June’s Metalsmithing Challenge
Top Left: Sterling Silver Cocktail Picks with Phantom Agates by Christine Mighion (@christinemighion). Hand forged sterling silver and phantom agate marbles. Set of six can be purchased here.
Top Right: Tiki Cocktail Straw and Pick Set by Andrea Ring (@amuckdesign). Hand forged sterling silver. Contact Andrea to purchase your own set.
Bottom: Stainless Steel and Bronze Cocktail Pick by Julie Walser (@paolimerchantile). Welded stainless steel with just a touch of bronze. NFS.
For June’s metalsmithing challenge, the prompt was Barware.
The idea was to create something connected to sipping, serving, stirring, or gathering. Cocktail stirrers, olive picks, wine charms, bottle stoppers, spoons, jiggers, flasks, or any other small object that might find its way onto a bar cart, a table, or into someone’s hand during a shared moment.
I loved this prompt because it once again moved us just slightly outside the usual jewelry-focused mindset, while still leaving so much room for personal interpretation. Barware can be useful, sculptural, playful, elegant, a little odd, or completely over the top. It invites function, but it doesn’t have to stop there.
There is something special about objects made for gathering. They become part of the ritual of hosting, celebrating, pouring a drink, passing something across the table, or adding one small handmade detail to an ordinary moment. And when metal is included, even in the smallest way, it brings that unmistakable mark of the maker’s hand.