handmade jewelries, sketching practices, CNY jewelries-Part 1

I bought some DIY jewelry parts and practice to assemble them into wearable pieces.  The problems I found out during the process are

1, The details of the jewelry, i.e. links, thickness of the chain, size of the lobster claps, affect the overall look as well as the comfort of the user much more than I expected

2,  The design is limited and boring as all the parts are readymades.

3, When I am considering the customizing parts of my design, be it replaceable/changeable beads, pendants, how they can be linked onto the jewelry piece without disrupting the overall look.

4, If I want to combine 3D printed parts with readymades, such as wire, how can they be combined together(glue?claps?) and the what colors should it be.

tools and DIY elements
tools and DIY elements
Bought some metal sheets and planned to use it to explore choker and cuffs. However, the metal is much stronger than I expected and I could neither cut it nor bend it...
Bought some metal sheets and planned to use it to explore choker and cuffs. However, the metal is much stronger than I expected and I could neither cut it nor bend it…
necklace 1 practice. The necklace would look much nicer if the metal plates and the chain can be finer. However, if it gets smaller, I found it extremely hard to handcraft the details with my tools and fingers. For example, the metal ring would be too small for me to hold and bend.
necklace 1 practice. The necklace would look much nicer if the metal plates and the chain can be finer. However, if it gets smaller, I found it extremely hard to handcraft the details with my tools and fingers. For example, the metal ring would be too small for me to hold and bend.
Necklace 2. I tried to use the gradual change of the size as an exploration for my design, as I wanted to add thsi elements to some of my final products. However, upon close examination, the links of chain and balls are not well done in this piece. The separation between the balls are also not drastic enough to show the gradient. After finishing. Nevertheless, I would still try it out on my printed products, may be earrings, necklace or headpieces.
Necklace 2. I tried to use the gradual change of the size as an exploration for my design, as I wanted to add thsi elements to some of my final products. However, upon close examination, the links of chain and balls are not well done in this piece. The separation between the balls are also not drastic enough to show the gradient. After finishing. Nevertheless, I would still try it out on my printed products, may be earrings, necklace or headpieces.
source: kavantcharat official instagram Kavantcharat has a lot of amazing designs that maximize the beauty of curves, geometry shapes and lines.
source: kavantcharat official instagram
Kavantcharat has a lot of amazing designs that maximize the beauty of curves, geometry shapes and lines.

I came across this piece of jewelry on instagram and it reminds me of the lightness of feather, the movement of phoenix tails. So I did some wiring to try out the possible looks. However, there is a big issue regarding 3D printing the design, which I will elaborate in my next part 2 post.

wanted to make a spiral effect but obviously didn't come out well
wanted to make a spiral effect but obviously didn’t come out well
Added a wing onto the piece and changed the angle of the wire. But the wing is so out of position at first
Added a wing onto the piece and changed the angle of the wire. But the wing is so out of position at first
Adjusted the wire and the wing but nothing noticeable from the photo. As u can see, the end of the wire is poking directly onto my neck, which is pretty spiky and uncomfortable.
Adjusted the wire and the wing but nothing noticeable from the photo. As u can see, the end of the wire is poking directly onto my neck, which is pretty spiky and uncomfortable.
Adjusted the wire again but it was still poking me
Adjusted the wire again but it was still poking me
I bent the wire more so it will not discomfort me. The wing has also been adjusted to be closer to my ear. But I am not very satisfied with this look although it is comfortable to wear now. The curves doesn't flow well visually
I bent the wire more so it will not discomfort me. The wing has also been adjusted to be closer to my ear. But I am not very satisfied with this look although it is comfortable to wear now. The curves doesn’t flow well visually
This is how it looks off the ear
This is how it looks off the ear

More sketchings of my designs of earrings and chokers will be in next part 2 post as well.

Also, I took some photos of the CNY and Chritmas editions in shops.

Chinese knot earrings
Chinese knot earrings from H&M
Ring set from H&M
Ring set from H&M
tassels, lotus, red. from H&M
tassels, lotus, red. from H&M

They look festive but cliche to me. They are very straightforward in representing “Chinese””Auspicious””China””Happiness”, and they look cute, but also boring to me because there is nothing new about them.

Here is a random practices I did to get a felling of how jewelry designers sketches dine jewelries.

 

Sketching practices following youtube videos
Sketching practices following youtube videos

 

In part 2 there will  be some 3D printing experimentation failures, sketches of chokers and new ideas. Basically I feel that, like what we learnt from Product Design year 2, to represents a animal doesn’t need to draw the entire feature out. I refined my designs into a simpler direction. For example, my previous idea of the phoenix choker can be further simplified to the gesture of the phoenix wings or tails, It is not a MUST to add a bird head onto the piece to tell people this is a phoenix or this is a bird.

The choker can also be designed in a way that can be worn two-way, i.e. there isn’t strict front and back, each side has its own beauty.

to be continued hmm…

Published by

Desirie Z

ADM final year Product Design Student 2016-17

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