Sunday, September 28, 2008
For quite a while I 've had the earrings on the right listed in my Etsy shop.
They're a spiral that spirals in on itself. You may wonder how to put them on, but it's really easy: you just put the short end in your ear's earring hole, then use a corkscrew-like motion to thread them in. (Believe me, you never worry about accidentally losing these babies.)
It took me a while to figure out how to make them, they're still a pain to make, but they are just SO COOL. To me they look like a double helix. You know, the structure of DNA.
A friend of mine really wants a pair for her daughter as a Christmas present. (Yes, CHRISTMAS. Can you believe it!) Her daughter has a background in science and thought that she would really like them. But she wanted me to attach a gemstone to them.
I tried and I tried, but I couldn't quite get the design right. I sat there and played with wire and suddenly this materialized:
You see, it's no longer a double helix, it's just a single spiral encircling a stone. I guess you could call it an RNA strand with an amethyst. (Hey, how many science geeks are out there that know what I'm talking about!)
It's not what my friend had in mind at all, but I really like them. They're definitely unusual.
I'm calling these my Whirlygig Earrings.
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just got inspired by a blog i read with that word haha
lol
Found you through Etsy:
urbanbasement.etsy.com
Thanks. The double helix earrings aren't that easy to make. Because I'm OCD, I make sure that each is a mirror image of the other - the turns have to match up exactly.
They used to take me forever to make, but I've gotten a little quicker at it.
Thanks for your comment on my blog!
Well the amethyst earrings ended up selling almost immediately - I was really amazed!
They were really prototypes - I only made one pair to see how they might do. After they sold, of course I immediately made another pair and listed them in my shop again!
:-)