Categories: Jewelry & FashionSectionsWomen

Sizzle with Ra’Dazzle

Spirally wrapped wire encases this bead. Note the clean finish of Ra’Dazzles work

Sometimes two heads are better than one. And that’s what happened in the case of the Ra’Dazzle gals, Rachna and Anjana. Their common interest in trying out jewelry making as a hobby led to them teaming up under the brand name Ra’Dazzle, jewelry created mainly from wire (by Rachna) and crochet (by Anjana).

The gals have been working together for six years now, but like many of the artisans, they have been separately involved in their own handcraft and artistic journey in the areas of crochet, knitting and card making.

Closeup of Rachna’s wire work piece to show how neatly she has finished the wire wrapping piece.

Neatly tucked wire edges are very important in ensuring the customer is not harmed or scratched when wearing the piece. Rachna’s advice

Rachna says, “The process of creating something, from scratch, with your hands is pure joy. For me, crafting is similar to meditation – complete focus on the craft, while forgetting about everything that’s happening around (the good or the bad)!”

Rachna’s work involves a lot of wire wrapping work as be seen from the photos in this blog post. We asked her what are some of the pointers that she would like to share with us, considering that working with wire can be risky if the sharp ends are not neatly tucked away into the piece (among other risks).

Add some Ra’Dazzle Sparkle to your ears.

Few pointers Rachna:

Practice wire work on copper or craft wire initially as they’re a lot cheaper compared to sterling silver and gold-filled wires. You won’t feel guilty of throwing away all those trial pieces.
Always file the ends of your wire work (after using a flush cutter) – you wouldn’t want the ends poking the customer wearing your jewellery.

Photo by Ra’Dazzle indicates lots of jump ring work, similar to chain maille.

Close up of the piece that involves using multiple jump rings. See pointers about using jump rings in your work.

Invest in a nylon jaw chain nose pliers – this will prevent marks on your wire work and it is also good to straighten wire.
Make sure you close your jump rings properly.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different wire gauges, shapes and hardness.
Lots of patience is required

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