All Archives - Page 9 of 10 - D&O Celtic Jewelry

Posted on August 29, 2014October 31, 2015 by Dan

3D Printing Custom Designs – Works In Process

Renders of custom designs — Renders of 3D printing custom designs

This picture shows renderings of four different 3D printing custom designs I’ve been working on. Starting at the top left and going clockwise, you see an Owl pendant, a “flaming heart” pendant which says “Love”, an hourglass with wings (time flying!) and another flaming heart pendant with the initials “SPH” on it.

The owl pendant is from a banner of a web site from a blog that the author wanted made. The most challenging thing about it was making sure the details were big enough to be made, but still small enough that they looked correct on the piece. It has been ordered in Shapeways’ silver material and will be about one inch tall. I’m anxious to see how it turns out.

The other three are all related to one of my favorite bands, the Smashing Pumpkins. A fan page was looking for a “logo”. I suggested a heart with flames coming out of the top, which is similar to imagery used on one of their albums. They loved the idea, and I ran with it. I made two versions with the “banner” across the front straight across and one angled. I can put whatever initials people want on these banners. I just can’t do long names (the text gets too small). Finally, the one at bottom right is the “time flying” pendant. I did this just for fun and it is also based on album art by the Smashing Pumpkins. I’ve ordered it in Shapeways black, strong and detailed plastic material. It’s always fun to see what these items look like in real life compared to renderings, so I can’t wait to see these. A fan has purchsed the “SPH” pendant, and I’m sure they are anxious to get theirs, too! Just some examples of what can be done with 3D printing custom designs.

You can check these out on my Shapeways shop here:

SPH Flaming Heart Pendant

Love Flaming Heart Pendant

Time Flying Hourglass Pendant

Posted on August 10, 2014August 10, 2014 by Dan

Custom 3D Printed Designs

Another part of D&O is custom 3D printed designs. If you want a custom piece of jewelry with initials, or a logo, or, anything really, it can be done. Because 3D printing services like Shapeways others can deliver items so quickly now, your item can go from idea to reality in a few weeks.

How the process normally works is a customer gives me an idea. Then I will make a model of it in 3D, and send some pictures of the 3D model. Then I’ll get feedback on things that need to be changed or added. We may go back and forth a couple times until it is correct. Then we would decide what material to make it in, and order it from Shapeways. It’s really quite simple.

Price for custom designs really depends on the complexity of the design. If it is fairly simple, I will add a certain amount to the final price when we order the item. If it is a lot more complicated, I may ask for a fee up front to cover my time. It just depends on how long it looks like it might take.

Also keep in mind I design other things than jewelry. I’ve designed toys, tools, vases, and even prototype products. What I love about 3D printing is the only limit is your imagination!

Posted on May 23, 2014June 3, 2014 by Dan

D&O Celtic Jewelry at Iowa Irish Fest 2014

Iowa Irish Fest Logo

We are excited to be a part of this year’s Iowa Irish Fest! We will be there showing off our latest jewelry designs and enjoying music and food of the festival. The festival is the biggest Irish festival in Iowa. It runs from August 1-3 in Lincoln Park in downtown Waterloo. The event is put on by Cara, whose mission is to promote and develop Irish fellowship in their community. This event is their main way they do that. Here are some of the things going on this year:

A 5K race
Irish dancers
Highland games
Tons of different music, headlined by Gaelic Storm and the Red Hot Chili Pipers.
Jewelry of course and a lot more.

For the full schedule of events, directions and other information, go to iowairishfest.com.

Posted on May 7, 2014May 8, 2014 by Dan

Claddagh Rings and Necklaces: Coming soon!

As a deisgner of Celtic jewelry, I have long been a fan of Claddagh rings and necklaces. For a long time I put off designing my own version of the Claddagh ring because frankly there are so many kinds out there already. It was difficult for me to see what I could add or offer that had not already been done. But a few customers encouraged me to design a Claddagh symbol, so I decided to give it a shot.

I started out by looking at many different ones and I compared and contrasted them. I wanted to go for a simple and bold design, also featuring a Celtic knot, which is my signature. Someone on Facebook suggested I try a version where the crowned heart is bracketed by triquetra knots instead of hands. So I did a version of that, too. I also did a more traditional one where the crowned heart is being held by hands. The hands were by far the most difficult part of all of this to design, and they are also what I am most concerned about turning out correctly in the manufacturing process.

Right now I have ordered samples of these rings in size 7 in raw brass from Shapeways. The samples will be here in a few weeks. At that point I will examine them and see if I need to revise them at all. If no revisions are needed then these rings should be available for order sometime in June. If revisions are needed it could be slightly longer.

Posted on April 10, 2014October 10, 2017 by Dan

Carlow: My hometown’s sister city in Ireland

I was recently reminded that Carlow is the sister city of Davenport, Iowa. It is located in Southeast Ireland about 45 minutes from Dublin. I did some reading to learn more about it. This is what I learned.

Carlow has a population of 23,000. So it is smaller than Davenport but there are still several similarities. It has been known as an agricultural stronghold of Ireland. The city landscape has a urban/rural mixture. Carlow also has a notable river and bridge. The River Barrow runs through it and the Graiguecullen Bridge crosses the river right near the center of town. This bridge dates back to 1569! According to Wikipedia, Carlow was one of the first places in Ireland to be served by train. Davenport also has early train history and was the site of the first train bridge across the Mississippi River. Finally, it also has two universities: Carlow College and the Institute of Technology. St. Ambrose University has a partnership with both of them.

Obviously, Carlow is much older than Davenport. It has history that goes back thousands of years and many notable historic landmarks. The Brownshill Dolmen is an ancient burial site just outside Carlow. The Old Leighlin Cathedral is also nearby. It dates back to AD 630. This cathedral is where the Catholic Church decided which date Easter would fall on for the entire Christian world. Located right near the Graiguecullen Bridge is Carlow Castle.

People from both Davenport and Carlow have each visited their sister city. Davenport mayor Ed Winborn visited Carlow in 2006 when the sister city agreement was announced. In 2007 a group of delegates from Carlow visited Davenport. According to the Quad City Times article about their visit, they got some pointers on dealing with flooding. They wanted to learn from the experts, I guess!

Davenport and Emmetsburg are the only cities in Iowa that have a sister city in Ireland. In Illinois, Chicago, Peoria, Niles, Tinley Park, and Springfield each have a sister city. This site shows a map of many sister cities of Ireland around the USA.

Additional reading:

Carlow, Ireland Wikipedia Page.

Davenport, Iowa Sister Cities.

Wikipedia – List of Sister Cities in Ireland.