Swedish Lapland Bracelets Made With Spun Copper Wire

This braid was meant to be sewn onto black leather.  This barbie pink caught my eye.  I love the pink and copper together, an unusual and uncoventional combination.
Copper wire is fun to work with, it adds another dimension and so many artistic possibilites to this craft form.

I couldn´t resist this wonderful green enameled copper wire, so fresh and bright.  It reminds me of the pine and spruce during the winter and the age old Christmas tradition of decorating the house with evergreens.

Less is more, the single strand of gold wire in this braid gives a sophisticated and elegant look.

Turquoise and brown is a lovely combination, the tiny beads give the bracelet another texture.

Making Lapland Jewelry

I started making these bracelets a few years ago. Although I love painting sometimes I need a break to refresh - artists need a hobby too.  These days the hobby has taken over and there is not so much time left over for painting projects.

The craft of pewter embroidery was developed by the Sami people who live in mostly in Northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Penninsula in Russia.  Traditionaly the Sami people live by reindeer herding, fishing and hunting.

Hundreds of years ago the Sami people travelled to Norway to trade at the markets there.  Here they bought pewter which came from Cornwall and Ireland.  The Sami developed a method of spinning the pewter into a thread which could be used to decorate clothes, jewelry and other objects such as knife sheathes.

The problem with pewter is that when the temperature reaches under 15C, the pewter crystalises forming a grey powder.  Nowadays 4% silver is added to the pewter which prevents this process.  When the wire is new the metal is a wonderful frosty white color.  With use and wearing the wire takes on a lovely silvery patina.

The pewter tread is a fine material to work with.  It lends itself to plaiting or braiding and amazing designs can be made by combining different braid patterns.