas to me. Seeing this, I ask them to do a little homework before we meet to discuss.

One thing I recommend is to try to find some pictures on the internet or in magazines, catalogs or library books, such as these Italian-style iron gates which were used to inspire the design of the ruby engagement ring pictured above. The more descriptive photos or adjectives they can provide, the easier it will be to come up with a sketch. Write down your ideas or keywords to help convey your vision.

Use words to describe what you like: “thin, wide, bold, matte finish, textured, shiny, smooth, sparkly, detailed, fancy, cheerful, swirly, infinity, harmony, geometric, ancient, floral…” You can also choose time periods to better explain styles you like: "Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Celtic, Victorian, Modern, Egyptian, Retro, etc."

One customer decided on a theme of the beach as inspiration, sea foam and bubbles...The diamonds being the bubbles, and the form of the ring would represent the water/waves washing ashore. The stones were chosen and the drawings worked around the combination of different sizes diamonds.

DESIGN:
Your designer will create a composite drawing of the elements you have shown or described to them. When most people approach a designer, they know his or her capabilities but ask to see his/her portfolio anyways. You can get a greater sense of what your designer has done in the past and you can use that guide them towards your custom piece. For me, this is one of the most fun parts of the process: I love to help the customer to see what is possible as a result of our collaboration.

BUDGET:
Pricing depends on the difficulty of design, the materials used and the production schedule. As a customer, discuss your budget with the artist so they will be able to design and produce a piece within your parameters. If you are doing an Alchemy request, check out other rings to get a ball-park range of prices. Most sellers will bid on your request based on a fair price.

A deposit is often required for custom pieces. Market price/cost of materials needs to be considered when a designer gives you a quote. “Market price" refers to the current cost of metal or precious stones, and these prices fluctuate up and down like gasoline prices. Your designer can offer options to scale down your design if the materials are too costly, such as using fewer or different grade or kind stones or a less expensive metal, while still maintaining the integrity of your design.

Traditionally, wedding jewelry has been made more or less of gold or platinum. But today there are so many more options: silver, titanium, steel. These lesser costly metals offer a break from the high prices of gold and the even higher price for platinum.

The same may be said for the use of stones in jewelry. Diamonds alone are no longer the norm. Customers are choosing colorful gem stones of all kinds (precious and semi-precious) for their wedding sets. These additional choices tend to allow the customer to feel they are personalizing their jewelry, not just merely "downgrading" because of price.

If you are in a hurry, expect your order to cost a bit more. Custom work demands extra attention, and if an artist needs to rush-order supplies for your design or must rush-ship your completed order, then they must pass these costs along to you. Planning as far in advance is best, to allow for the design process (back and forth between client and designer), production and shipping.

PRODUCTION:

Your designer can explain their production process, as each design has its own way of coming to life, depending on the techniques required. Some pieces will be carved from wax (as shown in the blue pieces here) for the original model to then be cast into metal. Others begin straight within the metal, working it into shape by hammering and soldering, drilling, stamping, grinding, etc. All pieces are then finished in a variety of ways: polishing/burnishing, patina, setting of stones or plating. This is my favorite time, getting into the meat of the project, building it. I love planning out how I'm going to execute the design and taking it all the way to the finished piece.

For this lion bracelet, the customer provided this image he drew himself. Each of the two sides were slightly different to reflect 'the male and the female.' The raw blue form is the beginnings of the wax carving. Then we see the carved blue wax for the mold.

This was a collaborative process from start to finish!

Collaboration is an organic process, a transformation of ideas and materials into a unique new object. With the proper research and communication between client and designer, your custom jewelry can become something even better then you had ever imagined!

Please comment below with questions. If you've had a ring custom made by an Etsy seller, comment below or convo Vanessa. For more rings, see TeenAngster's picks in Spotlight!

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