Mens necklace heavy Byzantine chain necklace in sterling silver. Mens jewelry by Arctida

Its been a while science I've shown you anything from my mens jewelry collection, I've chosen a classic Byzantine weave pattern once again (as it's my best seller) but used heavier sterling silver wire gauge and made more massive chain this time. So here is my heavy Byzantine chain necklace in sterling silver for men.

 To see more of my mens collection click here

Fall themed northern Nature close up macro Photography - Lichens, Mushrooms and Moss

The snow is starting to fall all over Sweden so I guess the winter is almost here and I should enjoy the last days of Fall and all the things that comes with it. One of my most favorite things about any season is different opportunities in nature for macro photography. So here is a selection of shots that I took last fall in Northern woods of Sweden. I just love the way Mushrooms, Lichens, Moss and pine needles look together, like tiny little Fairy gardens :)

and don't they look pretty together on a wall? :)

The scientific names of some of the species you can see on the pictures are: Cladonia cristatella (British Soldier Lichens), Cladonia fimbriata (Pixie cup Lichens), Cladonia rangiferina (Reindeer Lichen), Hebeloma mesophaeum, etc...

Arctida Celebrates 300 Sales on Etsy!

Woohoo! I've reached the 300 sales mark in my Etsy Store today! *picture me making a happy dance here* :) Thank you so much to all of my awesome customers who allow me to do what I love and love what I do! 100-200 sales took just over a year and 200-300 less than 10 months! I'm hoping 400 sales will come sooner than I think. Wish me luck!

The 300th sale was my Lemon Quartz wire wrapped in oxidized sterling silver *Eliza* earrings!

 

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

Key to my Heart asymmetric necklace - Vintage Retro Ornate Skeleton Key and Labradorite wire wrapped in oxidized blackened sterling silver - Steampunk Gothic Victorian chic style jewellery by Arctida

As many of you know, I’m a scientist at my day job which makes me a nerd or a geek whatever you prefer :) One of the hottest trends right now in geek culture is something known as steampunk. (Think of the works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and more recently, books like The Difference Engine.)

Steampunk fashion romanticizes the Victorian age. The books tend to gloss over the low points of the last century and focus on the fun aspects (dirigibles, items made of shiny brass, goggles, explorer’s and top hats, skeleton keys, Egyptology and steam-driven machines).

Being a hand-maker and an amateur photographer I couldn’t stay away from Steampunk and just had to try making something myself :) So here is the result: Key to my Heart asymmetric necklace featuring a genuine vintage skeleton key attached to a handcrafted chain made of oxidized sterling silver and Labradorite rondelles.

 

My biggest accomplishment however is not the necklace but the costume shot of my model (my little sister) above. The ensemble was assembled by me and most of the parts are vintage clothing (except of the corset). The top hat being the oldest and dating back to 18th century Paris!

So the next step would be is gathering my courage and maybe attend the actual Steampunk convention! Who knows, right :)

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

Mona - contemporary sculpted sterling silver pendant with green Agate, Quartz and Peridot. Handmade Jewelry by Arctida

A friend of mine saw my Harmonia necklace and totally fell in love with the central stone (Emerald green Quartz). So she decided that she wanted to have a pendant with the same focal except not as girly and formal in style but more contemporary and modern. So after a very long time playing around with designs here is what I came up with: Mona- contemporary sculpted sterling silver pendant with green Agate, emerald green Quartz and Peridot.

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

Wire Wrapped and Handforged Rings - My first attempt in Copper and Gold Filled

I have finally bought ring mandrel! Yay :) So here are my first attempts at making wire wrapped rings. The first one is classical spiral ring in Gold Filled.


The second one is an improvisation of the spiral ring. I tried to make a Rose in copper :)


The third one is a very simple adjustable triple band men's ring in Gold Filled. The ring has been hammered for texture.


I've also made a couple of rings that are more complicated and have Gemstones incorporated in them. I'll be posting pictures here very soon :) So stay tuned...

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.

New collection - Modern Handforged Sterling Silver Leaf Hooks earrings with high quality Gemstones

Sometimes all you need is a simple piece of jewelry with a touch of sparkle to make you look gorgeous. My new collection is just about that! Simple, elegant, organic design with striking gemstones that you can wear anywhere!

The earrings are made of sparkling beauties with superb clarity and gorgeous faceting which catch the light with tons of sparkle. The gems hang on hand forged, lightly hammered and polished sterling silver ear wires formed as leaves, made by yours truly of course :)

Kyra - Swiss Blue Topaz Faceted Nuggets and Sterling silver

Kyra - Mystic Golden Citrine Faceted Cubes and Sterling silver

Kyra - Pink Amethyst Nuggets and Sterling silver