Elegant Wire Jewelry: Contemporary Designs & Creative Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books) [Hardcover]

Kathy Frey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007 | Series: Lark Jewelry Books

Modern and stylish, with glittering hints of color: how can jewelry that’s so easy to make be so elegant? These fabulous pieces use basic techniques, such as bending, wrapping, and making simple spirals, along with different types of wire that range from sterling silver to gold-filled copper. Guided by numerous photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, novice crafters can create simple flat shapes, move on to wrapped silhouettes, and then smoothly produce three-dimensional forms. The projects use commercially made chain, ribbon, or cording to showcase the variety of unique, one-of-a-kind wire shapes.

A Selection of the Crafter's Choice Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At least half the fun in writing first-time crafts books must be in the naming of projects. Who could resist such appropriately titled items as Celestial Orbit, Cirque Ensemble, even the Boutons de Manchette (aka cuff links)? The subject itself is designed to seduce newcomers; after all, jewelry making is often accompanied by a fear of soldering, of the demand for technical expertise, and of expensive materials. Here, cheap nickel silver or brass wire will suffice; Chicago-based designer Frey emphasizes ease of fashioning as well as ease on wallets. All approximately 20 projects are well illustrated in terms of step-by-step visual instructions, finished photographs, and written details (including tips and variations, called "Exploring the possibilities"). The final attraction? That simple bending, twisting, straightening, and sanding are the only fundamentals to master; other techniques, from oxidizing to inserting beads, can be added as confidence grows. Jacobs, Barbara

About the Author

Kathy Frey is a professional jewelry designer with a studio in Chicago, where she lives downtown with her husband Dan and their two dogs. Kathy has been designing jewelry for more than ten years, but only recently has her business expanded to a full time endeavor. She earned a degree in graphic design from Carnegie Mellon University. You can find Kathy's jewelry at boutiques, galleries and juried art fairs across the country.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579909086
• ISBN-13: 978-1579909086
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #716,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment..., July 1, 2007

By 

Book Addict (Decatur, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elegant Wire Jewelry: Contemporary Designs & Creative Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books) (Hardcover)

I usually am quite pleased with Lark jewelry books, but this one was a disappointment. While the instructions are clear and the photographs are helpful, the projects were so very easy and there was so much repetition between the projects this book is appropriate only for people who are just beginning wire craft. Of the twenty-one projects offered in this book, there are only six discrete jewelry types. The remaining projects are near copies of each other, rendered in slightly different shapes. Even for those who are just beginning with wire, there are much better introductions to the craft, such as Mark Lareau's All Wired Up: Wire Techniques for the Beadworker and Jewelry Maker (Beadwork How-To series).

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book!, August 10, 2007

By 

Harriet L. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elegant Wire Jewelry: Contemporary Designs & Creative Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book for anyone who wants to explore jewelry design and creation! Frey's writing style is accessible and inviting and the photography is amazing. Frey tells readers who are just beginning, how to get started, complete with advice about what tools and materials to buy. She then offers a variety of projects, which will interest jewelry makers at various levels. This is an informative and inspirational book!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat repetitive, but a few good ideas, May 25, 2009

By 

Fey Ruhan "FearlessFey" (NY, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elegant Wire Jewelry: Contemporary Designs & Creative Techniques (Lark Jewelry Books) (Hardcover)

This book had a number of projects that appealed to me; I still haven't had the chance to try them out, but the instructions seem straightforward. At least one reviewer noted that there is a lot of repetition in the projects in this books, and I would have to agree, but so far I've found that that is the case with most jewelry-making books. As far as purchasing the books, I can't say if it's worth your while - I borrowed it from my local library - but there are several themes/motifs/techniques that this book shows and explains very well. There is some introductory information about supplies, tools, and basic techniques in the first part of the book- after rifling through over a dozen jewelry-making books I find this section to be unnecessary, since just about every book on the topic has a similar if not identical section, but there are a few bit of information that are especially relevant to the approach to wire-working that this book has, such as hammering and oxidizing.

One thing that baffled me about this book, was the constant mention of emery cloth or emery file; I've never heard of this tool before, though it's easy enough to figure out what they mean.

My favorite projects so far are Circque Ensemble, Hip 2 B Square Pin, Beautiful Bubbles Pin, and Captured Memories Pendant.