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Thread: Casting dented and with balls on?

  1. #41
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Exeter, Devon
    Posts
    1,803

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    My opinion for what its worth.... I do all the findings, etc myself out of sheet, everything I make is out of either sheet or wire, apart from small chains which we buy and of course the clasps and butterfly backs for earrings. I make jewellery as a hobby as I am retired now, although I do go to craft fairs once or twice a month during the summer and every month during the winter and undertake a few commissions as well. People that make jewellery for a living have to have a different prospectus on the whole thing, if they dont sell, they dont eat, so they have to make the decision whether to make and put a huge price on it, (which people may not buy because of the high price) or buy in some of the findings so they can make more and probably sell more.
    I expect on commissions, the people who use bought-in findings will make their own as they can price accordingly, but for everyday stuff I dont blame them. Just as a comment on the subject - one of the craft fairs we go to, one stall has all "clip it together" jewellery, so the same ring is in 100 different colours, dont think he even solders, he sells rings for about £20 each, we make and sell rings for about £25 depending on how much the stone is or if there is a stone in it, I know its cheap but we cover our costs and make a small profit. For more ornate jewellery we obviously charge more, but I dont think we have anything over the £50 mark.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    23

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    Hi,

    This was just a test order... I need *alot* more than 12 more like 10x that figure!! I am piercing them out currently, but to be honest doing the same shapes over and over again gets abit boring and as I have to do sooo many it is taking up all my time... I would rather get them cast and spend my time designing new things, learning new skills etc. I have a chronic illness which causes severe pain, so to sit and saw out tons and tons of these pendants a day whilst on Morphine can be a pain in the a**, which is why I chose to try casting. If casting turns out not to work for this particular piece I will try laser cutting by L4ser as recommended by Carole.

    I have been told by my jewellery teacher the balls are wax splash, and you get a pair of pliers, then twist and they come off very easily. The only problems is the large porous holes and as I later discovered, there was also tons of micro porosity... it looked like woodworm lol.

    The casting company offered to re-cast them and offer a complementary finishing service, so I gave them a second chance. The second batch came back better, but still with major problems! One of the heart pendants had a 1cm crack going all the way through, and the company just polished it and sent it to me. There was also some strange finishing going on as one piece came back at a 45 degree angle, I am presuming there was a porous hole there and they tried to file it out. From placing my initial order to receiving the re-castings it has been 3 months. The casting company also have a second and third company that sell jewellery, charms and findings, some totally flat and more complex than mine.

    I looked them up on companycheck.co.uk and the particular company are worth 6 million, so i'm guessing they don't really care about a small business like me.

    Stupidly I sent metal masters and paid for moulds! and as I have now found out, I paid £26 per mould but this was a 'part charge' so they are the companies property and I cannot have them.

    I am now looking for a new caster, and will make some pieces in wax and send these before buying moulds. I am going to try AWardle, nexgen, niagra falls and Jewellery Casting Scotland as I have seen people on this forum use these casters and they come highly recommended. Then whichever come back the best, I will go with. I am thinking I will try A Wardle & Co first as they seem to have lovely customer service when I contacted them

    Does anyone on this thread currently use any of these?

    I am very new to jewellery and have only been making things in silver for 1 year so please forgive me if I use incorrect terms. At the moment I don't sell with notonthehighstreet Carole, but I plan to!! Once I have my new collections produced and professionally photographed and casting sorted out I want to apply, although I have heard it is tough and only 1% of all applicants get accepted. I had planned to have everything designed and photographed by October, but as casting went wrong I have been spending day in day out piercing. Do you have any advice on how to get accepted by NOTHS?

    Hannah

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    2,067

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    Wow thats not good!
    I keep thinking about sending some of my items that I make a lot of for casting, glad I haven't bothered now!

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Cornwall
    Posts
    3,172

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    Don't be put off with casting. If its done well, it saves a lot of time. I use Nexgen and Niagara Falls. They're both good but Niagara Falls are much quicker.

    With Noths, you have to have something really quirky and different to grab their attention. They like things with meaning. It's true that the majority of jewellers get turned down.

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