The Latest From Seawall Creations- Copper Bracelets

 Normally I don't do a lot of fabricating in the summer but we've had a very active tourist season and I have to fill the empty spaces. So the first order of business was to use the last of my "217 Collection" copper to make more of the popular bracelets.

I ran this one through the rolling mill to create an interesting pattern while retaining some of the natural history of this historic copper.

Another one through the rolling mill with a very unusual pattern.

This one is a little different. Rather than running it through the mill to create pattern, we hammered pattern into it and then used sanding and polishing to create a very dramatic effect

And finally, another one patterned via the rolling mill.

All these bracelets have been made with copper that spent over 100 years on the roof of a house before it finally collapsed. I have tried my best to create nice looking upcycled pieces while maintaining some of the history. And when you consider that the copper started out looking like this:

that's no easy task!

Hope to see you at some point this summer when you come and discover the amazing part of Nova Scotia called Digby Neck or simply "The Neck"

One Day Closure

 On Friday, July 3, the rock shop and store will be closed for one day, all day, to allow us to drive to Halifax and pick up our daughter who will be visiting from the Bahamas. Lisa is the one responsible for hand dying our Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn so if you are a knitter or crocheter the following week would be a great time to stop by.

Hope to see you soon!

Latest Happenings at the Shop

 Well we're finally getting some decent weather and our tourist guests are starting to arrive. Since it's now warm enough to work in the rock lab, fabrication is in high gear.

The Hi-Tech 10 inch rock saw has been busy:

with some pretty cool results!

We've also made some awesome cabochons on the Cab King cabbing machine

that have become amazing pendants.

There has also been a real push to replenish our supply of the popular rock guitar picks.

Here we see a selection made from dendritic jasper, crazy lace agate, obsidian (volcanic glass) and jasper. Of course, that has meant me keeping busy hand sewing the pouches!

The store layout has been revamped and we have a lot of exciting new pieces along with a great selection of our own hand dyed yarn. So if your travels take you to Digby Neck, stop by and say hi and pick up your free souvenir of the most unique part of beautiful Nova Scotia!

We're Open!

 

As of today, May 24th, we are officially open for the season. We still have a very good selection of hand dyed yarn and many new treasures including an entirely new 217 Collection. Here's a brief preview of new pieces we will describe in a later post.

These are even nicer in person so if your travels take you to Digby Neck, make time to stop by and say hi and pick up your free gift! And don't forget our sale!

See you soon.

Stamp Collecting- A Fascinating Hobby

 Most of you that know me are aware of my interest in lapidary. But I have another life long hobby- stamp collecting. I used to collect stamps from all over the world but now I limit my pursuit to Norway- my wife's homeland. I not only collect the stamps but also interesting postmarks. Here's part of that collection.

Stamp collecting was huge in the 70's and earlier but interest has dropped dramatically in recent decades. People who thought of the hobby as an investment have been disappointed but it is still a great hobby. A few factors are accounting for a bit of a revival. The internet is connecting buyers and sellers and collectors from all over the world. Also, a lot of collections that have been dormant for years are now being inherited. 90% want to sell (if you do, don't expect a gold mine) but 10% are intrigued enough to want to keep and even expand the collection.

Stamps are fascinating little pieces of art- loaded with historical and geographical information. Some specialize in collecting stamps from countries that no longer exist! The internet has allowed me to make friends with collectors and dealers all over the world. Here are some stamps that I am sending off as a trade to a collector from the Netherlands.

Sourcing stamps is not as easy today since fewer letters are being mailed and fewer still use postage stamps. But the beauty of a market in decline is that stamps can be bought in bulk at very low prices. For instance, I sell 800 different stamps from Norway for $50 U.S. - shipping included.

Stamps, and stamp supplies can be bought from on line dealers and I want to mention a couple.

stamps_from_norway  run by a Norwegian named Per offers Norwegian stamps at very reasonable prices and shipping costs. After several transactions he has become a friend. Look him up on EBay.

Recently I met a dealer in Toronto named Don Wainwright. He is located in Toronto and he sells a lot of stamp supplies at very reasonable prices through his company- Stamp Wright. Don has an extensive background- especially in stamp publications and sells an amazing array of items. It's not easy being a stamp dealer in Canada these days. U.S. tariffs have made selling into the U.S. difficult, time consuming and expensive but if you are in Canada or the rest of the world, look him up. If you look up his store you can see his great price list.

So is stamp collecting something you might enjoy? If you have a collection sitting in a closet, get it out and have a look. Who knows? You might just get the bug again.

And if you have any questions relating to stamp collecting, drop me a line and I'll do my best to help you out.

A Very Nice Surprise

One of the reasons I have the shop is because I love meeting people. last summer a lady came by and was very interested in my technique of cutting a perimeter groove in my cabochons to do a simple wire wrap. Later she sent an email asking where to source the bits and bit size and I sent the info.

Imagine my surprise when I got an email recently that said a thank you surprise was on the way. I received a box containing an assortment of rock slab pieces and half a thunder egg! Here are just a few.

 

There were beautiful pieces of banded obsidian, agate, jasper and my favourite- mookaite and some lovely pieces of moonstone.

I can't wait to get back on my machines and make pieces with these. 

Again, to the person on the other end of the gift- thank you!

Making Viking Knit Chain

This time of the year, with all the sports on television, is the perfect time to make my Viking Knit Chain for next season. This particular piece is made from 24G half hard sterling silver wire.

First I weave it onto a metal dowel which is about as thick as my thumb.

 I try to create as few wire joins as possible so I use about 8 feet of wire at a time. For this piece the final length on the dowel was 21 cms.. When I take it off the dowel, it's wonky in spots and the chain isn't totally even.

But now I start to pass it through my hand made draw plate.

Some use metal plates but I prefer wood because there is less chance of scratching or damaging the wire. A soft wood like pine works well but the wire is strong enough to quickly damage and enlarge the holes. So I have settled on a nice piece of oak. I make two passes through each hole and for most of my bracelets and neck chains, I stop after the 7/32 inch hole.

As you can see the chain is now much longer (40 cms.) and has become much more uniform. The weaving has become "locked".

Now all that is left is to pull it against a wooden rolling pin to remove any kinks and make it nice and supple. This length will be used to make three nice women's' bracelets (one already spoken for). I'll make a few more in silver but will make more using 24G copper.

Creating this length will have taken me about 4-5 hours in total but most of that is spent in front of the TV watching sports so I don't begrudge the time.

Cheers!