Carol White got into jewelry making 10 years ago when she took a beginners class at Eclectica, a glass bead store in Brookfield. She creates all types of custom-made jewelry, but especially enjoys making precious metal clay creations and even travels to home and craft shows to sell her pieces.
“I took an introductory class in precious metal clay and became addicted,” White said.
After firing, the precious metal clay becomes 99.9 percent fine silver. The product starts out as fine silver moldable clay.
“It doesn’t have a long working time, and will dry out if you don’t go in with some sort of an idea,” White said. “It’s really easy to mold and cut and you can even apply textures or kiln ready embellishments to.”
According to White, you can produce pendants, earrings, rings and virtually any type of jewelry with metal clay. The jewelry is then kiln fired so the binders burn away and the final product is jewelry made of 99.9 percent fine silver. However, if you’re looking for professionally-crafted wedding bands, you may check this site out.
“It’s really my escape from reality,” White said. “I really enjoy working with different designs and techniques. There really is no end to what you can do with that product.”
White’s jewelry production goes in spurts, she said. During the summer she spends the majority of her time focused on organic gardening, but during fall and winter she spends a lot of time working on new pieces.
Different stores are in the process of rolling out similar products that create bronze and copper pieces, White said.
She previously fired her pieces at Eclectica, 18900 W. Bluemound Road in Brookfield, but has since purchased her own kiln. She’d eventually like to do jewelry making full time, but enjoys it as a hobby right now.
“Maybe 10 years down the road I would like to do it full-time,” White said. “It is something I am so passionate about, and it really is my escape and stress reliever. It is very fun and something I really enjoy doing.”
