I recently had the pleasure of interviewing =Klyph for *ArtisanCraft club’s interview feature. =Klyph is a wonderfully talented artisan, and I hope you enjoy this interview.
For a lovely formatted deviation of this interview check here > [link]

Enjoy! - //*inchworm > co-admin *ArtisanCraft club.

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First of all, your jewellery is so impressive, where did you learn your mad skills and how long have you been making jewellery?

Thank you! Mad skills? *lol* One must have a certain level of madness to work in jewelry.
The skills came to me out of necessity more than desire. In the ‘70s, my dad began delivering medicine to small villages at the borders of Thailand. When such a village fell to hard times, my dad asked my uncle (*the* silversmith of his day) to pass some of his skills to existing and new village silversmiths.
My uncle soon found it difficult to travel so far on a regular basis. Since I was tagging along any way, this little girl was an easy candidate to carry his torch.
I still regularly visit this village. It’s a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun. We were recently fair-trade approved too; but that’s another story entirely



I’ve seen that most, if not all of you silver jewellery is fine silver (99.9%), as opposed to sterling (92.5%). What are the advantages of using fine silver?

First off, hand-working silver is stressful on the metal and sterling silver cracks easily under pressure because it is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper or nickel. Sterling silver is more suited for loss-wax casting or mold casting. I mix my own form of sterling silver (95% silver and 5% copper for such purposes).
[Don’t forget that fine silver is actually 100% silver, but to be literally correct, we must write 99.9% silver because there is always a chance of minuscule amounts of particles that are not silver (remember silver oxidizes) in that 0.1% we need to make room for.]
Secondly, because it is not mixed with any other metal, fine silver tarnishes slower (if at all noticeable) than sterling silver. Sterling silver may turn black within a few weeks. Fine silver will last much longer.
Lastly, it’s hypoallergenic and easier to clean. Sterling will need a chemical to bring it back to its original shine. Cleaning fine silver is as easy as putting it in a sock and throwing that in with the laundry.

There are so many wonderful shapes in your jewellery like leaves and flowers, what’s the process of making these shapes?

Much thanks, but that’s top secret information!
Just kidding. Let me roughly walk you through my favorite shapes to make - leaves!
The first part is to ready the silver - which involves melting fine silver and turning the result into sheets and wires. This is the hard, redundant part that I generally do not look forward to.
The second part is stenciling or drawing shapes of leaves on to the sheet and then adding the patterns with an etching hammer. If the silver is hot, it’s almost like dough - you can do all sorts of patterns.
Next is to cut the shapes with metal cutters and shape the leaves (you can twist it or curve it to your will). This is the secret to a good leaf - ruffle them, change their angle, make them your slave! As long as you’re in this step, you can experiment all you want. Don’t forget to file the sides so they don’t cut the wearer!
Then we solder the leaves on to other silver pieces or to a hoop. Remember that once you add solder, it’s harder to go back.
The last step is to pickle and scrub clean. You can also oxidize here if you want the silver to have that antiqued look. Basically, you’re ‘finishing’ the silver now. There’s nothing you can really fix here. Going back might mean melting down your hard work.

Some of those lovely leaves >>

I know you do commissions, do you get many requests?

For pieces similar to the ones in my dA gallery, I get requests regularly for weddings and personal gifts. They’re harder to make, so most requests will stretch for about three to six months. On average, I finish eight to twelve special pieces a month.
I’ve been told my prices are reasonable for hand-made jewelry and the quality is much nicer than mass-produced jewelry. I don’t do much market-research or anything, you see, so I have nothing to compare myself to.

Aside from jewellery, what other kinds of art are you involved in?

Recently, I discovered digital painting. Working with silver can be difficult - one project can go months without a working prototype. While painting (at least for me) can be considered complete in a few hours.

What are your hopes for the future, do you have any long term jewellery goals that are yet to come to fruition?

I’m currently looking for an open-minded gallery that might display my work. I’m in Thailand and few international galleries care for non-local artists. A long-term goal would be to open some sort of real business with what I currently do. I’m sure my chance will come with it comes.
I also want to make swords and exotic weapons one day - just something I plan to do when I can afford a larger workshop and all that time!

Do you have any advice for any jewellers out there who would love to get into silver-smithing?

When I first started, I had trouble catching on to a project. I didn’t like anything I made. Eventually, I learned little tricks like don’t add the hoop if you’re not satisfied; don’t be lazy and move on too quickly - stay with the project for as long as you need, something will always blossom; and modulate when ever possible - don't solder if it’s not necessary. Use rings, chains, and hoops to your advantage before soldering a piece together.
If you’re in trouble, find comfort in others. Silver-smithing has always been a social thing for me; I’m almost never alone when I work. I usually have friends or family over to help cut or string and bead pieces together. Half the fun is making mistakes as a group.
But the most important advice I can give is to love what you do. Anything anyone has to say is secondary to what you have to say about yourself.

Please feel free to note me anytime, I love meeting creative people!