Presenting Chained To The Strange!

We have recently gained some new members in the ArtFire Chainmaille Guild, and so this week we are featuring another of our new members. The person I would like to introduce you to is Jennifer from Chained To The Strange. We gave her our usual list of questions, and what follows are her answers.

1) How long have you been a Chainmailler?
Not very long at all! It was only about a year and a half ago that I
had even considered trying chainmaille. A friend of mine received an
inlay for his birthday and I was fascinated. He told me where his
friend got his supplies, and in August of 2008 I ordered a sampler
from The Ring Lord. I looked at them, hemmed and hawed, and almost
exactly 1 year ago I ordered a set of pliers and the 1814 AA jewelry
kit. February 19th, 2009 it arrived, and I took to it like a duck to
water!

2) Why do you like Chainmaille?
It's unusual and creative, two of my favorite things. I can't draw my
way out of a paper bag, which severely limits my creative out lets. It
requires a lot of creative problem solving for some items, which works
both sides of my brain. It also allows me to match my jewelry to any
outfit, on the fly! I like that when I finish, I have something
concrete to look at and say "I made that."

3) What is your favourite type of ring?
My most used would be Etched Aluminum, 18g, 1/4" ID. I think part of
the reason for that is because that is what I started with, and what
I'm most used to. I'm starting to experiment with different sizes, but
I'm still fond of the aluminums because of their low cost and range of
colors.

Favorite I've used so far though has to be either the silver or the
niobium I've worked with. Probably niobium, the colors can't be beat!

4) What kind of items do you prefer to make?
Mostly jewelry. I don't have the patience to make clothing, though
I've got some pre-made chainmaille cloth coming to play with so I
might cheat. Just realized I forgot to order rings to go with it
though... that would make 3 orders in one week... oops!

I like anything involving glow rings, just because I love glow!
Juggling balls are also fun to play with as I'm making them.

5) Which weave would you like to learn that you dont currently know?
There's a bunch! JPL for sure, dragonscale, HP3, and Full Persian are
on my current to do list. Some are just a case of not having the right
AR on hand, HP3 is a case of getting annoyed and going back to byz
LOL.

6) Which piece are you most proud of?
Hard to say. None of mine so far have been particularly hard. If I
have to go with anything it'd probably be the tie.. which I
unfortunately have no pictures of. The "knot" I did for it keeps
getting mistaken for an actual half-windsor knot, it looks very close
to the real thing! I'll try to get a picture of it in the next week.

7) What advice would you give to someone who was considering doing Chainmaille?
Just jump in! Nothing gives you a better idea of what it's like than
actually trying. The kits at TRL are a great place to start, the
chainmailling community is super helpful (as long as you are polite!)
and can give you any assistance you might need.

Thank you Jennifer, and welcome to the Chainmaille Guild. You can see more of her wonderful creations at Chained To The Strange on ArtFire.