Do you know that “gold-filled” is NOT just another word for “gold-plate”?

Debunking the myth that gold-filled is the same as gold plate is made even tougher when Wikipedia says it’s synonymous with “rolled gold plate” [insert eyeroll here].

Gold plate refers to a microscopically-thin film of gold pressed onto a base metal. When I say “microscopically-thin”, I’m talking millionths of an inch.

Gold-filled, in contrast, means that an actual thick layer of 12 karat or 14 karat gold has been heat-and-pressure-bonded to a base metal, usually brass. A metal that is gold-filled, by definition, contains 1/20th gold.

See this slide pendant below? I sculpted it from 12k gold-filled wire, and 1/20th of that wire is gold.

©Kristine Schroeder, “Theodora”, 12k goldfill / garnet / cultured pearl. 1 1/4″ by 5/8″. Click on the photo to see more views of this pendant in my Studio Boutique.

Maybe you’ve heard of vermeil (say: vehr-MAY). Vermeil is sterling silver with a coating of at least 10 karat gold.

I used to refer to gold-filled as “rolled gold”. I like the term, it sounds kind of magical, but nobody knows what it means.

Seven to 10 years ago, I used gold-filled wire A LOT because I was working with cameos all the time. We all know what has happened to the price of gold, right? For sure, it steered me towards sterling silver.

The photo above is of one of my surviving cameo pieces, “Lady In the Window”.  It’s a genuine shell cameo, set in 12k goldfill, accented with freshwater pearls and garnet beads.  I sculpted this pendant during a long power outage, sitting right next to a window for light.

Interested in owning “Lady In the Window”? Click here to contact me.

I meant to research, and start writing, a series of posts about mourning jewelry, but with the Boston Marathon bombing, well, it just seemed inappropriate this week.  To the injured, traumatized and bereaved: I’m thinking of you with love, and I hope you find peace.

Here are the last ten songs my iPod played Wednesday afternoon:
1.  The Locomotion – Grand Funk Railroad
2.  Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode
3.  Bang the Drum All Day – Todd Rundgren
4.  All Summer Long – The Beach Boys
5.  This Masquerade – The Carpenters
6.  Roll Over Beethoven – Chuck Berry
7.  Beat On the Brat – The Ramones
8.  Flyin’ Blind – Nick Curran and the Lowlifes
9.  Bela Lugosi’s Dead – Bauhaus
10.  Use Me – Bill Withers

My name is Kristine Schroeder. I am a sculpture artist who does antique-flavored art jewelry in precious metal wire. I push the boundaries of what wire sculpture and cold connection can be, every day. I recently took, and immensely enjoyed, your DREAM Client Intensive.

I am in year eleven of selling my jewelry, and frankly, it’s been a struggle. My growth as a wire artist led me to a 19th-century rococo style of jewelry. After realizing that the intricacy of my work precludes any sort of wide-scale operation, I took the jewelry-as-art approach. I’m straddling this fence between art and fashion, and I’m getting splinters!

I do have two wholesale accounts, one near my home, and one in Virginia, for which I’m so grateful.

At different times in my jewelry business, I have blamed:

• the fact that I live 4 hours away from any large city
• the work-intensive nature of my artwork
• my introversion
• a perception that people won’t buy jewelry they can’t hold first
• my reluctance to do trade shows

for my lack of success.

The real reason for my lack of success? Gaps in my knowledge.

And that’s where you, Robin and Tracy, come in.

No more blaming. I’m not afraid of hard work, but I can’t do this alone.

As long as I’m dreaming big…

I dream of traveling around the country, appearing at gallery exhibitions of my art jewelry. I dream of connecting with people who love art, who love beauty, who love history, who are rebels like me. I dream of the look of pure enchantment on the face of someone who cannot live without a piece of my art jewelry.

I dream of being a full-time sculpture artist.

Sincerely,

Kristine Schroeder

When it comes to my art jewelry, I care about:

• highly detailed beauty
• a dreamlike quality
• designs that look historic

I don’t solder, or use a torch.  I won’t solder or use a torch.  Instead, I use fine-gauge wire to stitch and embroider my art jewelry pieces.

I enjoy the laboriousness.

I’m a quiet rebel.  My mother called me “Miss Independent” when I was a child.

All that being said…

I proudly present: the Theodora Bracelet in sterling silver, black onyx, and cultured pearl.

Click on either photo to see the Theodora Bracelet in my Studio Boutique.

©Kristine Schroeder, “Theodora”, 7-inch bracelet in sterling silver / black onyx / cultured pearl.

I engineered and cold-fabricated the bracelet frame, using only sterling silver wire, then set a glossy black onyx cabochon in the center.

Then I hand-sculpted more sterling silver wire, creating a bead-studded ribbon effect, flanking the black onyx cab. Black onyx beads and white cultured pearls add the finishing touches to the bracelet top.

The chainmaille part of the bracelet is hand-wound and hand-linked, by me, of sterling silver wire.

The hook clasp is also hand-sculpted by me. It is sterling silver wire, with the beaded ribbon effect repeated, and finished off with a black onyx bead accent.

Like all the Theodora Collection, this piece is inspired by my great-great Aunt Teddy, and the times she lived so briefly in.

Do you like art jewelry that looks antique?

Do you wear what you want, no matter what anybody thinks?

Welcome home

I did.

At the age of seven, I became obsessed with Abraham Lincoln.

I don’t remember exactly how my obsession started, but I eagerly devoured every book on Lincoln in the Taft School library. Having exhausted that resource, I moved on to the Joliet Public Library.

Each exploit and accomplishment was enthusiastically reported to my poor mother.

Finally one day, she clapped her hands over her ears and exclaimed, “I don’t want to hear that name AGAIN!”

No problem.

I started referring to Lincoln as “You-Know-Who”.

My grandparents took me to Springfield, IL, to see Lincoln’s home. Then, in the summer of 1972, my parents and I visited Washington DC for a three-day whirlwind tour.

I remember quite a bit from that trip, including this: As we drove past a certain large building, my mother pointed it out and said, “Look, Kris, there’s Watergate!”

Unless one was living in a cave, everyone had heard the word “Watergate” ad-nauseam that summer. But my seven-year-old mind took things quite literally. I had pictured something completely different!

My Lincoln fascination lasted the better part of a year, and set the stage for my lifelong interest in American (and world) history.

Switching gears…

Believe it or not, the object in the photo below will be part of a bracelet.

Copyright Kristine Schroeder, “Theodora”, bracelet in progress.

The people who receive my every-other-Tuesday email, “Studio Sneak Preview”, saw this bracelet 10 days ago.  They see my latest artworks 48 hours before anybody else does.

Would you like to get “Studio Sneak Preview” direct to your email inbox, free?

Look over there, on the right-hand side of this page.  Just type in your name and email address, and click the button.  Then check your email for the confirmation link.

Alpaca Boutique, located in historic Gordonsville, Virginia, will be opening its doors in May 2013.

Click on the photo below to see all the pieces that will be available.

©Kristine Schroeder, “Victorian Starr”, slide pendant in sterling silver, bronze, amethyst