Mens necklace Spiral chainmaille necklace in sterling silver. Mens jewelry by Arctida

Here comes the latest addition to my mens jewelry collection. This time it is a massive spiral necklace for men in sterling silver. I've chosen a classic Spiral chainmaille weave pattern for this one.

Chainmaille is an ancient art of weaving together individual rings to create simple and elegant jewelry. Each sterling silver ring is hand coiled, hand cut, and polished smooth by me before weaving the chain and again polished to a high shine. It’s finished with a simple lobster clasp for easy, secure fastening.

 To see more of my mens jewelry collection click here

Mens necklace Byzantine chainmaille necklace in sterling silver. Mens jewelry by Arctida

The Valentines day is approaching fast and so it is time to add some pieces to my mens jewelry collection. This time it is a massive chainmaille necklace for men in sterling silver. I've chosen a classic Byzantine weave pattern for this one.

Chainmaille is an ancient art of weaving together individual rings to create simple and elegant jewelry. Each sterling silver ring is hand coiled, hand cut, and polished smooth by me before weaving the chain and again polished to a high shine. It’s finished with a simple lobster clasp for easy, secure fastening.

 To see more of my mens jewelry collection click here

Morticia - Black feathers earrings in Sterling Silver. Handmade gothic jewelry costume cosplay jewellery by Arctida

Halloween!
Soon lots of witches, ghost, zombies and famous characters from movies will gather all around town, go trick or treating, scaring each other and compete in costume contests! Once a year you get to see your friends in a whole different way, funny or scary, either way you have lots of fun! and seeing all the kids dressed as Frankenstein’s monster, tiny ghosts and princesses, is such a cute sight!

My sister told me about a book, where the girl makes her own costume for Halloween, by making wings out of faux feathers and painting them black. With a black dress and her wings she became something of a ”crow-queen”. That story inspired me to make a pair of crow feather-earrings (well my earrings are made out of black rooster feathers, but you get the idea!) perfect for any respectable witch on Halloween :)

Just like my previous feather design (Diana - Guinea Hen feathers earrings) I had to make them big and bold in order to be seen underneath that pointy hat that any respectable witch have to wear :) I chose different lengths, sizes and shapes of black feathers, combined them into a 3D shape and wrapped with sterling silver wire. Afterwords I attached my feather clusters to sterling silver lever-backs to make them more comfortable to wear. and ta-da my second design for feather earrings is born :)

Diana - Guinea Hen fowl feathers earrings in Sterling Silver. Handmade ethnic tribal design jewelry by Arctida

You know those big Native American headdresses? With long feathers, giving that majestic and wise look?

Most of the time the feathers came from eagles, but crow and hawk feathers were also used. But the eagle was the most significant source of feathers, and the warriors of many tribes had eagle feathers in their headdresses, symbolizing the accomplishments in battle.

The feathers were not only used to show status among the people in the tribes, they were also used as ornaments in clothes and plain decoration, like the dream catcher (The dream catcher were originally made to protect the sleeping children of nightmares; the bad dreams would get caught in the web of the dream catcher and be gone by the morning.). They were also used for ceremonial and religious causes, and what kind and how many feathers a person wore could tell a lot about him. The Indian chief always had more feathers in his headdress than anyone else had in the tribe.

Today people still use feathers, like decorations, hair-extensions, necklaces and earrings in many lengths and colors. Perhaps they don’t have any religious meaning and won’t point out an important individual, but they are still an important accent of one’s style.

and how can one not get inspired by all those different textures, colors and patterns that feathers have?! That exactly what happened to me :) When I saw the pretty polka dot Guinea Hen feathers for the first time I just had to make something! In order to show all the beauty of Guinea Hen feathers it had to be big, statement-like piece of jewelry.While working with the feathers I realized that they have two different kind of patterns. Big and bold white dotted feathers and feathers with smaller dots and lighter background. I decided to mix them both to get a sort of balance, the way they look in the nature. I chose several different lengths of the feathers, combined them into 3D shape and wire wrapped them with sterling silver wire. Afterwords I attached my feather clusters to sterling silver lever-backs to make them more comfortable to wear.

So here come my first design with feathers, I think they came out very pretty, don't you guys? :)

Chronos - Chainmaille mens bracelet oxidized blackened solid Sterling Silver. Handmade chainmail jewellery for Men by Arctida

Father’s day is approaching fast which gave me a chance to extend my men’s jewelry collection. I’m continuing to explore Chainmaille and I cannot stop :) There so many waves and possibilities to connect those rings! And the result looks so differently with each wave! Also once the bracelet is oxidized and polished it gets that typical *male* look but while it is still pure silver it looks more feminine (IMHO).

So here are my latest two waves that I tried, the bracelets have been oxidized to give them a more masculine look. These are substantial, weighty and masculine pieces of jewelry for everyday apparel or a special occasion. They create a statement yet they are more flexible than a solid metal bangle.

Chain maille is an ancient art of weaving together individual rings to create simple and elegant jewelry. Each sterling silver ring is hand coiled, hand cut, and polished smooth by me before weaving the bracelet, heavily oxidizing and again polishing to a high shine. It’s finished with a simple lobster clasp for easy, secure fastening.

To see more of my mens jewelry collection click here

Ares - Infinity chain link mens bracelet in solid heavily oxidized Sterling Silver. Handmade Industrial chic for Men by Arctida

As we all probably know, today is the Valentine’s Day which usually means presents :) I don’t know about you ladies but I find it very troublesome finding gift for guys. Last year though I found a great handmade and practical solution for my hubby! Black fingerless gloves for him from Socksandmittens on Etsy and psst… they have more colors than black :) It was actually those gloves that gave me an idea to start my own jewelry collection for men, so thank you Tanya for inspiration :)

And on that note, here comes my second men’s bracelet – Ares, this design it is made of hand forged oxidized Sterling Silver infinity shaped links.

                                                    To see more of my mens jewelry collection click here

Simple industrial Masculine bracelet in heavily oxidized Sterling Silver. Handmade Jewelry for Men by Arctida

I have finally finished, photographed, post-processed and listed the first piece in my new jewelry collection for men! I’ve been planning, sketching and trying out new designs for some time now and as you guys probably know it always takes time with new things! Anyway the last piece of the puzzle was to shoot my new bracelet on a real life male model. My hubby graciously agreed to step in (like he had a choice!:) and ta da… my first men’s bracelet is officially for sale :)


And psst, before I even finished writing this post the first piece was sold! Yay! but don’t you guys worry, I can make more :)

  To see more of my mens jewelry collection click here

Pele - Modern Handforged Sterling Silver Leaf Hooks earrings with Genuine Black Lava Cubes

Here is another try of the new materials for my Tribal collection.

~Pele~
Tempestuous Pele is the goddess of the Volcano, with all its power and capriciousness. In ancient Hawaiian chants, she was described as “She-who-shapes-the-sacred-land” and her temper was known to be both as abundant and dangerous as the lava.

National Day of Sweden

Today, June 6th is National Day of Sweden or as it also called - Swedish Flag Day! Since it s a holiday I had some time over and I have finally finished a new pair of coiled earrings. Here is "Neda" - bridal ornate oxidized sterling silver earrings with Rock Crystal Clear Quartz and Pearls.

For more of my bridal jewelry click here