Welcome to this month's newsletter!

This will be a somewhat shorter newsletter as I've been working hard to get ready for my August shows. I hope you enjoy reading!

Barbara Kay Jewelry News

I have finished many of the pieces that you saw in progress in the last issue, although I've decided to put three of the more complex pendants on hold so I could focus on my upcoming shows. Here are the finished pieces - come see me in Vancouver or Washougal and possibly see these in person! Hopefully by the September issue I'll have the other three pendants ready to show you. Two of the pendants have cut-outs on the back; the others didn't lend themselves to that. I also finished the little opal triplet cuff seen below.

Here's a final reminder of my upcoming shows:

​Vancouver Arts and Music Festival: August 1, 2 and 3 in Vancouver, Washington (Esther Short Park)

​Washougal Arts and Music Festival: August 9 in Washougal, Washington

And in November (there will be additional reminders of this one): Clark County Open Studios Tour​

Caring for your Jewelry

Summer brings with it sun, heat, lotions and sweat. All of these things can be hard on your jewelry, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about jewelry care. Let’s start with wearing your jewelry.

If you wear lotions (sunscreen or moisture lotions) I recommend letting it completely dry before putting your jewelry on. This goes for perfumes as well. This will reduce the possibility of chemical reactions with the metals which can cause tarnish and sometimes even corrosion in some metals. I also recommend not wearing jewelry next to your skin (such as rings and bracelets) if you know you will sweat a lot.

Even if you are careful, you may want to gently wash your jewelry after wearing with mild soap (dish soap works well). Dry it well before putting it away. This will remove lingering lotions, sweat and oils.

If you know you will be in direct sunlight or high heat for a period of time, I would avoid wearing jewelry with stones. While many stones aren’t affected by heat or sun, others are. The beautiful blue color of Larimar, for example, can fade if it’s exposed to too much sunlight. Amethyst can also fade and even change color if it is in too much heat for a period of time. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry when you don’t know how a stone might react. This goes for storage as well; avoid storing your jewelry where it might be exposed to direct sun or too much heat.

I also highly recommend that you remove your jewelry when swimming or showering. Both the chemicals in pools and the soaps and shampoos used in your shower can be damaging.

One thing that seems to happen more quickly in the summer is tarnish. Copper tarnishes over time as it reacts to sulfides and other gases in the air around us. All metal alloys that include copper will also tarnish – that includes metals such as brass, bronze and sterling silver. Even lower karat gold can tarnish as anything less than pure gold includes an amount of copper. So what can we do to keep our jewelry bright and shiny?

Storing your jewelry in a closed container when you’re not wearing it will help keep the metal bright for a longer period of time; you can extend that time by adding an anti-tarnish strip or tab. Anti-tarnish strips work by absorbing those tarnishing gases away from the jewelry. They can be purchased through jewelry supply stores and on Amazon as well. They can last anywhere from six to twelve months before needing to be replaced. Some of them even change color when it’s time to replace them.

Depending on the type of jewelry, I sometimes rub a very thin layer of high quality wax on the metal. I do this mainly for jewelry that has a lot of skin contact (rings and bangles). This doesn’t give as much protection as a hard acrylic type coating (which I don’t use) but it will create a temporary barrier against gases. I use Renaissance Wax, which was developed to be used in museums. It can be bought on Amazon as well as some jewelry supply stores. It is petroleum based, so if that’s an issue I think a high quality carnauba wax would also work. Use a soft cloth to rub a very small amount of wax on the metal and let it dry for 10 to 30 minutes. Then buff it with another clean soft cloth. This can be done every six months or so.

If (when) your silver tarnishes, the best solution is to use a polishing cloth to remove the tarnish and give the metal a little shine. Be sure to wash the polish residue off using warm water and a gentle dish soap. Dry completely before storing the jewelry. Avoid using the creams sold as silver polish (or copper/brass polish). These products actually remove a layer of metal along with the tarnish every time you use them.

Sometimes a polishing cloth will not entirely remove tarnish from copper and bronze or brass. Fortunately there are some handy kitchen supplies that may do the job. Ketchup can be used to rub tarnish off of copper. Bronze, and likely brass as well, works best with a solution of salt and lemon juice. You can follow-up (after washing of course) with a polishing cloth to bring a bit of a shine back to the metal.

Some people like the antique patina that non-silver metals get. And sometimes these metals in particular are purposefully given a patina by the jeweler. I often do this with copper and bronze – and even sometimes with silver. I like the warm colors of patina’d copper and bronze, and the combination of darkening and then polishing helps texture show up better, as you can see in these cuffs.

When a piece is purposefully patina’d I would use a polishing cloth to bring back shine, but carefully! If you rub too hard and too long you may remove that desirable color.

I hope this offers some helpful tips! With a little care, your favorite pieces of jewelry will last your lifetime and beyond.

I'll leave you with a couple more pictures of earrings that I've finished and that will be at the festivals. I was having fun with leaves, textured metals and a few Czech glass beads!

I always love to hear from you. Let me know what you think, and what you’d like to see in future newsletters.