Tree hair clasp

This is what is left after an assignment from my first metal crafts schools, 2009.

The assignment was the most governed we got during our studies.

We were supposed to take a 75 x 75 mm large piece of metal, any metal.

Then, by using as much as possible of our square, make a wearable piece which did not only read out our own name, it would be based on a property you yourself posessed as well as making a statement.


If you turn this piece back to front, the branch hair clasp spells out "S", and the leaf trailing down the side spells out a,r,a and h.

The property of myself I chose to highlight was my hair, since it is such a big part of my identity, my love for nature, and my -speed-. People told me I was really fast at making things, so I decided to time myself on this task.



When I started I had the pattern design drafted and started timing myself from the point of manufacturing.

Drilling, piercing, sawing, filing, shaping, hammering, tarnishing, putting it all together with rings and using the filings and leftovers to sand-cast the pin running through the clasp.

The original had the "leaf letters" dangling on a chain but I decided to change it later on when wearing it regularly since the chain tangled with my hair.


In all, the project took me 2 hours and 15 min, and I lost in total 2 grams of the original material from start to finish.