Badass Jewellery » badassjewellery

Some Sharp, wha?!

badassjewellery — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:21:21 +0000

There are some long over due changes coming to BADASS Jewellery. I will keep you posted but suffice to say, you will soon see a real difference in profile and websites along with numerous products. Following suit, there will be even more exciting directions taken with products in stock design work and custom designing incorporating other materials along with high quality precious and non-precious metal work.

Among some of the directions BADASS Jewellery’s changes will feature is finely crafted blades ranging from exquisitely made and designed utility blades for hunting and work, decorative collector blades that will feature all the design and workmanship of highly skilled knifesmith and goldsmith and even the odd concept art piece and flight of fancy that takes the form of fine craftsmanship with a keen edge. Starting the practice is the blade pictured here… The finishing design concepts have only just started to take shape. The Tanto style blade is simple and beautiful but what I like about it most right now is that it possesses all the potential of an unmarked sheet in my sketch book, in so far as the finishing design. After staring at it a while, I’m sure something will come to me…and it will only be the be the beginning of some very fun, great work.

POP Skull Ring: The making of in 3 minutes

badassjewellery — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:54:17 +0000

I’ve been meaning to do some process documenting and here is the first effort, thanks to my client Shayne for making the request when making his first Pop Skull Ring purchase. In the editing and compiling time for this I could have made a host of skull rings but nothing good is ever easy. My shooting skills and tools will improve but I had fun and will continue to keep you posted as to what is going on with BADASS Jewellery. There are some really great new design additions on the way and some more changes in looks, structure and strategic attack plans.

Post the video around if you like. More to come.

Cheers,

Calvin

BADASS Jewellery Now ‘Til New Years Sale

badassjewellery — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:03:54 +0000

So there you go…BADASS Jewellery doesn’t do it very often but in honour of moving to Montreal and setting up a great new workshop, it is time to break it in and fire it up! Get in on the action and keep your eyes open for some new items coming to the speakeasy/storefront/Etsy sites…The season is coming fast…not a day to waste!

BADASS Jewellery Storefront

BADASS Jewellery On Etsy

Fly me to the moon! Rockets and Blog props for BADASS Jewellery

badassjewellery — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:09:33 +0000

My thanks to “Freya” at FISH NOR FOWL for the Rocket recognition and the linkage…it is very much appreciated and I’m happy to give a little in return. It’s a fun and eclectic blog. Give it a look! I know I’m subscribing.

Cheers,
Calvin

BADASS Jewellery E-Commerce Site Launched and in Orbit!

badassjewellery — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:29:31 +0000

For your convienience and the greater glory of BADASS Jewellery there is now a secure e-commerce site at http://storefront.badassjewellery.com. Easy to navigate and search through the collections, the e-comm site is powered by Shopify.com. It is fully equipt with shopping cart and integrated with various payment options…with more options to be added in the future. The latest stock items will be found there as well has featured here and on the core site at badassjewellery.com.

Many of the pieces, especially more recent additions, were made by special request as custom orders of a special sort. I’ll tell you more about that soon but just keep in mind BADASS Jewellery excells in custom design work. If you have any jewellery designs that you have always dreamt up and always wanted to see happen, let us know and we’ll make it reality!

BADASS Jewellery Stock Designs II

badassjewellery — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:03:45 +0000

BADASS Jewellery stock designs in full production and available. Get in touch for pricing, sizing, and any other questions you might have. Contact me at calvin@badassjewellery.com. There is more to see in previous posts for stock items…check them out.

It’s Magick!

badassjewellery — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:12:54 +0000

Though not essential it is desirable for an experienced practitioner of magick, belonging to an area of study or school of thought, to be properly equipped. The Illuminates of Thanateros are a relatively young organization that promotes and develops a magickal system known as chaos magick among its membership.

IOT Jewellery:Chaos Ring and PELE Ring

What I find particularly interesting about this Chaos Ring is that I’ve had to make it 4 times for my client. The sizing has always been good but this one seems to have a will of its own. The radiating arrows from the central hub has become known as a chaos symbol and has been adopted by the IOT. Members tend to have a ring made featuring the symbol and I was honoured by my friend and client to make one for him…several times as it turned out. The other ring is of significance to my client within his study and practice, I assume with an educated guess. Since the details of the thing are neither your business nor mine, I wouldn’t share more even if I were to have the information.

Whether you doubt or believe, I for one take interest in the IOT and take them seriously. The character of an organization can be drawn in part from the character of its membership. My friend and others I’ve met give me confidence in the IOT. They have my interest, attention and best efforts. I’m honoured to have been entrusted to make these pieces of importance. Besides…It’s magick! How much more BADASS could it be?

Skull and Bones Contest and Show Entries

badassjewellery — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:08:52 +0000

Here are the Total Entries for the show that is now hanging in part at The Smith Cafe and Gallery located on Shaw At Queen Street West; 107 Shaw Street. So the easy part is this…and it does require crowd participation, so do give it a go…Check out the images of the work submitted. Vote for one or more as work you particularly like for what ever reason and send an email to popularvote@badassjewellery.com. The one with the most votes, obviously, wins the award. So if you could take a second to make a choice or a few, please do.

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

Accompanying video parodying a television show featuring the making of the above skull and bones height guage

Jewellery so Dangerous it could get you BUSTED

badassjewellery — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:03:46 +0000

Well okay…not busted but hassled. What a hilarious development. I couldn’t hope for better cred than having my work be too great a security risk to fly with…the absurdity of that has already been well covered. The links below highlight the media that have run the situation caused by the BADASS Peacemaker Pendant and the silly arse at the airport. Some of the best comments are on BlogTO and Boingboing. It is running in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and a bunch more blogs and papers Even the United Press International and the Canadian Press are posting it. Enjoy…I did. I still am enjoying it.

Thanks to Marnina Norys for her inconvienience in the airport and the initiative with doing her press release for a proper venting of frustration and humour. And thanks to Rosalind Robertson for being media savvy, supportive, and enthusiastic about the fun this has proven to be. Sadly you will not likely be stopped in the airport for wearing a rocket ship pendant but one never can tell. Didn’t think a sterling pistol with no moving parts was a threat either…symbolism is a very powerful thing.

SKULL & BONES Details, Directions and Rules

badassjewellery — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:00:27 +0000

Deadline Has Changed!

The Show and Contest

The Skull & Bones show is a kind of derby/lottery in which you get 3 chances to have a custom piece of jewellery modeled from the art item that wins the respective category. This is the first of what will be an annual event and I want a variety of skill levels, experience, and vision to set a precedent for the coming shows. In being a kind of derby, the time is limited to create a challenge and incite more spontaneous entries. I would encourage less consideration and more action in entering. I am hoping for entries from people unaccustomed to entering art contests and shows. If you haven’t made something in a while, come up with something now and send it off. Maybe you are at work right now, you might as well get paid to enter. If there is a piece in a portfolio or sketch book that fits the criteria then by all means send it. Maybe you teach or attend and art class, brilliant! Bring them in on it! Be an agent for a friend’s creative skill and twist their arm to enter. It need only be an original piece of work by your own hand (effort, etc). I want to see what ever you come up with.

Any Skull and Bones inspired artwork. Whether a photo realistic oil on canvas, a quality photograph of a graffiti mural, reasonably sized sculpture, a digitally rendered image, an original comic panel, a pen and ink drawing, even a quick minimalist sketch on the back of a business card or a book of matches. Just be creative and thoughtful. Likewise with the skull and bones theme. I’m expecting a little more than dozens of Jolly Roger variations (but if it strikes you, make it a good one). Stretch the theme, make it fit. Have fun with it.

BADASS Jewellery is putting on this show with The Smith Cafe and Gallery to basically have some fun with our respective businesses. In addition to this I am thinking of it as a challenge and social event in which I get to make 3 pieces inspired by others’ vision and work and give them those pieces as reward for effort and and just rising to the challenge themselves. I’ve often made pieces for the sake of making them inspired by others’ ideas (directly or indirectly) and frequently enough given those pieces to the people who inspired them. To me this is a natural continuation of how I started in jewellery arts. Similarly, the fine craft that is my stock and trade doesn’t always lend itself to all that many socially interactive occasions so I decided I had to invent one. I have only one true aim for the contest; to have as numerous and diverse participation as possible. Have fun, be creative, and send your entry in as soon as you can. I am sincerely looking forward to receiving your entry.

AWARDS

Each award category will have its winner receive an original piece of jewellery custom made from the style and inspiration of the winning piece. Each Award will be valued between $500 and $700 as a retail custom made piece.

Juried Award:

There will be a jury of 3 people to chose from the entries having arrived by the deadline of May 15th, 2008. Each juror will have a score sheet and assign points according to a clear and open system rewarding not only technical skill and style but also creativity in idea execution and general cleverness.

Popular Vote:

As entries are delivered the candidates will be posted on line to begin the popular vote. Anyone can vote and can cast a vote for as many pieces as they choose over time. ALL entries will be displayed online and all voting for this event will take place via email to popularvote@badassjewellery.com. It is the only open category so any qualifying entry can potentially win the category. The popular vote will only be tallied after the Juried Award is known. Should the popular vote also be the Juried Award winner the the entry with the second place entry in the popular vote will be awarded. There will be no clean sweeps; this is for as much fun as anything.

BADASS Favourite:

My personal favourite will be made an award as well based on as much qualitative and preferential reasoning as technical skill. I can’t give any reason or estimate of what might be the result. Whether it is a piece highly rendered and full of effort and vision or a fast and sketchy ink on the inside of a match cover. If it strikes me, it does. And that being said, if my favourite happens to be a winner of one of the other two categories they will also be awarded the Favourite award.

Details

No more than three entries per person. Each entry must be the creation of the participant and it need not be current (i.e.: Not necessarily made for this specific show or even in recent history ) but it must be original. All pieces are intended to be displayed for show and sale. Should the entries be too numerous to all be displayed in the space available, the pieces favoured by the jury will be chosen for the show. All pieces will be returned upon closing of the show. BADASS Jewellery accepts reasonable responsibility for the care and handling of all items accepted in the contest and show. Any special handling or care information should be included with the item entered.

All entries in the Skull and Bones Contest remain the property of the makers and are assured to recieve return of the pieces after the show closing in May of 2008. Any items not accompanied by return shipping when needed or address for return will be safely stored and reasonable effort will be made to acquire the appropriate needs for the item’s return. Where possible please supply matting and/or framing for paper or print entries requiring it but again, every effort will be made to accommodate the proper display of pieces that come without. 3D objects should be thought of the same way but they will be accommodated should they be needing display assistance. In such cases, the display material will either be included in the item’s pricing or will be for sale without framing or display. It is my preference that the show receives an entry of paper or canvas in a shipping tube, padded envelope or the like than have a possible contestant pass on entering due to shipping a framed item. It is far more important that anyone who wishes to enter does so to make the entries diverse and the over all event more fun.

Deadlines

Final Submission deadline for contest qualification: May 15, 2008. All entries must be received no later than May 15^th to qualify for the Juried and BADASS Jewellery Favourite categories and consequently becoming finalist for the show. All submissions are eligible for the Popular Vote Award and the sooner the better. As entries are presented they will be displayed online and votes may be made right away. The longer the pieces are up the more voting may take place in their favour. Voters may vote for more than one as they may see others later that they favour. All voting will be done by email to popularvote@badassjewellery.com until June 21st, while the show of finalist is hanging in the gallery for the month of June. The Awards will then be announced and presented at the show closing.

Directions

All entries are required to include a $5 dollar entry fee for a single entry or $10 dollars for as many as three entries. The fees will be applied to jury expenses, show display incidentals, and the show closing award event.

For the sake of blind judging the art entries themselves should not have names or marks easily visible. I would leave it to the individual to do their best to mark or sign their work in the way they would generally choose to but to try to do so in a way that is not necessarily overt to the point of immediate notice. It is not of great concern generally so it shouldn’t be for the participants either.

All items sent from a distance should also include return shipping. In the case of shipping arrangements for this may be made after the entry as expedience is encouraged for entry in the show and contest. It is suggested the entry include a clearly written return address, name of the maker, telephone number and email address. Include a physical description of the piece in reasonable detail to assure proper identification after the show for return. Along with this information specify the retail price to appear with the displayed piece for sale and any reasonable packaging preferences or requirements for the item. Please specify if an item is not for sale. Be assured, all unsold art works will be returned to the makers.

Entries should be addressed:

Skull and Bones Contest

c/oBADASS Jewellery

103-267 Brock Avenue

Toronto, On M6K 2M3

Inquiries, Info, Etcetera

calvin@badassjewellery.com

416.537.1367