MiShel Designs

The unsung heroes of earrings, ear-wires are what most people think of as ‘just hardware’ for their beautiful earrings. Alas,…they are not. At least not in my opinion. And, once you read this article and start noticing earring wires, you might change your mind and quite possibly your ‘ear-wire’ opinion (or form your own).

For starters, although I prefer to start with a positive instead of a negative comment, I’m going to share with you my dislike of ‘store-bought’ (i.e. traditional/manufactured) earring wires.

(Manufactured Earring Wires - Compliments of Pinterest)

They are, to me, the bane of practically all earrings; distracting from the most beautiful designs and, for lack of a better term, ‘trashing’ them.

(Oohhh,….I’m feeling the flack from this sentence already!)

Have you ever seen a pair of the most beautiful earrings with your favorite gemstone or the most unique and intriguing design that stopped you in your tracks only to see them hanging from a pair of sterile, manufactured, cheap-looking earring wires, thus mucking up their astonishing beauty?

Admit it. You've noticed.

They distract from the designer’s beautiful work of art which takes hours of intricate work, skill and education. Not to mention patience – some of these beauties take days or weeks to create, start to finish! And, if you’re the kind who notices, they completely take away from the overall beauty of the finished piece of jewelry.

It’s as if you’re viewing this gorgeous painting in the Louvre and then you happen to notice the frame and it’s some slick, manufactured looking, no character square piece of #*@!$ engulfing this fine work of art.

Yes, I probably should have used my inside voice there, but seriously folks,….I’m calling ‘foul’!!

Here’s a solution:

If you’re a jewelry designer, create your own.

I’d wager to bet that if you are capable of creating beautiful works of jewelry art, a simple earring wire design is going to be a breeze for you.

Or, if you feel you don’t have the time for this, as time is money and the most efficient way of doing things saves money, purchase some well-crafted, quality, hand-made ear wires from another designer or someone who does this on a regular basis (No, I no longer do this).

Another thought is to make a few different ear-wire designs on your own, consistent with your style of jewelry / earrings and have them cast in bulk, thus ensuring the same outcome time after time.
They're bound to become a ‘signature’ piece in your designs, just as your clasps or your logo tags may have become and will help set your designs apart from others’ and make your jewelry distinguishable.

Having clients who mentioned how they prefer my simple ear wire designs over ‘store-bought’ ones; sayingthey add a touch of class to the design and feel stronger and of better quality, makes me feel I am delivering the best over all product and design to my customers.

I’m quite curious to know how many people really do notice the ear-wires of earrings.

Whether you’re someone who loves wearing earrings, a seasoned jewelry designer, or a retail or boutique establishment, please jump in and leave a comment below telling me what you think.

Who knows,…maybe it’s just me.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love, Pearls and “Great Earring-Wires”, Baby!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

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Michelle Ludlam-Buettner (Shel) holds a Graduate Pearls Diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and is a Certified Pearl Specialist through the Cultured Pearl Association of American (CPAA). In addition to creating her own jewelry line, she is also a freelance e-commerce copywriter specializing in the jewelry and travel industries who can often be found fawning over pearls in her spare time. Follow Shel’s blog at MiShelDesigns.net or see what she’s snapping over on Instagram @pearlgeek.

Questions and inquiries welcome at Shel@MiShelDesigns.net

Wholesale Inquiries please list "wholesale" in the subject line.

Since my jewelry supplies have been missing in my life for what seems like an eternity, I've been working on getting a few things unpacked and sorted; putting them in places I can actually get to so I can 'play' when the opportunity arrives.

In the meantime, my ever talented sister was tagged for a challenge on Facebook and in turn, tagged me to play along.

It's a simple and fun photography challenge and if there's anything that captures my heart like my pearls, it's photography.

I'm not as proficient as I hope to be some day, and my cameras of choice and circumstance are still my point-and-click Panasonic Lumix (for most all of my macro shots!) and my Cannon, but I enjoy the entire process. From taking the photos to editing them, to seeing the final result, it's a very satisfying hobby.

The challenge on Facebook is called Challenge on Nature Photography and the rules are simple. Once you've been challenged, you are to post one photo a day for 7 days of your most interesting Nature, Animal or Landscape photos and in turn, you nominate a different person for the challenge each day and then tag the person who challenged you and the person you challenged.

For those of you who might know me, it's no surprise that most of my pics are Macro shots of flowers or their leaves. Yes, I'm obsessed.