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Charleston Magazine – November 2023

Charleston Magazine

Holiday Gift Guide

November 2023

Many thanks to Charleston Magazine for featuring my sterling silver Cardinal Christmas Ornament in their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide!

 

charleston magazine holiday gift guide 2023

charleston magazine holiday gift guide 2023

New Christmas Ornament Designs for Holiday 2021

New Christmas Ornaments for Holiday 2021

liberty tree liberty bell

Liberty Bell and Liberty Tree silver Christmas ornaments

Kaminer Haislip has two new Christmas ornament designs for Holiday 2021! Continuing her design style of the silver silhouette, a Liberty Tree and Liberty Bell have been added to her array of Christmas ornament offerings. Each ornament is hand pierced from sheet silver and the shape refined by filing and sanding. The slightly domed form gives it dimension and its smooth, shiny surface is perfect for personalizing with hand engraving.

The theme for this year’s ornament designs was inspired by the concept of gathering together, which relates to both the Liberty Tree and Liberty Bell. This Christmas we can celebrate the holidays together and enjoy the festivities of the season!

The first Liberty Tree was an old elm in Boston the Sons of Liberty would gather under prior to the Revolutionary War. As their message of resistance to the British taxes spread, so did the fame of their tree. Other colonies and cities adapted their own Liberty Trees, which were a variety of species, as a meeting spot and it became a Patriot symbol.

liberty tree

Liberty Tree silver Christmas ornament

This Liberty Tree design is a symbol of both assembling together freely and gathering with friends and family around the Christmas tree during the holidays. 

The Liberty Bell dates to Philadelphia’s colonial era and was ordered in 1751 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges, which speaks of the rights and freedoms of individuals. It was hidden during the American Revolution and in 1787 was tolled to signify the ratification of the United States Constitution. Later it was adopted as a symbol of liberty by both the abolitionists and women suffragettes.

liberty bell

Liberty Bell silver Christmas ornament

The iconic Liberty Bell was the inspiration for this Christmas ornament design, because bells are rung to celebrate events and occasions. Christmas is a time for joy, merriment, and gathering. This year we can all ring a bell in celebration and enjoy being together during the holiday season!

Additionally, silver Christmas ornaments make a wonderful, heirloom gift that will be cherished for years to come. Many lovely memories are made around the holidays and giving lasting gifts is a great way to commemorate past years of happy, family gatherings.

Starting a baby or child on a collection of silver Christmas ornaments is an outstanding idea, because by the time they are adults with a Christmas tree of their own they will already have a stunning array of beautiful ornaments to adorn their tree. Many of Kaminer’s clients continue that tradition as they were gifted annually with a silver ornament and have a deep appreciation for the quality and sweet memories each one holds.

Both the Liberty Tree and Liberty Bell can be personalized with hand engraving, as can most of her silver Christmas ornaments. Shop the entire array of festive ornaments in her website store Christmas Ornaments category.

 

Custom Christmas Ornaments

jack & ginger christmas ornamentJack & Ginger Etched Silver Christmas Ornament

Custom Christmas Ornaments

Custom Christmas ornaments are a wonderful heirloom gift that will be cherished and enjoyed for many holidays to come. Not only is a sterling silver Christmas ornament a lasting, quality present, but it is an extremely memorable one. These beauties sparkle and shine with merriment on the Christmas tree and embody the holiday spirit.

The process of etching a textured design into sterling silver has been an integral aspect of my artwork over the years and one fun application of the technique has been for custom Christmas ornament designs. I get so many inquiries about the process and options, so I decided to highlight a couple of past designs and describe the handcrafted technique.

 

silver etching drawingHand painting and drawing the design onto the silver

First, I hand draw the design in my sketchbook and use it for reference to draw onto the silver shape, which I hand cut from sheet silver. The next step is to paint a black tar like substance called resist over the areas I want to remain smooth. The resist protects the silver surface from the acid etching chemical. The resist can be messy, so I refine the details and lines with a steel pencil as shown in the image above. Once the design is completed, it is submerged in the acid, which eats into the silver surface and creates texture in the exposed silver areas.

jack & ginger silver christmas ornament

Jack & Ginger Etched Silver Christmas Ornament

After the silver is polished to a high shine, the textured design and lines contrast beautifully with the smooth surface. The amount of detail and refinement that can be achieved with the process is quite significant!

 

old exchange building

Old Exchange Building Etched Silver Christmas Ornament

I have been commissioned to create a wide variety of etched Christmas ornaments and the possibilities are endless for design options. Some past projects include buildings, houses, a lighthouse, and even a private plane! Shown above is the historic Old Exchange Building in downtown Charleston, which was very detailed with the number of straight lines and architectural embellishments. To view more of my original Christmas ornament designs, view the Christmas Ornaments page in my website Portfolio Archive.

I welcome you to get in touch with your own idea for a custom Christmas ornament! I so enjoy those projects and it is always exciting to see what new, creative concept someone will bring to me. Custom commission information can be found on my website Commission Work page and details on how to commission your own design is posted on the Commission Policy page.

The Jack & Ginger ornament I created last year for a very special person inspired my 2020 Christmas ornaments…..coming soon!!

New Christmas Ornaments for Holiday 2019

New Christmas Ornaments for Holiday 2019

Kaminer Haislip has two new Christmas ornament designs for Holiday 2019! Continuing her design style of the silver silhouette, a Santa Hat and Stocking have been added to her stable of Christmas ornament offerings.

Silver Christmas ornaments make a wonderful, heirloom gift that will be cherished for years to come. Many lovely memories are made around the holidays and giving lasting gifts is a great way to commemorate past years of happy, family gatherings.

Starting a baby or child on a collection of silver Christmas ornaments is an outstanding idea, because by the time they are adults with a Christmas tree of their own they will already have a stunning array of beautiful ornaments to adorn their tree with. Many of Kaminer’s clients do just that as they were gifted annually each year with a silver ornament of their own and have a deep appreciation for the quality and sweet memories each one holds.

Both the Santa Hat and Stocking can be personalized with hand engraving, as can most of her silver Christmas ornaments. Shop the entire array of festive ornaments in this website store Christmas Ornaments category.

 

Night of 1000 Lights – December 2017

aiken

The Aiken Downtown Development Association has organized the Night of 1000 Lights in historic downtown Aiken, SC.  The event will be held on Thursday, December 7 from 6-8pm.  Sponsoring businesses will stay open late, thousands of gorgeous luminaries will line the streets of downtown Aiken, and there will be wide variety of fun holiday activities taking place!

During the event, Kaminer Haislip will be exhibiting for sale her hand crafted silver jewelry, functional objects, and Christmas ornaments at her family’s business, True Value Hardware and Appliance, located at 121 Laurens Street.  Stop by True Value to see her work and enjoy light refreshments!

http://www.visitaikensc.com/whattodo/detail/aiken_downtown_development_association_adda

http://www.downtownaiken.com/