Blue Buddha Boutique -- Newsletter - May - June - July

Anodized Niobium rings - as seen in Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine

Classes: Descriptions - Calendar - Teaching Locations & Registration - Private Lessons - Newsletter

May - June - July - Aug
2007

Eye Yoga
Weave Diagram

Summer Classes
Newest Supplies

Happy Spring, fellow chainmaillers! There are several exciting projects on the horizon for me: teaching at the Bead&Button show, creating an internet TV show about chainmaille, and being a part of Spider's next instructional DVD, to name a few. As my business continues to grow, it's important to me that I stay in close contact with students and customers. One customer called the other day and was surprized that I remembered her and knew exactly what she ordered. At that moment, I realized that making connections with people is really what I'm all about, what makes me thrive. So even though my inbox is generally very full and it may take a day or so for me to return emails, I still love hearing from customers and chainmaille fans. I hope you'll continue letting me be part of your chainmailling experiences. :-)
—Rebeca

Eye Yoga

Long-time subscribers to this newsletter may remember this article from a few years ago. This updated version has been posted online, so you can easily refer to it as needed.

"Just one more ring, then I'll stop..." "Wait, just one more row!" Sound familiar? Caught up in the moment, many people go for hours without stopping, eating, or relaxing. While chainmaille certainly can be addictive, it's important to take breaks to stretch your hands and relax your eyes.

Years ago, a Yogi by the name of Swami Vajrananda (also known as Rebeca's mother) saw her making maille and showed her some eye exercises. She started that very day. Do the exercises work? Well, a few years ago, Rebeca needed glasses to read, use the computer, and make maille. Today, she only needs glasses perhaps once every 3 months or so. Having said that, however, here's her Disclaimer:

Rebeca is a chainmailler, not a doctor.
This is not medical advice, and you should never do any exercises without first consulting your doctor. :-)

These so-called "eye yoga" exercises should be beneficial to everyone, but they are particularly recommended if you do a lot of activities—such as chainmaille—that are strenuous for your eyes. Remember that you can choose to treat your eyes like muscles: in order to keep them at their fittest, you should do workouts as well as rest them. You wouldn't lift weights by taking a heavy dumbbell, lifting it over your head, and staying that way for 30 minutes. But that is almost what you're doing to your eyes if you stare at tiny jump rings 6 inches from your nose for hours without a break.

You can do the following exercises at least 3 times a week, or as often as once a day:

1) With your eyes closed and your head stationary, perform the motions below. Do 3-5 repetitions of each movement before moving on to the next movement, and rest for a few seconds between new movements if you need to.


4 – 5 seconds per revolution		1 – 2 seconds in each direction for these four movements

TIPS: Make sure that when your eyes are up, they are as far up as they’ll go, and when you’re looking left, they’re as far left as they’ll go, etc. However, this should not be painful. Do not try to "look" further than your eyeballs will comfortably go!

Are you having trouble keeping your eyelids closed as you do these exercises? Avoid using your fingertips to hold your eyes closed—if you are truly relaxed, your eyelids should stay closed. Before your begin, spend a few moments sitting still, gathering your thoughts and listening to your breathing. This should help relax you. Also, with practice, keeping your eyelids closed gets easier. At first, it can be strange because your body may not be used to what you are trying to do in a waking state (you actually do some of these movements during REM sleep).

2) Hold a finger to your nose and look at it. Pull your finger away until your arm is extended all the way out in front of you, and then bring it back in. Look at your fingertip the whole time. You should take about 3-5 seconds to go out and 3-5 seconds to pull back in. Do 3-5 repetitions.

TIP: If you study yoga, you can start with your finger out, and inhale on the way in. Exhale out. Your finger movement should match the speed of your breath.

Finally, many of you use computers on a very regular basis, so you may have heard of the 15/15 suggestion. Stop every 15 minutes and look away. Focus on something as far away as you can see, and stare at it for 15 seconds. Then go back to mailling. Of course, it doesn't hurt to rest your eyes for longer than 15 seconds, but that is the minimum recommended period.

We hope these exercises increase your eye stamina and help you make more maille!

Weave Variation

The Making Weave Variations sections in the past two newsletters were so successful, that we're going to include at least one weave variation in each issue from now on. If you've never malled before, this section may not be helpful. However, for those with some familiarity with maille, it shouldn't be too difficult to create the variation.

Byzantine Variation — Doesn't look like byzantine....but it is!

Prerequisite: Familiarity with Byzantine (aka Birdcage, Idiot's Delight, Fool's Dilemna)
Base Metal Ring Sizes: F18 (18g 5/32" / 4.0 mm), L18 (18g 1/4" / 6.4 mm), J16 (16g 7/32" / 5.6 mm)
Silver Ring Sizes: F17 (17g 5/32" / 4.0 mm), L16 (16g 1/4" / 6.4 mm), J14 (14g 7/32" / 5.6 mm)

Instructions: The weave is constructed exactly like a byzantine that alternates between 2-connectors and 1-connector. Follow the ring order below (connector rings are underlined):
—F18 x 2, L18 x 2, F18 x 2
—flip the last 2 rings over, as in Box or Byzantine (as Rebeca calls it: "drop 'n' flop")
—J16 x 1, F18 x 2, L18 x 2
—"drop 'n' flop"
repeat!

Summer Classes
We've updated the class calendar for May and will have June through August up soon.

Rebeca is taking a hiatus from teaching for most of the summer—time to rejuvinate, revise handouts, and come up with some great new class ideas! Blue Buddha Boutique weaver Vanessa Walilko will be taking over several of the chainmaille classes for the summer months and beyond. She's excited to share her techniques and help you learn to craft beautiful pieces. And of course, you'll still get the full-color handouts that you've come to know and (hopefully) love.

at Caravan

at Briolette

at LillStreet

at Caravan

Contact the specific store or gallery for a schedule or to register for a class.

The countdown has begun! In June, Rebeca teaches six classes at the Bead&Button Show in Milwaukee, WI. She hopes to see some of you there!

Newest Supplies

Chicagoans, you'll be happy to know that in early May, you'll be able to purchase jump rings at Caravan Beads. We recently dropped off about 50,000 anodized jump rings, and the base metal rings will follow.

Caravan Beads
3361 N Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
773.248.9555

Later this year (probably around September or October) Blue Buddha Boutique will begin selling jewelry brass. It will most likely replace the brass alloy we currently stock, but if enough customers request the old brass, we will keep a small amount in stock. We're also looking into a premium grade of aluminum that will be much smoother and shinier than what we currently stock. Stay tuned, and if you have concerns or suggestions for the new items, please let us know your thoughts!

We just added lots of new base metal sizes: C20, E18, G20, G18, O18 and P18. For now, we only have aluminum and copper (and sometimes steel), but we'll be adding the brass and bronze rings by next month. Also, the B22 and B20 stainless are now saw-cut instead of hand-cut.

Other recent additions to the Supplies section:

Anodized Aluminum
OK, these aren't exactly new, but the shopping cart is. Working out a few bugs, but if you're not using Internet Explorer, you should be able to order these rings with no problem. We're also going to add a few D20 mixes, because so many of you have requested them!

Cube Kit
By popular request, a kit to make the Japanese cubes!
(Next on queue for kits: Sleek Cuff, Ripple Necklace, Celtic Visions Pendant, and Japanese Ball.)

DVD Practice Rings

A pack of rings to accompany Spider's first DVD. Packs for DVD II are coming soon!

Feel free to contact Rebeca as always with questions or comments.
local: 773.478.3767 toll free: 866.602.RING (7464) rebeca@bluebuddhaboutique.com

Happy Weaving!

All content written by Rebeca Mojica, Blue Buddha Boutique artist & owner.