Every girl has a special relationship with her hairdresser and I'm no exception. Mine has been doing my hair for 20+ years and in that time our relationship has become way more than that of  hairdresser/client - each salon visit is like visiting an old friend. Her work wardrobe consists of a lot of black - black shirts and blouses, black pants, black skirts, black dresses - it's mandatory workwear in the salon. But the one place she can add her own style is in her jewellery and accessories. When I visited her this week she told me she had somehow managed to get one of her newest necklaces wrapped around the handle of her shopping trolly and with one almight tug, it broke into about 20 pieces. She was devastated because it was one that many clients had commented on. I told her not to fret and that it was something I could easily fix for her. So she bundled it all into a ziplock bag and I brought it home with me. Luckily, the rosary chain loops in this piece are made of a pliable......

In my last Jewellery Know How post I showed you one of the common reasons why jewellery falls apart. Today I'm going to show you another one - poorly formed or poorly closed eye pin loops. If you're a jewellery maker, then learning how to form a loop will be a mainstay of your jewellery making skills. Mastering this technique will ensure your jewellery is strong and secure. There are a few different ways to make eye loops but today I'm going to show you the method I use and the two slightly different loop shapes it will give you. Buy yourself a spool of inexpensive, 20 gauge copper wire so that you can practice without ruining all your eye and head pins whilst you're perfecting your loops. Copper wire is soft and malleable which will make practising easy. Avoid hard wires like steel as they can be difficult to work with. You can use 22 gauge wire if you have it on hand. Here's what you'll need: Soft 20 gauge wire Flat nose pliers or Chain nose pliers Round nose......

If you've ever experienced that dreadful moment when your store bought jewellery has fallen apart and beads have scattered across the floor, then today's post is just for you. Let's take a look at the humble jump ring and how a simple trick will help you make (or repair!) jewellery so that it doesn't fall apart. But firstly, what's the most common reason that jewellery falls apart? Well, it's often a poorly closed jump ring! Jump rings hold your jewellery together so it makes sense to pay special attention to them. When you purchase round jump rings, they need to be, well...... round!  Mis-shapen jump rings will not close tightly and therefore won't make your jewellery secure. So you need to find a good supplier.  And you might need to pay a little more for them. I usually use Beadalon jump rings because I've found them to be consistently round-shaped. Another option is to make your own. You can see how to do that here . How to Open and Close Jump Rings......

It's jewellery repair day and I wanted to share a piece I've been working on today, not because it's a great repair job but because it's such a cool necklace! It features a selection of really BIG wooden safari animal beads making it a fun necklace that really grabs your attention. Originally, it was strung on fishing line but it had unravelled in parts and a few of the round wooden beads were lost but other than that, it's in great condition. One strand of this double-stranded necklace has broken and some of the beads have been lost. There was little hope of matching those missing beads so it was just a matter of replacing them with a few beads from the back of the necklace where they won't be missed at all. It's a very straight forward stringing repair. I've been able to re-use all the findings but I replaced the fishing line with two strands of Fireline to make it really durable and strong. The two strands are actually part of the design too. I'm ......

Got broken jewellery? If anyone mentions that they have a piece they no longer wear because it's broken I usually jump in feet first and offer my jewellery making skills to fix it for them. I love doing it but I'm a sucker for punishment! I never think to ask questions like "Do you have all the components?" or What is it made from and how old is it?" or other important questions such as "Is it valuable, sentimental or a favourite piece that you can't bear to throw away?" Those questions invariably come later when I run into problems putting it together. It usually results in me sitting on the piece for weeks/months before I decide to tackle it again. That was the case with this one - it is missing 4 black pearls and 2 peach pearls and it is also showing signs of wear on the gold spacer beads. Broken double-stranded freshwater pearl necklace held together with a fraying knot Matching the pretty peach-coloured freshwater pearls was difficult and in th......