Etched Scales! BOY OH BOY!

What are these etched scales?

So I found something amazing today! And it has been bugging me to no end too. . . well here let me who you what I am talking about.

These are scales and tags that my providers sells. These are not like normal ones however. These are laser etched which makes these AMAZING! Now the images are ok but these are just stock images. I can request any image I want, for instance I can ask for Full Metal Alchemist symbols, or the Stark house symbol. I can do Sailor Moon symbols and other anime symbols and pictures. 

Now I have a bunch of ideas for these like bracelets, earrings, hair ties, flowers, butterflies, and even bookmarks.

For some reason EVEN with all these GREAT ideas something is missing and I can not quite place it. 

For this reason I am asking you that folow my blog to help me out and give me some ideas. I will Start a poll later on with some of the ideas so I know what I should start with and then work on towards!

Thank you all!

New order and weave! Why yes please!

New Weave!

So for those that have seen recently I have been able to make Elfweave! Now I personally like elfweave but have a slight dislike of it as well. IT refuses to keep the shape that it is woven into. WELL I have figured out how to fix this! By making it into Elfsheet! 

Here let me show you a few pictures!

Elfweave and Elfsheet right next to eachother

Elfsheet and a Celtic Star (Star is 1 1/2" tall)

Close up of Elfweave and Sheet

Elfsheet on my wrist!

Now elfsheet is GREAT! I love it personally. It takes about 30 minutes to add on the new row and can be expanded into a full body armour if one wanted (at a high cost and lots of work)  

Now the elfsheet in the pictures is just 3 rows. Which with the 16g 1/4" Bright Aluminium rings I used is only 1 1/2" wide. It weighs a solid half of a pound or so which is impresive in Aluminium standards.

For those that knew about my hatred with this weave, it was purely stupid of me to even consider hating this weave. It did take me some time to get the Elfweave and then sheet down but it was rather easy where as the tutorials online and on youtube made it look harder than it really was.

WIth my new order that I will be talking about next I will be able to do something AMAZING with Elfsheet! Let me show you!

3 row elfsheet dark green rings are actual Rubber rings!

The above picture is a FULL bracelet! This bracelet has NO connector it is a solid piece. The reason for this is because there are Rubber rings on it. The rubber rings allow the bracelet to stretch and thus no connector is needed. 

I will be doing this with about 3 bracelets to start and if anyone wants one let me know. When I run out I will make more on demand! Just ask for the price!

New order!

So this friday I will be placing an order for about $160 worth of materials! This includes copper, brass, rubber rings, bright aluminium rings as well as some anodized aluminium! 

I will be making some dicebags for a commission that will be sent out in mid January as I stated with the buyer and that will be my FIRST commission out of state where I currently live!

I also have some SCA chains and will have with my some AMAZING 14g copper rings! Now 14g is REALLY thick and for those that have worked with or around chainmaille know it is considered by near amount of everyone as true armor grade for chainmaille!

Pictures of this shipment when I receive it!

Whats this!. . . New Weave UNLOCKED!

Pardon the use of a corny title but I could not help it. ANYWHO. . .

ELFWEAVE!

So my new weave happens to be Elfweave! Now some of you know that I complained A LOT! about this weave. Good news I have MASTERED this weave and I am now working on its next incarnation, Elfsheet!

Well as they say on the internet, Pics or it never happened!

Here are 3 pics of the same sheet with a few different settings on my Tablets camera.

Now out of 5 stars in difficulty, Elfweave is a 3 star weave. This does not make it hard but it is complex because you have to keep track of what you are doing with it. 

I will be posting my pictures of my elfsheet that I will do tomorrow night. Till then!

SCA Commissions!

So at the end of Heavy Armor fighter practice on the 10th I showed a few of theguys there my Full Persian 18g 1/4" 8" bracelet. (here is a pic of it)

Full Persian Bracelet in the center!

Now afew of them were REALLY excited about the prospect of a custom made Knights Chain! They had asked me to get them some prices and pictures of what it will look like etc. One of them asked for a Copper and either brass or Bronze mix. He wanted a picture and since Facebook gives me trouble I figured I will kill all the birds with a single stone and post this up here.

Now lets look at some bracelets and the costs. I am going to focus on full persian for the beginning and move on to half persian at the end.

Full Persian:

First let us see some pics of differnt materials and FP!

Aged Brass with Copper lines

Stainless Steel and Copper

Another pic of the aged Brass and Copper

These look great huh!

Now at 18g like my bright aluminium bracelet is only 8" long and the chain will be roughly 3-4 times that length. This makes materials with shipping come to about $20 for the 18g. 

Now because bronze, copper, and brass are somewhat softer material to deal with, I have to increase my hourly price because Ihave to be careful with them, now that does not increase my time, thankfully. 

Now when looking at a BIGGER version of this in Copper (14g) Material costs come out to be $60! That includes the shipping. The reason it costs so much is the place I order my rings from (since being homeless robs my capability to make my own rings) sell by the Ounce. So smaller gauge wire is thicker so heavier which means less in a ounce, not to mention that shipping gets higher. Thankfully  I do not need as many rings though. I still want about 800 rings for saftey purposes (have more than enough rings and you make sure that you do not need to order more!)

Half Persian:

Here is a picture of mixed half persian

Copper and Stainless steel (gives you the feel of how it alternates)

This is a square ring Brass and copper HP

Prices are about a 3rd to a quarter less than FP. So the costs for materials for a 18g is $15 and the 14g is $40.

Thoughts? Just let me know I do know other weaves such as Byzantine, Viperscale, and even Dragonback.

What is on the Table 10DEC2012

So I am back with another "What is on the Table" article! Today I will be going over what I have completed over the last week, what I am working on, AND future works!

What has been finished:

So here are a few commissions I have finished this past week! 

Flower Power on a clip commission:

First one that was finished was a Christmas Present for my friends 3 nieces. This commission was for 6 dual colored Flower Hairclips! He was able to get all 6 for $30! What great value! Now let us seem some pic (or it never happened right ~_^ )

These came out GREAT! Took me about 2 hours to complete (these where my first ones EVER!) but I think they look great! 

As you can see they are in sets of 2, we have from left to right a Pink and Blue set, a Blue and Purple set, and lastly a Pink and Purple set. Each one has a hairclip attached (was tricky trying to figure out the best way for the hairclip. . . )

The Dragon scale commission:

The second one that I finished for one Orion Miller. Now this commission was for 2 sets of Dual Dragon Tear Earrings, and 2 Necklaces with a special scale combination AND a celtic star (I came up with the design and everything!)

Once again lets go to the pics!

The Dual Dragon Tears

Celtic Stars

The entire commission

18" and 24" Euro 4 in 1 Celtic Star Scale Necklaces (need better name. . . )

Now the Dual Dragon Tear Earrings are something of my own design (some one else might of done it but I have yet to find one named like mine) They are 2 scales normally of different colors that are connected by a 2 in 2, 5 link chain with the small scale colors being a 2 ring Mobius Flower (It is a personal touch really, I am a sucker for Dragonscale and Mobius. . . what can I say. . . )

The stars are actually the connecting point for the toggle clasps for the necklaces, so the necklaces are suppose to hang either right above the cleavage, or right between, and instead of connecting it in the back, it is done right there in the front! 

Now the earrings did not take all that long (about 15-20 minutes in total) but the necklaces. . . those took a bit. Since I have never seen one of these (they are my own personal design so of course I have not seen them) before, I had a few interesting issues come up. Thankfully I was able to "smooth" these out and voila, commission complete!

Side Project #1:

A side Project i have been working on are some earrings to throw onto my Etsy store as well as a way to have easy access to some product on hand.

Here are some pics:

3 sets of Shaggy Loops (I call then Dog Ears)

A bunch of my second favorite earrings the Mobius Flowers! 

Now you have already seen my Dual Dragon Tears so I dont think I need to show them off again but I am going to finish the Red and black one I have in my box so that I have an example of it (just need the time)

Now the Mobius and the Shaggy Loops (Dog Ears hence forth) are made from a 16g 5/32" anodized aluminium rings! 

I like to think that I did a few good color combinations (what do you guys think?)

Now my earring prices HAVE to be updated, on the other page but the prices for these are for the Mobius, $6 per pair. The Dog Ears are $8 per pair, and the Dual Dragon Tears are $10! 

Well lets move on shall we?

Current Commissions:

So now I have only 1 commission that I am working on (Yes Cody this is yours). I am working on 5 large Dual Scale Flowers (here lets take a look at what they will look like)

Dual Scales Both large

Dual Alternate Scales (one large one small)

These are both pains to do. The integeral issue with scale flowers is that everything is based on what size rings you use (I do not have a big enough selection). Now they are being finished (slowly) and they will be done on time but they are time consuming and a bit painful but I love them so. . . . 

Free work:

I have a Copper Full Persian Bracelet that I am working on, just waiting for the material to ship in since I do not have any copper on me to do this in. . . will have to be REAL careful since it scratches REAL EASY LIKE!

Upcoming Commissions:

Now I only have one but it is for a Pink and White Full Persian Necklace with a T hanging fron the front and then a heart and then a J so it will be; 

FP;T;heart:J;FP 

(FP is full persian) 

That is it for me. If you have any ideas comments, concerns. Just let me know I am always craving feedback!

Remember to share my blog with your buddies! Get the word out!

New works! . . .

New works come out!

Ok so here are a few things I have made yesterday and today. Took me a few hours to complete al together. 

Here we have 5 Sets of Mobi'i, 2 Dual Dragon Tear Earrings, 2 Celtic Stars, and 3 Dog Ears

The Mobi'i

The Dog Loops

One of the Dual Dragon Tears. This one is Purple and Red with red mobius linked to standard 2in2 purple rings

Celtic Stars (Here Cody I will have these on Thrusday)

So the Dragon Tears and the Stars as you may see share color combinations. These are for a commission for Orion. 2 Necklaces and 2 sets of earrings for $80. . . not bad considering I have to work scales onto the necklaces. . . Finished products either tomorrow or the day after. . . 

I have some Dual Flowers that I am making for another comission, those WILL be up tomorrow night. The comission is due Thrusday. . . 5 sets of Flower hairclips for $40. . . Cody is lucky that he is a friend and it is christmas >.>

More work coming up in the next few days. I will have all the current comissions done and will be doing free work with what I have left so I can sell those. 

Remember to check out my new Etsy Shop! I will be listing the earrings up on there as well as the stars. So if you like anything go to there and everything will be set up for you to make the right decision ;)

G'night all! 

What is this. . . a Contest!?

What it is all about!

So as all of you know, Majestic Maille is almost a month old now. To celebrate this and Christmas I am holding a contest!

Here is the low down on this contest.

I am looking for the person that refers 3 people to either my Etsy Shop, my blog, or to me personally. They have to order something with the value of $15 or more, per person!

Now what could you possibly get that would make this worth it? 

Here is what the winner gets! 

First person to accomplish this will get a $50 credit to Majestic Maille! 

If there is a second you will get a $35 credit and if there is a third you will get a $20 credit!

Now why could this be important, you may be wondering. Well first of all it is free stuff that you want! Secondly Christmas is coming up REAL SOON so what would be better than a custom made, one of a kind Majestic Maille creation to the one you love. . . or maybe just to yourself!

I am also including bead work into this and I WILL foot the bill on that if you want custom beads from Fire Inspired! (Not cheap but they are AMAZING!) 

As always ideas, opinions, questions, and thoughts are welcome!

New works. . . and wait. . .what is this Etsy thing?

What is new?

Well I finished up some new works here let me show you!

Close up of Half Persian

Half Persian Neckalce

More Scale Flowers

Silver Box Chain

What is this Etsy thing?

So I have been asked if I have had an Etsy ultiple times and every time I stated that it was underpriced for what I am trying to do with Majestic Maille. Well I have spoken with some people and read up some great information on Etsy and it seems to be great way to jump start a business. 

Well i am now on Etsy and here is the link:

Majestic Maille Etsy Shop

Go check it out for this is where I will be selling all these amazing works you will see here! If you have any questions or ideas I am always open to these (only way to get good right!)

Well its early in the morning and I am sleeply. . . I will be on later! Have a great day.

Newly Completed!

This is a new series based on what I have finished this week. This sill be done on Thrusdays, just because I can!

Whats been done!

So here is what I have comepleted this week.

Everything completed

Full Persian Bracelet, Giant test flower, and Red Gold Flower for commission

3 sets of 2 flowers hairclips for a commision

Scale Bracelet. . . stunning!

So besides the 7 flowers everything is for sale. 

The bracelets are great! The Full Persian is very flexible and light. It is made out of Bright Aluminium. I am selling the bracelelt for $20. If you want it do hurry I have a few people considering it

Now the Scale bracelet is a BEAUTY! Here are a few more pics.

So this bracelet is pretty big, roughly 7.5-9" long it is a pretty gold and brown scales. It looks like Copper dragon scales if you ask me. It has a toggle clasp as seen in a few of the photos.

This bracelet is going for $50 once again got a few people but if you want it just email me at majestic.chain.maille@gmail.com

Thank you all once again!

Pricing breakdown

How I price:

Ok some of you are wondering why I have the prices I do. Well this is simple really. I use the prices I do based on a simplistic equation. This equation has what I consider my hourly wage to be ($10 an hour for the time being) cost of materials, and a 40% profit margin.

A lot of you saw the 40% and are freaking out! Why so high! you ask. Also simple. I am a new business, I need to get my name out there, I need to attend events so that I can sell more product, and I need to acquire more materials.

Now 40% is actually on the low end of most peoples pricing guides that do this for a living. I have seen 55% and up as the norm here.

Also some of you are thinking that I am getting more money then what my items and products are worth. So let me ask you a question and this concerns why I have a wage and a profit to my equation.

If I chose to do a different job that paid me $10 an hour instead of chainmaille then that would be my wage right? That is what the job considered my time worth to them. Same is true for this job. $10 an hour is what my time is worth to be doing this. The profit is as I stated to help expand my business!

Plans for my business:

Now for those of you who are looking at this and thinking that I may be a bit ambitious. . . well you are RIGHT! Lets start off at the current situation shall we.

For those that do not know I am a Homeless 23 year old in Portland Or. Now do not take this as a way to garner sympathy, I do not say this for that. Rather I would like you to see more of what I am trying to accomplish.

Currently I am working towards making over $300 a month in profit for at lest 2 consecutive months,  so that I can get a place to live. When you do the math the profit of $300 means that I have sold upwards of $1200 which should cover rent with roommates, and increasing my business.

I am also working on setting up several consignments and such with some very high end names in the Portland area.

Within a year I plan on hitting some major events in Portland and Washington. These include Ren Fairs, SCA events, and many many Cons.

I plan in the next 2 years to hit 2 MAJOR events in the US. 1 of them is a Ren Fair in Texas. There I am looking at sending roughly $12,000 worth of product and coming back with 2-3 times that (Not all of it will sell. . . ) The second event will be PENNSIC which is a HUGE SCA event (roughly 10,000 people at a slow PENNSIC) Here I will be taking as much product as I did to the Ren Fair in Texas and I plan on having a blast. I will also be bringing 2 of my models with me if the Texas Ren Fair pays off and it will be an all expenses paid trip for them.

Now a lot of you are wondering "Why the frack is he telling us this!" Well I believe that if you know my goals and what i am trying to accomplish, as well as from where I am coming from you will want to be apart of this and get your own Majestic Maille Custom piece done. This is no marketing ad or anything like that.

This is a simple show of how far I want to go with this. I have the ambition, the capability, the tools, the imagination, and the will to learn.

What else I do with chain maille

What else is there?

Alright, so some of you may be asking yourselves; 

"So you can do earrings, bracelets, neckalces, and wallet chains. . . Is that all!?" 

The answer to this is "No, that is ONLY the beginnning!"

In this post I will show you some of my FAVORITE things! 

Please keep in mind that these photos are not mine (for now) and I will replace the photos with my own as I get them in.

At the end I will have some more pictures that I think are fantastic!

Dragonscale!

Now some of you will remember this weave, I have shown it MANY times! (also if you look at the background it is 3 bracelets of Dragonscale)

Here are some examples. 

A 5 ring slide connector, connecting a Blue Silver Dragonscale 7 wide bracelet

The other side of that bracelet

3 Dragonscale bracelets shoing the color versatility and the majestic beauty of Dragonscale

A small 4 wide Gold and Black Dragonscale bracelet

MICROMAILLE! THis is about a 22 or high gauge Dragonscale. . . Will!!!! I shall get you!

Here is a BEAUTIFUL 4 wide Black, Gold, and Silver bracelet

Here is an ODD one. A 3 wide BUT the outside rings are small! This is not a normal Dragonscale but a GREAT idea!

Dragonscale Tie. This is a Micromaille version.

Bright Silver and Orange Full bracelet, no connector

 So now we have seen some GREAT examples of Dragonscale. It encompasses everthing chainmaille has to offer and MORE! Not only does it look great but it can take a BEATING! I have seen pieces that are 6+ years old and have never had to bbe repaired even after kids tugging and pulling, things getting caught in it etc.

About Dragonscale:

Dragonscale is a 2 sized ring weave. This DOES increase the cost so beware! Now with the 2 ring sizes one has to be VERY careful on picking the Aspect Ration of EACH ring size. ( one reason I commented on the odd one with a different ring on the big ring slot. . . ) Dragonscale is a silky sort of weave behaving like almost having a snake in your hands (same movements) This weave is also called the snake weave or Fishscales.

Dragonscale as you hav seem can be done in MANY sizes and colors. It also looks AMAZING in most any combination. This weave is actually what GOT me to start chain maille in the first place!

Ok lets more on to Scale Maille!

Scale Maille

Scale maille is a weave that does not use rings to make it up. The rings are just a SMALL portion of what is there and you usually do not even see them!

Lets get some examples!

Flower Hairclips Underside

Flower Hairclips Topview

3 colored Scale Bracelet. 3 wide

Alternating 1 wide Blue scale bracelet

Pink Hand Flower

Blue and white (Azure and Argent) 3 wide Necklace

Scale Scrunchy

In action!

Butterflies

Extended Scale Chocker with costom Leather

Scale Dicebags (Crocheted, Mine will be knitted with rings instead of yarn)

Scale Tie (try going to a meeting in this! The looks are AMAZING!)

Scale Wrist Flower 

So here we have seen some AMAZING styles of scale use! Now thankfully scales are not expensive (about $4 for 100 of the small ones) and thankfully scales cover a DECENT area (300 small ones for a sq foot of item) so they are not OUTRAGEOUS! Which is great. Take for instance the Alternating Blue 1 Wide bracelet up there, that would go for like $20! That thing is almost 50 scales LONG! But it would not take long to make! Which is GREAT!

Now something like that scale chocker and you are looking at about 6+ hours of time at max and that piece would run about $120ish at best!

Scale is a great median, and I can work most ANYTHING into either scale OR chain. All you have to do is ask!

Well that is all for me tonight! Next time I will be doing a little price explanation so everyone understands just HOW I do this and why I am not pulling numbers from odd places!

Great Pictures!

Dragonscale Pendents. Great for Keychains, phone clips, etc and cheap to! $5 a piece! 

Dragonscale Earring! OH MY! These are a treat. Now almost ANY weave can become  an earring (looking at you JPL) but these ones look GREAT!

Purple and silver version

Dragonscale Bracelet with speciality clasp