The Chasing Hammer

Another addition to my tools collection.
I think this is a Chasing Hammer or is it goldsmith hammer?
Doesn't matter as long as I can use it to hammer the wires and metals.

Hubby found this one fine day at a second hand shop.
A very rare find for us on this side of the world :) So kasian.
Anyway, one fine weekend we set out to work on it and gave it a new body and a little bit of shine.
Actually it was over several weekends and evenings.

It was all rusty and ugly when hubby brought it home.
The previous owner/s must have use it very productively.
Notice how worn out it is with all the kinks.

Found a piece of nice wood for the handle and we both set out to work on it, taking turns.
Tik tok! Tik Tok! Tok tok tok!.....

Tok tok tok! Me, rounding up the handle.
Hardwork involved and not that easy especially to get a well rounded handle.

Then hubby gave it a bit of shine and this is how it turned out.
Not that shiny but way better than when it was brought home.

After all the hard work, smooth and brand new although the flat face is not that flat.

This is the final product, all shiny and smooth.
Happy!

Beading Community - Borneo International Beads Conference 2013

Well, this is also an overdue post.
The Borneo International Bead Conference took place more than a month ago, from 11-13 October 2013.
I did not take part in the conference but had the chance to visit the bead bazaar set up by both local and overseas beads artisan. There were also hands-on workshop and demonstration organised but I missed that out too due to timing. Maybe next round.
Not many visitors were around when I was there - less than 10 person. Yeah, very quite.
Maybe not many people were aware of it or not maybe people are not interested in beads? Dunno!
Anyway, here are some photos of the interesting beads I managed to capture with my hp camera.

The venue - 1st Floor, Four Points by Sheraton Kuching

Beaded Shoes from Melaka. Very intricate and detail work.

 

Beaded Corsages

Paiwanese Beads from Taiwan, bold and colorful - beautiful.

The Paiwanese is an indigenous group from Taiwan.
Each patterns on the glass beads has different meaning and motifs.
Refer to the handwritten explanation below.

 

One of the local artisan, Ramsay Ong and his beadwork/jewelry.

Ramsay's Creation with local motifs

Ramsay's Creation - Pua Kumbu Beads.
Pua Kumbu is a traditional woven multicolored ceremonial cotton cloth used by the Iban tribe of Sarawak.

Ramsay's Creation.

They are from the Rungus tribe of Sabah.
Love their headgears and traditional clothing.

They are popular and got interviewed by the reporter here :)

This Bakelalan lady brought along some very rare items from the highland of Sarawak - Hill Salt and Beras Bijan (sesame rice, literally translated).

The rice is really tiny. I have never tried this rice before.
Very expensive!

These rings are by a Sri Lankan Jeweler.
I like his work of combining the two different metals - copper and silver.

These necklaces are made from recyclable material including bottle caps.

And here are other beads from our local Sarawak beaders. 

Paper Beads

Close up

Orang Ulu's Beadwork and design

 

Ah! I forgot to put watermark on the pictures.....nevermind.

Have a great week.

Crafty Community-Craft Promotion Malaysia 2013

This took place about two months ago.
As usual, I am slow with photo editing.
Some of the photo quality is not so good so bear with me.
These are pictures of the Malaysia Craft Promotion 2013, organised by the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation from 30 Aug to 8 Sept.

There were about 70 craft entrepreneurs who took part and they came from all over Malaysia and showcased their products based on textile, metal, wood, clay and various other crafts.

Enjoy the photos and have a great weekend.

At the entrance.

 Some lovely hand roll ceramic beads.

This Lun Bawang clay beads. Just awesome and expensive.
The Lun Bawang is one of the indigenous people of Sarawak.
Most of them found on the northern part of Sarawak - Limbang and Lawas.

The Lun Bawang are famous beaders.

A silver smith at work.

Some of the ring he crafted.

Looks familiar? Looks like the Pandora charm bracelet ya.
They are not the real thing but you can find them all over the place.

Cute ducks crafted from shell.

Traditional fish traps made from bamboo, i think.

The Sape, a traditional Orang Ulu guitar/ music instrument.

A giant wooden bench.

 Keringkam - A Malay weaving art, similar to embroidery.

 What is Keringkam?

Pua Kumbu, a traditional woven cotton cloth of the Iban ethnic group.
The motifs of the design are those of animals, plants or other daily activities.
That's all for now.

Why are they so Cheap? Too Good to be True

Yeah, I am referring to these silver necklaces and bracelet that I got from Bangkok recently.
I came across them at a small stall, inside a huge mall.
Everything was spread out on the table - necklaces, rings, bracelets, cuff, and each of them priced at a flat rate of 100 Thai Baht. The size and weight does not matter.
They are all 100TB/piece.
Wouldn't you go crazy? :)
I did for a while....hehe.
I just couldn't resist grabbing a few as souvenir and just out of curiosity.
Genuine or not doesn't really matter for that price right?

Assuming they are genuine, a piece of similar necklace would have cost around RM100 or more here.
That's about 1000TB.
So, 10 pieces for 1000TB is really very attractive no?

Are they genuine? Judging by the price, its too good to be true/genuine.
Well, honestly I wouldn't know and of course they are silver if you ask the vendor.
He pointed to a piece of paper at the corner that says "Chiangmai Silver".
Mmmm....so its genuine? Nevermind. I grabbed a few anyway.

Out of curiosity, I googled for Chiangmai Silver but couldn't find anything similar to that I purchased.
Most searched results referred to sites located in Chiangmai.

They are really shiny though.
They do tarnish after a while as you can see the cuff in the picture above.
No worries about tarnishing as I can clean them up easily.
Check my posting on the easiest and safest way to clean silver here.

If you have any knowledge about Chiang Mai Silver, do enlighten me and my readers here.
You can leave me a comment or contact me with the contact form at the top right of this page.

Wire Wrapped Glass Bead Bracelet

These glass beads been with me for ages.
Now they are out there with their new owners.

All components of the bracelets except for the glass beads and Swarovsi crystal are handmade.

Both bracelets measure about 7 inches in length but adjustable up to 8 inches.
Extra jump rings added for that purpose.

I especially love the wire wrapped double heart focal :))

Close up of the hearts. Did some hammering there.