News and information regarding Hammer & Hand Byron Bay.

Some Ukulele pins , some polishied earrings , an etch Fail and WiHihanni at the shop bench .

I am so over facebook posts of peoples breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners that I have been tempted to post pictures of the results of my own cullinary adventures about 24hours after the fact (in the porcelainpot)..However… I have decided to post some fairly regular pictures of the state of my workbench instead … So … here are some from yesterday and today .. Also a picture of Dave , Josh and Justin .. the crew from Chanel 10′s “Totaly Wild” show after shooting an interview with myself in the Byron workshop.

Electro etched copper and mild steel

Simon,  http://www.simonpankhurst.webs.com/ joins Hammer as the Hobart Collective begins a transition under the management and curatorship of Ben Beames

We leased these workshops off Boags (Well I did..cheap ! Thanks !)… for about 8 or 9 years , shared them with many Metalheads ..among them and in no particular order, John (the Knife) Hounslow, Richard Martin ,Mat Carney ,David Hurst (Bloke), Kerry Whittle (KerryX), Grant Maddock, Hossein Khadenbashi, Jai Hay, Ben Beames, Larrisa Kemp, Graeme Beer, Karl Quirk, Will James, Sean Willson and countless others who drifted through on various missions.. a great access workshop and allways a Friday knock-off gathering . Amazing talent and a lot of good times .. I went up there to have a look and found the Sheds demolished .. I will add pictures to this album as I find them .. If you have any please pass them on to me, also anyone I have missed ..we were many .

These were a productive experiment; embedding fine silver wire directly into the thicker clay before firing. I was really delighted when the wire didn’t melt. And as much as I love colour I’m also enjoying the purer look of using silver on its own. Then…

Precious Metal Clay, known as PMC, is one of the primary mediums that I use in making my jewellery. It was developed in Japan in the 1990s and is an amazing (and challenging) medium made from recycled silver, that when fired becomes fine silver. I pattern it before firing with stamps and tiles and textures. At the moment I use a butane torch to fire each piece, but am currently exploring access to a kiln to enable me to make more sculptural pieces. The sterling silver and fine silver wires that I use to make my ear wires
or to connect pieces of fired clay are also made from recycled silver from A&E Metals in Sydney. After making the silver I like to enhance my work with touches of colour with Swarovski crystal, dichroic glass, lampwork glass or semi-precious beads.