Omori Designs

Fun New Tool

2009-03-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

This lazy Susan soldering pad is new to me and I really like it. I discovered it watching Revere On Goldsmithing: Project 2: Reticulated Wedding Band. Revere used it when soldering three bands together to make a two tone wedding band. I decided to buy this as soon as I saw it. What is nice is that I have already used it and am really happy with it. I hate it when I buy tools and then find out that I really don't need them. I found this soldering pad really helpful when I was fabricating the under gallery for the Hope Diamond Pendant that is in my last post. I learned something else really cool from that Revere video too. I learned how to make a tripod with the tails of my binding wire. It was a really nice trick. It sure helped me out putting that large piece together. I get so excited when I discover news tricks! Just so you know, that lazy Susan soldering pad was around $19.00.

The Hope Diamond Pendant Replica

2009-03-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

I finished my replica of the Hope Diamond Pendant! This is a piece that I was commissioned to make. I am very happy with how it turned out. It ended up being a lot of fun to put together. I cast the center head and fabricated the rest of it together. It is made of sterling silver and the white stones are pear and asher cut czs.

Oregon Sunstone Pendant

2009-03-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

I just finished this pendant for a friend. It has been on my bench for a while now, and I am very pleased that it is finally finished! One more week until Spring break. I am really hopeful that I will get a lot of new pieces made over the break!

Jewelry CAD

2009-02-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

My husband is currently taking a semester long Jewelry CAD course at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology! In this class they use Gem Visions Matrix program to create their designs. After they create their designs on the computer they can send them to the wax mill to become finished wax models. I am really excited about this process. I love hand carving wax models, and think I will always have many designs that I choose to carve by hand, but it is nice to have this option for difficult designs. For example, there are some pieces that I make by hand piercing designs out of silver sheet. The and piercing is really time consuming so to eliminate that step my husband used Jewelry CAD to make me some models. He made them on the heavy side so we can cast them in brass and make rubber molds. Then I can make as many pieces as I want in any metal in the future. I can still hand engrave the finished pieces to give them that extra special hand made feel that I like to have in all of my work.

Great Jewelry Design Book!

2009-02-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

A friend showed me this really neat jewelry design book and I just love it! It is called "Jewelry Making and Design," by Augustus F. Rose and Antonio Cirino. What I love about this book is that it has 325 illustrations!!! It is an excellent resource for design ideas and inspiration! The other thing I love is the price, I got mine for around $6.00 on Amazon!

2009-02-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

Momo is so great at helping me grade my students projects! The only thing is that he always falls asleep!!!

The Hope Diamond!!

2009-02-20T05:19:00.000-08:00

Here is one crazy project that I am working on right now. It is a replica of the Hope Diamond Pendant. I am using a lab created stone that was faceted to be the same size and proportions as the Hope diamond. I carved a very large head for the stone and am going to fabricate the rest of the elements around the head. It is going to be made out of Sterling Silver to cut costs. Can't wait to finish this project!!!!

How I fixed that smashed ring:

2009-02-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

My last post included pictures of a smashed ring that I repaired. I wanted to share the steps I took to make that ring wearable again.

1.) I Inspected the ring to see if there are any cracks. Metal will only bend so much before it breaks so I wanted to make sure that there where not any cracks or breaks.
2.) Next, I used an ultra sonic cleaner and steam cleaner to make sure the ring was really clean before working on it.
3.) Before trying to bend and shape the ring to make it round, I annealed the metal to relax it and make it easier to bend. This could prevent the ring from breaking or cracking when rounding it out. I was really careful not to over heat the areas of the ring that had been soldered.
4.) After the ring was annealed I used nylon ring-bending pliers to shape the ring so it would start to slide over the ring mandrel.
5.) I didn't want the metal to crack from too much stress so I annealed often.
6.) I slid the ring on the mandrel and tapped it with a raw hide mallet to round it out. I was very careful not to hit the diamonds with the mallet.
7.) After the ring was as round as possible I worked on getting all the dents out. I used a file to get all of the rough scratchy parts off first. Some of the dents were so deep that I new I couldn't get them out with out removing too much metal. To solve the problem I added a view cosmetic dents to make them look intentional. I used a diamond bur to texture the ring.
8.) One of the diamonds was set really off level so I took it out, adjusted the seat, and reset it so it was level.
9.) There was one or two large dents in the white gold bright cut plate. I used my gravers to re-cut and blend in the dented areas. I re-millgrained the edge to make it look finished.
10.) Then I used soft wheel brushes with rouge to give the ring a light polish. It didn't need too much polishing because it was mostly textured. I did polish the inside of the ring to smooth it out.

I am really happy with how the ring turned out! I hope that the customer is happy too. I imagine they never thought they would be able to wear it again.

Jewelry Repair

2009-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about being a jeweler is having the ability to transform something that looks terrible into something that looks great! Here is a good example of the kind of transformation that I am talking about. Sometimes people have tragic accidents with their jewelry. This belongs to a friend of my fathers. It is wedding ring, and when I got it he had not been able to wear it for a long time because it had been run over by a car. He thought he would never be able to wear his ring again. When my Dad brought this ring to me I rolled my eyes and thought WOW! But I agreed to give it a try because I knew I couldn't make it any worse.

2009-02-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

I am very fortunate to be a jewelry instructor at the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology. This Spring break we are having Remy Rotenier come teach a Master Class on Jewelry Rendering and Counter Sketching! It will be March 16th through the 19th! I know I told everyone how much fun I had when I took a class from him last summer! If you don't have plans Spring Break come to Paris, Tx. for this class! You won't be sorry!!! Here is a rendering I did while in Remy's class. If you are interested in this class please visit the TIJT website, www.parisjc.edu/TIJT or send me a comment.

Wax Model of Oregon Sunstone Pendant

2009-01-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

I love to carve wax! I really enjoy the freedom of carving wax models, there is no pressure because it is just wax. It is not valuable and even if I make a mistake I can always go back and add more wax. Here are some pictures of a wax that I just carved for a fancy cut Oregon Sunstone.

New Custom Design

2009-01-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a ring I just finished for a friends mom. It is 18kw gold with diamonds. The three main stones where from my friend and I got the smaller side stones to make it extra sparkly. I really like the way it turned out.

New Addition

2009-01-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

We now have a new addition to our family! His name is Momo and he is the smaller black cat in these pictures. His name was inspired by the word Monster, he is an adorable and cute monster though. He has been really good for our older cat Buddy. They play a lot and seem to like each other quite a bit. The first week was difficult, but now they are friends. Buddy is awake more now days and I am expecting him to loose some weight.

Ruby Mokume Gane Earrings

2009-01-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

I am really excited about these earrings. We made this mokume in the Jewelry Arts class at TIJT. It was nice to make it as a group because everyone could take turns rolling and annealing it. We all got a piece of it, and I made sure not to waste a single bit.

2008-11-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a long time! I have been staying busy lately! There are only 17 school days left this semester and it is crunch time. I really hope that all my students get done with all their projects on time. I also hope that I get all of my personal projects finished in time for Christmas. I know it will be here sooner that I want! Here are some pictures of some custom bracelets that I just finished. They are personalized monogram bracelets. I am really pleased with how they turned out. I love how simple and classic they are. Thank goodness for my GRS graver max! I couldn't have done them without it! I can't tell you how much I love that machine!!!!

Lots of Catching up to do!

2008-09-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, things have been crazy lately. We had friends from Oregon come to visit us in Texas. We had a blast! We all drove through Oklahoma and went to a Pow Wow in Seneca Missouri. We also went fishing and visited all the famous sites in Paris, Texas. I was surprised how much they like our little small town. I am also surprised how much I enjoy the small town lifestyle. So now that my friends are gone, :( I have a lot of catching up to do. I haven't made anything new to put on Etsy in a while. I feel bad about it but I have been too busy with my new job, company, and custom orders! I have been really lucky to have a steady stream of custom jobs. So far I have three custom orders for Christmas! Here is a finished picture of the wax model I showed a couple posts ago.

Counter Sketching and Rendering Workshop

2008-08-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while because I was out of town at a Jewelry Rendering Workshop! I had a blast!!! The workshop was at Kate Wolf's studio in Portland Maine. I am from Portland, Oregon, so I was really excited to see Portland Maine for the first time. A group of us drove to the workshop form Paris, Tx. It was a great drive, I was able to see so many things!!! This was my first time to see the East coast. The trip was fun and the workshop was even better. The instructor was Remy Rotenier. He was an amazing teacher! I can't believe how much I learned! I am so excited to see what I can do with my new rendering skills!!!

August!!!

2008-08-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I would write a post about my plans for August. I can't believe that it is already the 6th! August is a big month for me this year. First of all, August 1 was my husband's birthday! He probably doesn't want me to tell everyone his age, but we had a nice birthday celebration. Yesterday I had a job interview! I think it went well, but won't know for a couple days if I got the job. It is very suspenseful! Right now I am working on a custom ring for my friend's mom! I am really excited about it. I posted the pictures of the wax model above. It will have an .51 ct Asher cut diamond in the center, 4 tsaverite garnets, and two trillion diamonds on the sides. The ring will be cast is 18ky gold. I am also preparing for a big road trip to Portland, Maine. I think it will be about a 26-30 hour drive depending on how much we stop to sight see. I am going there to attend a jewelry rendering workshop at Kate Wolf''s studio. The instructor will be Remy Rotenier. I am very excited for this wonderful opportunity. I love to draw,and have taken several drawing and art classes but never one specifically on jewelry rendering. I think it will be very helpful! I will definitely share what I learned after the workshop!

I know this is cheesy but.....

2008-08-03T18:17:00.001-07:00

I am so happy to be married for six years and still crazy about my husband! We have so much fun together, even when we are being lazy and doing nothing. I don't think I could have found a better match! For the most part we enjoy the same food, music and movies. We really do have a lot in common. However, we also balance each other out. I am the glass is half full, don't worry it is no big deal type, and he can sometimes be the glass is half empty type. The biggest thing is that we communicate really well and compromise. We also have similar money spending philosophies. I really hope that our marriage continues to grow and improve as it has the first six years! Sorry, for being so cheesy! I hope everyone finds their perfect match and happiness like I have!

Oregon Sunstones

2008-07-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

I just got back from visiting my home town Portland, Oregon. I had a great trip! The weather was beautiful, in the low 80s all week long! It was really nice to visit with friends and family! One of my high school friends got married and we also celebrated my Grandpa's 83 birthday! Anyway, while I was home I got some wonderful Oregon Sunstones. I am very lucky because my parents who are retired actually go and mine the stones themselves. The picture's above show two pieces that I made from the stones my parents found. I also buy some stones from our really good friends who have a business selling gem stones called Rogue Gems. I thought it would be fun to take a few moments and explain why Oregon Sunstone is so great! Oregon Sunstone is a type of feldspar. It is a rare member of the feldspar group that is only found in Oregon, and it is Oregon's state gemstone. Now, it can be confusing because there are several different members in the feldspar group. Oregon Sunstone is a Labradorite Feldspar. What makes Oregon Sunstone so rare is the presence of copper in the feldspar crystal structure. This makes Oregon Sunstone different from all other Labradorite Feldspar. Oregon Sunstone is found in a wide range of colors from clear, to red, orange, pink, peach, and green. It is also common to see bi-color and tri-color Oregon Sunstones. Many of them also have copper inclusions called shiller that look like copper glitter! I love working with Oregon Sunstones! I have found that they look great on all skin tones! It is also surprising how many outfits in my closet look great with sunstones. They especially come alive and sparkle in the sunshine outside!

I JUST FINISHED THIS CUSTOM RING!!!

2008-07-15T19:40:00.001-07:00

I just finished this custom wedding ring for a teacher at school! Wedding rings are my favorite to make. They are so special, they just make me feel good when I am making them. I also feel really good when I finish a project and am happy with the results. This ring has 23 flush set diamonds. The project was a bit intimidating to me at the start because I had never flush set such at large amount on diamonds in one ring. I used the Foredom Allset to help aid with burring the seats for the stones. I had never used one before, but with so many stones to set I was willing to go for it. I can't tell you how much it helped. Here is what I did:

I drilled my pilot holes in the wax model of the ring. I also used a setting bur slightly smaller that the stone diameter to open up the pilot holes for the stones. After I cast and cleaned up the ring, I went back with my drill and cleaned out all of the holes so they would be nice and shinny inside. Then I went back with my setting bur and opened up the seats a bit more. At this point my stones did not fit in the seats. I then used the Allset with a small 45 degree heart bur and burred a notch all the way around the inside of the seat. (I should mention that I practiced ahead of time with the same stone in brass to get the correct height set on the Allset. I set it so that the stones would be roughly table flush with the ring.) I checked frequently to see if my stone would snap it. Once all of my stones snapped in, I chased the metal down around the stones to tighten them. Then all I had to do was emery and polish! It was even fun!

All Fixed Up Now

2008-07-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled across a stray kitty that had been hit by a car. He is one of the most lovable sweetest kitties I have ever met. I could tell that he had one or two broken legs/feet. He hobbled around the best he could and would do what ever he could to get close to me for love. He deserved to be helped out so I took him to the vet. We found out that he had two breaks in his front leg and three in the back. The vet thought they could set is bones with a splint and so that is what we did. It cost $278.00 but after picking his up from the vet I know it was worth it. When the vet brought him out with his two large splints he was purring like crazy. After taking him home, we realized that he could get around a lot better than before even with the bulky splits. He seems much more happy and energetic! It was a good decision to help the poor baby out.

Upward Bound

2008-07-11T07:20:00.001-07:00

I just finished teaching the jewelry making elective for an Upward Bound Summer Program. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot! For this class the students came up with their own designs, and carved a wax model. Then, I cast the pieces in Sterling Silver and we worked together to polish the pieces and set any gemstones. What was so amazing was the variety of designs that the students came up with. Each piece is different and unique!

My Bench

2008-07-03T21:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my little corner of creation! It is not much in terms of space, but I do the best I can and try to put it to good use. Right now I am living in a small 1 bedroom house so all I have to spare is a corner for my one bench studio. As you can see it is jam packed with tools. Just the things I couldn't live without. I have a microscope, a graver max, sharpening hone and a propane torch among countless hand tools. I just though it would be fun to show you! It is a tight working space, but it is better than nothing and will get me by for a little while.

One Thing That Bothers Me

2008-06-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

One thing that bothers me is when people don't take care of their animals! I am the happy and proud owner of one very wonderful cat named Buddy, or Bubba as we often call him. Buddy was abandoned when he was a kitten because he was just a little bit different than most cats. He has a condition that is not very common, and causes him to drink a lot of water. He is almost always thirsty, and we go through quite a bit of kitty litter. But it is not too bad when you consider all of the love and affection that he gives. I think a lot of people don't realize that animals can have all kinds of health problems, just like us. If you are not prepared for taking care of an animal if it gets sick, then maybe you should think twice about getting a pet. Pets are wonderful friends to have and should not be abandoned, taken to the pound, or put to sleep just because they are not 100% healthy. Also, it is very important to get your pet fixed and vaccinated!!!!