26 posts tagged “chainmaile”

Finally, after years of fidding around and trying to get it right, I've got my shop looking how I want it, and working the way it's supposed to!  YAY!

What do you think?

I'm personally quite proud.  I'll need to do some more tweaking, but it's minor stuff and I can live with it for now.  Widgets are awesome.

Later!
Crazed

First off, here's a picture of my new earrings - I love them!
I have also learned that labradorite is REALLY hard to photograph.  Yo uhonestly have no idea how long it took me to get that picture, and that's the best once I could get.  I sadly could not capture the excellent fire that exists in both of them.
Oh, well.  They're still pretty!
Anyways, on to my thoughts.  I just read the the founder of Etsy was on Martha Stewart.  Huzzah!  In my brain that means more buyers who love unique, handmade stuff, which is good for everyone.
Etsy's brave founder, Rob Kalin, mentioned that 200 years ago everything was handmade.  This is true.  What crawled into my brain was the realization that if you were rich or poor, what you owned was handmade, and that the richer you were, the less you made yourself.  I think that to an extent, this still holds true.  I have met some wealthy people, and had the things that were handmade pointed out to me.  IE Handcarved mohogany end tables, original paintings, handwoven rugs imported from across the sea, etc.  So in my brain Handmade = more valuable = more expensive = more money.  Except now instead of Rich = You Don't Have to Make Your Stuff, Rich = Lots of Handmade Stuff.  At least in the cases I have seen.
For the rest of us, it's not so.  Things are made in factories and bought at WhateverMart.  IKEA is huge, and it's gotten to the point where I can go into people's houses that I've just met and see an eerie reflection of my own living room.
Thank the Gods for Antiques and Handmade!  They set off my place nicely, and I think everyone should have them.  Honestly, our prime piece of wall art in our living room was found at the side of the road.  It's a beautiful 3D work of a woman's face emerging from what looks to be at first glance a bunch of leaves.  Sort of a NeoGreenwoman.  I think it's plaster.  The 3D face piece is mounted on an old cabinet door.  When we found it there was a small price tag hanging from the hardware - "$625"

Obviously the doing of an artist (I wonder whose face was molded for the portrait?) that was thrown to the curb, amongst other works, after a heated argument with a lover and/or a roommate.  There were also supplies and a hamper of laundry tossed there, amongst other things.  The supplies had gotten ruined in the rain, sadly, and the clothes were rather unisex in their cut and construction, and mostly vintage.  I did rifle through them because I wanted to find out whose works these were, possibly a business card or something in the pockets.  The garbage truck would be by in no less than four hours.  We had limited space in the car, so we saved the art, and kept the Greenwoman for ourselves.  We were doing flea markets on the weekends at that time, testing out maile prices and whatnot, so we sold the artwork there.  A really excited couple bought the artwork, and were just as baffled as we were when I recounted the tragic story of The Art on the Curb.  The pieces are all unsigned, and we all scoured the surface for some trace of who might have made them, but who knows?
Anonymous Art, like all the Wal-Mart T-Shirts and IKEA posters with cool designs and no names.
Some day I would LOVE to be able to walk through my home and tell a bit of the story behind who made what.  I hope that even my clothes will someday tell a story, even if all they hint is, "I Like Webcomics!"

That's it...  I'm off to sign the HandMade Pledge.  I just found the website three days ago because I live in a cave.

Later!
Crazed

More tales from the Faire!

    First off, in case no one knows, half the point of chainmaile (and what first addicts us crazy maillers) is the sheer tactile joy of it.  It's made of metal, yet it's very soft, pliable, and collapseable.  It likes to be touched, and people love to touch it.  I constantly tell people that they're in a "Touching Booth", and that it's all right for the wee ones to walk up and play.  Besides, it's all made of metal, and chances are they aren't going to hurt it.  Crying babies are often quickly calmed when handed a small piece of aluminum maile to jingle and knead at.
    But Saturday we had a new experience in our tent.  Two ladies, one with a guide dog and the other wearing very corrective glasses, came in to "see" what we had.  The lady with glasses was helping the other along, and they were both having a great time, touching the different weaves and testing the weight of things.  The lady with the dog was totally blind, and Brian and I had the lucky chance to see her figure out European 4-in-1, the most common maile weave.  She had picked up a strip that I had been working on and using in demonstrations, and was running her fingers along it, feeling each ring and checking its orientation.  She was talking her way through it to herself, and suddenly went "Oh!  I get it!"  I handed her a patch of maile, and began nodding.  "Yep, I see it now," she said, "That's really clever!"  She then went beck to the necklace rack to check out the weaves again and figure those out.
    The moral - Chainmaile is for everyone!

Some things that have happened at the Faire today.  Oh, the things that happen when you're a Rennie!

First off, a group of men entered my booth - Probably my age, mid-twenties.  I was behind the counter, having a drink from my tankard with pliers, piles of rings and half-finished things scattered on the counter before me.  Brian wasn't even at the Faire at this time; he had a meeting downtown, and was attending it in full garb because he had to rush to get there. ^_^
Anyway, the guys were poking at the chainmaile, taking turns trying on the steel coif (I have a sign up saying they can) and generally having fun.  I was working on stretchy Byzantine bracelets, making the little "units" to be later strung together.  One of the men noticed this, and said idly (while poking at the sterling pieces), "Oh hey, you're helping out, that's really cool."
His friends saw me bristle, some of them going "Oooo...  Uh oh," and the like under their breath.  I know for a fact my eye twitched.  "Helping out?"
He was still not looking directly at me as he picked things up and looked at them.  "Yeah, it's good you're helpin' out making things and stuff."
"I'm not helping out, sirrah.*  This is my work.  I am the chainmailler."
He was shocked, and his friends were laughing at him.  "You really made this?  All of this stuff?"  I was a bit insulted that he was so shocked, but I was good; I feel I remained civil.
"Yes, I did.  Ring by ring, all of it."
The man looked around as though in a daze.  I think I broke him because he didn't seem to be able to fathom that a single person could do all of that, and especially because it's chainmaile, and especially not a girl.  He kept picking things up, asking questions, and I answered them all.  I even gave a quick lesson in how to make Euro 4-in-1 (the most basic of weaves, the weave everyone pictures when they think of maile).  I explained how scalemaile was made, showed them all the different kinds of pliers, pointed out different weaves and how they can be combined, which materials were good for what, properties of metals... 
I think I spent at least twenty minutes talking about maile to these guys, but things were slow and I think it was time well spent.  All the guys walked away with at least more knowledge about medieval armor and an appreciation of medieval vs. modern uses - I had to explain several times how it was not and never was stab-proof and no, it's not bullet-proof.  One man walked away, shaking his head and in awe that someone could be so crazy as to dedicate all their time to putting one ring next to another in an ancient art form that requires the patience of a saint, the hands of a surgeon, and stubbornness greater than steel.
And that someone is a girl.

Story Number 2 is a better story, and one that I'm still smiling about.
I was tending the booth (again alone) when a couple with a stroller came in to poke at the shiny things. In the stroller was an older girl toddler; not young enough to "need" a stroller, but still at an age where sudden tiredness may occur, and a stroller wouldn't be a bad thing to have handy. She was fast asleep.
The couple explained that they were going to go to the Steelers game with some friends (probably to tailgate) but their friends had bailed on them, so they decided to come to the Ren Faire instead. They had actually arrived not long ago (it was about 2:30 at this time). I made sure to tell them that the Friar always knows the score, and he could keep them updated. While I was explaining where different stages were and what shows would be good for the whole family, their little girl woke up. She looked at me and froze. Her eyes were huge. I thought, "Oh, no - this little girl just woke up and the first thing she sees is an unfamiliar, strangely-dressed woman wearing lots of metal. She is going to scream."
The little girl gasped, and said, "Mommy, it's a princess!"
I about died on the spot. I started to laugh, thanked her, and said I wasn't a princess (I'm sure I was beet red). I explained that the Princess has an even prettier crown and a prettier dress, and that she could see them if they went to the joust. The little girl asked who I was, then. "I'm the chainmaile lady. I make chainmaile." I grabbed an in-progress mantle to show her what it was.
She touched it and said, "Knights wear this! You make what knights wear!"
I smiled and nodded, and said, "And someday, I'll learn to make a whole suit of armor."
She gasped, "Really? You could DO that?"
"Yep." ^_^
Her parents were happy (her mom, especially), and then realized they had to run to get to see a show they were planning on catching, now that they knew where it was.
I waved as they left, almost able to see the visions in the little girl's head of a female Vulcan, giant hammer in hand, forging mighty suits of armor and huge swords to go with them.
And I felt really, really cool.

That's it for today! ^_^ I'll try to remember more stories and post them during the week.
Later!
Crazed

*sirrah - formerly a contemptuous term of address to an inferior man or boy; often used in anger - In case you're wondering, no, no one in the tent aside from me knew that I was using an insult, but it made me feel better.  Catty and immature, I know, but I was ready to take someone's head off with those pliers and antiquated insults do very little physical harm.  Pliers, especially in the right/wrong hands, are another story.

Wow... Just - Wow.
Otakon was AMAZING!  I had a ton of fun selling with Maqqy and Craig, made new friends, lots o' cash (Ring Lord, here I come), met more than a dozen other maillers, took pictures, got my picture taken, got some connections, bought stuff...
So yeah - Wow.  My voice is still hoarse from all the talking; it felt like I answered a million questions!
Bad news is I sold more than half my stock, so this makes me a bit nervous for the Ren Fest, because it starts at the end of August and I do NOT have enough stuff to survive the first weekend. I just know I don't, so I need to get my ass in gear and get with the makin'. Luckily I have a ring order coming in the mail tomorrow (yay!) and I've rested up, so I should be good to go.  But still...  If I sold more than half my stuff at an event NOT geared towards people who are fans of chainmaile...  I'm doomed.  But in a good way.
In the Alley, I sat between to Maq (of course) and these guys from a company called "Bishonen House" that makes custom ball-jointed dolls and clothing. Needless to say, they were amazing!  Man, I wish I could sculpt. And the guys were really nice, too, and it turns out they're in Pittsburgh! ^_^ Who knows, maybe I shall be doing maille for their dolls in the future?  You should really look at their site.  Awesome things abound.
And oh - I forgot to mention that one integral part of con-going: SHOPPING! The Dealer's Room was confusing, but full of goodness. I got Brian a Totoro short (otakus, you know the one) that he'd been eyeing on the internet for as long as I've known him, a stack of manga (yay hentai!), a leather corset for only $145 (http://www.timeless-trends.com/L01.htm) and a doll! ^_^ After making that little maille vest for Kristi's doll Seth, I've been itching to get my hands on one so I can make maile for dolls. The people from Divinity Doll were at Otakon, and I bought the last boy they had available. Not sure which model I got, but I got one, gave him green eyes, a long honey-blonde wig, jeans, and a pirate shirt. Brian named him Roland. Once I get his wig to stay on right (the doll people said I need some velco dots) and fix his bangs so he doesn't look all emo and can see, I'll post a picture.
But - I do need to get to the making, and clean up all the stuff we unloaded from the car...

Later!
Crazed

I am going crazy with chainmaile and marbles, both round and flat.  I can do pretty things, gothy things, vaguely-Victorian things, techno things...  ^_^ Theyr'e so fun!
And they are also for sale on my Etsy Page.  I've only got a few things up from this batch so far, but hopefully I can get everything up there next week.  Some of the pictures I took today looked kinda blurry, too...  Gotta re-do those; they looked fine in the camera.
In other crafty news, I got a little cheap Xylon Sticker-Maker! ^__^ I do like me some stickers, and I got some circle (and 1 square) punch to make life a little easier for me.  I got some Mod-Podge, too (thanks, Lost Mitten!). I'm wondering if I can put some pretty or shiny paper behind the clear glass flat marbles to make some really nifty maille-wrapped pendants.  Something to dress them up a bit, you know?
Anyway, we're visiting the in-laws tomorrow, and it's a bit of a drive, so I've got to get to bed...

'Night!
Crazed

Okay, in case the chainmaile and Ren Fests and love of cheezy 80's movies hasn't tipped you off by now, I am a total geek, and I've been making wonderfully geeky chainmaile.
First up is the Triforce bag, complete with an inlay of the TRIFORCE!  ^_^  YAYS!
I would have put two triforces on there, except I'm running low on gold rings, and the first law of chainmaile states that if you are ever short of rings it will always be by less than 10.  So I decided to avoid that frustration and just make it one-sided.  Once The Ring Lord gets their aluminum back in stock I'm going to order a ton more and make them in colors to symbolize WHICH Triforce - Oooo...  I want to make green ones for the Triforce of Courage, which is Link's bit, blue ones to symbolize the Triforce of Wisdom, which is held by Zelda, and red ones for the Triforce of Power, which is possessed by Ganon/Ganondorf.
The Triforce handflowers are a bit of inspiration, I think.  I'm going to Otakon in July and I need geeky things to sell, so I'm going to be making a ton of these!  They actually read pretty well as the Triforce, I think; it took me a while to figure out how to do the cut-out with the flat top.  When I get more small gold rings (the kind I used in the dicebag) I want to make nicer "deluxe" versions.
These are, of course, for sale in my Etsy Shop.  For all you geeks out there!
But the light is finally good for photos, and I have been playing with marbles and maille, so I've got to photograph those before it gets too dark!

Later!
Crazed

I'm a sucker for handflowers, I really am, and since I live barefoot as much as I can, the barefoot sandals are a must for me, too.
Although I can (and have) made the traditional mostly beaded handflowers, I like the all-maile ones better. ^_^ They're fun, they're jingly, and they've got rubber rings on the base so you don't have to worry about fiddling with a clasp while you're tying to keep the chain ring on.
The barefoot sandals have a small-sized hair elastic for the toe ring, because I've made them with chain for me and it just doesn't hold up well.  Also, it gives you a nice, snug fit so they're not drifting under your foot or getting caught in your flip-flops (I like to wear mine over my shoes, too).
And yes, these are for sale on my Etsy page.
I'm off to make more chainmaile!

Later!
Crazed

I finally got my hands on some Swarovski crystals! *dances*
They're so pretty and sparkly and I can't say enough good things about them!  If you've heard of "ferret shock", you have a good idea of what sparkly things do to me.  My awesome husband did a silly but wonderful thing by saying (whilst I was standing in front of the crystals in Pat Catan's) "Get whatever you need."  Silly, silly, man.
Although he helped me pick some out!  In fact, this necklace here was his idea.  He loves the crystal snowflakes, and picked out all the crystals and the sterling clasp, too.  The sterling chain bits were my idea, and as far as I know, the weave is a personal invention, although I wouldn't call it a "new weave".  If any maillers out there are familiar with Camelot and Celtic Visions, this is a Camelot-ified version of Celtic Visions, and it can apparently be sheeted. ^_^
As always, if you're interested in "Flurry" you can buy this in my Etsy shop.  The chainmaile bits are made from bright aluminum rings, and it was a jaw-dropper at the festival.

So, lots of new things to toss up here in the next few days.  I made a pile of things in preparation of the Fairy Festival, and have a day of taking pictures and posting on Etsy lined up for tomorrow.
But dinner smells almost finished, so I'm going to see if I can help with the table or maybe get a few more links of the crystal necklace I'm working on finished up before the food is done...

Later!
Crazed

We went to the Western PA Fairie Festival this past weekend, and had an awesome time! ^_^
I admit, we took a hit financially - We didn't even break even considering the cost of our booth and insurance - but it was so much fun, and we met so many awesome people that I can't wait to go back next year!
I also have some ideas for chainmaile fairy wings. ^_^
We were in a group tent, and we shared space with Linda Kertzman, a former Disney doll artist and all-around fun lady. Her husband was hilarious, too, and got recruited into the Green Men.
In all, much fun was had, Kuchi coins and hand-made glass runes were purchased, and we may have got a commission to do chainmaile for a Clydesdale horse. 0_o
I have a ton of pictures up on my Flickr page, so you can check those out if you'd like. ^_^ I'm tossing some of my favorites up here.
But I came up with some neat design ideas while I was there, and I feel an itch to make more chainmaile!

Later!
Crazed