Monday afternoon I was lucky enough to get a tour of the
F is For Frank studio thanks to one of the designers, Casey Melton. After seeing Casey's and Shannah Frank's work at the Dallas Flea, I was hopeful I would get the opportunity to take a closer look at their process for making jewelry. Casey was extremely sweet as she and her two dogs showed me around the studio. (The pups even have their own side yard for running around!)
Casey showed me into their open and airy workspace where they make every single piece of their
beautiful jewelry. All of the sudden, Casey took me by surprise and actually started the process for making a pewter medallion. She placed one of their many molds into the centrifugal casting machine and poured the 500 degree, liquid pewter into the top. After a few minutes, she took the mold out and
voila, a set of pewter medallions ready for jewelry making. I guess I never really thought about how their beautifully crafted and architectural pieces came to be...maybe they carved them or something? I was completely fascinated by this machine. I have to admit, I was also pretty amazed by how the shiny, liquid pewter resembled the grey, bubbling metal used on Wolverine's bones in
X-Men. That's where my nerd mind wandered and I'm not ashamed to admit it...ok?
Casey and Shannah have been making jewelry for around 3 years, in addition to their work in housewares and designs of custom architectural elements. F is for Frank jewelry has expanded beyond Dallas and is in shops all across the country. They also go to a lot of large trade shows in addition to the smaller craft shows. As a result of my general craft show cluelessness, I had to ask her thoughts about doing craft shows. She said that they enjoy doing local shows, like the Jingle Bash, because...
1. It helps them test their product so they know what to sell.
2. They are able to promote themselves locally.
Sounds like great tips to me! Thanks Casey for showing me your beautiful jewelry and how it's made!
I just love sharing other great Dallas artists with all of you. I hope some of you are able to see what an awesome handmade community we have. It's finally setting in on me! ;-)
