Medieval Cleavage

Amongst my many talents, I also make chainmail. Yes that kind of chainmail, the stuff that knights wore. The stuff that goth kids salivate over. For both men and women.

Over the years I did sell some pieces, but mainly smaller things like collars and bracelets. It's an incredibly labor-intensive process, each ring is attached one a time to it's neighbors in intricate patterns. At the beginning I was even making my own rings from galvanized steel wire I would buy at Home Depot (there it is - Pervert Paradise again), and built myself a little contraption that would allow me to wind the wire around it into long coils, then I cut the wire with a fine hacksaw to create nice, even rings. That was a huge pain in the ass, but there were no other sources for already made rings (except jewelry supply companies, and their rings were neither large enough nor nice enough for what I was making).

Then I found a door hinge supplier that was willing to make rings for me and sell them to me by the bag. Stainless steel rings, really nicely made, would arrive in these huge, heavy parcels and I would spent many hours creating pieces, researching patterns, and trying to create things that only my imagination had seen. Everyone who saw me in these pieces was impressed - the medieval/renaissance/SCA people, the fetish folks, the goth kids. Any everyone wanted a piece for themselves (especially my headpieces) - the only problem being that my pieces are so intricate that it takes a huge amount of time to create each one, therefore making each piece wildly expensive to create. Rings aren't cheap, and then to spend several weeks with two pliers in hand, bending rings and keeping track of patterns. So there was definitely a limited pool of people who could afford to commission work from me...

So most of what I created I made in my own size... so I could wear it! I still make some pieces now and then, and stand pliers at the ready should a substantial commission come my way...

Katja Minx

http://www.katja-minx.com/

The birthday countdown has started - only 24 days left until my birthday!

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