From start to finish – Part three

Let’s get down to business.

By this time of the commission I feel a little like the Bushman that have been trekking an Eland for days. The final strategy is in place, it’s now just having the mental strength and capacity to execute the kill.

A few weeks have gone by with the first meeting a distant memory, final designs have been chosen, quotes have been finalized and a deposit is in the bank. Manufacturing can finally start.

You might still be wondering why on earth I compared my bespoke clients and commissions to the Bushman and the Eland. I have always been inspired by the not so distant yet ancestral and historic ways of cultures across the world. I often day dream of living in an alternative reality where I am so connected to the earth and her ways that I can run an Eland into exhaustion and thank it deeply for the meat it’s about to provide for my family. Honouring the earth that sustains us. My reality is quite different but my dream world can simulate all it wants I say.

But the other beautiful reason I talk about the Bushman is because of their cave painting story telling. The documenting of crucial elements to guide and make sense and reach a desired place where their survival flourishes. Walking a road with clients, designing pieces, is very much like figuring out what the client needs one sketch at a time. Speaking through storytelling and cave paintings to get to where we want to be.

So are my clients the Eland, not really, I just wanted to compare the commitment to hunting an Eland to sustain a family to the commitment I have to bringing the best designs to life as if my life depended on it. And honestly it does, the roof over my head, the food on my table is partly thanks to you.

Would I rather be out there in the veld taking on ancient ways, yes. But enough about that for now my dream world and reality blurs.

Each commission is different, each manufacturing process too. Because I specialize in bespoke, once-off, never to be made again pieces not one commission can be treated as another. Every time a story lands up in my hands, the narrator and their story determines an individual thread, a framework so to speak. It’s imperative that each piece is manufactured with the individual it will belong to in mind. So although the basics of manufacturing applies to each process, the story determines the look and feel of the final creation.

In this case a celebration of a couples deep gratitude for having found each other and being able to do life together. And having spent a little bit of time with them I couldn’t imagine two people more suited to one another. Not an infatuation kind of love, but rather an ancient and wise love, one that has spanned lifetimes. A grounding peace between them I haven’t witnessed on many occasions. A strong surety and considerate understanding, crystal clarity and a gentle consistency. What a privilege to be witness to this type of embodiment of love.

Here are the concepts and the final pieces just to compare and put into perspective how much changes along the way. The magic lies within finding elements in the narrators (my clients) stories that can be woven into their jewellery pieces to really create jewellery uniquely suited to them. To be able to move away from just copying a design and move towards making something you’re not even sure can be done. I often jump into new jobs without having a single clue how to manufacture what I quoted for. I laugh out loud while writing this.

Both these works of art had wildly different methods to their manufacturing frameworks. I was lucky enough to work with clients who were drawn to alternative metals, designs and finishes. A couple who’s value system sits with in the value of adventuring through life together and what those rings needed to look like in order to best adventure along.

In next weeks story I share in detail each rings process and how metal is moody and needs to be treated with love and care and respect.

Stefni

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