Things I made in College

In my days at Kendall, I majored in Industrial Design, but took classes in all types of different arts, such as photography, art education, creative story telling, and web design.

My favorite class was jewelry making.  I had so much fun and created so many wonderful things.  The class focused on mass producing jewelry in an industrial setting.  We learned about processes like laser cutting, CNC,  milling, and acid etching.  I found a few photos of my projects (taken by my professor, Phil).  These photos are from his Flickr page- all the way back from 2006!  I decided I'm still really proud of them, so I want to share them with you.

This is my tire ring.  I designed the band in CAD with the gears - all as one piece - then had a dozen or so  laser cut from stainless steel.  The rubber tires are from little monster trucks.  Many stores in Grand Rapids were searched that semester to find the perfect tire and enough to make twelve rings.  My classmates and I sent our projects to a jewelry gallery in Maryland where they were displayed for a month.  It was really cool.
(If you want one, I just posted them in my Etsy shop)
These bohemian earrings are the result of an acid etching lesson. The metal sections were created with a vinyl stencil placed on a thin sheet of metal.  The acid ate away any uncovered areas leaving intricate sections to piece together and weld.  In the center are fuses filled with colored epoxy.  Of the six pairs I made, I only have one left.  The rest were given to friends.

My owl pendant was my favorite project.  I designed the body in CAD and made several versions with different faces.  The bellies, eyes, and beaks were filled with colored epoxy and small hooks were welded to the back for a chain.

This was before owls were trendy, so I was just kind of an owl loving weirdo.  I still wear my owl pendant regularly.  The rest went to my family members as Christmas gifts that year (if you weren't already aware: I have a really big family).

One of the most difficult projects I worked on was this set of cuff links.  I made them for our wedding.  A pair went to Patrick, each of his groomsmen, and my little brother.  The wood was cut (I can't remember what type it was, but its unstained, the color you see is natural) in the milling machine with the holes for stones and the cherry blossom pattern.  The stones are emerald and peridot, Patrick's and my birth stones. The flower pattern was painted black.

This makes me want to go back to Kendall and take more jewelry classes!