Category: Blog

A collection of literature and text about woodworking, glasswork, welding, jewelry making, metal fabrication, and much more…

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My wife, my inspiration, @alissa_barnes35 showing off the newest addition to her jewelry collection. Jewelry making was actually her dream. She came to me one morning and said, “I had a dream that I should be making jewelry”. The next day, she had me search for a lapidary saw, but wow, they were expensive! I managed to find an old Lortone combo unit that didn’t have a motor. With my previous knowledge as a journeyman millwright, I was able to fabricate a bracket, retrofit an old swamp cooler motor, and install an on/off switch , as well as a gravity fed cooling system for the wheels. She bought a small butane torch and all the things she needed to make jewelry. She realized the learning curve right away. In my efforts to help her, I decided make a few things with my previous metal fabrication knowledge, which dates back to my early teens. We both decided that because she was pregnant with our first child, that she shouldn’t be working with chemicals and exposure to soldering exhaust. My failing woodworking and welding business, @thestrangegrain was going nowhere, so I decided to try to sell some of the jewelry I made from my in-laws brass bed and some rocks that I found in the mountains and ground and polished. Super surprised, I had got a sale and kept doing it. We decided to have another child to keep them close in age, but she’s ready to do her thing now. Her designs are always super cool. Give her a follow @alissa_barnes35 #strangegrain #phillymay #bohojewelry

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