Noir Leather earrings tutorial

May’s We’re All Ears challenge theme is MOVEMENT + MOMENTUM. Ms. Erin is currently working on her exhibition titled “Momentum: Art in Motion” and has invited us to play along. Her inspiration for this exhibit is Alexander Calder’s works. Particularly Calder’s mobiles that are inspired by India.

Alexander Calder

Alexander Stirling Calder, an engineer by qualification was an illustrator, a sculptor and an assemblage artist. In 1931 he created his first kinetic sculpture. It was dubbed by Marcel DuChamp as “Mobiles” (meaning both “motion” and “motive.”) Calder soon started to fashion mobiles that would undulate on their own with the air’s currents. In 1955 Gira, Kamalini and Gautam Sarabhai invited Alexander Calder to visit them in Ahmedabad. He came with his wife to not just site see but also to work. He created mobiles and jewelry inspired by colours, textures and patterns that he saw in India.

Noir Leather earrings

I have my birthday coming up next month and one of the tops that I recently bought is in red violet with red and white prints. It is made of thin cotton with a simple cut that works well as everyday office wear. To accessorise it, I wanted to make something dressy and chic yet lightweight. Something that I can wear on a hot June day to work.

While looking at Calder’s work, I came across some stunning jewelry pieces. I realised that they were some of my earliest pins on pinterest. I loved the use of ribbon like shapes of shining metal, pleat like folks and cylindrical shapes. For my design, I chose colours from his mobiles and the concept of ribbon folding from his jewelry to make my Noir Leather earrings.

Noir Leather earrings tutorial

I used hyper glossy recycled leather lace to make a pair of long statement making earrings. If you are someone who does not prefer leather then you can substitute it with cork tape, rexine or PU coated fabrics or even fabric ribbons.

Materials

1. Red glossy Recycled Leather lace – 10X2mm
2. Costed Silver flat 6mm rondrell crystal beads – 4
3. Dark red violet Lacquered wood cylinders – 2
4. Silver tone 10mm ribbon crimps
5. Liquid fusion glue
6. Silver tone ear hooks
7. Tools – Nose pliers and Scissors

Method: Make the Leather earrings

1. Cut the leather tape into two 3″ pieces
2. Fold one strip in the middle and apply a bit of glue both on the outside as well as the underside of the tapes.
3. Add a ribbon crimp and crimp with nose pliers. Repeat for the other strip.
4. Let dry for 15-20 minutes.
5. Add an eyepin followed by a crystal bead, a wooden bead and a crystal once again
6. Loop using nose pliers and add an ear hook. Repeat for the pair.

The advantage of using materials like leather and wood beads is that the earrings are lightweight. This means that you can make them long neck grazers. My pair is about 3.5 inches long but you can make them even longer. If you cannot find wooden beads you can substitute with hollow acrylic or metal tube spacers.

This challenge was meant be influenced by kinesthetics of Calder’s mobiles. However, I have drawn inspiration from his “Stabiles”. Still I had fun working on the challenge. Do visit The Earrings Everyday blog to see what Ms. Erin and the other participants have created based on mobiles.

If you did find this Leather earrings DIY tutorial interesting, please comment and share. You can share on social media channels by tagging @jewelsofsayuri (@Sayuri on Facebook)