All my new posts you can find now at Http://studioon98.art
Together with the posts of my companion for life Herman van Bon
My instagram is: @yvonnedewitjewelry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downtoearthanno1955
Instagram of Studio98 is: @studio98napier
Facebook Studio98: https://www.facebook.com/StudioOn98
And of course, and whenever you are in our neck of the woods, you are welcome to visit us at:
98 Sarel Cilliers Street (main road), Napier, Western Cape, South Africa.
A pair for each ear.
‘Jangle Dangle’ earrings; a classic from my collection and still selling.
Handcrafted from South African Sterling Silver combined with natural bonded earth particles.
Sterling silver combined with natural bonded earth. On display at Studio on 98 in Napier, Western Cape, South Africa.
South African Sterling Silver combined with natural bonded earth- and/or crushed rock particles. Handmade and in different sizes, colours and shapes. Each ring is unique.
From melting the Sterling Silver pellets and flattering/shaping the bars to the making of my designer jewellery is all manual work. Except for the use of a drill, a soldering iron and a polish machine my jewellery is created under my hands. No laser cuttings or production punching just working with hand tools. Most of my jewellery are single pieces or in limited series and because of the manual labour every item of a small series differ from the others.
After numerous days of Lockdown the South African government allowed businesses to order at their suppliers and so, at last, I was able to stock some Sterling Silver again. I’m working on it; first the design followed by melting the pellets into bars and shaping these into the desired elements. Next these elements are laid out and at the moment I am soldering them together. After that I pre-polish the different items and fill these with my own paste of soil-particles. The paste is derived from the sap of different plants like the Euphorbia resinifera and others. The paste binds the soil-particles but need a natural drying period of up to two weeks. The end result is frost, water and heat resistant.
Now you also understand that it does not come cheap like mass produced jewellery. My designs are original mine; that’s an extra.
Except via a few selected shops and galleries I retail directly from home (Private Gallery Napier) and at special art related markets in the Western Cape, South Africa. As soon as the borders are open I can also mail order my jewellery again to virtually any destination around the world.
After more than 50 days lockdown I was able to buy silver pellets. The first batch I have shaped in strips and these are designated for pendants and bracelets. The pictures below show a few unfinished examples. Now I have to weld them together and add the home made earth paste (soil particles combined with fluidised plant material; when dried: frost, heat and water resistant.
After more than 50 days of lockdown I can order silver again. The lockdown in South Africa effected people in a severe way; not only food parcels had/have to be distributed but also mentally damaging in the sense that normal personal contact such as handshaking, visiting friends, etc. are prohibited.
In the meantime I’ve been working with scrap material which I still had in stock. Just playing. See for yourself.
The jewellery with the flexible rings is fairly new. The ring itself is made of rubber and one size fits all. These are all unique titems.
My husband made a special portfolio for me on his portfolio website.
See for yourself and enjoy.
New series of necklace figurines in the making. South African Sterling Silver combined with natural bonded earth minerals. All own design and handmade from scratch the old fashioned way. These new figurines will be presented at the Baardskeerdersbos Art Route (18-19 April) where I am the guest artist of Amanda Isadora Jephson.
Handmade of South African Sterling silver combined with century old pure copper.
Yvonne de Wit - Jewellery Design & Art 