Watch a Pendant Grow

by

Cristina Hurley

Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design

I got a wonderful custom order from a client who is getting married... He wanted a pendant for his fiance to receive and wear on their wedding day. the client asked me to try to make a piece inspired by a bridge on a local bike path, which is where they met, and will be exchanging their vows. Pretty neat huh? What a special project, I knew I wanted to do my very best, because it was so special and he had put his faith in me to do something really awesome.

I documented the process, as I often do, in photographs. This is a fun way to have a record of the project and to be able to remember how it was made and show the client progress, in case they might want to make any changes or suggestions.

I have a great, simple program on my computer called Picasa which helps me to crop and fix photos, but you can do so many other things, you can make movies and slideshows, collages and so much more.

I experimented with the photos from this project and made a great slideshow which shows the pendant "growing". Really cool! I just added some fun music and Voila! Before I knew it it was up on you tube!

Here is the slideshow:

I sent the slideshow to the client and he really enjoyed it and even left a nice comment on the video. I thought it was a great way to show him the process and give him peace of mind that it was being made and coming out good.

Enjoy the show!

Photo Story:

Custom Order Saber/Epee Pendant

by

Cristina Hurley

http://www.cphurleyjewelry.com

A client came into the shop about a month before Valentine's Day with a very special request; he wanted me to execute a design he had come up with for a pendant for his wife. Of course I accepted the job and found it to be one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever done. I worked closely with the client and tried to match his specifications. The result was a beautiful pendant with a lot of meaning behind it.

I love doing custom orders and am always willing to talk to clients about executing their ideas into fine one of a kind works of art, that are wearable too!

They met at a fencing class, she fences with a saber, he fences with an epee... Each sword represents them.

We did some sketching to make the piece look like the actual swords. He let me borrow them for inspiration!

The final design takes shape, then the work began.
I shaped the silver into tiny swords...

You can see how they are 2 pieces in this picture. After some elbow grease, a little bit of magic and a lot of love, I hade the end result!

I'm so happy with how it came out, there is nothing like a good dose of fresh inspiration from someone who wants to make a unique, special and meaningful gift for someone they love!

Are you interested in a custom order or have a unique design in mind? Feel free to stop in my shop or email me! I'm always looking for new inspiration!

Cristina Hurley Jewelry

3 Rockland Street

Canton, MA

02021

781-562-0421

http://www.cristinahurleyjewelry.com

The First Piece of Jewelry I Ever Made!

by

Cristina Hurley

I have had this piece back for a while now, but had never had a chance to take pictures of it until now. It is the first piece of jewelry I made. I took a class with 5 other beginners many moons ago in Puerto Rico, with a jewelry designer and metalsmith named Jeannette Fossas. After the course was over, she gave me the opportunity to be her apprentice and that was the beginning of my jewelry career. That was in 1990.

 The piece is a bracelet. It is made out of copper tubing, silver wire, and malachite beads.

 After I made it, I gave it to my mom. She wore it and kept it for many years. she gave it back to me for good luck when I opened my retail shop and studio in Canton, MA.

 It has stayed in really excellent shape and has a nice patina, considering it's age! I can't remember if the holes you see on the left had a wire through them, and fell off, or if i made a mistake and drilled too many holes.

I keep the piece now on my desk in my shop, and I take it with me to shows and put it in my money box for good luck.

You can see this piece and all of my new designs at my shop.

Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design

3 Rockland Street

Canton, Ma 02021

781-562-0421



Custom Order Rings

I've made quite a few custom order rings for clients in the past few months and though it would be fun to share them here in one post. They are all very different and tailored special for each client. I love to take their input and make them something completely unique and original. Many times these pieces become one of a kind pieces, if I never decide to duplicate them; even if I do, they remain one of a kind because of the unique stones. Some were made as gifts for others, and some were made for gifts to themselves. Either way it gives me great joy to make something special for someone who comes into my shop and puts their trust in my abilities.



Artists Crossing Holiday Party!

by

Cristina Hurley

Cristina Hurley Jewelry Design

If you love holiday shopping, and you love fine, handmade crafts and gift, look no further than Artists Crossing in the downtown crossing area of Boston. Members of Boston Handmade are displaying their work there through the holidays!

Some of the artists include Jessica Burko of Reclaimed to You,

and Nancy MacCallum of Nancy Rosetta.

If you are feeling festive, make sure you stop by the shop on thursday December 1rst. They are having a 3rd Anniversary Party, from 4-8pm. you might even get to meet some of the artists!

Here's the location:

Artists Crossing

505 Washington Street

Boston, MA

Happy Holidays!

Like their page on Facebook

New inventory has arrived in the Shop!

New Inventory Has Arrived!

by

Cristina Hurley

http://www.cphurley.etsy.com

I'm really looking forward to a great holiday season in my shop, especially with all of the new inventory that is starting to come in from my fellow Boston Handmade members! they make such beautiful things, and my shoppers are already commenting on how nice the items are, and how cute the shop looks.

Jessica Burko of Reclaimed to You dropped off lots of beautiful hand knit scarves and hats! Go to her site for other fine pieces, artwork, and paper goods.

Jennifer Tang of Majenta Designs, makes beautiful asian inspired pendants and purse hooks.

These pieces are by Karen Mahoney, of City by the Sea Ceramics. Raku and other techniques are used to create these unique pieces.

Beautiful jewelry inspired by nature by Nancy weller, of Nancy Rosetta. She uses different metalsmithing techniques and materials to give the pieces great color and dimension.

And of course, there's always me! I am making new designs every day and getting very excited for people to see them. you can even see me making jewelry in my shop! It's also my studio.

Come visit us Wednesday through saturday, 11am-6pm...

3 Rockland Street

Canton, MA 02021

781-562-0421

Hope to see you!

Change is Good

A Much Needed Change

by

Cristina Hurley

my etsy shop

I had a very busy and rough couple of weeks, which culminated in a big craft sale which was a bit of a disappointment. The next day, I decided that I needed to change things up a bit in my shop/studio.

The easiest and most effective way to revamp a space is to paint... So I decided to paint half of this wall with paint I had been using to paint in the shop. I painted and then decided to add some custom hand painted swirls...
I love swirls, they are organic and fun to do freestyle. No need to mark or measure, I just began swirling out from the straight edge I had painted the wall up to.

The swirls are all over my shop in different ways, so I thought they would look nice and add a bit of whimsy to my decor.

Cool! the swirls are all done! they only took a couple of hours or so. The paint dried quickly, so I began to hang up what had been on the wall already. In this case, a display with some jewelry in it.

All done! All I had to do was put everything back, and I decided to rearrange the furniture and displays. I think it looks nice!

And that's just one wall!

I made changes in the entire shop.

Stay tuned for the next chapter...

The window wall!

:)

Cristina