Take the survey below to let us know what you think.  Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts, we’ll keep you posted as the second book develops!

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If you want to be the first to know about CHAINED events, make sure to join the CHAINED book mailing list.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Ayla’s Wonderful World of Beads-Evanston Fall Show
Sunday November 13, 2011
2:00 – 3:00 – Ask the Expert!
(Evanston, IL. 60201)

Rebeca will be in the Blue Buddha Booth to sign copies of CHAINED and to answer all your chainmaille questions. Stop by to pick her brain, or just to say hello!

PAST EVENTS

Craft & Hobby Association Summer Conference 2011
Wednesday, Jul 2o, 10:30 AM at the R+M Westcoast booth (#1134)
(Rosemont, IL)

A Beadtiful Thing
Saturday, Jan 22
Beaded Fire Wyrm class from 11:00 – 2:00
Purchase books and kits anytime from 11:00 – 3:00
(Aurora, IL)

Beaucoup Conge BEADS
Saturday, February 5th
(Tucson, AZ)

Want author Rebeca Mojica to come to your area? Contact us at chained@bluebuddhaboutique.com

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CHAINED Virtual Book Tour December 12-18, 2010

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Sunday, Dec 12

Handmade Artists’ Forum
A Book Review of CHAINED

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Monday, Dec 13

Liv’nGood Jewelry
Teaching Chainmaille

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Tuesday, Dec 14

The Beading Gem’s Journal
How a Jewelry Book Got Published

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Wednesday, Dec 15

ChiIL Mama Blog
An Exclusive Interview with Rebeca Mojica, Author of Chained

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Thursday, Dec 16

A Bead A Day Blog
VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR: Author, Rebeca Mojica, of Blue Buddha Boutique

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Friday, Dec 17

Athena’s Armoury Blog
CHAINED Virtual Book Tour with Rebeca Mojica

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Saturday, Dec 18

Briolette Beads & More Blog
My Interview with Rebeca Mojica, author of CHAINED

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Do you write a blog and want to include something about CHAINED? Contact us at chained@bluebuddhaboutique.com

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Japanese Diamond Ring – page 60

Now that we have standardized our ring sizes, we are going to be calling the small titanium rings size C22 – 22ga 7/64″ (2.8mm). Depending on your ring supplier, you may need to request size C22 OR the original size (B22) used in the book.

Here’s the deal: the actual post-springback size of our C22 rings is about 2.7-2.9mm.  We have the wire wrapped around a slightly smaller mandrel, so that the finished jump ring is a near exact match to our other jump rings in different (softer) metals.

Request the larger size (C22) if your supplier, like us, standardizes across metals so that a C22 in steel is the same as a C22 in copper.  If your supplier does not keep sizes consistent across metals, and always uses a 3/32″ mandrel to make a B (3/32″ 2.4mm) ring…then you should order B22 as listed in the book.  The reason is that titanium has so much springback, that it will “relax” after it is coiled, and wind up closer to our size C22 anyway.

Ripple Necklace – page 75

In the Ripple Necklace (a Box Chain Variation), the qty of J17 rings is incorrect. The correct number should be 116.

Additionally, the instructions don’t say what the soldered ring is for, and it is intended to be used on the side of the necklace opposite the clasp, to be a sturdy ring that the clasp can hook onto. You do not have to use a soldered ring, but if you don’t, use a ring with a gauge of at least 14 so that it is durable and won’t pull apart over time.

Wire Gauges & AR (photos) pg 17

The photos at the top of page 17 (for wire gauges and aspect ratio) aren’t quite what I want them to be. As a matter of fact, I suspect that some non-conforming AR rings snuck into the “these-rings-all have-the-same-AR” photo. I’m requesting a re-shoot for the 2nd printing of the book, assuming it goes into a second printing!

The wire gauges photo is technically accurate, but I would prefer if the IDs were consistent, to better showcase the difference in wire gauge.

Lancelot clasp pg 116

The clasp for the aluminum bracelet (shown in the step by step photos) is different from the sterling clasp. The sterling clasp’s connection loop is on the underside of the bracelet, a fact I forgot when shooting the step-by-steps (the sterling bracelet had been in the publisher’s hands for several months at that point).

In order to properly connect to the sterling clasp, you may need to add a set of D17 x 2 onto the final H17s, and then use a new ring to connect to the loop on the underside of the clasp. Unfortunately, 17ga is too thick to fit through most of these connection loops, and so D18 is the size you’ll need to use.

Note that the bar is such that you don’t need the usual chain of single D17 or D18 rings leading up to it. I just wanted to point it out in case anyone was confused!

For the project in the book:

Coiled Ring pg 126

We are also changing the titanium rings to size C22 – 22ga 7/64″ (2.8mm).  See the Japanese Diamond Ring explanation above for more info.

–Spider, expert mailler, chainmaille instructor and owner/founder of Spiderchain.com

From a teaching standpoint, this is an excellent book.  The photos and explanations show exactly how certain techniques should be done. More than that, Rebeca shows what NOT to do, and why the wrong way won’t work.  Without a doubt, this book has more details about chainmaille techniques than any other book.

The projects flow well from start to end. Rather than presenting a series of unrelated projects, each chapter starts out with a simple weave. Then slowly, Rebeca builds on that core weave and the designs get more and more intricate.

Finally, it’s helpful to have ring conversions listed.  Whether someone is trying to figure out how to order online, or order in a store, they are never going to find a place that lists sizes the same way as everyone else.  Sometimes [the supplier uses] inches, sometimes millimeters, sometimes AR….so it is very helpful to have all the conversions laid out up front.

–Brian Wussow, expert mailler, chainmaille instructor and ring maker

Chained is a must have for every crafter.  The instructions are clear and concise, and the pictures are great.  I’ve been chainmailling for years and found some variations that I’m now desperate to try.

I loved the coiling chapter.  It’s so simple, but I would never have thought of it in a million years!   But my favorite part of the book was the beginning.  As someone who has done maille for a long time, there’s a lot of technical information at the beginning that is so concise and well laid out (rather than me having to find it through all my papers and various online bookmarks).  The tables at the back supplement this information nicely, and the history of maille was great.  Aspect ratio has eluded me for years, but now seems easy to understand.

I want to buy this book for a little girl who likes my chainmaille and wants to learn.  I was trying to explain how to open and close rings, and this book would totally be helpful in that regard.  I love the photos!

–Lisa Smeltzer, advanced chainmailler

I would absolutely make these pieces again.  The Japanese Diamond Bracelet is a challenging design with a very pleasing result.  The photos are clear, and the written instructions are very straightforward.

–L Lindsey, intermediate chainmailler and book tester

This book taught me to not fear color!  I love that so many different combinations were shown, which inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and try colors that I normally wouldn’t.  I am loving the results!

–Jen Hyatt, advanced chainmailler and book tester

How long do I have to wait before I can make another?  I can’t wait to try some of the variations!

–Christa Krasneck, intermediate chainmailler and book tester

This book is a great introduction to maille.  Right from the get-go, I was inspired.  The first project is so easy—yet there are so many possibilities!  I learned enough just from the first three projects to feel I would have gotten my money’s worth from purchasing the book.

The written instructions were so clear that sometimes I didn’t even look at the photographs.  I loved all the tips about alternate ring sizes to create larger or tinier pieces.

–Laura Moore, first-time chainmailler and book tester

This is the best chainmaille book I’ve seen. You’ve included so many tips that will help me personally, and I’m sure will help many, many more mailers.  The format, photos and your style of writing are really very good.  I can’t wait to buy my very own copy!

– Pam Schroede, intermediate mailler & Blue Buddha intern

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Rebeca first began making maille in 2002 when she wanted to purchase a chainmaille belt, but couldn’t find any designs that she really liked. So she literally took matters into her own hands by buying some jump rings and making a belt on her own, thus awakening her passion. Today she knows more than 100 weaves, including a dozen of her own creation, and has a diverse portfolio of both upscale and accessible jewelry.

As the pre-eminent chainmaille instructor in the Midwest, Rebeca has spent more than 1,000 hours teaching students from around the world. In addition to conducting workshops at local bead shops and art centers, she has taught at the Bead&Button Show and has been a guest instructor for the Fashion Department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Rebeca is a member of the Chicago Craft Mafia and Chicago Metal Arts Guild. Projects she’s designed have appeared in Chain Mail Jewelry and 30 Minute Necklaces, both instructional books by Lark Publishing; Wirework 2010 magazine; Art Jewelry Magazine and Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine. Her micromaille necklace Poseidon’s Embrace was a 3rd place winner in the Finished Jewelry category of the international Bead Dreams 2009 competition—marking the first time a chainmaille design was juried into the finals. Her work has appeared on CLTV and in The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.

As a graduate from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Rebeca is glad to have put her journalism skills to good use while writing Chained.

When she is not weaving maille or running the business, Rebeca enjoys cooking, learning languages, and contemplating quantum physics and fractal cosmology.

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Download PDF version of CHAINED Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Geraldine Conrad

773-404-9842

conradger@gmail.com

JEWELRY GURU REVEALS TECHNIQUE SECRETS, SPURS INNOVATION IN REVOLUTIONARY NEW BOOK FOR FELLOW ARTISTS, CRAFTERS

Leading Specialty Product Supplier/Pioneering Artist To Release Chained: Create Gorgeous Chain Mail Jewelry One Ring at a Time November 30

Chicago — With sales of craft-related merchandise up as much as 97 -164% in some retailer categories, and consumer interest in do-it-yourself projects and home-made gifts exploding, a new book by a leading jewelry artist offers a powerful creativity tool for beginning and advanced artisans.

Rebeca Mojica’s work appeared in local galleries before her business became one of the world’s leading jewelry product suppliers in its niche. She is also one of her industry’s only experts, and the pre-eminent chainmaille instructor in the region, arguably driving international fascination with the art, with her distinct designs and easy-to-follow project instructions.

Mojica’s firm, Blue Buddha Boutique (BlueBuddhaBoutique.com) sells finished jewelry, supplies and instructional materials to customers in all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide.

Chainmaille is made of weaves of tiny metal rings like those used in medieval armor.

Chained: Create Gorgeous Chain Mail Jewelry One Ring at A Time (North Light Books) provides comprehensive instructions and illustrations for 22 spectacular chainmaille projects, and extensive guidance on technique as well as how to vary each project–based on skill level and interest–so readers may express their own artistic personality and creativity with each.  For example, the basic byzantine weave, an excellent pattern for beginners, is easily turned into the elegant and impressive Olivia bracelet (see graphic below) by creating small segments of basic byzantine and connecting them sideways. Beginners can also use different size rings to create the X-lock variation–it looks so different from basic byzantine, but the only real change is the ring sizes!  As students gain experience, they can use smaller rings and add beads to create the Floating Bead Pendant, an elegant and delicate byzantine design. No other book gives readers such precise tools for learning how to create infinite variations from very basic patterns.

Click to Download High-Res version of CHAINED variations image

With 1000 hours as an instructor, artist/entrepreneur Mojica, who has taught at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, the locally renowned Lillstreet Art Center, and bead stores, had been approached by four publishers to develop her own book.

No previous book devotes so much focus on expert technique, offers so many weaves used in so many ways, promotes innovation for each pattern with ways to vary projects according to skill or personal taste, or has been targeted to advanced practitioners.

Chained: Create Gorgeous Chain Mail Jewelry One Ring at A Time (North Light Books) is a true labor of love, featuring:

• Clear, detailed step-by-step photos that will take you from opening and closing jump rings to finishing your first (or fiftieth!) project
• Easy-to-navigate “Weave in a Nutshell” options for many weaves that will show advanced chain mail weavers the weave of a project in just a few steps
• 22 beautiful projects plus dozens of variations, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants, each with its own skill level and time investment rating
• Endless options: choose your favorite colors, your favorite metals, customize the size of your project, and find inspiration to add your own unique stamp to any piece of chain mail jewelry

Mojica invites the reader to join her in releasing the artist within.

“Technically, this book contains more than twenty patterns plus many variations,” she writes.  “But I’d rather you think of it as a doorway to an infinite number of patterns, a celebration… The creative chainmaille artist is analogous to a master chef—using a recipe only as a base from which to experiment…I hope that by showing you how easy it is to manipulate jump ring patterns to customize your pieces, your chainmaille spark will be ignited. Erase your preconceived notions of this ancient craft and join me in pushing the boundaries of what is considered chainmaille.”

“Many customers have said that Blue Buddha Boutique instructions were the only ones they could follow,” Mojica noted.  “They reported that they had tried following two or three other sets of  instructions for the same pattern and just couldn’t get it.  But when they tried our instructions, they got the patterns right away.”

Trained as a journalist, Mojica admired chainmaille belts while traveling in Germany in her mid-twenties. Not finding anyone who sold them, she purchased some rings over the Internet and taught herself the ancient craft, finding it both soothing and rewarding. She transformed the hobby she loved into a business when she founded Blue Buddha Boutique in 2003.

Originally specializing in creating moderately-priced, beautiful, innovative chainmaille jewelry, Blue Buddha changed its business model as interest in the craft skyrocketed, and Mojica and her students had difficulty finding high-quality supplies.  The company began focusing on providing precision-sized rings and meticulous, step-by-step pattern instructions and quickly grew to become the Midwest’s largest product and training supplier for amateur chainmaille jewelry makers.

Mojica and her award-winning work have appeared in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and her projects have been published in numerous books and industry articles.

Chained may be pre-ordered now and will ship on or before November 30. Order on Amazon.com or through the BlueBuddhaBoutique.com web site. Those who order through the firm web site can opt to pay slightly more for a signed copy; a portion of sales will be donated to the Franklin Fine Arts Center, the elementary magnet public school Mojica  attended.

Find out more at http://www.chainedbook.com/or visit BlueBuddhaBoutique.com. The Blue Buddha Boutique studio is located at 4533 N. Kedzie Ave. in Chicago, IL 60625, and is open to the public by appointment only. For more information, contact Geraldine Conrad at 773-404-9842.

For more information:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chained-Create-Gorgeous-Chain-Mail-Jewelry-One-Ring-at-a-Time/151763601519825?ref=ts

http://www.chainedbook.com

http://www.bluebuddhaboutique.com

Download Full CHAINED Press Release

Download PDF version of B3 company fact sheet

Company Fact Sheet

• Blue Buddha Boutique, a diverse line of chainmaille jewelry supplies and finished jewelry, is the largest supplier in the Midwest, serving customers in all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide.

• Launched by self-taught artist Rebeca Mojica in 2003, the firm was first operated out of Rebeca’s spare bedroom as a one-woman business, Blue Buddha has grown to a staff of ten full- and part-time employees, with interns and guest contributors helping the company thrive. Blue Buddha prides itself on outstanding customer service, fast turnaround and of course, amazing chainmaille designs.

• Blue Buddha Boutique products and full-color, step-by-step instructions are carried by dozens of retailers across the country and internationally.

• Blue Buddha Boutique strives to continually expand the presence of chainmaille jewelry by providing top quality products, expert customer service, and innovative, artist-driven designs.

• We offer an extensive line of high quality kits and full-color, step-by-step instructions designed by leading chainmaille artists.  Along with the release of CHAINED we will begin rolling out kits for every project in the book and ultimately provide a seamless shopping experience that allows for customization of color, size, and metal for most projects.

• We pride ourselves in serving every level of chainmaille artist from complete novice to expert.  Our products and services are accessible and customer service provided by chainmaille experts ensures that we can answer any and all questions from our customers whether they are new to the artform or a peer.  Our innovative products and designs challenge artists at every stage to take their chainmaille to the next level.

• We specialize in providing high quality saw-cut jump rings for jewelry projects. Our rings come from the best ring makers we know, and we have many sizes custom-made just for us.

• One of our most popular items, anodized aluminum jump rings, are 100% Made-in-the-USA. The aluminum is melted in a Kentucky mill; the wire is drawn and spooled to our precise specifications at a family-owned manufacturer here in the Midwest; the spools are coiled and cut by expert chainmaillers; and the rings are colored by one of the most innovative anodizing companies in the country.

• Rebeca Mojica’s micromaille necklace Poseidon’s Embrace was a third place winner in the Finished Jewelry category of the international Bead Dreams 2009 competition—marking the first time a chainmaille design was juried into the finals.

• Blue Buddha Boutique products and designs are regularly featured in well-known jewelry publications such as Art Jewelry Magazine, Wirework, and Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry.

• In addition to publishing her own book, CHAINED, Rebeca Mojica’s projects have appeared in Chain Mail Jewelry (Lark Publishing) and 30-Minute Necklaces (Lark Publishing).

• Rebeca Mojica has been interviewed as a small business success story for countless print and online publications including SmallBizChicago.com, The Chicago Tribune, and the New York Times.  She also recently appeared on the CBS show Monsters & Money in the Morning to share her success story.

Download the full Blue Buddha Boutique company fact sheet

Download PDF version of Chainmaille 101

Chainmaille Jewelry 101

• Chainmaille jewelry uses small circular jewelry components called jump rings to create intricate pieces of metal jewelry including bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings, and headpieces. The same techniques can also be used to create larger pieces such as guitar straps, belts, coats, scarves, dresses and even sculptures.

• Chainmaille jewelry does in fact have roots in the medieval armor that comes to mind when you hear the word. Contemporary weaves are largely based on the original weaves used centuries ago.

• To create chainmaille jewelry, an artist uses pliers and “weaves” the rings together by opening, closing, and linking them in a variety of patterns ranging from simple to very intricate.

• To date, there are over 1,000 known weaves and variations in chainmaille jewelry.

• Chainmaille jewelry is made by a variety of people, old and young, male and female, across the country and internationally.

• Most people who make chainmaille jewelry feel it is a very relaxing and meditative craft. We often find as well that it is quickly addicting to those who enjoy it – once they get a taste for it they can’t put their pliers down!

• Because you do not need large machines, expensive equipment or even much space chainmaille is a craft that can be easily picked up by anyone. Materials used to make chainmaille jewelry range from very affordable metals such as copper and aluminum to precious metals such as silver, gold, and titanium also allowing for accessibility at any investment range.

• Contemporary chainmaille artists often integrate other materials into their work ranging from glass beads and crystals to metal scales and even fabric or feathers.

• Chainmaille also has a place in high-end jewelry and haute-couture fashion and has been used by such designers as Jean Paul Gaultier, Stephen Dweck and David Yurman.

Download the full Chainmaille 101 sheet

You might be wondering just what is going on in these pictures.  Why is Rebeca on her knees?  Why is Jenna on her tip-toes?  what’s with that towel?  In order to fit in our tiny space and get just the right angles to really see the steps of each weave and how Rebeca was holding her pliers to get the right leverage, we had to be a little…er…flexible.  Literally.  Rebeca spent hours on her knees holding the projects still under super hot lights to get just the right photo each time and Jenna worked quickly to frame each shot, standing above Rebeca to achieve the same viewpoint one might have of their own hands completing each step.  What started out feeling like an intense round of Twister eventually became the norm.

You might think based on our shirts that we shot most of this book in the summer.  The truth is, we shot a good portion of the book in the dead of winter in Chicago – the room just got that hot.  We actually started to refer to the room as “the sun” and Rebeca would ritually groan “Hello, sun” every time Jenna turned on the lights.  We weren’t the only ones feeling the effects of “the sun” however as we noticed that parts of the camera began to melt when under the lights for longer shoots.  Our very fancy solution to this problem was – you guessed it – the blue towel.  Normally reserved for drying tumbled rings, these blue towels are a staple in the Blue Buddha studio and came in quite handy to protect our camera.

You’re probably getting the picture now that we had a little cabin fever when we were in that room which lead to some goofy habits, including referring to our gray card (a tool used for post-production color and exposure correction) as Waldo.  It was necessary for “Waldo” to appear in every photo for post-production purposes and as such, Jenna spent part of her time framing Rebeca’s weaving digits and the other part looking for the gray card.  Looking at our first contact sheets, Rebeca couldn’t help but laugh at the card’s sneaky appearance in every picture reminding her of the old “Where’s Waldo?” books.  Waldo became part of the team and as much as we wanted to destroy him by the end of the process, we just couldn’t.  He now holds a proud position on our photo room door.

On more than one occasion we experienced bizarre and sometimes dangerous light-related episodes.  This included Jenna dropping a hot light on Rebeca’s head (see above photos and use your imagination to understand how that happened!) and even the casing of a light literally shooting off when we turned it on (an incident that, when reported to B&H Photo, garnered a genuine reaction of disbelief.)  One of the sillier incidents involved light bulbs mysteriously morphing and growing little bumps.  We soon realized they too were being affected by the heat and made it a point to up our A/C (yes, even in the Chicago winter!)

In the end, it was 100% worth it.  The photos look stellar and are guaranteed to help you complete every project correctly and with minimal “noggin-scratching”.  I wouldn’t say we’d be ready to do it all again real soon…but who knows.  Like childbirth, we will likely forget the “pain” and be ready for book number two in no time.

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