09/25/2023
This past summer, I rediscovered a love for working with seed beads, so when I saw the beaded multi-wire connection from Kobakant, I instantly knew that I wanted to do something like that (plus, I have too many beads leftover from my middle school days that are begging to be used). I felt drawn to the idea of making a connection that was more decorative because, well, pretty things make work more fun! Because jewelry clasps are often metal, my vision was to create a piece of jewelry (bracelet or necklace) that doubled as a connector.
I love seed beads. Many people would probably find them too tedious to work with, but for me, the more tedious a craft is, the more meditative it is. People design some incredibly intricate jewelry with these beads, but for this first attempt, I thought I’d simply string the beads along the silicone-coated wire, and use that as my insulation.
my bead collection from circa 2005 when I used to sell bracelets to my mom’s coworkers during summer break!
making sure the wire fit through the beads I have! these beads come in different sizes, and magically, I had just the right size for this wire.
deciding on a color palette (turquoise is my favorite color)
I was feeling torn about what type of fasteners I wanted to use for the ends, mostly because I wasn’t sure if I should be prioritizing a connection with the multimeter. Since this was going to be a functional piece of jewelry, the lobster clasp seemed like the obvious and necessary choice…but because I don’t know what materials/objects I’ll be connecting in the future, and because I’m extremely indecisive, I wanted to have options. 🙂 I didn’t have any hook-and-eye sets, which I wanted to include, but I did have an earring hook, safety pin, and a snap (not pictured), and I had the idea to turn those into removable “charms” that could be clipped on to either end of the lobster clasp when needed.
lobster clasp, earring hook, safety pin, and a DIY clasp made from wire (that ended up not being conductive, sadly)
little prototype, experimenting with charms! people wear things like this…right…?
To attach either end of the clasp, I stripped a short section (~0.5”) of the wire, looped that through the clasp and then twisted it around itself to lightly secure it. Since the wire is relatively fragile and was exposed, I covered it in a small strip of conductive tape to strength that connection, followed by insulating it in heat shrink.
