Lorelei Eurto recently joined etsyBEAD this past fall, but she has had Lorelei1141.etsy.com for almost a year. She mostly works with semi-precious gemstones, glass, and metal beads. She also uses a lot of brass, and brass chain in her pieces. This article is about how she found value and beauty in the metal.
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I started using brass in my jewelry when I saw an ad in Stringing Magazine for Vintaj Brass Company. I was immediately attracted to the intricate details, the “vintage” feeling that the finished pieces of jewelry portrayed, and mostly the chocolate brown color that seemed to go with any color bead. There are many variations of color in brass. Brass can have a bright gold-like appearance, and adding a patina process to give it the brown, aged color can also age it.
Another attractive point to using brass is the fact that it’s much more affordable than silver and gold. Brass adds a “modern” twist to vintage jewelry. By pairing the brass with crystals, you get a dressier piece of jewelry. You also can add a little asymmetry to it, and it has a more modern, and casual feel.
I very rarely make brass jewelry that doesn’t contain some sort of glass, or gemstone, mostly because it helps to add color and visual interest.
Lorelei Eurto
Filed under: article | Tagged: lorelei eurto, lorelei1141, brass, jewelry, vintaj brass
Nice article Lorelei — I love the look of brass when paired with bright colored glass beads too.
I love brass and plan to use it more often in my future creations. To me, the look of brass with certain colors makes a jewelry piece really stand out more, gives it more of a punch.
Thanks so much for your article Lorelei!
Brenda
Thank you for this article, Lorelei! I, too, have fallen in love with brass. Vintaj charms are so beautifully detailed.
I like to mix brass with copper, too. They play very well together, especially as they start to age.