Tools

Originally I began making jewelry around 1995 when my brother Tony gave me a pair of clay earrings he had made.

My first thought was how unique they were in clay colors, orange and green, all swirled around together. He embedded a gold sphere in the center of the earring and there were three four inch posts of hand made rolled beads dropping from each one. I put them away for safe keeping or I would add a picture of them.

But, they were the inspiration that caused me to go out and get some Sculpy clay and then start to hand roll my own beads. I loved mixing various colors and creating unique patterns.

When I tried to use tweezers and pliers to form the findings, they were very crude and not done well enough to sell. I went into one of the bead stores in Berkeley and asked the store owner what he would recommend. I came out with about $60 in tools.

They made all the difference in the world. I had pliers that had round tongs so I could roll the wire to make the circular ends to hang one off another.

I had so much fun arranging the beads, rolling beads, and making unique combinations so that no two pairs of earring were the same.

The key to making it easier is using tools that are designed specifically for jewelry making.