The Sweet Story of our Vintage Inspired Christmas Charms ~
Once upon a time Alan Joseph, co-founder and Product Manager at TierraCast, had a vision dancing in his head. There were candy canes and tin soldiers, snowmen, Santas and more. It was 2011 and Alan was thinking about long ago Christmases back in the 1950s at his Grandmother's home in Auburn, CA. These were huge gatherings of his whole family...more aunts, uncles and cousins than you could count. The living room had a tall ceiling so the tree was impressive, and with so many attending, the gifts were piled high around the base. As Alan said, "It was the highlight of the holiday season!"
He wanted to capture the magic of that simpler time in a collection of charms and went to work with longtime collaborator and friend, illustrator Katherine Perry. They developed a group of charms reminiscent of those long ago Christmases, staying away from the more contemporary Santa Claus and focusing on a less commercialized image of the holiday....resulting in our vintage inspired "Christmas Past" collection.
It was fascinating to go through the file folder from that time. Pages and pages of inspirations and iterations - and a great way to see the creative process of part development!
Vintage Christmas imagery for inspiration ~
A folder-full of ideas and iterations before finalizing which charms make it to production!
The end result was the fanciful Snowman and Christmas Tree, the beautifully detailed St.Nick, Christmas Bells, Nutcracker, Wreath and Angel, and the delicious Candy Cane and Gingerbread Man. Over time we were inspired to add the Snowflake, Peace Dove and Peace Star. For makers and crafters, the Christmas rush is definitely upon us and we hope you find inspiration in these sweet parts. You can find them all here!
Now, did someone say wine?
Wine charms! Use round nose pliers to widen the hook on our 20mm Charm Keeper Hoops, then string on size 6 seed beads and 4mm Disk spacers. Readjust the hook, add a jump ring to attach a charm to the loop. So easy!
Need more ideas? We've collected all of the Christmas designs currently in the Inspiration section of our website below. Click the images to find parts lists and downloadable instructions, and have a beautiful, handmade holiday season!
Yours in jewelry making adventure,
PROJECTS
Little Drops of Christmas Cheer Necklace