artist statement again

I was surrounded by collections as a child. The primary colors of the
old fiestaware in the kitchen, the muted tones of the antique oil
paintings in our living room, the colors and textures of vintage rugs
and fabric. All of these things formed within me a love of design.
From my first childlike trophies of bottle caps came a career in
professional jewelry design.

My favorite style component is to make metal appear as liquid or
ribbon creating a sense of movement beside the quiet nature of a
stone. This procedure assures that the beginnings of my jewelry are
rooted in natural materials; metal, stones and fossils.

Jewelers must be extremely sensitive to quality. At the same time we
are asked to be tougher than the metal in our hands. The rules are
not as one would expect. Mere strength does not master metal.
Training, patience and an understanding of chemistry is the path to
metalsmithing and jewelry making. I have traveled this path for
almost ten years.

While I am inspired by natural materials, I transform them into my own
style derived from an eclectic mix of modern fashion, 1930's glamor,
art deco and abstract expressionism. The resulting works are hard to
place in time. They seem modern and antique, still yet moving. My hope
is all who wear Layne Designs feel a sense of freedom, a sense of
history and a connection to the natural. These are wonderful
qualities in heirloom jewelry, a treasure to be passed from generation
to generation.

artist statement again

I was surrounded by collections as a child. The primary colors of the
old fiestaware in the kitchen, the muted tones of the antique oil
paintings in our living room, the colors and textures of vintage rugs
and fabric. All of these things formed within me a love of design.
From my first childlike trophies of bottle caps came a career in
professional jewelry design.

My favorite style component is to make metal appear as liquid or
ribbon creating a sense of movement beside the quiet nature of a
stone. This procedure assures that the beginnings of my jewelry are
rooted in natural materials; metal, stones and fossils.

Jewelers must be extremely sensitive to quality. At the same time we
are asked to be tougher than the metal in our hands. The rules are
not as one would expect. Mere strength does not master metal.
Training, patience and an understanding of chemistry is the path to
metalsmithing and jewelry making. I have traveled this path for
almost ten years.

While I am inspired by natural materials, I transform them into my own
style derived from an eclectic mix of modern fashion, 1930's glamor,
art deco and abstract expressionism. The resulting works are hard to
place in time. They seem modern and antique, still yet moving. My hope
is all who wear Layne Designs feel a sense of freedom, a sense of
history and a connection to the natural. These are wonderful
qualities in heirloom jewelry, a treasure to be passed from generation
to generation.

artist statement in progress

Input is appreciated...I've been working on this for ages!
_______________________
I was surrounded by collections as a child. The primary colors of the old fiestaware in the kitchen, the muted tones of the antique oil paintings in our living room, the colors and textures of vintage rugs and fabric. All of these things formed within me a love of design. From my first childlike trophies of bottle caps came a career in professional jewelry design.

My favorite style component is to make metal appear as liquid or ribbon creating a sense of movement beside the quiet nature of a stone. This procedure assures that the beginnings of my jewelry are rooted in natural materials; metal, stones and fossils.

Jewelers must be extremely sensitive to quality. At the same time we are asked to be tougher than the metal in our hands. The rules are not as one would expect. Mere strength does not master metal. Training, patience and an understanding of chemistry is the path to metalsmithing and jewelry making. I have traveled this path for almost ten years.

While I am inspired by natural materials, I transform them into my own style derived from an eclectic mix of modern fashion, 1930's glamor, art deco and abstract expressionism. The resulting works are hard to place in time. They seem modern and antique, still yet moving. My hope is all who wear Layne Designs feel a sense of freedom, a sense of history and a connection to the natural. These are wonderful qualities in heirloom jewelry, a treasure to be passed from generation to generation.

New work from Spot On Designs

As the jeweler and setter for glass murrini artist, Penny Rakov, I create handmade settings to fit beautiful glass pattern slices. The murrini of Spot on Designs (by Penny Rakov) is carefully and painstakingly crafted to create a miniature world of detail and wonder. It is pulled by hand in a hot glass shop using traditional hot glass technique. The work and detail achieved is on a different level entirely from lampworked glass which is more commonly seen in jewelry. These patterns are thoroughly considered in terms of color, composition and complexity. They are then set in sterling silver and 14k gold. The final result is a quality, standout piece of jewelry that will last a lifetime.
Here is an album of our latest work:
Penny's Latest Photos

Here is Spot on at Etsy:
Spot on

Caring for your jewelry

It's a little known fact that you can clean your silver jewelry perfectly with a simple solution called Tarnex available at most hardware/home improvement stores. Tarnex smells bad and is too harsh of a chemical to be used around pearls, amber and other soft organic jewelry materials. However it does not effect harder gemstones like topaz, garnet, etc...,
Simply pour a little tarnex in a glass container, dip the silver jewelry in and rinse with water. the tarnish should be removed instantly. For a deep clean, brush with toothbrush and soapy water after Tarnex.

Here Goes

Alright.

It's finally here.

The long awaited blog from Layne Deigns.