Question: Money clips; argentium or stirling silver?

[Dave London]

CH
Yep the metal stretches as you bend it, if you want the exact lengths of both sides you have to allow for the bend. Not critical on a money clip though:thumbs up:
Now how about bending with or across the grain Ok just kidding unless you use the wrong type of metal

 

[Mike Cirelli]

I really like this thread a lot of good ideas and nice looking money clips. Good ideas here on ways to fill the money clip

 

[steichman]

Spring temper sterling?

Has anybody used a spring temper sterling to make a money clip and perhaps avoid the tempering prosess?

Steve

 

[Crazy Horse]

What are you refering to when you say "a spring temper sterling ?" I've made several clips from sterling silver using the process I described and they certainly had a spring effect.
Could you explain further?

 

[Kevin P.]

“any advice on the process whatsoever will be very gratefully received.â€

Marcus my response isn’t about the process but another aspect which might interest you.
It seems to me that the process has been covered very well. Crazy Horse’s jig is one I would love to have.
But I would not make a money clip myself unless I had to or unless I needed something as special as James Miller’s beautiful work.

I buy my money clips from a supplier in sterling silver which I prefer over Argentium. It’s just that I’m a traditionalist. I have not used Argentium.

I embellish the clips with some modest engraving, sometimes 18KY accents, sometimes stones.

On my recent selling trip I sold the last of my clips and plan to make more. The response was heartening. The last two were both basically SS one sold for $3500US, the second $500US. Both were made on ‘spec’.

The basic clip is well made; my interest is what comes after. This is what I do to pay my way. I love doing what I do and it’s also my livelihood.
Kevin P.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Hi Kevin, part of the reason I started this thread was the money clips I've found that are available commercially are a bit plain and thin and I thought I could try and see if I could make something a bit better along the lines of what Eastslope and Crazy Horse produce. The embellishment of said clip goes without saying. To be quite honest though, I'm a bit in the dark as to what to charge.

I'm very interested in what you say though. Where do you source your clips from and where do you sell??? Do you have any photos of the clips you've embellished that you could post?

I was talking with fellow engravers at the Hand Engravers Association a couple of weekends back and one told me of his general mark up which was very interesting and has given me some ideas as to trying to expand my business into other areas. It's all a bit of a shot in the dark though and I don't really know what I'm doing but I need to do something so I figured, what's to lose?

 

[Mike Fennell]

Thank you for starting this great thread, Marcus.

Ray Phillips, Ngraver, sells the clips he uses to demo his tools at shows, half-hard, spring tempered, jewelry grade nickle silver, singly or by the dozen.

Mike Fennell

 

[gtsport]

Bend allowance? I think I just had a flashback to Airframe and Powerplant school.

 

[Dave London]

Hi Joe
I guess you found me out. Dave

 

[ken dixon]

Maybe we should have a poll to see how many A&P mechanics are on the forum. Very interesting thread.
Ken

 

[Dave London]

Hi Ken
Four I think, well sometimes the synaspe fire. Something about working with hands :beat up:

 

[Haraga.com]

a&p count

Maybe we should have a poll to see how many A&P mechanics are on the forum. Very interesting thread.
Ken

Count me as one.

 

[Kevin P.]

Well if you provided me with the tech manuals and a T-6 I could still do anything but overhaul the engine. I was in 'periodic maintenance', small trainers, in Alabama for four years.
Kevin P.

 

[Kevin P.]

Marcus, my source for money clips is ‘www.silvergallery.com’.
I checked out several sources. I checked hinged ones, thin ones, decorated ones and engraved ones. I would gladly buy from someone on this forum if possible.

The ones I buy are 2 3/16” x 1 1/4 ‘ .925 sterling. I’m not sure of the gage I think 16 ga. It had a nice feel (heft) and I didn’t measure the gage of the silver. It’s the simplest I could find with the proportions that I found attractive. I wanted a substantial clip that I would use as a foundation.
I would guess that they don’t do these in-house.

Someone on this forum mentioned another supplier whose products looked good.
And if there is someone here who sells a similar money clip I’ll buy it.
I like to be able to make everything myself, but I spend my time on those tasks that return the most benefit.

For the other part of this: marketing. Mine is fairly unusual. I’ve been doing ‘art fairs’ for a long time: a couple of them for 19-20 years. I don’t know if there are such things in the UK.
A producer puts these ‘fairs’ on. For a certain fee you get a space, say a 10’ x 10’ space and the exhibiter provides everything else. The producer does do publicity and other ancillary things. Some are much better than others. They screen and ‘judge’ the quality of the work. The idea is that every exhibitor is the maker of the work, no ‘buy/sell’. That is not always the case.

The best of these ‘art fairs’ have variety, from ceramics to glass to wood furniture and wood turnings to metal work both vessels and jewelry, fabric including hand made clothing, wall hangings, etc. I prefer not to do outdoor shows although when I started out I did street fairs in the San Francisco area and did all right, but it was hard work, harder work than I would do now.

This style of show has allowed me to develop my own customer base. I am selling direct and personal. It’s unmediated selling. I design jewelry that most jewelry stores would not carry.
It’s been my experience that there is a sizeable audience for designer hand made work in the US and the price range is very broad.

One last point about pricing: I disagree strongly with those who talk about limits of what one can charge depending on the metal used. The limits are in your head not in the market place. I cannot afford to purchase what I make; I make what I make for those who can afford it.
But I've just returned from a couple of weeks doing 'fairs' and need to make more 'product' for upcoming events.
Kevin P.

 

[Bunic]

Kevin,

This may be a better link (if this is the site to which you refer):

http://silvergallery.biz/

(.biz vs. .com)

 

[Kevin P.]

Mike I get something totally different when calling up your address for silver gallery.
Kevin P.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

The problem with the link is the last apostrophe is included so it's not linking. It should be www.silvergallery.com

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Thanks for all the info Kevin. I like your philosophy on pricing.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

One other method of making moneyclips is to pierce out a design from sheet, this works in the same way a silver bookmark would (another idea).

One thing to make sure is you keep the weight down, anything in silver over 7.78gm will need assaying in the UK, though there is the loophole of saying it was imported from elsewhere in europe.

Craft fairs are quite common in the UK, some are quite big and have some amazing talent in alot of craft areas, a good way to get in the public eye with a small setup to show some examples of how you work..
Suprising the interest that brings and the sales, i set stones for a jeweller who lived working these shows all over the country.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Yes, that's what I found out the other day. It's a bit of a pain but assaying does prove quality. I must admit to never feeling 100% confident with stuff that isn't hallmarked. Anyone can stamp 925 or 14k on something but the hallmark is a guarantee that it is what is says it is. It's a shame the assay office doesn't use the argentium stamp though. Looks like I'll have to get one from Rio Grande if I like working with the material.

Do you think that craft fairs are the way to go when selling? How does one find out what constitutes a good one?