You may be asking yourself ‘Why create with copper?’
I’ve been a crafter all my life, and I’ve made jewellery since my teens, but I’m a recent convert to working with copper. And I have to say, I am hooked. Here are just a few of the reasons why
Colour
I love the colour. Okay, that’s subjective, but there’s something about that warm, red colour that just draws you in. And it is said in jewellery to suit all skin tones. But actually here, we should be talking about colours, as you can create a wide variety of colours in copper, by heating, or using patinas. More on that another time!
Availability
As a designer-maker, it is a joy to find materials readily available. Copper is easy to find, in many different forms, from wire to sheet, to tube, and ready-cut shapes.
It is also great value. I hate to think of it as ‘cheap’, but it is certainly lower-priced than silver or gold. For me, the great benefit of this is not having to worry about cutting lengths to the mm, or else risking the wastage of £s. So I can be freer to ‘go with the flow’ in my designs.
Versatility
This is the big one. The reason I started using copper, and the reason I’m never going to get bored. You can just do so much with it! Using a hammer, you can shape, texture and work-harden it; you can anneal it with heat to soften it; you can stamp into it, solder it, and etch designs on it; you can change its colour by heating or applying patina; and probably a ton of other things I’ve forgotten to mention or have yet to discover!
If you already use copper, I hope this resonates with you, and if you’re new to it, I hope this gives you a reason to join me on this journey and give this beautiful metal a try!