MeritMade Stories - Nick

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What is your MeritMade story?
I commissioned a beautiful bracelet for my wife, Christina, to commemorate our 11th anniversary.

Why did you choose to work with MeritMade?
Because the owner is a badass

How does working with MeritMade compare to buying jewelry in the past?
A way, way, way, better experience. I hate buying jewelry because budget immediately segregates you in a jeweler's eyes.

If you could get another piece of MeritMade jewelry for free, what would you want?
Man Jewelry.

What is the best movie quote ever, and what movie is it from?
"Shitter's full" - Cousin Eddie, National Lampoon's X-mas Vacation.

Anything else you would like to add?
I love MeritMade!

-Nick

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Maker's Notes

I loved making this cuff.  Nick gave me creative freedom and I just ran with it.  The main stone is Crazy Lace Agate from Pilbara, Australia and it pretty much sums up Christina's personality perfectly. 

Crazy Lace Agate is called the Laughter Stone, or "Happy Lace." It is associated with sunny Mexican fiestas and dancing.  It brings joy to those who wear it. It is not a stone of protection, but instead of support and encouragement, elevating thoughts and promoting optimism. 

Each piece of this bracelet was fabricated and created by hand.  The brass details used as a subtle but functional embellishment were designed and hand cut to resemble a stylized and whimsical fern leaf.  The bracelet can be adjusted to fit by slightly bending the band. It easily opens and closes using a gentle squeeze releasing the hook and latch mechanism. 

-Kelly

MeritMade Commentaries - NOT THIS YEAR!!

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Oh no it’s already AUGUST! Holy moly where has the summer gone? Our thoughts are shifting towards fall and back to school. The hot summer days are numbered. For me this means that I have to start thinking about DUN DUN DUUUUN!!!, the holiday.

As someone who ultimately produces goods to sell, the holiday season is one of the most productive and crazy times of year. Jewelry is a popular gift item, and I would be a moron not to have jewelry made and accessible to the buyer. Yep, that is you! I remember last year, I spent every night at the studio. I didn’t have a plan. All I knew is that if I could just keep making stuff, I would be OK. By the end of it, I was completely burnt out.

Looking back, I’m glad I worked that hard, but did it really need to be so stressful. I could have genuinely benefited from a goal and furthermore a plan to reach that goal. For those of you who know me personally, you know that goals and plans are probably two of my biggest weaknesses. I’d rather fly by the seat of my pants. See where the wind takes me. You know, live life as an adventure! The unknown/unplanned, although fun, is just not going to cut it this year! So I'm going to do it. I'm going to go against all of my internal being and I am creating a plan! And dangit, I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

The first step of the plan is to make myself and my work more available. I refuse to start an etsy and drown in the sea of terrible jewelry, so that is out of the question. Facebook for business doesn't seem to be all that good at showing you my content unless I pay for it. Followers on instagram are awesome, but it's essentially useless if you want to post a link. So I'm taking matters into my own hands. I want to build up my mailing list. I want to supply to you all good content. I want for members of my mailing list to get the first chance to buy something, before anyone else. To be able to purchase a unique one of a kind piece of jewelry that will last a lifetime. I'm even considering making a members exclusive line. I want for shopping and working with me to be as easy, awesome and fabulous as possible.

xo, meritmade 

MeritMade Lessons - How did you make that?

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He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.
― Francis of Assisi

I'm often asked how I make my jewelry. How do you get the stone to stay there? What is that made of? How did you make that ring band a perfect circle?

I love these questions. It gives me an opportunity to talk about why I love what I do, and what makes it special. Like any good craft you are not an expert overnight. Actually you are never an expert, there is always something new to learn or try, but to become good, it takes training and LOTS of practice.  

When you look at my jewelry none of this training or practice is evident. Dirty hands, gross chemicals, hammers, files, technique, etc. all of that happens behind the scenes, but it is a very important part of the process. If you know how I make something, then you can appreciate the effort that is required. In an attempt to show part of this process, I recently made a few videos. 

This is just a small part of the process, but I really enjoyed making these. I hope you enjoyed watching them because I plan to show you even more in the future.

xo, Kelly

P.S. Are there any requests? What things are you interested in seeing me do?

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Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.

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The Impressive Clergyman: "Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam... And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva..." -  Princess Bride

What a wonderful honor it is to get to work on wedding rings. This is probably the most important piece of jewelry that you may everown, and there are so many options out there: chain jewelry stores, local jewelry stores, vintage, etsy, etc. Being asked to make wedding rings is a true test of trust. These people are forgoing all the other options and asking you to create something that represents and symbolizes them. 

Regardless of trend or what jewelry is in fashion, these rings will get worn everyday with everything. This requires that the rings be well-crafted and durable. Not only that, but the design must evoke both the individuals and couples personality while still maintaining a sense of timelessness and tradition. 

I really love working with clients to create and design what makes the most sense for them. Everything I make is crafted from scratch by hand. What I make is not perfect. It wasn't made by a machine. It was made by me, and I couldn't be happier to share a small piece of me to create something as meaningful as wedding rings.

Check out more custom work in my Portfolio or drop me a line, kelly@meritmadekc.com.

xo, Kelly

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