Sterling "Matchsticks"

I love this jewelry style and use the technique in many of my designs.

These matchsticks are the basis of my "shinka shinka " jewelry line. If you have been wearing Shayna Jewelry over the years you will know what I am talking about ...If not, no worries - go to my other blog to see photos of my pieces and you will see what I am talking about . Ana and I like to call these balled wires " matchsticks "... but since we only speak in Spanish to each other ...we call them "cerillos".

Who is Ana you might ask ? Ana Celsa Garcia Salgado is my "right hand woman" in Taxco and my friend . We have worked together over many years and I have the honor of being the Godmother to her two children . She is a huge heart and has two extra helping hands that I have come to rely on over the years so that I can provide even more people with unique and handmade jewelry designs. Ana takes care of making the cerillos for me and she does a great job . Plus we have fun together and I get to practice my Spanish when I am around her.

The cerillos are made by first cutting a coil of sterling silver wire into the appropriate length section and then forming the ball on the end of each wire by heating them (individually ) with the torch.

For the "shinka-shinka" jewelry elements , each individual wire is then threaded with a bead of some sort and then used in an earrings, necklace, bracelet (etc ) design