Saturday Sparkle: Silver Gate Studio

Who Sparkled this Saturday?

Silver Gate Studio

Today on Saturday Sparkle, we’re talking about fried marbles. Yes. You read that right—fried marbles. It’s a very interesting process of heating and cooling store-bought marbles, the heat causes the glass to expand and the quick cooling causes the insides of the marble to crack. And when the marbles crack, they sparkle!

Sally Sotelo, an independent jewelry artist from Silver Gate Studio in Lakewood, CA first learned about fried marbles from her grandmother. She now takes that project one step further and uses her wire wrap skills to turn these amazing fried marbles into sparkling jewelry. At Silver Gate Studio, you'll find a variety of fried marbles earrings and necklaces, like the one featured in the photo. Another neat thing about these particular necklaces is that the marbles are interchangeable. If you have loose colored marbles or if you purchase additional fried marbles in other colors from Silver Gate Studio, you can spread the wires of the bead cage, pop the marble out, replace it with the color of your choice, and then push the wires back together. Isn’t that cool?

I had a chance to interview Sally from Silver Gate Studio, and here’s what she shared with us.

Sally, when did you first become interested in jewelry design?
I had actually been making beads using polymer clay. But then my Grandmother passed away, and when we cleaned out her house, I ended up with a bunch of fried marbles. I wanted to incorporate them somehow into jewelry because they were so sparkly and pretty. So I realized that I would need to learn how to improve my wire wrapping skills and learn how to put all of it together in some cohesive way. So I bought some DVD's and read some books and taught myself how to do it. Since then I have been doing a lot of practicing, although it hasn't been that long actually, probably only about a year now.

What made you decide to turn your hobby into a business? Well, originally I was just making a few necklaces and giving them away as gifts to family and friends. But then, people were calling back and wanting to know if I had any of the necklaces for sale. As well as, people stopping me to ask me where I had bought the necklace I was wearing, etc. So with the response being so favorable, and as the orders increased, before I knew it, I was in business.

Where did you get the idea for fried marbles? As I mentioned, my Grandmother had made fried marbles when I was a little girl, although she mostly used them in vases and in other items around her home. Also many years ago, when my daughter was in Girl Scouts, we made them for a craft project she was doing. So the idea has been around for a long time.

I've read about the process of cooking marbles and then placing them in cold water to get them to crack. Do you have any advice for someone who might be interested in trying this?
The only advice I would have for someone who wanted to try this is, give it a try, it's a lot of fun! It doesn't necessarily involve any advanced wire wrapping skills either because some of the marbles that I sell are put together using simple jewelry findings.

What are your top three sources of inspiration when making jewelry?
My top three sources of inspiration are, well, the usual answer is nature, so yes nature is always inspiring. Also other artists and/or artwork of any kind can be very inspiring as well. And at the risk of sounding too corny or trite, I would have to say that the energy of the people that I love in my life, I find very inspiring. In other words, if I'm making something for someone in particular, and I'm concentrating on them while I'm making it, (what's their favorite color, what designs do they like, etc.) then sometimes it's almost as if the piece just comes together, without much effort on my part.

Who provides you with the greatest amount of support for your jewelry business?
I would probably have to say that my boyfriend. He is a very patient man, and doesn't nag at me and understands when I'm out in the studio until the wee hours of the morning. I am very grateful for that! Of course my Mom and my best friend are very supportive as well, and seem to like almost everything I make, which makes me laugh. Because not everything I make is beautiful, but to hear them tell it....... well it's pretty funny. So I love the support that I get from them as well.

A special thanks to Sally from Silver Gate Studio for sharing her story about fried marbles with us today! Be sure to visit her online at:

Silver Gate Studio
http://silvergate.etsy.com