Big, bigger, biggest, huge!

Thought I'd share my latest creation and how it came to the world. I'm going to skip to the end, here it is!

For a while I had been making stock for my Etsy shop, with the sole intent of filling it up a little more, creating bracelets, earrings, things not too expensive so they would actually sell.
But every time I opened my box of amber all these shiny big nuggets were staring at me.
And I still wanted to make a match for my big raw bracelet which has been my personal favourite and the eye-catcher in my shop. It needed a fitting companion.
Not for now I thought. Not these stones. Not now..
And last week finally it was too much, and out came the stones, sandpaper, dremel, all in a big heap.

After 3 evenings of patiently sanding (starting with 400 grain, then 600, 800, 1200 and finally 2000) I was sort of happy. Then the polishing had to be done, this is such a grateful job, this is when the stones start to really shine! I apply a bit of special wax for amber to the stones so they will be protected and keep their shine for quite a while, wonderful effect!
And then the drilling has to be done, most carefully otherwise they crack!
Also there were a few stones with insect & moss inclusions, which are very valuable. You do NOT want to drill to close to these!

This spider and fly have been trapped in these stones for 40 million years..imagine..Granted, they are not the famous lizard in Amber which is on display in the amber museum in Gdansk, but all the same pretty special.
I had some discussion with my wife on adding these stones to the necklace, but I figured that if you are making a special necklace, you should not hold back. These just add to the beautiful majesty of the piece, just as below, moss entrapped pieces.

But I am deviating.. After spending 5 evenings and a day with the stones I was finally ready to string them up. On hemp. I like amber on hemp, it keeps it natural. And you can knot it easily, so the stones have space. These ones certainly needed space, every single one is beautiful. With the heap I had I needed multiple strings, to make it a full, majestic piece.

So, string them up I did. 4 strings full of gorgeous stones. 107 grams in total. Considering the weight of amber a huge amount. My bracelet weights 1/3rd of that..
The end of the strings I wrapped with more hemp for solidity, and put a shiny, big stone on one end for a button-closure, the other end was strung in a loop, and now it is done, finally. It is as beautiful as I had in my head. And a fitting companion for my bracelet. Over 50 stones, total length 59 centimeter (23 inch) the biggest stones are 1 1/2 inches long. It is absolutely beautiful, fit for a princess.

And yes, it is for sale. See my Etsy shop >>>>>>>>>>>>

How it started

Fair warning: if you do not want to get addicted like me maybe you should not read this...

Amber is addictive, I compare the love for amber with acquiring a taste for something, once you have it you will truly love it. A bit like Jazz, Single Malt whiskey, olives.

When I first got in contact with amber it was through Jagna, who really loves it. And I was like, huh?'
What's so special, to me it was like coloured plastic or something. So I put up with her getting some chunks which were, to me, horribly expensive. Actually she got very good deals :-)

And then we got the chunks. And I had a magnifier. And touched the damn things, and really looked at them. And was lost. Forever cursed with the amber addiction. The stones below are all ours, and not for sale. No way I'm going to part with these.

Now here's the second warning, do not open the photo's to look at the big version.

Amber is really, really nice to touch, the stones are slightly warm always, quite light, and anti electrostatic. In Greece they call Amber Elektron because of this. Each stone is unique and hold a private garden inside. Complete with leaves, animals, moss, air. Each garden is 40 million years old. Each preserved leaf and bug is also 40 million years old. Each stone has a different colour, different texture. And every single one of them is beautiful. There is large variety in colour, transparency, hue, hardness, and of course in what is inside. I love the irregularities, small cracks, bubbles and inclusions, and taking a magnifier can stare at a stone for a long time. There's whole solar systems inside!

And then there are the poor bugs, caught in the sticky raisin 40 million years ago, trapped forever, but beautifully preserved. Tiny beasts. Discovering one of these is an additional bonus. We get many of our stones raw and crusted, finding out what is underneath by carefully sanding and polishing is half the fun of the addiction. Also they will not be so damn expensive, I am selling amber for the main purpose of being able to afford to buy more. Getting the hue and structure slowly visible is the coolest, finding spiders and bugs is a wonderful surprise, a bit like winning the lottery. It's the same feeling as getting a surprise egg when you are 6 years old, and finally finding that really cool little plastic toy you wanted for months already. Boys & toys, this never changes, only the toys get more expensive.

So, this is how things started years and years ago...forever addicted now...
Do you want to support my addiction, or are you looking for your score? I have some goodies for sale on Etsy...Visit my shop here..

Sneak preview for the pop-up shop

Finally the opening of the pop-up shop is near, Jagna & me have been working very hard over the last weekend to get everything finished and ready.
Since I did not want to empty my Etsy shop I have made another line of amber jewelry to sell exclusively in the Pop-Up shop, did end up with putting some of the shop items in there, like my big raw Baltic bracelet which is just too unique to remake..
And here is a sneak preview of some of my new creations you can expect:

It also shows some of the diversity of Amber. Most people still associate amber with the clear honey/cognac colored plastic looking stuff. Which is beautiful and warm, agreed, but personally I go for the raw or yellow.
Also the very dark is stunning, and I find a bit harder to find than the honey/cognac.
Anyway, in the end I love it all, to touch, feel & play around with.

Come and see for yourself: from January 21 till february 25, tuesday till saturday form 11-18h (tue and thursday till 17) at the Lolly Pop-Up shop in the  Aalmoezeniersstraat 22, Antwerp.
Many other Belgian-based Artisans are present, really worth a visit: