Green
My environment is very important to me. Whether it’s my home, my studio or my community I’m very aware of what I touch, breathe and use in my daily life. As a jewelry artist and silversmith I was uncomfortable with some of the toxic and hazardous materials needed to create my pieces so I did a bit of research and experimentation and came up with my own alternatives for a greener studio.
*Preserving the Earth and eliminating the need for further mining operations lead me to use eco-friendly fine silver. PMC is a mixture of recycled metal objects such as jewelry, electronic parts, and photographic film, which is manufactured with silver compounds. The silver is recovered and turned into finely powdered particles which are then mixed into a binder, forming a clay-like material. When fired the binder burns away leaving a 99.9% piece of fine silver metal (My silver scrap is also saved and sent off to be recycled again).
*Recycling is wonderful but how it is recycled is also important. Mitsubishi Materials is the maker of PMC as well as the refinery. Naoshima Smelting and Refinery in Naoshima, Japan, is a zero-emissions refinery plant. In 2001 they earned the 14001 status from the International Orginization for Standardization (IOS). So not only does this plant recycle silver, which means less is taken from mines, it is also a factory that does not emit harmful emissions into the environment.
*Besides recycled metal clay I also use recycled sterling silver wire. This wire is used in my hand formed jump rings, hand linked chain and anything else that requires wire work.
*Soldering causes hazardous fumes and who wants to breathe that? Solder and flux produce fumes that are not safe to breathe. And the sulfuric acid needed to pickle the pieces after they’ve been soldered also gives off fumes that are corrosive to breathe and hazardous to the skin as well. To eliminate these bad chemicals but still get the results I need I fuse my pieces using the flame from my torch. That’s it. The heat from the flame moves the metal and bonds it together. No fumes, no toxic chemicals, and best of all, fusing is a stronger bond because there is no joint to come undone if the soldering wasn’t done correctly.
*In order to fuse I need oxygen and propane for my torch. To eliminate the use of oxygen tanks (which are not recyclable) I use a re-furbished oxygen concentrator/generator (The ones used in hospitals). The unit is reconditioned to new condition and enhanced to increase oxygen volume. Oxygen is pulled out of the air and the unit provides me with an unlimited supply of oxygen.
These small steps have led to a safer and more environmentally sound studio. You can confidently wear a Gwynnie B Design knowing it was made with absolute care and eco-friendly materials and tools. Not only are you wearing a beautiful piece of art but you are also contributing to keeping our Earth clean.