Was: Crumbling sterling whilst soldering?
Years ago, a friend told me that her mother warned her not to get her
ears pierced. “Proper, well-bred Ladies do not get their ears
pierced. Only Gypsies have pierced ears.” That explains why so many
older ladies do not have pierced ears, for they were warned off by
their mothers. Curiously enough, my main customer base is ladies in
their 50’s to 70’s. Apparently, they understand and appreciate the
larger-scale jewelry Imake. The 20somethings and 30’s somethings
prefer really tiny, dainty jewelry that does not make a statement.
Personally, it’s a little boring.
I normally don’t make clip or screwback earrings, but am happy to
convert my earrings to screwbacks upon client’s request. Same for
post earrings. I don’t do post earrings, but can convert my earrings
to post earrings with a few tweakings. Ear clips, please, they do not
make the grade. High quality screwbacks are the preferred choice. It
is tough to find high-quality, heavy or sturdy screwbacks, and so
far, Rio Grande seems to have them. I’ll have to check wth Stuller,
since I order from them 90% of the time.
After spending years doing repairs, I can tell my horror stories of
jewelry repairs. I burned out after several years, and had to go to
start my own business, but I still do repairs as needed, and give
the client agood education. It’s the teacher in me. I’ve had some
pretty bizarrerepairs. and the last one was a Vietman chalice, that
took a few monthsfor me to come to a way to repair the badly broken
(and unrepairable) base. I did get it stable and base together, but
it took a lot out of me.
Joy
The 20somethings and 30's somethings prefer really tiny, dainty
jewelry that does not make a statement.
Unless the tiny, dainty piece of jewelry is worn thru a portion of
the body not generally pierced by 40 somethings.
Linda in central FL
Linda- Ha! Here in Portlandia if your ear holes aren’t big enough to
throw a cat through they’re not big enough.
Actually this brings up a useful subject.
When my sister Nan The Soprano and I were young we made fun of my
late mother’s jewelry.
“Some day girls this will be yours.”
“Oh mother! That stuff is sooo big and vulgar looking. We prefer
daintier jewelry.”
“You girls mark my words. (Insert index finger waggle here.) Your
taste in jewelry will get bigger as you get older.”
Oh Lordy she was so right.
We now wear with pride her big “vulgar” pieces.
No one sees the scars, wrinkles, and liver spots on my hands any
more when I’m wearing an 18 ct faceted amethyst on my finger. Barbara
Bush was open about wearing her giant “pearls” to hide her aging
neck.
When I put on a pair of $500,000. earrings I look taller and
thinner.
Really. In my minds eye, I really am and it shows in my demeanor and
posture.
No one really needs jewelry. In this trade it’s all about the
romance and perceived value. The older I get the more money I have
and the desire to appear attractive never fades.
Now there’s a growth industry for you. Lots of aging vain boomers.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
"You girls mark my words. (Insert index finger waggle here.) Your
taste in jewelry will get bigger as you get older."
Oh Lordy she was so right.
When a male customer would say something along the lines of “that’s
too big for my wife”, the guy I used to work for would say in his
west Texas drawl - “Any woman tells you bigger’s not better is lyin’
to ya.”
Dave Phelps