New obsession

I've been admiring intricate wire-wrapped jewelry for a long time now, and as long as a year ago began collecting materials, tutorials, and even a book by Eni Oken.  It's gorgeous stuff.  My personal preferences run toward the more classically styled, sophisticated, gemstone-encrusted, royalty/renaissance looking, vintage-harkening stuff, rather than the funkier, more modern pieces -- although those are ravishing and impressive, too.  It's only time pressures -- namely, a lack of having any! -- that's kept me from experimenting in this incredibly intricate, pretty art jewelry technique. 

Eni Oken

More recently, on Etsy (my daily inspirational eye candy source,) I stumbled across a few new artists who've also mastered this gorgeous artform.  Check out Magdalena's Atelier and Julida Designs next time you're there.

Magdalena's Atelier

Julida Designs

While browsing Magdalena's blog, I discovered  Iza Malczyk -- don't you just love the internet, how it connects dots so quickly and easily? -- whose work is astoundingly pretty and almost unreal in the amount of unbelievably tiny and perfect detail she somehow includes.

I smell a fun (and no doubt, frustrating -- they always are) 2008 project  in the works... !

Comments

[Beadinggem]

You have a good eye for great design. These are fab handmade jewelry artisans. I too lurk in Etsy to drool and to find inspiring designers to feature on my jewelry blog.

[Ellen Borggreve]

I am not sure how to explain this, but our obsessions seem to run parallel...I am also very fond of the jewelry you are talking about and have of course been visiting etsy lots of times as well. I feel this new passion taking over my mind again, but I have to say all my recent passions that I found through browsing blogs have just made me more passionate than ever for my bears as well. I just want to make more things in the very little time that I already have left. Any ideas on how to handle this? Many hugs to you! Ellen