Steampunk Wedding Bouquet-show & tell

Just wanted to share the latest custom wedding bouquet--a steampunk bouquet with little gears, crystals, & pearls :)

Too much fun!

 The little gears came out of old-style power meters; I have used them before for jewelry, but this is the first time I''ve put them on a bouquet: love the look!

Accented with copper, white & cream pearls, & crystals in champagne & clear for lots of sparkle--I can't wait to see the wedding pics.  Also making a matching pomander for the flower girl :)

Amber

New Soldered Copper & Crystal Jewelry Creations

I just wanted to share some of the new jewelry I've been working on the past few days :)

This one is made from hammered copper that has been soldered to a crystal optic lens (thing).  I love the unique triangular shape of these pieces :)

 An old brass key with more pounded copper & crystal accents.

This one is a glass piece with copper, rhinestone, & silver baubles.  (not actually new: it was made for Boise Fashion Week 2012--just never got a good pic of it ;)

And; another BFW creation; this one is also copper wire that has been covered in silver solder.  I love the glass lens; it has a golden iridescence to it; very unique.

 Another lens, hammered copper & dragon-fire crystals; they change color from red/orange to purple/pink.

And a smaller lens accented with copper & silver crystals; they look like tiny disco balls :)

I'll be listing of these on my Etsy shop over the next few days.  If you see one you are interested in--email me at refinerii@yahoo.com :)

Amber

Trophies, Chickens, & Jewelry

Well, that's a bit of a random title, lol :)  But, that's what the last week had been...

 

I shipped off a custom trophy for the Mayor of Chicago

A mix of metals & custom acrylic plaque; I think it turned out pretty cool; it stands about 14 inches tall & will be presented to the Mayor for sustainable city initiatives.

In the Refinerii Farm Division; we added 4 new bird-brains to the Thundering Horde.

All Banties (half sized chickens), & sooo cute!  While working in the shop today, I had the big door open, watching them exploring their new surroundings.  3 tiny hens & one tiny Roo; he is the smallest of them all, lol.   I already have 2 banties in the flock & I'm hoping to have some cute little bantam chicks later this spring.   There was an add on Craigslist for bantam hens & the address was right up the street, so I couldn't resist going for a quick look: of course, I only planned on 2, maybe 3...but we came home with 4!

 

And, I've been working on some new jewelry designs---looking at doing a show in April; more details to come :)

 The last few things I have made are very Goth...blood red & black & silver; kinda a departure from my normal look, but I'm having fun :)  

And for the week to come; it's bouquet week---last week was trophies, this week is wedding bouquets--all of a sudden I have quite a few big orders...and some very different requests ; )  I have a few drying out in the shop right now that I'm pretty excited about--more pics to come.

Crossing my fingers for warmer weather this week...

Amber

New Steel Trees

Today, I received a whole grove of pretty steel trees :)

These are actually garden stakes; each tree is 3 feet tall, made from 10 gauge reclaimed steel.

The design actually came from a public art proposal I did about 2 years ago; the project never went anywhere, but I loved the look of these curly, art-nouveau inspired trees.  So, I decided to turn them into garden stakes to start with; also working on some wall panels that will feature a whole grove of different trees in contrasting metals, & some centerpieces for an event--trees in polished aluminum.

Anyway, the garden stakes are available on my Etsy shop;

http://www.etsy.com/shop/REFINERII

Enter the coupon code: Tree23 to receive free shipping (US only)

Amber

Black Friday Sale on my Etsy Shop!!

I'm having a Black Friday Sale on my Etsy shop (first time ever)!!

I just listed a bunch of new stuffs, yay :)

I'm offering 25% off everything; just enter the code BLACK7166 at checkout, & your discount will be applied :)

There is some new jewelry, garden art, & new wall pieces listed.

 Also, the discount will apply to any custom orders this weekend as well :)  If you have an old key that you want me to turn into a necklace, or an idea for a custom gift; send me a line & we will come up with something perfect :)

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Amber

 

New Work now Available on my Etsy shop :)

A few new offerings in the shop...

I'll be adding in more in the coming weeks; all can be customized & shipped anywhere :)

The Bio-Hazard; all bling-ed out with copper & polished aluminum.  17 inches in diameter & constructed with nuts, bolts, & spacers for a 3 dimensional effect.

The perfect apocalypse accent for your decor; hang inside or out; looks great in the shop, on a fence, on a building, etc: I have one on the chicken coup :)  One of my fav. recent creations ; )

"Twilight" (mini edition)  This one is only about 13 inches tall; very tiny for me! But, so cute; I love it; it's hanging in my tiny living room at the moment.  Steel, copper, & polished aluminum

"Meteor" (mini)   Another small version of a larger original design--this one is about 20" at the widest point.  Steel, copper, brass, & polished aluminum.

And, the Nuclear with bling :)  Also 17 inches in diameter made from steel, copper, & polished aluminum.

More to come; I have a stack of little pieces out in the shop to put together :)

These are all available on my Etsy shop at 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/REFINERII

Happy Friday!

Amber

New Jewelry on the Etsy Shop

The "Ice Queen" Set; necklace, earrings, & matching tiara: as seen at Boise Fashion Week :)

 Aluminum, copper, & sparkling crystals; sooo different!  Adjustable length necklace with dangle-fishhook style earrings & a tiara with a silver hair-comb.

A one-of-a-kind set:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107561206/crystal-ice-queen-set-necklace-earrings

And...one of my favs (I love copper & purple is my fav color)

Created from almost all up-cycled industrial parts & pieces....

The big copper pieces are spent plasma-torch part; some of them has such a cool discoloration from the heat: it makes them even better!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107564156/upcycled-copper-hardware-necklace-and

This set looked soooo great on the runway at Fashion Week; 

colorful & sparkling under the lights; I bet no-one even suspected it was made from mostly recycled parts & pieces, lol :)

Feminine, strong, industrial & pretty... love it!!

Thanks so much to Bourgeois Chic for letting me go wild with crazy new jewelry for the runway shows.  Also, thanks to Aubry Brower, Moz Couture, Nena Earl, Jim Reidenbaugh, Megan Wright  & Laurie Anne's Creations for the amazing photos!

Amber

New Hair Accessories: coming soon :)

I made these hair clips for the the Bourgeois Chic Fashion Show a couple weeks ago: love them!  I just wanted to share: I'll be working on more designs to list on the shop soon :)

Salvaged copper wire that was pounded into shape with a hammer (good for taking out your frustrations ;) and old key, & feather accents.  The key & copper are soldered to the large silver hair clip.

this is the back of one : )  Perfect for an up-do or just clipped into long hair...

Another; with big, long pheasant feathers; too much fun!

And, I couldn't resist adding some sparkling crystals to this one... :)

These will be seen on the runway at Boise Fashion Week--details coming soon.  Also to be seen: copper tiaras, more feathers, & some new big necklaces: will post pics soon!

Look for all these soon on my Etsy shop; and see the in person at upcoming events: check the events page for the list: it's going to be a busy summer!!

Amber

New Colored Metal Wedding Bouquets

Just back from the powder-coater: alternative bouquets in color!

This was a special request from a bride; she wanted blue & black with silver accents, so I took out 5 plain aluminum bouquets & told the powder-coat guys to experiment: they gave me 3 options for the blue/black & then got creative with the others :)  

Of course they would do a BSU themed color scheme, lol :)  

This is my fav of the silver/blue/black colors :)

I was so impressed: they even added an overlay of metal-flake (aka sparkles) for the finishing touch :)

To be honest; I was pretty hesitant to get into colors: as I prefer the look of the real metal, but I must admit; the color options are a lot of fun.  And I'm comfortable with the powder-coat finish as it's super durable: not going to flake off or fade like a spraypaint would: I know the colors will last for years & years :)

I'll definitely be offering the option from now on; would love to see a candy-apple red, or lime green/turquoise!!

Just wanted to share :)  These are available on my Etsy shop; click the shop page above to see :)

Amber

"Pipe Bracelets" Just listed on Etsy :)

The "pipe bracelets" from the Bourgeois Chic collection are up on my Etsy shop :)

Actually, these are made from recycled aluminum canisters that I cut apart & clean, sand, polish, & finish to a shine....but the pipe bracelet name stuck :)

A set of 3 in various sizes for $55

They are super lightweight & fun to wear; sized to fit easily over an average sized hand & stay in place: if you are petite (like my Mom) they slip off too easily.  Options for split ring/adjustable sizes coming soon :)

You can also see these in person on the runway at the next RAW show in June: the 21st at the Powerhouse in Boise.  Tickets are on sale now: www.rawartists.org

I will be introducing a whole series of new industrial-chic jewelry & accessories as part of the Bourgeois Chic show :) And I'll have my usual assortment of industrial hardware & steampunk jewels on sale too...

Hope to see you at the show :)

Amber

New Necklace :)

Just listed on my Etsy shop...

A mini digital painting to wear :)  If the image looks familiar: yes, it's a self portrait that ended up on the Carnevale posters last year ;)

I made a few of these up awhile back & have worn them a few times; always receiving comments; in the grocery store, bank, etc, lol.  It's always fun to tell strangers about what I do for a living :)

I like this side a lot, but turn it over & it's even more fun: the back reads: Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History.   I've always loved that quote :)

The necklace comes as a set with matching earrings in lovely shades of green.  Super sparkly, lightweight, & fun to wear---just had to share!    You can purchase the set on my Etsy shop at:

Refinerii Shop

I'll also be making up lots more for the RAW show in June,  Boise Fashion Week,  Art in the Park, Carnevale, & whatever else comes along :)    Also working on some new designs for these funky little paintings: always interested in custom work if you have a photo you would like to turn into a necklace :)

Amber

Featured today on Idaho Etsy Team Blog :)

Featured Seller - Refinerii

Say hello to the Idaho Etsy Team's featured seller of the week, Refinerii! Read on to learn more about Amber and get a sneak peak into her shop!

You can also find her at www.refinerii.com 

(click on any photo to take you directly to the listing so you can learn more about the item!)

What is your shop name and what is the significance?

Refinerii. The inspiration is industrial refineries- I love anything industrial- but of course I had to spell it different :)

 

What do you love about Idaho?

I love the lifestyle here. I live in Boise- it's big enough to have all the city conveniences, but I can drive 45 minutes & be in the hills.  

Name one thing you would suggest people do when they come to visit the state?

Float the river in Boise.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.

I have 3 cats & 8 chickens & plan on getting 4 ducks this spring...

What do you do to relax?

Garden, read, watch movies with my sweetheart, do lunch with my mom: we love to try any new place that pops up.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

Paris; and when I got tired of it, would take the train over the mountains into Italy.

Currently, what is your favorite shop item?

Hmmmm: I just listed my custom metal trophies--they are fun & unique: so my fav right now.

How did you become interested in your craft?

I've always been crafty/artsy: have always wanted to run my own biz, so about 6 years ago I just made it happen :)

What do you enjoy about the creative process?

I enjoy coming up with new ideas, problem solving, & the challenges of making new things.

Any suggestions for those interested in selling their handmade items or vintage finds?

Do it!  Its fun & a great way to earn a little cash or turn it into a full time biz, if you want to.

Thank you Amber for taking the time to let us get to know you a bit better! I highly encourage you to check out Amber's shop HERE to see more!

This post was created by PhDstressrelief.

 

 

thanks so much for the write up!!  

Check out the Idaho Etsy Team Blog here:

Amber