FAQs

Do you do custom work?

Short answer, no. Long answer, yes, within certain parameters.

I am absolutely a hard no to making something that is not my aesthetic.

If you are inspired by designs I already create and you want something within the realm of my body of work, I am open to conversations. If you see a ring of mine you love, but it doesn’t come in your ring size, contact me about custom sizing.

I’m also open to custom metals if they stay true to the overall look of my body of work, ex: I cast something in brass and you’d like it in silver.

It is always worth an inquiry.

Collaboration

If you are a fellow artist or designer and you feel inspired by my work and want to collaborate between our two art forms, I am open to inquiry, I just ask that you come to me with a solid proposal/outline of what you have in mind.

Asking a jewelry designer to design something for you with a stone you have or an idea for a design you have is not a “collaboration”, it is asking them to do unpaid design work, I don't offer that.

Does brass tarnish/will it turn my skin green?

I’ve worn the same brass ring since 2017 and have maybe polished it once. It has never turned my skin green. I can’t speak to how another person’s skin will react to various metals, but I’ve noticed that bronze rings tend to turn skin green (which is why I no longer make them), but brass ones do not.

Skin turning green is a reaction to the copper in the metal and not necessarily an indication that jewelry is “cheap”. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Factors ranging from perspiration to pH levels, or from iron deficiencies to what lotions and perfumes you wear can affect whether or not a metal will turn your skin green.

Rings that I have cast in brass don’t tend to tarnish much. Jewelry I make from hammered sheets of brass or brass wire do tend to tarnish a little more quickly, but if I’m being honest that is part of the look for me. I like jewelry that looks aged and antique.

Do you polish jewelry people have purchased from you?

Yes, with a fee for shipping if not local. I cannot polish jewelry with a patina on it.

Can you repair my broken jewelry?

Not if I didn't make it, it tends to not be a good use of my time. For jewelry purchased from me, please see my shop policies regarding repairs and replacements.

ear wires

All of my earrings come on 14k gold-filled, sterling silver or oxidized sterling silver ear wires (the hook that goes through your ear). Gold-filled metal is a base metal with 14k gold pressure bonded to the outside of base metal - the only metal touching your skin will be 14k gold. I never use base metal for any of my ear wires. All of my ear wires are are made from standard 20 gauge wire and I make all of them by hand.

Do you ever work in 14k gold?

Please contact me through my contact form if you are interested in having one of my design made for you in 14k gold.

~Sarah Quenon
Alchemist
The Ministry of Fools