November 2016
Leather, sterling silver

Every year, I make my wife an anniversary present that incorporates as a major feature the material that is traditional for the particular milestone. Third anniversary is traditionally leather, and as the date approached I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it even though I'd started thinking about what to do with leather immediately following our second anniversary.

Fortunately, as I was preparing inventory for a few holiday craft fairs, my wife encouraged me to make more cuff bracelets by saying things like "women like cuff bracelets" and "I like cuff bracelets." I like to think I've learned to spot a hint when it's beating me about the head and shoulders, so the decision was made! I chose to rivet the strip of leather between two cuff forms, since naturally one can't take a soldering torch to leather. After hand-spreading the silver rivets each one centimeter apart from the other, the frame is clamped down pretty tightly over the edges of the hide. It's got a cool organic and industrial look that I really like.