. . Hanna Aalto . .

Sterling silver flower comb.

Metal clays are interesting products. Fine metal powder is combined with polymers and water. You can treat these clays like normal clay. But when dried clay piece is heated near to melting temperature (but under it), polymers burn away and metal powder fuses into solid piece.

Silver clay has been available long time and it works very reliable. Bronze clay is more tricky and often the result is not a piece of metal, but oxidised metal powder…

I tested silver clay five years ago. You would need special kiln for burning items and I don’t have it. This spring I participated to workshop where I could make works that need kiln firing. During last years there has been lots of progress in metal clays. It was great to get latest news from the teacher.

I could not resist to make glow in the dark pendants. Powder is glued as thin layer on the walls and cavity then filled with resin. That should make pendant stronger.

One of autumn highlights is trip to Finnish handicrafts fair in Tampere. There is 600 sellers in the fair. You can be sure that you get lots of ideas and materials from there.

This year I had made list of thing I need to buy. I found most, only I could not find lamb skins suitable for my projects. I got silver and smithing tools. This year I did not buy more than 2 strings of beads since I still have lots of them left. I also bought prometheus pronze clay for testing.

I have wanted to try nunofelting for long time. Thus I bought set of merinowool from Papiina oy. I also bought silk fibre for decorating felted surfaces.

One of autumn highlights is trip to Finnish handicrafts fair in Tampere. There is 600 sellers in the fair. You can be sure that you get lots of ideas and materials from there. This year I had made list of thing I need to buy. I found most, only I could not find lamb skins suitable for my projects. I got silver and smithing tools. This year I did not buy more than 2 strings of beads since I still have lots of them left. I have wanted to try nunofelting for long time. Thus I bought set of merinowool from Papiina oy. I also bought silk fibre for decorating felted surfaces.

Ahlskog manufactures very soft reindeer hides for big fashion houses (Armani, Vuitton…) and for crafters too. They had nice selection of cheap hides that had some flaws. At the end I bought 6 hides.

The best purchase was new 1920-style hat that milliner Sirpa Jäntti-Nikulainen had made. I already have a hat that she has made and it still looks like new even if I have used it for several years. Now I just have to make or find shawl that fits the colour and style of the hat.