Happy First Birthday, B3 Chicago Shop!

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It’s our Chicago retail store’s first birthday! We started the year as a humble little pop-up shop with a just a plywood floor and some racks of jump rings, and somehow we made our way to being named one of Edgewater’s Best New Businesses!

1452212_407558379346767_480810720_nNow that the dust has settled (literally), and we have a bright shiny storefront, what are we up to? Well, between a full schedule of chainmaille classes, hosting more than a dozen local artisans in our Artisan Market, and welcoming visitors from all over the world, it’s been a pretty busy year. It has been a wild ride, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

If you live near Chicago or a planning a trip to the Windy City sometime soon, we hope you’ll come visit us.  

Join our locals email list to stay in the loop about classes and events in our space.

Our Location

B3 is located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, steps off the Granville Red Line stop, between the main thoroughfares Broadway and Sheridan, and just blocks from beautiful Lake Michigan. Our neighborhood – recently named one of the city’s best by Chicago Magazine – is filled with fantastic small businesses and restaurants; when you visit, make a day of it! Want a recommendation for places to check out when you come to B3? Email us at [email protected].

Jewelry Classes & Craft Events

freeweekendOne of the best parts of opening our new space was again having the opportunity to teach classes. We have a full schedule of chainmaille classes, as well as a regular offering of special classes in other forms of jewelry making. We regularly hold crafty events in our space including trunk shows and maker events. And, when we’re not using our studio, you can! We offer our space for rent for your own events, classes, meetings and more. Next up: jewelry party packages for birthdays, bridal showers or other special events for all ages! Stay tuned.

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You don’t need a special reason to come visit us – we are always up for a chatting about chainmaille, discussing project ideas and opening up table space for your to test out some ideas. We hope to see you soon!

Blue Buddha Boutique, 1127 W. Granville, Chicago

Chainmaille Tips & Tricks Videos: Tool Magic

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We weave a lot around here. A LOT. So, we’ve tried pretty much every trick there is to keep from marring our jump rings while weaving. Hands down, the best way we’ve found to keep from scratching our jump rings is to coat our pliers with Tool Magic. It not only protects our chainmaille supplies, but it helps to keep a grip on slippery metal rings.

Follow the simple tips in this video for coating your pliers in Tool Magic, plus how to peel it off and re-dip when needed. Happy weaving!

B3 celebrates Bike to Work Week in Chicago!

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It’s Chicago Bike Week – a week that encourages Chicagoans to skip the drive, hop on their bikes and make the city a more eco-friendly (and biker-friendly) city. We have lots of team members that bike to work everyday (well, when it’s not a polar vortex of course!)  Here are 3 of our B3 cyclists Rebeca, April and Matt proudly showing off their transportation of choice this week and most weeks!

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Ahem….Blooper alert: Silly cyclists…looks like they thought it was Bike AT Work week! *sigh* :)

Free & Easy Projects: Spike Earrings!

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Often, chainmaille projects consist of hundreds or thousands of jump rings linked through/over/between/under each other, creating gorgeous, intricate weaves. This is not one of those projects. And we LOVE it! Pick up those pliers and make our newest free & easy project: Spike Earrings.

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Designed by B3 team member Darlene Ostrowski of Do Bats Eat Cats? fame, these earrings can be made in just three simple steps. They’re fun, lightweight, sculptural earrings unlike anything you’ll find in a store. 

Materials needed:
16 aluminum scales
4 anodized aluminum scales
2 medium jump rings (We used L16 AA; L = 1/4” (6.4 mm); 16ga SWG = 0.062” (1.6 mm).)
2 earwires
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Don’t have the necessary supplies handy? We’ve created kits for two colorways: aluminum with purple AA and aluminum with gold AA. Kits come with enough supplies for three pairs of earrings! Want to get creative? Grab a pack of our anodized aluminum scales. 

 

 

Nested Ring Wire Wrapping Class With Guest Instructor Aimee Leang!

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While chainmaille is and always will be our one true love, sometimes, our eyes wander. We admit it — we have a crush on wire wrapping. *blushing* How can you blame us? Look at this gorgeous Nested Ring by our very own Aimee Leang.

CLS-NESTED-RING-MASTER-bigAnd you’re in luck, because Aimee will teach students how to make this ring in a beginner-level wire wrapping class at Blue Buddha on June 26th! This is a great introduction to wire wrapping, where students will learn how to make a nested ring with a stone and one piece of wire.

For details and registration: Nested Ring Wire Wrapping Class with Aimee Leang.

We asked Aimee to tell us more about the class, and she explained, “This is the first kind of wire ring I learned where you use a bead with a hole and I loved it because it was so fun and easy. I like that the design is simple yet elegant. It has a classic look that will never go out of style.”

She continued, “Students will learn some basic wire techniques, with a ring-based focus. I especially wanted for the ring sizers and wooden ring mandrels to be included with the price of class. Students get to keep these and can continue to make more rings after the class. The more you make the easier it is to remember what you learned and to improve your skills.”

There are just a few seats left, so sign up today!