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Milomade
18-02-2010, 06:12 PM
Hey All

I've been collecting Silver spoons for a while now as some of you know and making rings from them. I'm about to start listing them in my online shop and also supplying them to other online retailers to sell on my behalf - I'm having trouble coming up with names for them though so seeking advice.

How do you guys come up with names for your pieces / collections?

Basically when I sell a spoon ring - each ring comes with it's own little history based on it's hallmarks which tell me who made the spoon, where it was made and in which year - so that's great and add's a romantic historic heirloom touch to each piece.

I know that all flatware patterns have a name but I've searched and searched online for weeks on end trying to find the names of the patterns I've collected and not had much luck - I thought the pattern name would be good to use, but some are very easy to find and very common, but I seem to have accumulated some rarities that are just not listed anywhere online.

I don't want to list them as Spoon Ring Number 1 if you know what I mean, but I just don't know how else to name them. Wondered if any of you creative, romantic folk out there could offer some help and advice. Maybe I should just picks names at random based on latin flower names or architecural details - something vague enough.

Here are some of the one's I'm needing names for:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4368624676_5420e9f645.jpg
I think this one is some sort of Venetian pattern - it's got tiny little fishes going round the circle and is very ornate.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4368624030_976ac58199.jpg
This shape is dog nose apparently.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4368623732_a5cb22f5b4.jpg
This one has beautiful swirly, almost paisley like patterns all the way round - maybe I should call it paisley?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4368623430_ed1cf3a056.jpg
This one I know is a bright cut pattern


I'd love your opinions, suggestions, help....

I'm only allowed to list four images for some reason, so all the one's I've uploaded are in my flickr phtoostream here:
Rings - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/milomade/sets/72157623337045477/)

amazingbabe
18-02-2010, 06:22 PM
They are gorgeous :Y: How about calling one of them uri and the other one geller :D Now seriously what a great idea....... How about irish (gaelic)girls names for each one ???:~:

Fi Wilson
18-02-2010, 06:44 PM
Fantastic rings! Yes, I was thinking along the same lines of girls names. You can never run out of them for your listings. I suppose if you know some history to the spoon you started with you could always make the name more relevant e.g. French origination so perhaps a French name, particular period of history so a famous lady of that era e.g. Florence (Nightingale)! Just a thought. :confused:
Fi

Milomade
18-02-2010, 06:49 PM
ha ha ha! I can't stand that guy , so that'd be a definite no, unless I found a pattern that I really didn't like, then I might consider it...tee hee.

My partner is Irish, so there's a tenious connection.

Where can I get my hands on a bunch of irish gaelic names - or scottish one's in fact - mind you I'd not know how to pronounce them.

Milomade
18-02-2010, 06:51 PM
All the spoons I get are English or Scottish - mostly Sheffield and Birmingham - I don't go for Continental or American as I've only just got my head around all the UK hallmarks and know what to look for so I know I'm buying silver.

Di Sandland
18-02-2010, 06:52 PM
Just some suggestions:

The Fishy Venetian one: Piscis Orbis (fish ring in Latin)
Dog nose one: Canis or Canis Orbis
Paisley: Paisley but to me it also looks like sun's rays so solis or solis orbis
Bright cut: Lucidus (+/- orbis)

They are beautiful.

Di Sandland
18-02-2010, 06:53 PM
gaelic names (http://www.gaelicnames.co.uk/default.htm)

Milomade
18-02-2010, 06:56 PM
thanks for those suggestions MoonCottage - the latin sounds a bit too religious for my liking though - but thanks also the link - off to look through - it's nice that they give a meaning with each name too - this could be fun.

Sunnybank
18-02-2010, 10:38 PM
Sorry useless at naming things, but the rings are gorgeous.

Milomade
18-02-2010, 10:49 PM
Well I've been totally inspired by the gaelic names idea and been looking into lots of things and meanings. Decided to call the third ring [paisley pattern] 'Boreas' which was the name of the greek god for the cold north wind and bringer of winter as the pattern has always made me think of a cold billowing wind - plus I've made it during the cold winter months so I think it's quite fitting.

Thanks for your help guys - you've really put me on the right track - I've found some amazing names realting to the sea/water/waves/tides which will be perfect for my sea glass jewellery.

AlexandraBuckle
19-02-2010, 10:22 AM
rubbish at naming stuff (sounds like you have it sorted now anyway) but just wanted to say that your spoon rings are fab!

how much are you charging for them? (just out of interest :) )

Milomade
19-02-2010, 10:26 AM
£39 which includes the packaging but not the posting.

Milomade
19-02-2010, 10:27 AM
Once I've got a load of work out the way and have some free time, I'll be listing a load of them in my shop.

Tigerlily
19-02-2010, 10:34 AM
Vickie, they are great, very nicely done! Love the idea, especially with the background stuff too!!

x

agent_44
19-02-2010, 11:44 AM
Your rings are looking great. I used to try naming my stuff but I quickly gave up! You've done a great job with yours though!

AlexandraBuckle
19-02-2010, 03:27 PM
£39 which includes the packaging but not the posting.

thats very reasonable :)

Milomade
19-02-2010, 10:47 PM
I've sorted myself out with a spreadsheet that does all the maths for me - so all I have to do now is enter the cost of my materials and my time - it then figures out and adds on my overheads, then my packaging and gives me my wholesale price, I then add my own percentage on to this and hey presto have my retail proce - I've had tins of advice on here from folk on pricing and I feel totally fine with my pricing structure now. I can tweek things here and there if I think the price that's generated is too high or too low. I think £39 reflects the cost and work that goes into each ring. My OH think I should cahrge more but I disagree with him.

AlexandraBuckle
20-02-2010, 11:51 AM
I think the price seems about right. :cool: I also have my own similar spreadsheet, it does help take the guesswork out of pricing!

elliboo
25-02-2010, 08:51 AM
Oh wow, these are gorgeous.

Lindyloo
25-02-2010, 08:47 PM
I absolutely love your rings. Just a thought, but surely those patterns would be listed in some old book on silverware. Antique dealers may be able to help you there.

Also, on the name Boreas. Just a hint for you - the 'B' is pronounced as a 'V', and the emphasis is on the second half of the word, not on the first half, as you might expect if it were an English word.

Milomade
25-02-2010, 09:04 PM
Thanks for the pronunciation - as I'm selling these onlin, I don't need to worry about it, thankfully.

All the silverware patterns do have names but I've searched and searched online and only found the most common names like the Kings pattern, the Queens pattern, Brightcut and Rat Tail - most of the patterns I've colleted must be not 'run of the mill' type patterns as I can't find them anywhere online and I've been searching for months.

There are books on silverware/flatware/cutlery but the ones I want are quite rare and can cost from £60 upwards - I've told everyone I know to look out for them and I will hunt though all the 2nd hand bookshops next time I'm in Edinburgh to see if I can find one that is cheaper than the prices listed online. I think it would be a good investment, just don't think I can bring myself to spend £60 or more on a book online - I want to look through it first to make sure it's got loads of images and examples in it before I part with any money.

amazingbabe
25-02-2010, 09:10 PM
ha ha ha! I can't stand that guy , so that'd be a definite no, unless I found a pattern that I really didn't like, then I might consider it...tee hee.

My partner is Irish, so there's a tenious connection.

Where can I get my hands on a bunch of irish gaelic names - or scottish one's in fact - mind you I'd not know how to pronounce them.

I can help you pronounce them no problem, just pick them and ask me.... Where is your hubby from ???

Milomade
25-02-2010, 09:16 PM
He's from Coleraine, but as he's been in Scotland for over 10 years, he sounds more Scottish now than Irish.

amazingbabe
25-02-2010, 09:20 PM
thats not that long though [-X he is still Irish at heart ha ha!!! Where in Scotland are ye, i have family in Peebles, have been there loads of times i love Scotland :Y:

Milomade
25-02-2010, 09:27 PM
He's definitely still Irish and gets the accent back when he goes over. I occassionally ask him to do a full blown Irish accent for me but he doesn't keep it up for long. We've started watchin Black Books on wednesday nights and the Irish is all coming back now.

We live in Fife and love it. Not today though - it's been raining non stop all day long - not great for dog walking at all and as we're on a cliff we get the full brunt of the sea winds and the rain lashing against the windows quite violently.

amazingbabe
25-02-2010, 09:30 PM
He's definitely still Irish and gets the accent back when he goes over. I occassionally ask him to do a full blown Irish accent for me but he doesn't keep it up for long. We've started watchin Black Books on wednesday nights and the Irish is all coming back now.

We live in Fife and love it. Not today though - it's been raining non stop all day long - not great for dog walking at all and as we're on a cliff we get the full brunt of the sea winds and the rain lashing against the windows quite violently.


Oh god i feel the cold, that is one thing about Scotland, when its cold its really really cold

Cathy at the Beach
30-03-2010, 03:22 PM
Your spoon rings are gorgeous- I love them. The price seems very very low- but I am in Canada so perhaps things are more expensive here.
I would charge more like $100 which is about 65 pounds I think. I'd be worried some shop would want to buy them and I'd have to be selling them for about half- for wholesale...

Not sure how it works in the UK though.

jille
30-03-2010, 04:18 PM
I love these rings, saw some lovely fork bangles once I have some silver knives and forks that bever come out so I was tempted to make one but decided not to ruin the set.
I gave my website my surname in Gaelic but the problem is no one can pronounce it so i think i will scrap it once my new site is up and running.

disorganised
30-03-2010, 05:03 PM
thats not that long though [-X he is still Irish at heart ha ha!!! Where in Scotland are ye, i have family in Peebles, have been there loads of times i love Scotland :Y:
I'm from Peebles! Lived there until I left to go to uni. Going back on Sunday for an Easter dinner. I bet we know some of the same people.....sorry - didn't mean that to sound stalker-y

Silver_Witch
05-04-2010, 09:54 AM
so nice and pretty! i love the first one

LillyTea
13-04-2010, 02:16 PM
Wow they are really really beautiful. :)