Rebeca Mojica

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

I have always been a tactile person, so it is not surprising that I was drawn to the ancient art of chainmaille. As soon as I made my first piece—a belt—I realized it was incredibly soothing to link together ring after ring and watch a pattern unfold. At the time, I imagined I would do more beadwork or metalsmithing, because that is what I saw around me. But I could not deny my love for maille. With no experts around to teach me, I began exploring this relatively untapped medium on my own.

Chainmaille is a marriage between mathematics and free-form shape, between right- and left-brain talents. I'm fascinated that a single shape can be put together in so many ways, yielding virtually an infinite number of textures and patterns. I absolutely love picking up a piece of chainmaille and feeling its very distinct personality come to life in my fingers. By using colored rings and combining classic weaves in new ways, I try to erase people's preconceived notions of chainmaille. When I hear someone say, "Wow! I didn't know chainmaille could do that!", then I know I've succeeded.

I am inspired by fractal mathematics, organic shapes and architecture. Where other people see flowers, trees and buildings, and I see a world where everything is made of interlocked circles. My brain spends a lot of time thinking, "OK, how could I make that out of maille?"

As a teacher, I help students discover that they can create beauty using only their hands, pliers and jump rings. There is a sense of instant gratification after completing a bracelet in a few short hours. I offer students an escape from the daily grind, and a chance to be captivated by this meditative art form.

People often tell me, "You must have so much patience." But when you do something you love, patience doesn't even enter the picture. This truly is my passion, my love.

To learn more about Rebeca, please visit her website at rebecamojica.com.

Omni Mee

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

It was my dream to become the digital Andy Warhol when I entered college. By the time I graduated college, I was more interested in art that people could touch and use. I taught muself how to make chainmaille in 2004, using the worst possible tools, equipment and first project. Five years later, I finished the first project and started making jewelry. In 2010, I opened my jewelry business "Entropyware" focusing on using original designs and weaves while incorporating seed beads and other unique components.

To learn more about Omni, please visit the Entropyware page on Etsy.

Lisa Derda (Smeltzer)

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

In 2004, I was searching for a way to be creative again. Work was no longer filling that need for me and work had become my life. On a break, I was browsing through a class catalog and came across Rebeca's 4 week chainmaille class. It made me sit up and pay attention. I immediately hopped on the phone to register and in my first class, I fell in love.

Chainmaille is the perfect craft. Its portable, creative, and calming, just ask the commuters on the train with me. And it has many faces that fulfill many needs, from the high-level executive looking for an elegant piece to the tuff chick wanting to toughen up her image to the pen and paper rpg-er needing a dice bag for a wedding present. That versatility appeals to me. Also there is a level of badassery to it that just makes me smile.

In the end, I keep the love strong by always considering myself a hobbyist, no matter how advanced I get. That thought allows me to still have fun and make mistakes. Its through playing around and making mistakes that I create my best pieces. As Bob Ross would say, "Happy accidents."

To learn more about Lisa, please visit her Welding Princess page on Etsy.

Kat Wisniewski

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Creating a finished item of chainmaille art is very much like the work of machines in a factory. It is akin to an assembly line of methodical processes- very monotonous and tedious- working efficiently and continuously to create a single product.

Armed with my pliers in each hand, I incessantly repeat the same exact movements, opening and closing each ring, while linking them together to make a beautiful piece of art jewelry.

I became completely and helplessly addicted to the craft after seeing a sterling chainmaille bracelet at an art fair and then researching every photo and online tutorial I could find. After struggling to learn, while using all the wrong tools and supplies, I eventually “got it” and learned the right way to chainmaille, which tremendously improved my techniques.

Since perfecting my skills in 2008, I have become a nationally known expert in the field, with multiple project publications and an endless amount of teaching opportunities at various Chicagoland locations. Students and customers, who buy my tutorials and finished jewelry, always wonder, “How did you come up with that design?” I usually say that it’s a process of trial and error, and that I start with ideas that I already know work well and then figure out a way to make them look very different!

My company, Elemental Art Jewelry, specializes in creating Czech pressed glass chainmaille jewelry and fashion designs featured in various artisan shows.

To learn more about Kat, please visit her website at ElementalArtJewelry.com

Lindsay Lamkin

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

After her first venture in chainmaille (a valiant, but failed, attempt to make a shirt out of 14g steel fencing wire) when a young teen, Lindsay was reintroduced to the art form when her husband gave her a chainmaille how-to book for Christmas a couple years ago. She mastered the weaves in that book and several others, but it still was not enough, so she started altering and creating weaves of her own. Armed with only pliers, she now goes to battle daily against the hordes of little rings taunting her to create something new.

To learn more about Lindsay, please visit her page on Facebook.

Lori Watson

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Lori Watson started dabbling in jewelry making in 2007. In 2009 she discovered chainmaille classes at a local bead store and a new passion began! She took several classes there and some at B3. Lori loves to try variations and add bling to chainmaille weaves. Put a pair of good pliers in her hands with access to hundreds of jump rings and beads and she’s a happy camper. Lori enjoys sharing her addiction while teaching chainmaille classes at A Beadtiful Thing in Aurora. Some of her pieces were featured in a play at Elgin Community College.

To learn more about Lori, please visit her page on Facebook.

Catherine Randolph Hamilton

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Catherine's interest in chainmaille began with a trip to the bookstore and a cupboard full of tiny rings in different sizes and gauges, received as a wonderful gift. Mixing metals and connecting piles of shiny rings to gain unexpected outcomes, like her chainmaille light fixture, keeps her interested and challenged by this ancient and modern craft. She has placed in the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Metal Working contest, and has been linking rings since 2011.

In addition to her passion for chainmaille, Catherine enjoys working with fused glass and metal clay. She was asked to be a monthly contributor to Fired Arts & Crafts magazine, and has placed in Delphi's annual Art Glass Festival in both the Jewelry and Other Crafts categories.

To learn more about Catherine, please visit her website at www.SilverArtGlassJewelry.com.

Aimee Leang

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Aimee Leang's jewelry making obsession began at her first summer job working for Gallery 37's jewelry making program. After that Aimee's Mom gave her a set of tools and her creativity took off. Aimee is well versed in the skills of wire-wrapping, metalsmithing and lapidary. Always having a thirst for knowledge, she looks forward to continue increasing her knowledge in the chainmaille arts and more. Having an eye for detail, Aimee enjoys helping out at B3 and is proud to be part of such an incredible team.

W. John MacMullen

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

John has been working with his hands since he took apart (and reassembled) his father's lawnmower when he was 9. He's been making strange things with rings since 2006. John is a B3 Open Studio regular and was in Rebeca's first 'Inventing Weaves' class, which helped him move beyond standard weaves into hybrids and non-maille combinations. He designs and makes jewelry, fashion, and other art from largely recycled or repurposed materials. His work is featured in Lark's recent book, Showcase 500 Art Necklaces.

To learn more about John, please visit his website at www.WJohnMacMullen.com.

Marguerite Hummel

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Marguerite is the owner of Lady M Jewelry and has been creating chainmaille since 2002. She seeks to marry modern and medieval in pieces that highlight the strength and beauty of various styles of chainmaille. As a member of The Artisan Group, her work has been gifted to Denise Richards as well as to celebrity recipients at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in France. Her proudest moment, however, was being named the first Chainmailler of the Year at Blue Buddha Boutique.

To learn more about Marguerite, please visit her website at www.ladym.me/.

April Hannah Llewellyn

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

April Hannah Llewellyn's hometown is the geek haven of Huntsville, AL where she graduated with a degree in studio art from the University of AL in Huntsville in 2009. She now resides in Chicago, IL, where she recently graduated with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago. She is enthusiastic about making art in any form at any level and considers it all labors of love. Her favorite mediums include jewelry making, book arts, web design, illustration, and painting.

Darlene Ostrowski

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Darlene Ostrowski wandered into a chainmaille class years ago, looking for a creative outlet to help relieve work stress. She wasn't expecting to get completely addicted to linking lots of rings together one at a time! Many of her pieces are one of a kind, and custom order requests are welcome.

Darlene is a lifelong Chicagoan and when she's not weaving, can be found teaching chainmaille classes, filling orders, and quality-controlling rings at Blue Buddha. She also vends frequently at local festivals, anime events, and sci-fi/fantasy conventions.

To learn more about Darlene, please visit her website at /etsy.com/shop/DoBatsEatCats.

Dan Rychtarik

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Daniel Rychtarik began his never-ending journey through the world of chainmaille in, what seems now to be, the not too distant past. He first caught the chainmaille "bug" when he met a man named Joshua Diliberto at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Dan had heard of chainmaille before, in movies, Medieval Times and the like, but this brand of chainmaille was so very different from the mainstream chainmaille he had seen before. "There are pieces made with metal and rubber rings, I have to figure out how this stuff is made!" he said to himself.

He then asked Josh if he could show him "the ropes" and how some of these weaves work and there began his endless chainmaille journey of creating, designing and educating. This new creative outlet led to him to start his very first company called When Rings Dream or WrD for short, which specializes in chainmaille products that are made with those very same rubber rings that started this snowball rolling in the first place. Dan says, 'With the thousands of different weaves chainmaille has to its name, it can be difficult to come up with new innovative designs but I take this as a challenge instead of barrier."

He had his first weave submission accepted at Blue Buddha Boutique in 2014 and says that he will continue to push the boundaries of rubber chainmaille for the foreseeable future. Dan can still be found standing under the roof of the Mythril Weaver, where it all started, next to the man who first lit the fire "Joshua Diliberto" at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha Wisconsin.

Rebecca Rudaski

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Rebecca Rudaski began her professional crafting career in 2007 as a wireworker who bent tiny pieces of colored wire into gorgeous earrings to pay rent in Houghton, MI. Some less-than-observant individuals commented that her jig-based wirework looked like chainmaille, and she started researching this new art form and buying two pounds of rings to experiment. When it turned out that creating was more rewarding and profitable than the career she initially planned, she turned her art into a full time job in 2011 with a small storefront in West Dundee, IL, supplemented by arts and crafts shows in the Chicago and Milwaukee area. Now, she's a full on artistic gypsy, traveling from Minneapolis to Atlanta at fine art festivals to comic cons, spreading the love of chainmaille jewelry to anyone who will listen. She has taught classes in Tucson, AZ, as well as locally at Blue Buddha, and occasionally for youth groups in the Chi/MKE area.

You can view some of her latest work at http://www.etsy.com/shop/WireflyJewelry.

Amy Leggett

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Amy's first jewelry creation was a pair of simple wire earrings made in a concert parking lot in 1988. Soon after, she began bead weaving which eventually lead to an interest in taking metalsmithing classes. Instantly, she knew that metal was her medium. Amy is a self-taught mailler who has created a few original weaves and has been published in various wire and bead magazines. She has a booth at the Bolingbrook, IL farmer’s market during the summer months or you can find a lot of her current work on Facebook and on her website: http://www.themetalmark.com

Kathleen Quinn

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

An avid cat lover, Kathleen “Kat” Quinn is a veterinary technician by day and budding chainmaille jewelry artist on nights & weekends. Entirely self-taught, Kat’s style of chainmaille has evolved to elegantly blend both traditional and original.

Winning a spot in Mount Gretna’s Annual Outdoor Juried Art Show as an Emerging Artist in 2010, Kat has been a frequent presence on the juried art show circuit in Pennsylvania. She is also an occasional guest vendor at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and her Internally Beaded Icewyrm original design won Blue Buddha’s Featured Weave contest in March 2013 for the Full Persian weave.

To learn more about Kathleen, please visit her website at www.etsy.com/shop/SilverTabbyStudios.

Nadja Aller

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

After admiring chainmaille for years, Nadja was introduced to creating it herself after joining B3 in 2010. Soon after learning the basics, she began to deconstruct and personalize each weave she made. Nadja takes her inspiration from classical forms and a love of history and finds that chainmaille is the perfect platform to carry on the tradition of intricate patterns and detailed workmanship that is missing in so much of today's design. She paints and draws bit and is an avid collector of art, oddities, glass, toys, books, obsolete electronics and probably a few other things that contribute to the organized chaos she thrives on. Running B3 keeps her plenty busy but she hopes to introduce more projects in the future. She also loves cats.

Susan Thomas

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Susan has been an art teacher for more than two decades. Her jewelry obsession started with beadwork until she discovered chain mail. Working mainly with aluminum and o-rings, Susan manipulated the shape of the rubber rings and designed three basic elements. These elements are then cold-connected into her many original designs.

Susan has taught at the Bead and Button Show, the Puget Sound Bead Festival, bead stores, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, Art Education conferences, and libraries throughout Indiana.

Susan C. Thomas is the author and designer for a new style of chain mail featured in her book titled Link It! Colorful Chain Mail Jewelry With Rubber O-Rings. Visit her website at LinkItWithJumpRings.com

Emily Fiks

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Emily came to Blue Buddha as an inventory assistant in the summer of 2008. Originally arriving here nearly oblivious to chainmaille jewelry, Emily started to feel connected to the art after one class at Lillstreet. Chainmaille products take up a lot of her time now that she has graduated from Northeastern Illinois University. She received a BA in English and a minor in Art History. When not at B3, Emily loves making her own jewelry, vintage clothing, thrift stores, collecting records, and cooking.

Deborah Sacks

Chainmaille Jewelry Designer + B3 Project Designer
 

Deborah Sacks discovered chainmaille in 2013 and immediately fell head over heels in love. She delights in learning new weaves and techniques, new color combinations and compositions. As an elementary school teacher, it wasn’t long before she combined her two passions, first teaching chainmaille to kids in summer camp and then starting a Chainmaille Club for the young people at her school. She firmly believes that you’re never too young nor too old to discover something new, and she is eager for the chance to prove it to you.

To learn more about Deborah, please visit her TalespunMaille site on Etsy.