Metal Clay Artists are Setting Trends!

In the worlds of fashion and art, it is sometimes impossible to tell who inspired whom, or who is copying whom! The fashion industry has very little copyright protection. This forces fashion designers to constantly innovate and make their pieces unique and hard to replicate, or to build their brands so that even if knock-offs are available for less, their target markets will stay loyal.

Although I'm a blue jeans and hoodie kind of girl, I find it really interesting to watch the trends . For example, feather jewelry and hair adornments are not new, yet feather accessories have definitely had a recent upswing in popularity. Why? Most likely celebrities like Steven Tyler had something to do with it.

Personally, I find his rings to be way more interesting than his feathers, but I digress. 

So how does this relate to metal clay artists? Well, TierraCast®, an American manufacturer of pewter jewelry components, recently released a new line of buttons featuring leaf and shell patterns. 

If I didn't know better, I would have thought these were handmade from metal clay. Leaves were one of the first textures I wanted to impress into my metal clay. I'm not alone - pretty much every beginner's metal clay book features a leaf project! Handmade metal clay components featuring organic shapes and patterns are widely available and very popular on sites such as Etsy. This represents real income for real people, so while a part of me is sad to see "mainstream" industry capitalize on their efforts, another part of me must say:

Congratulations metal clay artists! While you might not agree that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you must admit that metal clay is having a direct impact on jewelry trends. It is a milestone worth noting!

~ Cindy Morris, gogoshebogo design