Product Description

This is a highly illustrated how-to-do-it book. There are very few such books specifically covering non-precious material techniques, but there has been a recent increase in the creative use of non-precious materials in jewellery-making. Using a step-by-step approach, this book is an easy and accessible, but thorough, introduction to non-precious materials and techniques. Examples of appropriate techniques for each material are featured as making sequences, alongside showcased pieces from contemporary jewellers in different materials. Throughout are suggestions for taking the techniques further and developing original designs, and there is a final section of design briefs, which will show you how to complete a project. Materials covered include: rubber, resin, polypropylene, acrylic, cellulose acetate, nylon, wood, fibre, felt, cloth, paper, stone, titanium, steel, aluminium, tin, copper, leather, brass and bone. Techniques to be covered include: cutting/piercing, laser cutting, joining/fixing, gluing, drilling, colouring/dyeing, heat forming, casting, scoring and bending, laminating, vacuum forming, electroplating, finished, knitting/knotting, blocking and shaping, origami, flocking, beading and embossing. Projects will include necklaces, bangles, brooches and earrings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32208 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Review
'Discover 127 pages of thinking outside the box.'
--karenplatt.co.uk (June 2009)

About the Author
Kathie Murphy is also the author of our highly successful Jewellery Handbook: Resin Jewellery (2002, 2005). She is a well-known UK jeweller, and exhibits regularly at Origin and at Dazzle Exhibitions (which she also manages). She is on the Crafts Council list of makers. Kathie teaches at both Middlesex University and Northbrook College, Sussex, and has run a workshop at West Dean College, Sussex.

Customer Reviews

fantastic..
I just recently got this book and have been carrying it around with me like a child with a new toy its so fantastic!!lol.
These new "design & make" books are really worthwhile. This one in particular covers; Design & make briefs, suppliers, rubber, plastics, wood, paper & leather, textiles, metals and stone, bone & others....
The book is filled with wonderful images and galleries of work using these various materials in all sorts of different ways. Even if some of the work doesn't appeal to your own preferences, it all definately inspires in the use of various materials. There are also wonderful "creative ideas" tags and "tips" - which I've seen in other books before, but never like this. Some of the creative ideas side bars in this book have given me more ideas than I've had in the last few months! There are some really golden tips here!
The books chapters covers the various materials, for example the section on plastics covers acrylic, resin, polypropylene, cellulose acetate and nylon..It then breaks it down into sub sections such as, material overview, cutting and piercing, joing and fixing, forming, colouring and dying, finishes and suggestions and ideas. It does this with the whole wealth of materials that this books deals with in a way that is like projects but NOT projects - its worth mentioning that there are no projects as such in this book, but the depth of info covered on each material process is like having projects with unlimited possibilities.. I can't imagine someone not having masses of ideas simply by reading these sections - they are really good.
All in all I am very very pleased with this book and recommend it highly to those jewellers who wish to explore these things outside the realms of traditional jewellery work. My interest is using these things alongside precious metals and stones - as I'm sure lots of people like to do. So this book certainly gives you a lot to go on with a whole variety of non precious materials (which are then made precious by artists!). The back of the book has an extensive and valuable suppliers and resource section on where to find all the materials covered in the book and all for UK suppliers too - which is amazing!!
Also, at the end of this book is the "design & make brief".. This is a section where loose ideas are presented for further exploration as a starting point for creating your own work. The chapter has the following heading;
"Having played around with some of the non precious materials in this book, the following briefs have been devised to help you produce a finished piece. This is the hardest part, combining your own visual research with the knowledge gained about a material, using aspects of what you've discovered through experimentation to come up with a design, which you then have to execute.."
There are then sketches and design briefs that start the process of ideas and creation..
Really good! What more can I say - (O:

Fantastic book!!
This book is a great resource for those jewellers and students of jewellery who want to incorporate different materials into their work. It is filled with inspiring images of artists work and really handy step-by-step instructions for working with non-precious materials.
A must have for all jewellers out there!!

NOn Precious Jewllery
This is nothing I was expecting - no great stimulus in the ideas, projects not great. Had I seen this book at a store I would not have bought. Very disappointing