The Wire Writer

Hi All,

I was recently asked a question from one of my Ebook buyers about how to match up the wire with the chain when making name necklaces.

Ok, here is what I use, the measurements are the same for any wire and chain, this is Sterling Silver that i use:

Sterling Silver wire (hard drawn) 18 gauge
Jump rings Sterling Silver wire (hard drawn) 20 gauge (I make them myself)
Long Curb Diamond Cut Sterling Silver Chain. Approximately 0.06 inches (1.5mm) Across Link

An 18 inch Sterling Silver (medium) chain which will fit average neck size

The 20 gauge (0.9 mm) sterling silver wire I use to make jump rings

Here is how I buy the chains from my supplier

Here is the chain, jump rings and name before assembly

Here is the chain attached to the top left of the name with the jump ring

Closeup of the chain attached to the Name

Hey all,

Just recently I have been searching for a brand of round-nosed pliers – The Pastorino 234 model (pictured below)

Pastorino Catalogue showing the 234 model

Two types of pastorino round nosed pliers, the bottom ones are modified 234's with a shorter nose and filed to sharp points

Now, I have used these pliers for nigh on 25 years now to make personalized wire name jewelry, and I think in all that time I have used two pairs.

Since I have been selling my Ebook and now my DVD’s, I have had a few enquiries about the Pastorino’s, and how hard they are to get hold of. Indeed I had a reply from one of my customers that they even phoned the company in Italy – but they couldn’t help. How crap is that?

A Google search doesn’t come up with much at all, and before I forget, if you are thinking of ordering from Regal co. in New Zealand, forget it. One of my customers tried to order from these guys, got a confirmation for an order (obviously an automated email) then heard nothing from them after that. So I would avoid them like the plague.

I assumed these pliers would be much easier to get hold of – how wrong I was. Now, I’m not saying they are the best out there, I can only recommend them from personal experience.

Indeed, they are not perfect. The weight and size are, and the “box joint” as it is called to ensure stability is great. But for making personalized jewelry from wire, sometimes you really need to do fine work – and for this you need almost pin point sharpness at the end of the nose, or jaws. I would say not more than 1 mm diameter (0.0393700787 inches according to google !) don’t ask me what that is as a fraction of an inch !

Mind you, that is if you want to do serious work and end up selling your wares. I would definitely get the best you can – they will last you many years and pay for themselves thousands of times over.

I was saying they are not perfect. This is partly because in my mind the jaws (nose) or pointy bits to use the technical term are too long. The longer they are, the more chance they have of slipping or “jack-knifing” I don’t know the term, but the sign of a bad pair of round nosed pliers is to hold the ends of the pointy bits and try to move them in a lateral motion, a bit like trying to move an elbow in the direction its not supposed to go, the box joint at the hinge part minimizes this, but there will be more play in bad pliers and also in pliers with longer noses.

The end result of all this is that the model 234 off the shelf doesn’t meet those requirements, the nose is too long and the points aren’t sharp enough. So, I modified them. I cut about 10 mm (0.4 inches) off the end, and then spent about five or six hours laboriously longitudinally filing the nose to even and sharp points. You can see the difference between the bottom pair of pliers in the picture and the top pair.
The top pair are un-modified, but they are also too flimsy to bend the names with, they are a different model, they have the sharp points, but they don’t have the “heftiness” you need to bend hard-drawn wire, and I bought them to try them out, but they languish in my tool drawer. Also, again, the nose is too long.

Measurement F is ideal (points of pliers) Also the hinge dimensions (C & D) are spot on. I would chop off 10mm from B though, making it about 15 mm

I got the pliers that I wanted that as I said lasted me many years, but there has to be pliers out there that you can buy off the shelf that are close to ideal and easier to get hold of than Pastorino’s. If you find any please post here !

I have heard a rumor about Lindstroms (Swedish make) making round nosed pliers, but haven’t investigated them yet. I use their side-cutters and can recommend them highly.

I will be buying some Pastorino’s from my local suppliers and putting them on my website Andy’s Shopping Store
Also you can buy the Silver Plated Griffin brand craft wire here. It is ideal for making the names, a little on the softer side than hard drawn, but good enough.

Merry Christmas to all, and hope you are not snowed in !

Andy Turner.

Keeping It Simple

After selling at countless craft markets, fairs, festivals, car boot sales etc etc over the years, I’ve come to one conclusion about how to set up your stall – keep it simple !

I was usually always first out of the car park and on my way home with other stallholders staring at me with what I took to be envy as they continued to dis-assemble their complicated framework and packed endless items in newspaper back into boxes for transit.

Now, I know for a lot of businesses this simply isn’t possible, as they have lots of inventory and every market is like building a shop and taking it down again in the same day.

Well, as a Wire-Bender, Name-maker, Wire-Writer call us what you will, it is a much simpler process.

Polystyrene and an old t-shirt (not recommended)

There are no real hard and fast rules for setting up a stall but I came up with some important observations while studying how people sell their stuff over the years and here they are:

My Common Sense Rules to Selling (not just Wire Names but anything)

• Put your products at eye level. It’s always painful to bend down and look at something.

• Display your Prices ! In my experience, people hate to ask how much something is – it’s extra effort, then they will think you made the price up out of your head creating mistrust from the word go, not a good idea.

• If you are doing night markets, get good lighting. Make sure the lights display the products and not the customers face

• Don’t read a book or magazine while you are waiting for customers – this signifies you are as bored as hell and would sooner be at home in front of the telly.

• What I found works best when greeting the customer is a simple “hello” or “hi” and a smile. Don’t be over polite and say things like “what can I help you with Sir / Madam”? It has to be genuine. Just let them know you are there and ready and let them get on with browsing.

• If someone wants to start talking about their life story because you appear friendly – you have to be blunt. I always had queues at certain markets and you have a 4 or 5 hour period in which to sell as much as possible. You cannot afford to chat to people. Don’t be rude, just say “Sorry I have to make this name, I’m not ignoring you, i’m just a little busy” or something like that, most people will get the hint.

The Simpler and more Portable the better

For many years I used simply an artists easel and a fold up board I made from a couple of cork boards and hinges. All my Tools and stuff I needed were in a laptop bag that I opened up on a small table and I sat in one of those fold up camping chairs. Pretty much everything was fold up, so I could carry it in one trip.

Much Better - Fold up Easel, Board and Stool

Later on I got a little more complicated, I built a large drawer inside a cabinet, a bit like a low filing cabinet. This was to house all the stock of names that I had accumulated which made the selling process quicker. Everything then fitted on a trolley. Still one trip to the car though.

What’s a fair price to sell your product ?

Ok, first lesson, don’t be too cheap. I saw a lot of market sellers selling handmade stuff over the years that probably took them an hour to make and they sold them for Five bucks or something similar. If it’s cheap then it loses value in the eyes of the customer, so they probably won’t buy it because they think the eye will fall out of the pottery crocodile as soon as they get it home (Australian markets haha).

Exceptions to that rule is if you bulk bought 15,000 fluffy koala bears (Australian again) on your last trip through China and they are clogging up your garage. So $2 each is fine. Can’t leave your car parked on the lawn forever…

Too expensive and people just won’t buy. They know they can get something similar at Kmart for half the price. Unless your product is exclusive and of quality. Then you can charge more, but it depends on the market. You won’t sell a Louis VIII Chaise Longue at a car boot sale.

Slightly more complicated setup. An extra chair and a lovely assistant

As a general rule of thumb I would say make the price at least twice what it cost you to make. Try to make it 3 times. It’s all about what the value is perceived to be in the eyes of the buyer.  Packaging increases the value of something. It doesn’t have to be over the top, just something cute or nice – a nice touch like a ribbon or some nice paper or one of those little gift boxes. I personally am guilty of not doing this in the past, but I realise now that it does make a difference.

Feel free to comment on this post – I invite any differences of opinion !

Andy Turner.

Hi again, just finished shooting the video on how to fix a chain to a name, it is in the “Ebook video” section at the top of the site, and use the password you were given in the previous email – enjoy ! – Andy.

Check your emails

Hi All, I’m just setting up my video equipment in preparation for a shoot, I will have it ready for viewing early next week, have a great weekend – Andy.

Close to where I live House of Jewellery (Jewelry) in Brisbane has a great line of jewellery supplies – I bought some stuff I never knew existed ! Check ‘em out HOJ

Two suppliers of Craft products I have been told of in the States are Fire Mountain Gems and Rio Grande

This is my new blog now after the transfer from my old server failed. That was a new-ish blog so it didn’t really matter. OK, I will be posting developments in my wire writing business, as well as other interesting relevant jewelry / craft type stuff. If you have any of this please donate to my blog !

Thanks, Andy Turner.