About Blue Box Imaginarium
Established in 2011, Blue Box Imaginarium is based in southern California. The One Who Makes Stuff has been involved in lapidary and wirewrap for over 25 years, ever since they were a wee munchkin with a massive rock collection. Now that they're officially The One Who Makes Stuff, their goal is to make beautiful wearable artworks that offset and enhance the wearer's own beauty, all while keeping imagination and creativity alive.
What's with the name?
Fair question. There are two answers, one of which is nerdy, the other of which is rather more literal (and boring?).
The easy, literal answer is: the workshop is a large box, which is painted blue. We like the word "imaginarium" - it reminds us of legendarium (a collection of legends [okay, that's also nerdy, since it is particularly used to refer to Professor JRR Tolkien's works]), and, of course, imaginarium itself refers to a place devoted to the imagination. We like imagination. We like creativity. We like the idea that our Blue Box is a place devoted to imagination.
The nerdy answer is... well. We're hugely nerdy. We still like the idea of an imaginarium, aaaaaaannnnd.... we love Doctor Who. I mean, there's an alien, who can travel throughout all of time and space, and does so in a BLUE BOX. So, yeah. That would be the nerdy answer for you. We're named for our love of Doctor Who and our incessant use of imagination.
The easy, literal answer is: the workshop is a large box, which is painted blue. We like the word "imaginarium" - it reminds us of legendarium (a collection of legends [okay, that's also nerdy, since it is particularly used to refer to Professor JRR Tolkien's works]), and, of course, imaginarium itself refers to a place devoted to the imagination. We like imagination. We like creativity. We like the idea that our Blue Box is a place devoted to imagination.
The nerdy answer is... well. We're hugely nerdy. We still like the idea of an imaginarium, aaaaaaannnnd.... we love Doctor Who. I mean, there's an alien, who can travel throughout all of time and space, and does so in a BLUE BOX. So, yeah. That would be the nerdy answer for you. We're named for our love of Doctor Who and our incessant use of imagination.
Lapidary and Wirewrapping - what?
A rough formed amethyst cab,
pre polishing.
Lapidary: noun. 1) A cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones, usually other than diamonds. 2) The art of cutting gems.
Cabochon (cab): noun. 1) A gem or bead cut in a convex form and highly polished but not faceted. 2) This style of cutting.
Here at the Imaginarium we take our stones seriously. All of our cabochons are created from scratch using the finest materials. Unless specifically requested or noted, we have cut, shaped, and polished each cab by hand. Everything we do is to ensure the highest quality of stones that we are capable of making. Any synthetic gemstones will be clearly marked as such - and it will be a rare occasion that you see a synthetic here!
There are, of course, exceptions: sometimes we find an amazing stone that simply begs to be wrapped in its natural state, or we come across some other naturally occurring piece that we cannot improve upon and to try would be to invite failure. In those cases, we will clearly label them as such. The same goes for any types of beads that may be used in designs.
As with our cabochons, our wirewrapping uses the finest materials available. Our gold wires are 14 karat gold-filled wires (gold on the outside, other alloys on the inside to make the gold workable - please note that the gold will not rub off); our silver is Argentium, a recycled sterling silver alloy that is more tarnish-resistant.) If you request it, we will also work with silver-filled wire (like the gold-filled wire, the silver won't rub off). Occasionally, we'll also use some base metals, such as copper or bronze, or fun colourful metals like niobium.
Cabochon (cab): noun. 1) A gem or bead cut in a convex form and highly polished but not faceted. 2) This style of cutting.
Here at the Imaginarium we take our stones seriously. All of our cabochons are created from scratch using the finest materials. Unless specifically requested or noted, we have cut, shaped, and polished each cab by hand. Everything we do is to ensure the highest quality of stones that we are capable of making. Any synthetic gemstones will be clearly marked as such - and it will be a rare occasion that you see a synthetic here!
There are, of course, exceptions: sometimes we find an amazing stone that simply begs to be wrapped in its natural state, or we come across some other naturally occurring piece that we cannot improve upon and to try would be to invite failure. In those cases, we will clearly label them as such. The same goes for any types of beads that may be used in designs.
As with our cabochons, our wirewrapping uses the finest materials available. Our gold wires are 14 karat gold-filled wires (gold on the outside, other alloys on the inside to make the gold workable - please note that the gold will not rub off); our silver is Argentium, a recycled sterling silver alloy that is more tarnish-resistant.) If you request it, we will also work with silver-filled wire (like the gold-filled wire, the silver won't rub off). Occasionally, we'll also use some base metals, such as copper or bronze, or fun colourful metals like niobium.