Here’s a link to the pdf file of my award-winning short story, which won the Andrew Britton Short Story Competition this year. This is a fantasy story set in a re-imagined Dark Age period, and takes place at Yuletide. Enjoy!
PLEASE NOTE: ALL ORDERS PLACED BETWEEN NOW AND JANUARY 3, 2010, WILL BE SHIPPED ON MONDAY JANUARY 4, 2010. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
For those of you who didn’t already see my tweets and Facebook posts, I wanted to mention that the book “Steampunk Style Jewelry” by Jean Campbell was released earlier than expected. It is now available on Amazon for ordering in time for the holidays. I have a copy right here in front of me, and I can tell you it’s gorgeous. Not only does it include three of my own original jewelry projects (the Horological Faery Gadget necklace shown above, as well as Gearrings and an Airship Captain’s Ring), but also several projects by other artists and a wealth of information about steampunk, including modding, movies, antique shopping, cosplay and more! This is the most amazing craft book I’ve ever seen. You want one.
I will be at the “Celtic Christmas” party at Tir na nOg Irish Pub from 3:30-8pm this Sunday, with lots of new jewelry. Whatever does not sell will be listed here after the party. There will be live music, Irish & Scottish dancers, great food, drink and lots of craic. This event benefits the Andrew Britton Foundation, whose annual short story competition I won this year.
SATURDAY AUGUST 15 * 11am-4pm
Location: TIR NA NOG IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT 218 South Blount St., Downtown Raleigh
I am coordinating this event for the Meetup group I started over a year ago. The Jewelry Art Show will be a gathering of local jewelry designers who will be selling handmade and one-of-a-kind adornment art straight from the heart, hands and soul of people living in the Triangle area of central North Carolina. Admission is free. You can click on the image to go to the event blog, where there are links to the participating artists.
I have added a shopping cart feature to my website, which should make order processing much faster and easier. I’m crossing my fingers that things work right. If you have any problems, you can contact me, or you can still use the old order form. To checkout, just click the “view cart” button above the search box in the top right corner of the website.
For now, if you are a customer in CANADA or the UK, please email me before placing an order — there’s no international shipping option in my shopping cart. I hope to have that fixed soon. Thanks!
$5.00 - Item#MYSTERY
Here’s your chance to buy a bit of Jen’s studio treasures and curiosities! My studio is overflowing with greeting cards, handmade soaps, beads, pendants, stones, findings, finished jewelry, toys, books, ephemera, stickers and more. I am offering grab bags of goodies. The photo above is for illustration only — the goodies you receive may be similar but not necessarily identical to those shown. You are buying a MYSTERY GRAB BAG, and that’s part of the fun! The only thing I will guarantee is that the retail value of what you receive will be worth more than whatever you paid, plus shipping and handling is free, and you will receive at least 5 different items (or more). If you want $10.00, $15.00 or more, just change the quantity on the order form before checking out.
Free first class shipping & handling to the U.S. and Canada is included with all items! Click here for details.
Satisfied customers have this to say about the Mystery Grab Bag: “Just wanted you to know that my mystery gift bag arrived over the weekend, and I LOVE IT!!! You did an amazing job putting a bunch of stuff together that I really am drawn to, I don’t know where to start first!!” … “Thank you! Loved every bit of it. A lovely surprise to come home to.” … “Thank you!!! I got my surprise package today and I’m overwhelmed by the amount of fabulous stuff in there!!”
I’m in a book! Steampunk-Style Jewelry: A Maker’s Collection of Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Designs by Jean Campbell will feature some of my own original jewelry, including step-by-step how-to instructions explaining how they were made. Other artists who contributed to the book: Melanie Brooks, Andrew Thornton, Cynthia Deis, Jamie Hogsett, Jane Mormino, Margot Potter, Barbe Saint John, Annie Singer, Madelyn Smoak, Tracy Thomasson, and Jean Yates. It is available for pre-order from Amazon now, but I’m told that it won’t actually come out until January 2010. I can’t wait to see it!
I’ve now joined all the twits tweeting on Twitter, so if you’re into that sort of thing, you can follow me by clicking on the icon above. Updates will be about my jewelry, my jewelry-making schedule, and my jewelry-related endeavors (such as the book coming out this Spring which will feature some of my work). Or, occasionally, I will mention other interesting things that are either inspiring — or interrupting — my creativity. And I will talk about new items while they are still in the process of creation, so that you’ll know what’s coming even before it’s posted on my blog.
I just found out that some watch faces and hands were painted with radium in the early 1900’s, to make them glow in the dark. According to a thread I found at the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, another on eBay, and an Australian government website, the radium is not a problem so long as it’s not ingested. The Radium Girls, who suffered radiation poisoning while painting watches in the early 1900s, handled thousands of watch parts, licked their brushes to keep them in shape, and painted their teeth, nails and faces with radium paint, for fun.
In my Steampunk pieces, I rarely use watch faces or hands, and when I do, they are often coated with resin, which would keep the paint from flaking off and being accidentally ingested. Most of the time, I use gears, bridges and other internal parts, combined with new materials, and these parts have no known association with radioactivity. I have never noticed any of my materials glowing in the dark, but just to be on the safe side, I will avoid using any watch faces and hands of unknown origin, in the future.
I do want to make it clear that, regardless of my precautions, I have no way to 100% guarantee the condition of any vintage, recycled or found parts, in regards to radioactivity, or to lead, nickel, aluminum or any other content. Steampunk, found art and jewelry items which contain vintage or recycled parts will be clearly described as such, in the item description.