Hey there everyone!

So, I realize I am the least reliable blogger on earth, which is why I have launched a new website! YAY!!!!!

My new website is www.eringriffinsilversmith.com.

Here you will be able to see all of my completed collections, also my custom made "dog tags" and there is a shopping cart set up to meet all of your holiday needs! Yay! I am so excited for this day. It has been so much work and a long time coming. Please feel free to leave me comments via my website if you have any questions or concerns regarding the design or functionality. For now, the blog is coming down, so as not to confuse people. Thank you so much for keeping up with me and please tell all of your friends about the new site!

Love, Erin

Here is a sampling of some commission pieces I did over the holidays. Again, everything is hand fabricated from sterling silver, except for the actual chain on the necklace. I am still working on putting together some new pieces for my men's collection, so stay posted!

This necklace is a pendant that is actually an urn. The body of the piece has been domed in front and angled in the back to resemble the feeling of a worry stone. Inside are the ashes of a loved one and the tab in front is a permanent fixture that keeps the ashes safely inside. It has been textured from the forming process and retains the discoloration partially from the heating process and partially from a patina added after the fact.

This is a bracelet I made as well. Each link is hand drawn silver, formed and then soldered together. They are all shaped a little differently to make it more visually interesting than just a simple chain bracelet. There is also a star charm added at the closure end for fun. This piece has been hammered to death to give it texture and strength. Some links have a patina to emphasize the texture, others are polished to a bright silver to catch the light.

This was my very first belt buckle! Thanks to Celia Grey (www.buncombebuckles.com), I was able to get all of the measurements and weights right so it not only would be good looking, but functional too! This piece has three layers stacked on top of one another to build depth, as well as the texturing and grid like markings. It is soldered together, but I added rivets because I think rivets are always cool. They have a great mechanical, old world quality about them....to me. The form was great fun to design, but the real challenge was the functional elements on the back. All in all, I think it turned out great and I look forward to making another one.

That is all for now, but I have a lot of new stuff to show you, so don't be disappointed yet! I am trying to do a better job of describing the pieces, and not just showing you pictures. Hopefully that is something you all will like and it will encourage you to check back in more often! Also, I am thinking about joining the rest of the world on face book, so I will go ahead and tell you now.....I am going to ask you to be my friend!

I know I have mentioned before that I am working on Tie Clips as part of my new men's line. Well, I don't have pictures of many, but I did want to post the one I made for my friend Stephen. He works in the service industry with me and so many of my friends. When he started a blog that's sole purpose was to be a place for like minded service industry folk and customers to tell funny stories about their experiences, I thought it was a great idea. Not to mention, he named it after the one and only commonality with servers nationwide, the desire for 20%. So, I made him a tie clip in honor of his efforts to commiserate with the rest of us. Please follow his blog, he is really funny and you may find yourself relating to more stories than you think!

http://www.stevie-20percent.blogspot.com/

I just wanted to post some pictures of some womens prototypes that I have been working on as well. For the most part these pieces have been designed without clasps, so they fit over the head, creating very long necklaces with lots of movement. I am hoping to have some of this work in stores for the holidays, so keep your eyes peeled, if you are in the Carrboro area....

Again, my apologies for the photography....but it's a blog, right?

Detail

Slip Necklace - Weights

Slip Necklace - Circles

Slip Necklace - Teardrop

Slip Necklace - Tie Catch

Slip Necklace - XO

This piece is the beginning of a series of gold and sterling necklaces. The gold is burnished onto the silver with heat. This particular piece has been given a hammered texture and the cupped so that each layer is nestled into each other. I will be posting more pictures of the pieces from this line soon.

Kuemboo Necklace - Oyster Shell

Here are some pictures of my studio. It is a modest space, but jewellers don't need much! It kinda spills over into my bedroom too, but I feel so fortunate to have a studio of my own that it is no problem for me!

Thanks for checking back in. I wanted to post some pictures of my new ideas for a mens line. Also, I have included a couple of pictures of my house where my studio is. I wanted to show you pictures of my studio, but this computer is very slow and I am late for work! So, I will post those next time. Below are some pictures and loads of misspelled words for your entertainment. Enjoy!

These are some leather and silver bracelet prototypes I made for the mens line. They are pretty straightforward, but comfortable and people seem to like them. I also have some mens rings and tie clips that I am working on which I will also post very soon.

So here are a few more pictures of some belt clip prototypes. I apologize because the last two are sideways.....yes, I really am doing the best I can with the computer. Sad, I know. At some point I will post a picture of a belt clip with the actual clasp that I make with them for your keys to hang from.

Belt Clip Woodgrain

Belt Clip Ladder

Belt Clip Bars

Belt Clip Silver and Brass

Belt Clip Textured Wire