Is Jewelry Gendered?

Is Jewelry 'gender specific'? What Type of Men Wear Jewelry? For What Purpose? 

Men and women both wore jewelry in prehistoric times for symbolic reasons. Men, especially rulers and wealthy folk, wore jewelry to emphasize control, money, power, and honor. Handcrafted pieces were constructed differently for each gender and crafted from multiple fabrics, metals, and ornaments (charms, pendants). 

Wearing certain pieces of jewelry reflected an individual's social rank and class status. In this case, warriors and rulers wore head dresses, special garments, and jewelry to emphasize 'male honor.' 

 

Currently, there are many native societies around the world where both men and women wear jewelry to reflect their traditional rituals (puberty, passage into adulthood).  Warriors within the Naga culture of India wear large necklaces to symbolize honor in killing, or 'headhunting'. Necklaces are constructed of animal skulls, fur, brass rings, and feathers. Other native cultures in Indonesia and the Philippines dress themselves with rings and large 'red hornbill' earrings.

In this modern era, is hyper-masculinity causing men to rethink about wearing large hoops, earrings, and bracelets?

Further Reading:

"Jewelry and Gender," Thesis Paper by Rebecca Ross Russell

Ancient Jewelry Discovery Prehistoric Rings

What is History of Jewelry? 

Where did it come from? Who wore it and did it have a special meaning? Did ancient civilizations mold their own beads? What tools did they use? How did ancient cultures like the Egyptians, Aztecs, or the Byzantine Empire handcraft their jewelry pieces? Whatever happened to these pieces? 

In 2013, a group of archaeologists from Tel- Aviv University uncovered several ancient jewelry pieces from a prehistoric site near Apollonia-Arsuf in the Middle East. Pieces included coins, gold jewelry, and small bronze rings.

The items were initially 'thrown out' by the prehistoric natives who tossed them in large dump pits. The reason for this is unknown. 

Archaeologists dated these pieces to the 5th and 7th centuries C.E. Is there any special meaning to this jewelry? 

Interestingly enough, one of the bronze rings that was discovered has an inscription on it that translates to: "Adonai is his name." The article suggests that this particular bronze ring is an unusual finding and quite rare indeed!

Further Reading:

Article Link 

Craft and Gossip. Host Jewelry Parties?

How about Hosting a Jewelry Party with Friends?

Get a group of girlfriends together and share ideas on jewelry making. Host a party at your house, provide cheese and wine, and everyone can sit around the table with supplies, dangling wire, and an assortment of beads. Handcraft gold hoop earrings, minimalist wire jewelry, necklaces, silver rings, or stainless steel bracelets. Add colorful charms or painted beads to ultra thin wire. Learn to use minimalist wire to create ultra thin jewelry.   

What about show and tell? 

Share your latest projects with each other, demonstrate how to mold polymer clay, paint beads, or bend wire. Try it as a game, go around the room one by one and show off your handmade crafts. The best part is everyone has a turn to show off stylish knitted sweaters, socks, baby blankets, hats, scarves and more. Who doesn't like to brag about their crafting ability or special handmade jewelry?

Think of jewelry parties as knitting clubs where women gather together to knit, talk gossip, and eat. Who doesn't love spilling the beans about their coworkers, in-laws, or husbands? 

Add a potluck to make it more fun. Everyone can bring a dish to pass, dig in and don't forget the cheesecake! If everything goes well, host another party and make it a monthly get together.

How to Avoid Paypal Scams

Be weary of snail mail you might have received from IC System. They will claim you have a delinquent account through Paypal that's been given to a collection agency. At first glance this may seem fraudulent but not always. Then they provide you with your updated balance amount that is due.

The scam started back in May 2014 when Ebay passwords were compromised by hackers in China. Individuals who used the same passwords for Ebay as they did Paypal were hacked.

Here's How the Scam works: 
Many unsuspecting people forgot they had old Ebay accounts and so did not change their password in May after it was announced in the news that Ebay passwords had been comprised. The hackers then took those passwords and attempted to log into as many Paypal amounts as they could, knowing that many people simply use the same password for both accounts. The hackers who are also Ebay sellers were then able to access these individuals' Paypal accounts and began charging their Ebay fees and charge backs to these Paypal accounts.

If you think you might have an old Ebay and Paypal account that you abandoned, or if you haven't recently logged in to change your password, than you need to call Paypal at 1-888-221-1161.

DIY Crafts

Do you enjoy DIY projects? I was browsing online and found a great website which has many articles on handmade crafts that you can do yourself. It's called Makezine and features new creative projects every day.

I was really impressed with the Jam Jar Lantern project. There is a locally owned restaurant in town that uses jam jars as lanterns which strings together along the bar area. This seems like a creative and less expensive way to go rather than using bright lights. They use battery operated votive lights which are placed inside the jars. Here's the link to the project:

DIY: Jam Jar Lantern Project

"How To" Sell Online

Do you sell handmade items online? Have you tried using social media to promote your shop? I've searched several articles to pinpoint ideas on how to sell handmade jewelry and crafts. Gold Hoop Earrings, Stainless Steel and Sterling Siilver jewelry are popular items to sell online. I will share some websites that I found for etsy sellers or anyone who sells handmade crafts. Below are a few articles for you:

Facebook VS Twitter VS Pinterest

Pricing your Items

Etsy VS ArtFire

Have articles to add? Add your comment below

Are you a Jewelry Designer?

As a Jewelry Designer, there are so many opportunities to handcraft earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. You can choose several different colors of wire and beads. It's a very artsy craft that caters to so many ideas.  I've been working on creating unique designs for my jewelry for over 7 years.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

1. Are you a Jewelry Designer?
2. What do you make?
3. How did you get started?
4. Why is jewelry making appealing for you?

Now I think of jewelry making as a relaxing and calming hobby that helps to take the stress away. When I get home from work after a long day, I enjoyed going into my 'craft area' to sort colors, organize my bead drawers, and bend my wire to make designs.

Now it's your turn to share about yourself!

Jewelry Humor Quotes

Special post for fashion and jewelry lovers. You might enjoy these humor quotes:

Intro - Who Am I?

WHAT IS ICKYNICKS?

Ickynicks is an online jewelry shop that specializes in Ultra Thin Jewelry. 

WHAT DO YOU CREATE?

We handcraft unique hoops, earrings, gauge earrings, ear cuffs, and bracelets. We make jewelry in gold, sterling silver, and stainless steel. 

IS ICKYNICKS JEWELRY MADE IN THE USA?

All of our jewelry items are handcrafted in the United States. We do not design anything that we would not wear ourselves. In fact, we typically make the first design or prototype and test it out on family, friends and co-workers.

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND 'ICKYNICKS'?

"The Ickynicks website is named in honor of the many wonderful women who have influenced my life. My Aunt Nancy was my first and only aunt to go to college. She graduated with a Master's Degree in Languages and then taught high school Spanish. While my Aunt Nancy was attending Kent State University, she and her three girlfriends tried to join on-campus girls' clubs and sororities, but were rejected by all of them. Feeling isolated and shunned, these four young women fought back by creating their own club and called themselves, the Ickynicks. The purpose of their club was to travel outside the United States. These four adventurous young women traveled to South America, Europe and Canada during their college years."

               - CEO and Founder, Ickynicks Jewelry