Chainmaille and Fused Glass For those that follow my fused glass blogs and newsletters know I’ve been touting the amazing chainmaille created by Stephanie, in fact my daughter and I bought two pairs last weekend. First a little background.
According to wikipedia, Chainmaille (i.e., chainmail or maille) is jewelry or armor made by connecting metal rings together in a pattern to form a mesh. The word maille is derived from the French word maille (mesh), which is derived comes from Latin macula (mesh of a net). Creating chainmaille involves making or buying jump rings and linking the rings into a pattern. Chainmaille is one of the earliest forms of metal armor. The oldest piece of maille armor is more than 2,700 years old was discovered in Celtic warriors graves. Earlier evidence of chainmaille has been found in graves from the 5th century BC between Europe and Asia. In addition to historical chainmaille is armor, jewelry techniques were also used by various cultures including Vikings and Egyptians. It is difficult to trace the history of chainmaille, because much of it was destroyed in battle. Many pieces that survive today are high-quality pieces passed on from generation to generation.
Technically Stephanie is my third encounter with chainmaille. The first time I took a class years ago from a talented gentlemen however, my fingers and hands got so cramped opening and closing jump rings that I realized pretty quickly it was too difficult for my old hands.
Then during the Rampart Craft Fair, I met a wonderful young lady who bought several of my pendants to put with her chainmaille. I had her make a necklace for one of my fused glass pendants for me. It is lovely however sadly she was not local so it was not very convenient for us to work together.
Then at the Palmer craft fair, I met Stephanie. My daughter, Madi, went shopping and she came back with a bracelet, a pendant, and a pair of earrings. She said, Mom you have to meet this chainmaille lady she has great jewelry. I was extremely busy on Saturday so I was not able to visit her until Sunday Madi said it again so I went over to Stephanie’s table and I just fell in love with her chainmaille! Her chainmaille is so colorful and reasonably priced for all the time that goes into making each piece. So, I asked her if we could work together she came over to my table and fell in love with my fused glass. It was a great pairing for both of us.
Starting in January, Stephanie got my fused glass in GreenSoul in Old Colorado City and Boulder Street Gallery. In February, she opened her store (SMC Designs) with her chainmaille and my fused glass. Needless to say my daughter constantly reminds me it’s all due to her! So that’s three locations and you can read all about them on Elegant Fused Glass by Karen, under locations
Then this past weekend Stephanie was able to make three chainmaille weaves for me. The weave is the pattern of the necklace. The great thing about chainmaille necklace is the pendant can be change out relatively easy with a couple of jewelry pliers. There are two very elegant chainmaille weaves created from both split rings and silver-plated jump rings (this weave only comes in silver). For the weave to lie properly on your neck they have to be chokers and are 15 inches long. I paired these elegant chainmaille weaves with medium sized red and white dichroic fused glass pendant. I have a second one of these so let me know if you would like another color pendant. As I mentioned the weave only comes in silver albeit the fused glass pendant can be changed. If you have any questions please let me know.
The blue and black chainmaille weave (16 inches long) is paired with a black and white fused glass pendant . This is a pretty thick weave but it’s not heavy since it is a choker length. One great point about this chainmaille weave is the length and colors can be modified in addition to the fused glass pendant. If you have any questions please let me know.
The black and silver chainmaille weave is paired it with a red, black, and dichroic fused glass pendant. This is a beautiful combination albeit you can request either a different fused glass pendant. Additionally, the colors of the weave can also be modified. This weave is light and is a choker length (16 inches), however this one can be lengthened. If you have any questions please let me know.
Obviously, I love combining fused glass and chainmaille, so check them out and let me know what you think. If you would like one of these beautiful fused glass and chainmaille combinations please let me know as they are not on my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen site yet. Remember the pendant can be changed out and the color of the chainmaille can be change (other than the first one).
Keeping my kiln warm,
Karen
