The name Dziki Motyl literaly means a “wild butterfly”, which gave me a strong push towards the whole concept of the piece of jewelry to craft. The very first idea was to make a book locket with a butterfly on its front, but it appeared I needed some extra preparation. Armed with experience of simlar projects (Amber Book Silver Locket and The Book of Unelma) I realised that I need more firepower. Quite literally. Vast majority of my projects are small delicate things and I use my favourite Dremel VersaTip torch most of the times. Book locket usually requires a lot more thermal power for soldering due its increased heat dissipation and my precise torch just ain’t gonna cut it.

Hence, the concept quickly pivoted to a smaller 2D structure representing a butterfly captured in a frame. Couple of sketches done and I am ready to go with the building proces. It all starts with the double frame with the 4×3 ratio made with a 1mm and 0.8mm thick sterling silver wires soldered together. Doubling the wires gives the piece its mechanical strength and also an aesthetics of a beuatiful paiting framing.

I used a piece of doube sided sticky tape to attach the frame to a piece of wood on my bench. This way it is easier to keep all the elements from lying all ofver the place. Next I bend a butterfly shape out of 1mm wire and fit it tightly inside the frame.

The centerpiece of the frame will take a marquise amber cabochone. I used some 0.5mm thick silver sheet to make a bezel for it that look like a cute tiny boat. After the butterfly wires are soldered to the frame I cut the openning to fit the bezel right in the middle of this piece.

As I stil believe that everything is prettier with filigree it was an easy choice on what to fill the butterfly wings with. The twisted and flattened silver wire creates a magical look when coiled within a wire shape. On top of the bezel I also soldered 2 pieces of wire with blops on one side to imitate the butterfly eyes (or perhaps these are antennas?).

The tip I learned from the Inspiring Metalsmiths Facebook community is when you try your gem in a closed bezel always use a piece of dental floss. There were too many times I just wanted to try if the stone fits in the bezel only to realise that it fits too nice to get out on its own without some demolition activities.

Almost forgot a crucial element of the project. Since this is supposed to be a pendant it needs a bail to be hanging on the necklace. To ensure its stability I used my Dremel burr to grind a little groove of the top of the frame so the tine jump ring would fit right in. This way the soldering is easier and I don’t loose any sleep worrying it will come off at some point. Then another jump ring soldered shut and the piece is ready for prettyfication – a bath in my new magnetic tumbler wiht steel pins and after that a round of polishing in the traditional tumbler with tine steel balls.

Once all sodering and heavy polishing is done it is time to set the amber. If it was a harder stone like garnet or citrine I would give the piece another round of polishing routine in the tumblers. But the amber is scary soft and you got to be extra careful not to ruin it while pushing the bezel. Another fun fact about genuine amber – it glows like crazy under the UV light!

The stone setting procedure often leaves some marks and scratches here and there, so it is a good idea to inspect the entire piece closely and buff out the imperfections as much as possible. After that I can proudly clain that the butterfly is in the frame!

If you like this kind of things go ahead and check other articles on this blog and also have a look at my Etsy store.

The post Butterfly in a frame appeared first on Slavik LTD.

In the office at work there is a place where people drop stuff they don’t need no more, but it is still too good to throw out. One day there was a beatuful earring which supposedly lost its partner. I decided to give it a new life as a pendant instead.

This new pendant I crafted is directly inspired by one of the most iconic pieces of lab equipment: the Erlenmeyer flask. Its distinctive conical shape, designed for mixing and heating, has always struck me as elegant and functional. I wanted to capture that essence and transform it into a wearable piece of art.

For the centerpiece, I used that beautiful rose quartz teardrop cabochon. The soft, gentle pink of the rose quartz offers a wonderful contrast to the cool, precise lines of the flask, bringing a touch of warmth and organic beauty to the scientific form.

To add some sparks to the piece I employed the filigree technique to fill the space around the gemstone. Instead of a solid silver backplate, I took my time handcrafting the intricate silver filigree. This delicate, lacy wirework creates an ethereal, almost molecular structure within the flask’s outline, enhancing the light that plays around the rose quartz. It adds depth, texture, and a sense of delicate complexity that I feel perfectly echoes the microscopic wonders we explore in biotechnology.

This pendant is more than just jewelry: it’s a personal fusion of my professional journey and my love for handcrafted artistry. It’s a reminder that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places, even in the meticulously ordered medical lab world.

Peek at crafting process

First of all I remove the cabochon. Since the original lonely earring is not sterling silver I am not going to reuse its body. Luckily the cab was just holding by a drop of glue and poped right off with minimal force.

Next step is to create a new saddle for the salvaged cabochon. This time I used 0.4mm thick silver strip for a saddle frame. The very same strip made a great bottom to hold the stone. I could cut a teardrop shaped solid sheet but this would hide away the beautiful inclusions inside the rose quartz.

With the saddle soldered and roughly polished it is time for the main shape. I researched the Erlenmeyer flasks and sketched a pendant frame. Then I used a 1mm silver wire to shape it accordingly.

After some bending and cutting I placed the wires on my soldering block and got on with my blowtorch. At this stage it is particularly difficult becuase there is a fine line between melting the medium solder and screwing up the entire piece.

On top of the flask I added a jump ring for a future bail. Inside the flask I placed a first filigree wire around the inner circumference. Only then I soldered the stone saddle to the bottom of the flask. Once the structure was stabilized this way it was easier to add consequitive layers of filigree to fill up the openings.

When all filigree work is completed I added a tiny bail made out of a piece of spiral wire, which concluded the soldering phase. Now it is time for stone setting. I immobilized the pendant by driving a few nails into a wooden block around it. This set up enabled me to operate my bezel pusher to bend the silver edges inside to tightly hold the cabochon.

Once the stone is in its rightful place I take my time polishing the small details with silicone polishing wheels and high grit sand paper. Then clean up all the polishing compound residue and voila – the Erlenmeyer Flask Pendant is ready to be put on and draw some astonished looks.

The post Erlenmeyer Flask Pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

In an age lost to time, when the lines between realms blurred and the arcane mingled with the mechanical, there was whispered legend of an amulet unlike any other. Forged not in the halls of Dwemer ruins nor by the hands of Daedra, but by a lone artisan of the mortal world — this was the Amulet of Memory.

Its appearance was unmistakable: a gleaming artifact crafted of sterling silver wire, shaped to make sure you follow your next Skyrim quest. Delicate filigree danced across its surface like etched runes of old, each twist and loop a verse in a forgotten song. But it was not just beauty that set this talisman apart. For within its heart — hidden yet revealed at a whisper’s command — lay a secret: a rare crystal of memory, disguised as a USB stick.

This is no ordinary storage device. Crafted from the bones of ancient machines, the USB — bearing the “Goodram” marking on its body — could hold more than mere data. Within it, the dragonborn could store their knowledge, dreams, maps, mods, and songs unsung. In the right hands, it was said to contain stories of whole worlds, captured in digital runes, waiting to be unlocked.

The amulet’s design is inspired by a fantasy world created by legendary people of Bethesda. It calls out across realities to adventurers, makers, and dreamers. Whoever wares it would feel a quiet urging — a pull toward quests unfinished, toward truths buried deep in silicon chips and etheral soul.

Legends tell of a young artisan who forged the piece — not for wealth, nor for fame — but for the sheer joy of creation. Inspired by the artifacts of Skyrim and driven by the urge to blend elegance with purpose, they wound silver wire with patient hands and open heart. The final flourish, a nod to the duality of our age, was the concealed USB amulet — fitting seamlessly into the design like a shard of Aetherium, practical and poetic.

To wear the Amulet of Memory is to carry more than adornment. It is to hold a fragment of story, both digital and divine. It is to remember that even in a world of flashing screens and roaring creatures, the ancient magic of craftsmanship still lives on.

So if you see one hanging from a chain — gleaming with mystery — know that you stand before a relic of rare power. Perhaps it awaits your hand. Perhaps a quest yet calls.

But beware: once touched, your story may never be the same.

Peek at crafting The Amulet of Memory

I use nothing but silver wires to craft the entire amulet. It all starts with cutting and bending the wires into the shapes that you would likely to find in Tamriel.

Once both faces are soldered and cleaned up it is time for infusing the filigree. I mostly use tweezers when working with filigree technique.

It is a long and meticulous process to pack the openings in the wireframes with a fine twisted filigree. But if you take enough time and petience the aesthetics of the result will blow your mind.

Once both faces are completed I solder them into sort of a locket. It has a hollow space insode it for the USB stick to get in. The USB part will be firmly secured by 2 clasps on each side of the amulet. To give the amulet an extra boost of Elder Scrolls vibe I apply some oxidation solution to make the middle part black.

Since any oxidation will naturally wear off I protect the black layer with the special varnish compound. It creates a thin film on top of the oxidized silver preventing its blackness from turning grayish.

If you know someone who is into fantasy genre and especially Skyrim – please share this post with them.

The post Skyrim Quest Amulet of Memory appeared first on Slavik LTD.

There was a lute on my colleague’s desk. You don’t see this kind of artifact on a common Thursday in the tech company office. Rather in a video game or a fantasy movie. Fighting my introverted nature I managed to use the lute to kick off a conversation. It turned out to be a great one: I learned about the lute, a shooting range for longbows in the nearby park, a massive fantasy convention in Poland called Pyrkon and that his wife has recently published an original fantasy book about Evi’Deth.

Driven by curiosity as well as willing to support a fantasy world I ordered a copy of this book as a gift for my wife (who also happened to be a writer and a fantasy genre enthusiast). It was only after I learned that there is also an audio version of this book available. To be honest I’m not a huge fan of audiobooks, but this one is not at all an ordinary one. This book is narrated by an incredible voice actor well known for the polish voice of Yennefer in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game!

Inspiration

It was mindblowing to listen about the adventures of Evi’Deth in the incredible voice of Yennefer of Vengerberg. There was an episode where the main character buys an unusual looking silver pendant shaped as a longbow with a marvelous labradorite gem. In that instant a thought rushed through my mind: “That would be an excellent project for me to try!”.

I did have a labradorite cabochon in my treasure chest but I have never crafted anything resembling a longbow. Damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in real life. This is where imagination is the key: if you can construct something in your head there is a chance it is achievable in reality. Plus I can always reach out to Skyrim for some fantasy longbows inspiration (thank you Bethesda)!

Sketching

My first sketch wasn’t too pretty but it was enough to kick off a conversation. I reached out to the author asking if this would be okay to make jewellery based on her book. The answer I got was so enthusiastic it gave me extra inspiration to really push my creative skills.

After about 20 sketches I felt like it’s getting somewhere. First I set on the idea to set the gem on the arrow which would spin – how cool would that be? But my engineering backgroung rejected this stunt as the gem woul dend up looking downwards most of the time. Perhaps I will get back to this design once I figure out the balancing or some ratchet mechanism to hold the stone in a good looking position.

I accpeted the compromise of having a no moving parts in the bow and selected an option I liked. The grip would be slick and the limbs on the contrary should be rather large to fit in the filigree decorative elements. I will make the string with a twisted 0.6 wire and the pendant bail will be attached to the top nock. The arrow would go through the grip and be firmly soldered to it and to the string to safely hold a gem.

Crafting bow handle

Where does the longbow production start? I didn’t know either. So I began with making a grip – a central element the archer holds the bow by. I took a 0.8mm wire and tightly wound on a thin awl tool, soldered and then squeezed in my Stanley vice. Becuase it is hollow the first elements of the bow limbs will partially fit inside it. It will give a great structural strength when soldered.

The rest of the bow limbs are made with a 1.0mm wire. I usually cut wire in a slightly longer pieces to then remove the excess after soldering. But when I soldered the first element to the grip I really liked the way it little thorn looked. On both nocks of the handle I added loops: the top one is for the bail and the lower one is just for symmetry. Since the limbs are to be decorated I postponed soldering the grip because it would lift up the elements making them much harder to work with.

Applying filigree

Everything is prettier with a filigree. A fellow pro jeweller told me this once and I cannot disagree. For filling the spaces in the bow limbs I used a 0.9 filigree wire. This stage is very time consuming as I try to put loops of thin twisted wire inside a wireframes. I usually use a pair of high precision tweezers and an awl tool for this operation. Once all the spaces filled I solder them in with a soft solder keeping an eye on both sides of the element. Only when the decoration is completed I solder bow limbs to the grip to get a beautiful bow handle.

String attached

The most difficult part is completed. Or so I thought. Now it is time to attach the string and put an arrow in the knee bow (TES fans would probably find this one funny). For the string I twisted and soldered a loop of a 0.8 wire. I made slight grooves on both nocks of the bow handle where the strings would go and soldered it with medium solder. So far the results were rather promising.

Now what about the arrow? It must be attached to the grip on one side and to the string on the other. And it should hold the gemstone. The easiest option would be just cutting through the side of the grip and solder the arrow inside, but it would probably ruin the aestetics. I could also make the arrow with separate chunks of wire: this would keep the grip intact but I wasn’t sure I can align them quite right.

The compromise was to drill a hole through the center of the grip and push the arrow inside it. The tricky part is that the arrowhead wouldn’t fit in the hole so it has to be attached later on. So first I prepared a bezel for my labradorite gem and soldered it on the headless arrow. Then the arrow went through the hole in the grip and sat tightly on the bowstring. Only when it was perfectly aligned and fixed in position I trued to solder the arrowhead. It wasn’t easy to get this right because the end of the arrow was lifted up a little and there was no way to fix the arrowhed in a third hand.

Setting the stone

Thankfully I managed to properly attach the arrowhead in its rightful place. Then I fill up all the arrow joints with extra soft solder once again just to be certain. The last soldering operation was to attach a bail to the top nock of the bow. The bail itself is just a loop of 0.8 wire filled with filigree and folded in the middle – pretty much the same I made for the Foxy pendant a while ago.

Once all soldering is done and the pendant is after the acid bath, it is time to set some stones. This time there is only one stone to set, but this labradorite cabochon is just marvelous. Before the final setting I run a final fitnes check by placing dental floww in a bezel. During the soldering, tumbling and polishing the bezel might deform so you might have to straighten it or even grind off the inner walls a little.

Finally the gem fits perfectly and I can get it set with my bezel pusher. This is a long and meticulus part of the process. I don’t use glue in my jewellery and want to make sure the stone sits firmly in its place. After this step is completed I do some final polishing, cleaning and a well-deserved photoshoot.

The result

If you like the things I create you might want to browse around my Etsy

The post Longbow pendant for Evi’Deth appeared first on Slavik LTD.

For me jewellery has always been more than just a decoration — it can tell stories, capture moments and sometimes conceal secrets. My latest creation, a handcrafted silver ring with an oval sodalite gemstone, takes this concept to heart. While it looks like another odd ring, a closer look reveals a modern twist: a detachable part hiding a Goodram UPI2 64GB USB drive. This piece isn’t just about aesthetics – it’s a blend of artistry and practicality, designed for those who value elegance and ingenuity. And this is probably something a secret agent would wear on his world saving mission.

The Inspiration

When I set out to design this ring, I wanted to create something that resonated with modern needs while staying true to the timeless allure of handcrafted jewelry. Sodalite, with its calming blue hues and unique veining, was a natural choice. Known for its connection to intuition and logic, the gemstone represents balance — a fitting symbol for a ring that marries tradition with technology. The body of the ring is made entirely of silver wires of various sizes. Even the bezel to hold the gemstone is just a loop of wire hammered to a flat stripe. Later on I added two prongs to a bezel to ensure the sodalite is set tightly and is not going to fall off while wearing.

The hidden USB drive adds a layer of intrigue and functionality. In a world where digital storage is vital, why not incorporate it into something beautiful? This ring is perfect for those who appreciate the unexpected and enjoy carrying a bit of mystery wherever they go. The USB part secures itself to a ring with a rectangular frame made out of a delicate twiested wire that swings easily on two tiny hinges.

A friend of mine when saw this ring said to me: “Oh, this is like of those fun medival rings with hidden compartment for poison!”. Well, she always had a somewhat odd definition of fun.

Rings with Secrets: A Historical Perspective

The idea of jewelry with concealed functionalities is not new. In fact, rings have a fascinating history of hiding secrets. In medieval Europe, “poison rings” were popular among the elite. These rings featured small compartments under the gemstone, designed to hold poison or other substances. While this sounds dramatic, they were often used to carry perfumes, snuff, or even miniature messages.

During the Renaissance, rings evolved into symbols of romance and espionage. Lovers exchanged rings with hidden compartments for secret notes, while spies used them to carry microfilm or coded messages. Some rings even had tiny sundials or compasses, serving as practical tools for travelers and adventurers.

One particularly intriguing example is the “puzzle ring,” a multi-band ring that interlocks into a single piece. Historically, these rings were given to spouses as a loyalty test; if removed improperly, the bands would fall apart, revealing the wearer’s betrayal.

These hidden functionalities made rings more than mere adornments — they became tools, tokens of trust, and symbols of ingenuity.

A Modern Twist on Tradition

Inspired by this rich history, my sodalite silver ring takes the concept of concealed functionality into the digital age. The detachable part, housing a 64GB USB drive, adds a practical element for the modern wearer. Imagine having your most important files — photos, documents, or creative projects — literally at your fingertips.

The design process was both challenging and rewarding. Crafting the silver wires to form the ring’s base required precision and care, ensuring the USB drive remained secure yet easily accessible. Setting the sodalite stone was a meditative process, allowing the natural beauty of the gem to shine while complementing the ring’s innovative feature.

Who Is This Ring For?

This ring is for dreamers and doers, for creatives and professionals who appreciate the fusion of beauty and utility. It’s a perfect gift for someone who loves unique, handcrafted jewelry with a story. Whether you’re a writer carrying your latest manuscript, a photographer safeguarding precious memories, or simply someone who loves a touch of mystery, this ring is a statement of individuality and purpose.

The Allure of Mystery

There’s something undeniably captivating about owning a piece of jewelry with a secret. It sparks curiosity and invites conversation. Every time you wear this ring, you carry not just a USB drive but also a connection to centuries of ingenuity and storytelling.

In a world where so much is mass-produced, this ring stands out as a testament to craftsmanship and creativity. It’s a reminder that jewelry can be more than decorative—it can be meaningful, functional, and utterly unique.

So, the next time you slip on this sodalite silver ring, take a moment to appreciate its story. From medieval poison rings to modern digital drives, rings with hidden functionalities continue to captivate our imaginations, proving that beauty and practicality are timeless companions.

Final Thoughts

Jewellery is a deeply personal expression of who we are. By creating this ring, I hope to inspire others to see beyond the surface and embrace the unexpected. If this story resonates with you, I invite you to explore my Etsy store and discover the perfect piece that tells your story.

What secrets will your ring hold? The answer lies in your hand.

The post Spy Ring With a Concealed USB drive appeared first on Slavik LTD.

There’s nothing quite like creating something unique for someone you care about. The design? Think three diamonds elegantly merged together into one eye-catching piece!

The citrine gemstone steals the show with its rich, golden-yellow glow — it’s like carrying a little piece of sunshine everywhere. I chose citrine not just for its beauty but also because it symbolizes happiness and positivity. Perfect for a birthday gift, right?

The pendant’s design combines modern vibes with a touch of playfulness. The three diamond shapes give it a bold, geometric feel, while the mix of smooth silver and textured details adds depth and character. It hangs on a sleek silver chain, making it super easy to wear with just about anything—from a casual tee to a fancy dress.

The citrine gem is set on four prongs in the central diamond frame for an obvious eye catching effect. Two smaller diamonds beneath and abouve the citrine are filled with twisted wire – an ancient technique called filigree. I love how this tripple diamond shape turned out!

Unfortunately, life has driven us far apart and we now live in different locations now. Thus I packed the pendant nicely in a cute little jewellery box and shipped it across the world.

It is a pity I didn’t get a chance to see her smiling face when she opened it. Nevertheless, she seemed really happy about her new silver triple diamon pendant with a mysterious citrine gemstone in it!

If you’ve ever thought about making a custome gift for some close to you instead of buying a regular one, I can’t recommend it enough. Handmade pieces like this are one-of-a-kind, just like the people we create them for – they are totally worth the effort.

The post Triple Diamond Filigree Pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

I started sketching my envelope locket trying to add some usefulness to it. This is where the USB idea came in – the vast majority of USB drive are pure functional, but not aestetic. My locket would fuse these aspects, I thought. And sterted bending, twisting and soldering wires.

I used mostly silver wires and the filigree technique. The locket opens up to reveal a concealed 64GB USB drive inside. The front side boasts a captivating garnet cabochon I found in a local mineral shop.

Paired with a custom 65cm silver chain, this locket becomes a wearable artwork (at least that what I aim at). My main point here is that it offers a perfect blend of ancient silversmithing, traditional form and practical function.

Once I completed crafting I rashed excitedly to show my envelope creation to my wife. But her immediate response was not I prepared for.

She said: “Aww you made a lovely tiny cute purse!”  a PURSE!

Well, she’s not wrong – this is me who was so focused on the envelope theme that couldn’t shift my perception. Nevertheless, envelope or purse – I’m still pleased with how this experiment turned out! ????

For non-Barbies as well – it would fit any doll regardless of manufacturer, as long as the silver rectagular purse would go with the overall outfit.

Elevate your style with this one-of-a-kind piece that marries tradition with modernity. Visit my Etsy store for more details.

The post Envelope Silver Locket with USB drive appeared first on Slavik LTD.

The Amber Story

It was a totally regular weekday. I came back from work, relaxed a bit and decided to check my personal correspondence. Little did I know there is an email waiting to get me on an exciting jewellery adventure!

The email started with a phrase: “Hey! A friend of mine showed me a camera pendant you made for her. I think it’s awesome!”. I connected the dots instantly because I am insanely proud of this particular piece he was referring to. It was a Silver camera pendant I created as a birthday gift for a very special person I used to work with. Sadly, our paths took different turns and we don’t see each other as often as I’d like to.

“I have an idea in mind and I need your creative help with it”, he continued. “Let’s meet up and discuss it over a cup of coffee”. It got me really intrigued as I love an interesting challenge. Especially when this is not for a totally random person, but my friend’s friend. We met few days later and he handed me a handful of tiny raw amber gems. They certainly looked like they have a huge sentimental value for his wife and him. “Could you turn them into something I can present to my wife as a gift?”, he asked me. “She likes books and nordic culture if it helps you in any way”. Like in the movies I replied: “Let me see what I can do and just like that my adventure began.

It was obvious that had to be some storage device to hold these ambers, which can be qualified as a jewellery and looks like a gift. I considered lots of designs from bird cages to ships and viking helmets. It took me a while to get to a book-shaped locket. This was one of those incredible “Aha!” moments I love jewellery crafting for.

Carving an Amber heart

Since this is a future anniversary gift a heart should definitely be there somewhere. One of the raw amber pieces in that bunch was large enough to turn it into a cute little heart. And luckily for me amber is very soft and easy to work with using standard home tools. I would probably resign from this idea if the gems were citrines or garnets.

Design torment

Once the tiny amber heart was ready the overall design needs to be agreed. After few dozens of sketches it became obvious that the celtic triquetra would do perfectly.

Locket crafting

I started first trials with a square frames and realised it looks nothing like a book. Besides, single wired frame would probably be too wabbly for a good locket. Hence, the reinforced double wired rectangular frames are the way to go.

I considered to make different pattern on front and back of the locket. But after the front triquetra shaped out it was clear that it would look great on both sides. I had to tweak the sacral celtic symbol a little to make sure it fits into the frame. This is where the idea of braids on top and bottom came from.

I am passionate about filigree. Intricate triquetra was a perfect ocassion to play around and place some twisted wire in the openings.

It was a little worrying that some of these raw ambers were so small they could slip through the openings in the patterns. Thus I made the filigree on the back frame more dense. and added few elements on the front one as well.

The side panel, or the book spine, is made of the same wire. I made a rectangle of the same hight as the main frames, but much narrower. There was no way to fit another triquetra into that element so I just put some spiral wirework and filled it with filigree.

The side panned got firmly soldered to the back frame of the locket. Its design allowed me to add hinges for the front frame on a later stage.

“Every book has pages, so should my locket”, I figured. in order to make an immitation of pages I just cut a bunch of 0.8mm wires, straightened them as much as I could and soldered them together. Then it only a matter of precise bending the pages and soldering them to the back frame and a book spine.

The final assembly phase was by far the most tedious one. To make the front frame moveable I soldered 3 piece of flattened wire to its left side. These flat wires grabbed onto the openineg in the book spine and formed hinges. Later on it turned out to be a bad desicion as the cover opened not more than 75 degrees.

For the locking mechanism I used a standard bracelet clasp. A blop is soldered firmly onto the cover frame and a clasp itself hangs on a tine hinge attached to the back frame. It is important to make sure they are vertically aligned.

And the final most exciting part was to set an amber heart I carved in the very beginning of the journey. In order to keep it looking lightweight and airy I just added 3 prongs right in the triquetra intersection points. The amber heart fit there perfectly making a gorgeous centerpiece.

Presentation

I am extremely proud of myself looking at the locket I created. But nevertheless, I was still a little anxious if the receiver of this artwork will like it. I gave it to the husband a little less than a week before their anniversary and we both were cautious to not spoil the surprise.

Finally after a few days of intense waiting (that felt like aeons), I received an incredibly emotional note from the happy couple saying how much they both love their locket! They even said that it will definitely become their family hairloom that will be passed through generations along with a romantic story about collecting amber gems on a beach somewhere in the north of Poland.

If you like to see more of my artwork check my social media and my SlavikLTD Etsy shop.

In case you want to posses something like this – do not hesitate to contact me for a special order.

The post Amber Book Silver Locket appeared first on Slavik LTD.

Let me tell you a story about a handcrafted silver filigree locket inspired by a norse mythology and a little bit by the Sandman series aired on Netflix.

The Myth

The ancient myth says that Unelma, the norse Goddess of Dreams, once found a lost dreamer wandering around her halls. “How dare you invade my castle without an invitation?”, she asks with anger. “I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty”, the poor boy desperately replied, “I have no idea how I got here and I got lost… I’m just trying to find my way home”. Unelma looked in his big scared eyes and said playfully: “I will show you the way, but first you shall amuse me with a riddle”.

The boy was so frightened and exhausted and thoughts were running inside his head hecticly. And out of nowhere he suddenly remebers a riddle from a game he used to play and claims:

“Often will I spin a tale, never will I charge a fee. I’ll entertain you an entire eve, but alas, you won’t remember me. What am I?”

Unelma thought for a while and replied: “I do not know the answer to your riddle nor have I heard this one before. You did very well and not only I will send you home, I will reward you with a gift if only you would give me the answer to your riddle”. “It’s what we are in now, Your Majesty”, the boy said humbly, “the Dream!”.

As the legend goes, this boy woke up with something squeezed in his hand. It was a beautiful piece of prehnite stone with dark inclusions of epidote mineral. He never parted from this magical stone since.

Unfortunately, the description of the amulet is nowhere to be found throughout the mythology. However, it is generally known that Unelma loves books and she never refuses the offering with prehnite stones, especially the one with epidote inclusions.

Hence, I crafted this locket based on all the clues I could find to make it look as close as possible to the amulet from the story. The USB stick will come handy to store your dreams, but it can also hold any tokens from your awaken life.

The post The Book of Unelma appeared first on Slavik LTD.

In a world saturated with mass-produced accessories, there is a timeless allure to custom-designed handmade jewelry. Crafted with passion, skill, and a personal touch, these pieces hold an unmatched value that transcends trends and mass-market appeal. In this article, we delve into the captivating world of custom-designed handmade jewelry, exploring the artistry, personalization, exclusivity, and emotional connections that make these pieces truly exceptional.

A Celebration of Artistry

Custom-designed handmade jewelry represents the pinnacle of artistry and craftsmanship. Talented artisans pour their heart and soul into each creation, utilizing traditional techniques passed down through generations. From meticulously shaping metals to intricately setting gemstones, these artisans bring forth their expertise and attention to detail to produce wearable works of art.

Personalization and Storytelling

One of the most alluring aspects of custom-designed handmade jewelry is the opportunity for personalization. Collaborating with a skilled designer, customers can translate their unique style, personality, and life experiences into wearable expressions. Whether it’s engraving a special date, incorporating a birthstone, or capturing a beloved memory, custom jewelry becomes a cherished testament to individuality and storytelling.

Exclusivity and Uniqueness

Unlike mass-produced jewelry, custom-designed handmade pieces are inherently exclusive and unique. Artisans create limited quantities or even one-of-a-kind items, ensuring that each piece possesses a distinct character. Wearing custom jewelry allows individuals to stand out from the crowd, flaunting a piece that is truly theirs alone.

Quality and Durability

Handmade jewelry is synonymous with exceptional quality and durability. Artisans handpick high-quality materials and employ time-honored techniques to ensure that their creations stand the test of time. These meticulously crafted pieces often outshine their mass-produced counterparts, embodying a level of craftsmanship that can only be achieved through the hands of skilled artisans.

Connection and Meaningful Gifts

Custom-designed handmade jewelry carries profound emotional connections. Whether given as a gift or worn personally, these pieces become treasured symbols of love, friendship, and significant milestones. The thoughtfulness and care put into the design and creation process infuse each piece with deep sentimental value, making them heirlooms to be passed down through generations.

Supporting Artisans

Purchasing custom-designed handmade jewelry extends beyond owning a beautiful piece; it becomes an opportunity to support artisans and small businesses. By investing in these creations, you contribute to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship, help sustain local economies, and foster the growth of artistic communities. It’s a chance to make a meaningful impact with your purchasing decisions.

Conclusion

Custom-designed handmade jewelry captures the essence of true artistry, personalization, exclusivity, and emotional significance. With each piece, artisans create wearable masterpieces that stand as testaments to individuality and self-expression. By embracing the value of custom-designed handmade jewelry, we celebrate the craftsmanship of talented artisans, honor our own unique stories, and find joy in owning something truly exceptional. So, let us adorn ourselves with the allure of custom-designed handmade jewelry and cherish the beauty it bestows upon our lives.

The post The Unmatched Value of Custom Jewelry appeared first on Slavik LTD.

I’ve been tasked to craft another shoe pendant similar to the one I’ve just managed to sell!

It took me a few weeks of struggle and handcrafting but it is now completed and I am quite happy with the result. I hope my Customer will be satisfied as well – check it out below:

The post Custom high heel filigree shoe pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

Suede inspiration

Apart from the obviously weird ones, more common shoes can totally bring a lot of unexpected inspiration. Like when browsing random Pinterest posts I noticed these beautiful green suede pointy toe stiletto sandals with an ankle strap. I admire these elegant lines and they make me want to create something similarly eye-catchy.

Backbone of the shoe

As I am not much of a shoemaker I rather try to catch this inspiration into silver. There are clearly 5 main parts to be crafted and then assembled together:

• sole
• heel block
• pointy toe
• back heel locker
• ankle strap

The most logical starting point is the sole which is pretty much a back bone of the shoe. I use a 1mm thick sterling silver plate and cut out a sole with a jeweller saw.

It takes ages to saw like a pro. Until that you have to refine the edges with a file or with a Dremel-like tool. I prefer doing it with a file as it gives more control and fine results.

Once you are happy with the shape and the situation not too rough around the edges you polish. Based on my previous project like High Heel Filigree Sandal with Carnelian Stone and Butterfly, High heel strappy sandals silver earrings with garnet stones and High heel filigree sandal with amethyst I can tell you that it is totally worth taking enough time to refine the sole to the mirror-like surface. It will be intrinsically harder to run this operation on a later stages of the project. Been there, done that – don’t recommend.

High heel mule

Unfortunately pictures of a heel making were lost in a process. But essentially it is fairly straightforward – you solder a big ball of silver on one side of the wire and burr it until it looks like a heel. I’m sure I described it in details in my previous high heel jewellery projects High Heel Filigree Sandal with Carnelian Stone and Butterfly and High heel strappy sandals silver earrings with garnet stones.

So I have a blank high heel mule. What’s next? Obviously the decoration. It is the very first time I challenged myself to craft a close toe tip. It might sound easy but bending silver wires in a such sophisticatedly shaped element requires hours to get it right. I used some wax I salvaged from the little babybel cheese snacks (yummm). I put a piece of paper on top of the sculpted wax and cut it to use as a pattern. Then I made a closed outline out of a 0.8mm wire and filled it in with the filigree filament. It was an easy part. Then it took me some bending, hammering and fitting to make it look nice on a shoe.

Back heel locker

Every time I have the mule done my inner voice whispers: “It kinda looks nice already. Let’s maybe stope here, hmm?”. Perhaps I could just add a jump ring and present is as a mule charm, but would it be a true fun? Not for me at least.

So the next element is the one that is supposed to hold the back of your foot from moving sideways while cat-walking. Some of the babybel wax leftovers were reshaped into a back part of a foot and placed on the mule. Then a paper pattern helped me shape a nice outline for the back heel locker.

I thought of reinforcing this elements with thicker wires as it will hold an ankle strap. But I’m a risky dude and decided to see if it would do fine as is. After filling it with the filigree and hammering it into shape I realised that the element is surprisingly strong. Probably because of curved edges act as stiffeners. It seems safe to solder all things together and get to the ankle strap crafting.

Ankle strap with buckle

I love the way the ankle strap looks with a buckle on that first pic from Pinterest. hence even though the buckle in my case will not have any real function I still want it there.

I start with making a simple ring out of 0.8mm wire and shaping it into a long rectangular. This rectangular is then filed with the filigree wires and closed into a ring. As my shoe is the right one I have to put a buckle in a way it looks right on a right shoe.

The biggest challenge here is not to melt the delicate buckle while soldering it to the strap. This is because the difference in how the heat dissipates in different components under the flame. After couple of failed attempts I actually left the buckle loose on at the strap. I did however solder it closed so it would go anywhere but it still can move around a little along the strap.

Final result

Once all the soldering is sone there was a lot of cleaning, sanding and polishing to ensure the fine look. But looking at the final result I realise it was all worth it!

Thank you for going through the crafting journey with me. If you are a shoe lover or you want to make one crazy happy – drop me a custom request and I will be thrilled to craft something unique for you.

Sold!

After quite some time sitting at my desk this incredible shoe has finally found its owner! A French lady contacted me few times asking about all kind of details and finally she said:

“J’ai craqué et je vais commander votre pendentif. Je le trouve trop beau.”

“I cracked and I’m going to order your pendant. I find it too beautiful.”

Thank God there are still people with great taste!

I hope she will enjoy wearing it!

Beautiful feedback

It took exactly 10 days for this shoe to get to its new home (kudos to Poczta Polska for a good delivery job). Based on the beautiful review I am incredibly proud to state that my artwork is appreciated!

The post High heels pointy toe silver filigree sandal appeared first on Slavik LTD.

Why?

As you probably know, my home country Ukraine is being attacked by russia. They try to justify their invasion with some bullish%t about freeing Ukraine from the nazi regime. The entire world understands the outrageous stupidity of this crap, hence we are being supported from all over the globe. And Ukraine does need all the support right now.

I am lucky to have an established life abroad, thus my mission now is to provide maximum support to my family, friends, army and volunteers in Ukraine. Since I have spent most of my savings already I try to raise some extra funds by crafting and selling jewellery.

What?

I started to craft silver pendants which depict Ukrainian coat of arms “Tryzub” (trident) with a heart shape opening added inside it. Hence, the name “With Ukraine At Heart”. It was originally designed for my dear Ukrainian friends for their anniversary (Ukrainian trident pendant). They kindly agreed to share this design with the rest of the world.

The mainframe is made out of silver 0.8mm wire and its larger openings are filled with twisted and flattened silver wire, this technique called filigree. In the middle there is a natural garnet gemstone set on 4 prongs. Pendant hangs on a 55cm suede necklace.

I also had a few aventurine cabochones as in the original Ukrainian trident pendant.

A special modification would be a trident with oval faceted topaz gemstone. I hope to sell this one through the online auction to be able to buy another set of tactical tourniquets or armoured vests for brave Ukrainian soldiers.

How?

Should you wish to support me and help my country to fight back those damn russians – please visit my Etsy store section “Save Ukraine” to get one of these pendants (or contact me directly).

If you want such pendant with a specific stone please contact me.

If the price is too high but you still wanna help Ukraine – please donate to trusted charity organisation such as ComeBackAlive – every penny counts!

Together we will win! Слава Україні!

https://youtube.com/shorts/C1gv_5Rwdxw?feature=share

The post “With Ukraine At Heart” Silver Filigree Pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

Sole

Every silver shoe starts with a sole. Same as previously (like in High Heel Filigree Sandal with Carnelian Stone and Butterfly or Strappy high heeled pendant with garnet cabochon) I cut it out of a 1mm silver sheet. Interestingly enough I couldn’t find any template for a high heel sole so each time I draw it by hand. It would be an issue to craft a specific size shoe, thus it’s a good thing no one will wear those on their feet.

Once the first sole is sawed and rough edges are filed away I use it to make a pair. I draw an outline of the first sole on the sheet to saw a second one. This way it is easier to make pair of soles look very much alike.

Having both soles cut and polished it is a perfect moment to stamp my brand on them. Mainly because they are still flat. Once you bend them into a shoe shape the stamping task becomes hell of a lot more complicated. Ah, recently I got a new punch with a tiny 925 marking and I love how it presents itself right under the SL stamps.

Next step is to bend the sole into the shoe shape. It can be a bit difficult because you want your shoes to have sexy curves. I mostly do the bending by hand with a little help of nylon pliers not to damage the surface too much.

Heel

Once I’m happy with the soles shape it is time for the most tricky part of the shoe – the high heel itself. The heel is a complex pin with a flat angled surface on one end.

To produce the heel I first heat up and melt one end of a 1mm wire to form a bubble. Then I cut this bubble to fit the angle of the sole and solder it to a little D-shaped 1mm plate. It does look really ugly until it burred, filed and polished to its proper shape.

When the heel starts to look okay-ish I solder it to the sole to form a “slipper” which is a base for the future shoe. Based on previous experience I now use a longer piece of wire so I can adjust and equalise the heel hight for both shoes. Having both slippers looking alike is a huge successful milestone in this project.

Back heel holder

The leading design idea for this particular pair is to have few shoe straps to hold the stones. Pretty much like these gorgeous Cassandra high heel sandals from Saint Laurent. Not being too good at following the sketches I decided to model it out. I sculpted a little leg out of a candle wax and attached it to a slipper.

First decoration (and also structurally crucial) element of the shoe decoration is the back heel holder. I use paper stickies to cut out the shape for the heel holders and stick them onto the wax leg. Based on the paper template I saw them out of 0.8mm silver plate and anneal it to prepare for hammering.

Straps

Back heel holder also has rather complex geometry. I tried before to produce only with and tools and let me tell you – it is not a good idea. I am genuinely happy that I spent profit from selling my High Heel Filigree Sandal with Carnelian Stone and Butterfly on this micro dapping set! It is a perfect tool to form silver into curvy shapes and I was super excited to use it in this project.

With the heel holders soldered to the slippers it finally started to look like a proper pair of heels. Now it is time to add some straps!

Again the sticky notes came in very handy for modelling straps for my sandal. I just cut out thin stripes of paper and put them onto the wax leg to see how it would look. It also gave me an idea about where the stone saddle will sit and what are the attachment points.

Based on the paper templates I cut my 0.6×1.4mm flat wire into pieces and solder them one by one to each slipper. Once all the straps were in place I filed the attachment points for the stone saddles and soldered them right in. After all the soldering I left both shoes in the acid bath for some time for cleaning. It would be great to put them into the tumbler for a nice polishing, but I ain’t got one unfortunately. But my Dremel Micro with metal brushes and silicone discs also managed to do a good job. The result was actually better than I expected and I got so excited I almost started to set the sones!

Shackles

Happily though I managed to calm myself down and noticed that an important element is still missing – a shackle to connect an earring with a hook.

It would still be possible to do after the stones are set, but I prefer not to heat up the stones. This is risky as not all stones take heating positively. Some might change colour or even crack, hence it is a good habit to leave the stone setting as the very last step in making a jewellery masterpiece.

I took two tiny bits of my flat wire and bent them into micro jump rings. As this should be the very last soldering activity I used the super soft solder to preserve already existing solder joints. Also I clamp a shoe heel in a cross tweezer to dissipate the excessive heat while soldering the shackles. With shackles attached I went through another cycle of acid bathing and manual polishing to get ready for stone setting.

Stone setting

This is my first project I specifically purchased stones for. There is a local shop selling all kinds of precious and semi-precious stones, This is where I found these gorgeous garnet marquise stones and I knew exactly where to put them. Basically I did the entire shoe design around these marvellous garnets.

I choose to use bezel setting technique for this project as I find it the most neat and tidy way of exposing a beautiful stone. Prongs can sometime steal away some thunder away from the stone and I definitely didn’t want it here. Given that the high heel sandal is not the easiest shape to set the stone into I needed a smart way to firmly hold it in a vice. Most jewellers advise to use some sort of jewellery putty or sealing wax, but I can tell you that the polymorph plastics works great as well. You just melt it in a hot water, form it around your piece and let it cool down. Once hardened it is surprisingly strong and you can safely clamp it in a vice for bezel setting. After I finished setting stones into their saddles I gave the earrings another round of fine polishing. And let me tell you honestly – they look truly remarkable!

Exhibition

I hope you enjoyed following the manufacturing process and now it is time to check out the final result. This time I tried to spice things up a little and produce some artisan styled photos (at least in my mind they are). Thus I invite you to have a glimpse though the pictures below and enjoy the show!

This piece is still available for purchase. If you are interested please visit my Etsy Store or send me a DM in my Instagram to talk business

The post High heel strappy sandals silver earrings appeared first on Slavik LTD.

The backstory

The idea for this pendant has nothing to do with European history and weapon choices in 17th century. My day job is about building products for engineers like tools for the API management. We were brainstorming a name for that tool looking through words containing letters “api” in them. Once we got to the word “rapier” it was simply perfect for our case and we spell it as “rAPIer”.

Inspired by the success of our rAPIer I really wanted to craft something special to make the statement. A little research on rapier gave me a lot of confidence that it was more like an art rather than a practical weapon. And this was the beginning of my crafting journey.

Forging the rapier

Well, there is no forging in silversmithing really. It does, however, sound appropriate here. I happen to have a 1mm thick silver sheet for this project. It seemed to be perfect to cut out a blank bar for the future rapier. The longer side of the blank will become a blade and the short one will do as a handle.

Even though it might seem as real forging – a hammer hits a metal bar against an anvil – it is actually called work hardening. Silver is a rather soft metal and hammering it makes it a little more stiff. This is exactly what I need to form the blade.

Rapier is a kind of sword with a slender double sided blade and a wide hilt to protect the hand in a fight. In this story there will be no fighting, but the blade should still like it’s ready for a duel. I use my Dremel with an aluminum oxide bit to grind and sharpen both sides of a blade. I wrapped some 0.5mm wire around the other side of the blade to make a straight handle to look nice.

The hilt

The hilt is a sort of a shield around the handle to protect the hand holding the rapier. Traditionally hilts were made out of a solid steel plate. It was reliable and durable but also quite heavy. In order to reduce the overall weight the hilts started to be made of bent bars, which also gave smiths a way to decorate rapiers.

Keeping the weight in mind I bent a 0.8mm wire in a fish resembling shape. Inside of it I put a loop where the rapier blade would go during the final assemble. Some of the open spaces in the hilt-to-be I filled with filigree wire – it always looks good on jewellery.

The final step is to join the blade with its hilt. It is important to bend the hilt in a waxing crescent moon shape before and then insert the blade into the middle loophole. When done right the thinner end of the hilt will spring load the handle side of the blade making it pleasantly easy to solder. Later on I added a little jump ring on top of the hilt to attach the bail and make it actually wearable.

In case you’re interested in the details of the entire crafting process do not hesitate to watch a little video I put together. Enjoy!

En garde!

Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase. If you dream about something similar, please check my Etsy store or contact me through the form or on Instagram and let’s see what I can do

The post Silver rapier pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

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Captivated yet? Then let me take you through a process of handcrafting an elegant high heel shoe pendant with filigree straps and a wonderful amethyst triangular stone.

Sole

This is no secret that you have to start somewhere, preferably from the beginning (silly grin face). In the world of shoemaking, even silver ones, the starting point is the sole. I couldn’t find a decent blueprint of such shoe so I drew one myself. It might not be exactly proportional but in the end of the day I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feet.

I have a sheet of silver 1mm thick which makes an excellent base for silver shoes. The only thing you have to do is to saw the sole out of it. And then do some filing, burring or sanding depending on the tool of your choice.

When you are happy with the shape of the sole it is a good idea to make both surfaces flat and polish them. Believe me it is going to be much harder once the sole is bent (wise wizard face). This is also a perfect (and probably the only possible) moment to brand your jewellery piece with a steel punch. In my case I stamp SL as an abbreviation for Slavik LTD, which is the trademark I still contemplate to register officially.

Would you believe that crafting a heel itself is one the most complicated operations in this entire process? Well, you should. Unless you are good in melting and casting silver, it is going to take a lot of effort to carve a good stiletto. It is still an enormous struggle for me and would appreciate any idea you might have for simplify its manufacturing process.

Decoration

The centrepiece of all this is the amethyst I mentioned in the beginning. The saddle for it appeared to be straightforward – a flat 1.2mm wide stripe ring with filigree basement will hold the stone firmly. Even though it fits tightly I added another loop of 0.6 wire around the saddle and three chunks of the same 1.2mm stripe to make sure the cabochon is not going anywhere.

The idea is to set the stone in the front side of the shoe. In order to do that the saddle needs to be solidly attached to the shoe sole somehow. And it must looks elegant of course. So I bent a piece of 0.6mm wire into a kinda-monkey-looking shape leaving enough space in the middle for a saddle. This shape provides 5 connection points to the shoe which should be enough to ensure the structure stability.

Fine silver wire is very flexible and needs reinforcement to keep the shape. I added few wire loops above and beyond to solder the saddle in the centre. The blank spaces were practically asking me to fill them with filigree. I am not strong enough to reject that so ended up with putting filigree in every strap.

When the monkey-shape was soldered, cleaned and polished it was time for a final assemble. This is by far the most thrilling phase of the silver shoemaking process. Mostly it’s due to the complexity of the shape it is extremely difficult to control heat dissipation while soldering pieces together. And lack of such control leads straight into previously soldered pieces start to live their own lives with twists and shifts.

Happily this time I got lucky to have all parts attached together with no bigger adventures. Which let me focus on the most satisfying operations in jewellery making – setting the stone. With a saddle prepared earlier it is a matter of levelling the cabochon and carefully bending the prongs to hold it tightly.

Exhibition

Once stone is on its rightful place the whole thing was meticulously polished and bathed in the ultrasonic cleaner. A final touch with attaching a jump ring on the back and voila – the elegant silver high heel sandal with filigree elements and a gorgeous triangular amethyst is ready to reveal itself to the world. Either as a necklace or a piece of art!

This piece is still available for purchase. If you are interested please visit my Etsy Store or send me a DM in my Instagram to talk business

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The post High heel filigree sandal with amethyst appeared first on Slavik LTD.

I made it specifically on a request from a friend of mine for someone’s birthday. The only info I had about a receiver was that she likes foxes and everything around them.

It took me sometime to figure it out, but final result was all right and my customer is happy. Which is the whole point of all this hassle

This time instead of taking during the making I managed to record most of the handcrafting process on my phone and upload it to YouTube. So now you don’t have to tire yourself reading about it and just enjoy the clip!

Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase. If you dream about something similar, please check my Etsy store or contact me through the form or on Instagram and let’s see what I can do

The post Fox filigree pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.

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Intro

It is very satisfying that there are people out there who share the same passion. In my case this passion is elegant shoes and I found a way to express it in a form of jewellery. A friend of mine noticed my post in social media and contacted me right away to make an order. Motivated by the demand I set off to materialise a challenging idea I had in mind for quite a while – a high heel sandal with a butterfly wings inspired by Sophia Webster‘s incredible shoes.

High heel slipper

As any other silver shoe project (like this one or that one) I start with sawing a sole. I used a template from a previous high heel project that I am particularly happy about. Some say that the size of these pendants is too large to be delicate enough. Well, this is how I do my art and if you don’t like it – you’ve got the entire rest of the world to explore.

Although the sole is relatively easy to saw, making a good heel is far from trivial. Surely the silver casting would make it a lot easier but what’s the fun in that? The entire piece could have been casted in a mold and therefore loose its uniqueness.

So this time I started with melting one end of a piece of 2mm silver wire into a drop. Then I filed it down a bit and soldered on a piece of 1mm thick plate on top of it. First it looked rough but after some heavy grinding the result was actually better than I anticipated.

Once the heel is grinded to its rough shape I decided to attach it to the sole and do the fitting of the entire slipper. The trick I learned from mistakes is to make sure that the sole is polished as good as possible on this stage. Every new element on the shoe will not make polishing any easier. On the pic above you might notice the “S L” punched on the sole – it stands for SlavikLTD (in case you were wondering).

It is also important to use a hard solder on this stage. Otherwise if you use the same solder at all steps of building a piece you might find yourself getting angry about elements randomly detaching or misplacing during the heating operations. Once the heel is in its place there is usually a lot of redundant solder to remove and defects to file off.

Back heel holder

I was meaning to reproduce this element for a while. Some real sandals have this piece in the back of the shoe to hold a foot firmly. It seems to be easy to make in fabric but in my case it has to be a metal sheet.

I happened to have a small piece of fine silver sheet about 0.8mm thick and I saw it as a perfect fit for a job. After a few failed attempts to make a sort of a template out of paper I got annoyed and just cut out a triangular piece to start with. The difficulty here is that this element has a complex semi-spherical shape stretched to the top. It’s a shame I don’t posses any dapping punches as it would probably make this step a lot easier. This time I had to go old school and hammer the back piece on a round end of my little anvil. Although time consuming the process was satisfying and the result turned out to be more than all right.

Stone saddle

The slipper is ready even with a curvy back piece that makes me clap my hands when I see it. What’s next? Now it is time to think about a saddle for my mesmerising carnelian smooth marquise. I bought this stone in a local mineral shop for a few bucks only because it had an imperfection embedded in it. In my mind this inclusion makes it even more perfect.

A stone setting rule of thumb is to begin with a good saddle. I used a 0.6mm thick silver stripe to make an oval which tightly fits the stone. Then file the ends just a bit and solder the oval and add the support ting on one side. You will always be able to grind the saddle insides to fit your stone, but if you make it too big – you might as well start from scratch.

The stone saddle must be firmly connected to the shoe. I decided that three attachment points should be enough to hold it in place. The support frame is a sort of a v-shape which will be bent and have its ends soldered to the back heel holder.

Because there was no sketch (not on paper at least) I had to do a lot of fitting tries. This time luck was on my side as it appeared that the size was just right and there is no need to start over.

Before the final bending the saddle support frame I wanted to decorate it with filigree. It is way more convenient to do while the frame is still flat. Once you make your frame curved it becomes a nightmare to fit the filigree wire in it.

Once the filigree is in place it was time to add another important structural element – prongs. These are pieces of wire to hold the stone in its saddle. Learned my lesson in the High Heeled Amethyst Earrings this time I used thicker wire for prongs and attached them as two U-shape frames instead of four separate pieces of wire. then I bent the ends in the hoop and soldered the entire decoration component onto the shoe. So far it looks promising.

The butterfly

Inspired by a Sophia Webster winged shoes I was sure the butterfly wings will look awesome in a silver shoe as well. I did, however, had some doubts whether go forward with this idea because the shoe was already looking great after the rough polishing. In the end the curiosity took over the risk of screwing up a perfectly good pendant.

This time a sketch was rather necessary at least a rough one. I have come to realise that I have never sketched a butterfly before and it appeared to be nothing like straightforward. I ended up doing a research on butterflies and you would be surprised how many of them are out there. After a couple of hours and few sketch pages spent on butterflies I had a winner fitting perfectly to be sitting on a silver shoe.

Thanks to my engineering intuition I did spent a bit more time thinking through the whole assembly process. Otherwise I would most definitely ended up starting this element over and over. The trick is that the butterfly outline is initially made flat so that I can fill it in with filigree. After that it will be bent in half to spread its wings. That’s why I made the frame with a single piece of wire with both ends running parallel in the middle. I assume that with a single wire in the middle it would not be stiff enough and there might have been difficulties soldering it to the shoe.

The final assemble is always breathtaking as this is when all previous flaws usually appear. I was worried that during this operation I might overheat it and the heel or back heel holder will get misplaced. Luckily this time no major disaster happened, nothing that cannot be gently grinned away anyway.

Stone setting

Once all soldering operations are completed and rough polishing applied – that’s like almost the finish line. One of my bosses used to say that “if it 90% done – it’s done”. But in my case I thought it would be weird and irresponsible to spend so much effort crafting the saddle for a stone and leave it empty. The biggest difficulty here is that the shoe has a complex shape especially with a butterfly wings on its back which is not perfect to be clamped in a vice.

In order to preserve all the delicate parts of this pendant I decided to use a thermoplastic putty for stone setting. I put the beads into the boiling water where they melt into a single slime. This slime goes inside and around the pendant making sure the saddle is accessible. Once it cools off it gets impressively hard so that it can be safely clamped in a vice. It is now time to insert a stone in its place, maybe grind off a bit to get a perfect fit and bend the prongs to hold the stone firmly. Voila!

Final note to myself: even though the thermoplastic putty works great for the stone setting activities, removing its residue from tiny cavities of a complex shape pendant is a nightmare. Next time I do need to remember to think this step through more thorough.

Photoshoot

Many thanks to my lovely wife for taking those unbelievable pictures of the high heel filigree sandal pendant with a cornelian stone and silver butterfly. Enjoy!

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Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase. If you dream about something similar, please check my Etsy store or contact me through the form or on Instagram and let’s see what I can do

The post High Heel Filigree Sandal with Carnelian Stone and Butterfly appeared first on Slavik LTD.

The old legends say that the ancient elves could memorise all their knowledge and wisdom. But over time elven culture started to decline along with their abilities. Elves could no longer rely on their memory and were forced to develop technology to help them keep the wisdom safe. This path led them to an era of digital storage drives which were fast, durable and as everything else in elven culture – astonishingly decorated.

Inspired by this fantasy sci-fi story I imagined an ancient drawing of how such device could look like and set off to a challenge to produce a really cool elven-looking USB stick.

This story really got stuck in my mind. I even purchased a tiniest Goodram USB drive. However, I struggled viciously to sketch it out on paper and at some point I decided to just start it and go with the flow.The first thing to do is to disassemble the USB stick. Surprisingly it wasn’t too easy as I assume it is not deigned to be taken apart. Google wasn’t too helpful in this case either, but I managed to get rid of plastic outer body and left with a neat bear metal USB block.

The main frame

Thankfully this model has little ledges on both sides which I will use to set it in the new frame. It is extremely important to make the setting frame right as it will hold the entire pendant together.

So I started with wrapping a 1mm wire around the USB block as tight as possible to get a good grip. I actually made it even a bit smaller to be able to fit it with higher accuracy by gradually grinding off the inside cavity.

The setting frame is basically 3 joint rectangular rings with the middle one is slightly wider than the outer ones. This is needed to get nice little grooves on both sides of the frame where the ledges will sit and hold the USB block firmly in place.

Even though I wanted to I could not make a test fitting of the setting frame as probably I would not be able to undo it. Hence I went on with the rest of the decorative frame. I used the same 1mm wire for the floral elven-like elements. I found it very handly to use a steel wire to hold pieces together while soldering.

The entire pendant is not going to be flat which makes filling in the filigree a little harder. All decorative elements must have the filigree already soldered in before the final assemble.

Soldering the setting frame to the first decorative frame finally gave me a feeling of how the entire pendant would look like. And I liked it. From that moment on it was downhill – I made another decorative frame similar to the first one and attached it to the setting frame.

The cap

Forging the cap for the elven-look USB drive was not supposed to be that complicated. I started with making a rectangular ring out of 1mm wire that fits tightly the USB block. Then I made two similar decorative frames and soldered them to the cap ring.

The difficult part came to my mind a bit late. How will this cap hold itself on the main frame? In the original plastic cap there are tiny ledges on the inside walls that are aligned with the USB port square holes. I could have gone this road before the cap was assembled, but now it was not an option.

So I decided to try another way by adding a springy clamp on both sides of the cap. These clamps should be able to click onto the setting frame and stay robust enough to hold the cap in place. The unexpected fact for me was that silver is not awfully springy and there is no wide know way to make it act that way. Luckily I know a few real goldsmith professionals who recommended me few tricks to try. Although hardening silver through heat treatment is quite complicated process, gentle hammering on the claps seemed to work just fine.

Photoshoot

Once both parts of the pendant are nicely polished and cleaned out I test those clams by taking the cap off and putting it back on few dozen times. It is truly mesmerising.

I do hope that if elves were amongst us they would be pleased by this interpretation of their technology era. Enjoy the photoshoot!

It has an extremely satisfying clicking sound – check the video below:

This piece is still available for purchase. If you are interested please visit my Etsy Store or send me a DM in my Instagram to talk business

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Based on a previous successful sandal I decided to start with the steps as in Strappy high heeled pendant with garnet cabochon. I jigsawed a sole out of a 1 mm thick silver plate and chamfered out the lower edge. The heel was made in a brutally inefficient but straightforward method – I hanged a piece of 2 mm wire and melted its lower part into a ball. It does require a lot of filing though to get a good heel shape.

Once the sole is bent and heel is shaped I soldered them together into a “blank slipper”. This is what I call a sandal with no decoration attached. The first decorative element is the toe strap made out of a wire loop filled with filigree. It was a bit tricky to bend it into the right shape and then to solder it in place. It would be extremely helpful to have some sort of clay patty to hold complex surface elements in place while soldering – I’d need to consult with real jewellers about that.

The ankle strap seems to be more complex than the toe strap, but in practice it was not that bad. It is basically a rectangle frame of wire filled with filigree. In order to hold it firmly I left 2 ends of wire sticking out to act as additional support. I gently hammered it into a cylindrical shape and added a piece of flat stripe to attach it to the back of the slipper.

All piece came together and are ready for long hours of sanding and polishing. Seeing the outcome I feel it was all worth it and I only hope my friend will like her new pendant. Enjoy the photoshoot!

The new owner shared a picture of this pendant and she seems to be happy about it. However, it was pointed out that the shoe size might be a bit too large to fit her

Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase. If you dream about something similar, please check my Etsy store or contact me through the form or on Instagram and let’s see what I can do

The post Wide ankle strap filigree high heel pendant appeared first on Slavik LTD.