AKA the Frequently Asked Questions What is Red Curl Jewelry? Handcrafted artisan jewelry for everyday wear and special occasions. All pieces are designed and crafted by Joanne Burger in her Mansfield, Texas studio. The pieces are sterling or fine silver (with a bit of gold work for variety) and many are one of a kind. The pieces feature pearls, gemstones, and more. Custom orders are available, contact us to find out more. Our website is a new work in progress, and the catalog will grow over time. Where can I get Red Curl Jewelry? Red Curl is available from this site, and at events. You can find a list of upcoming events on our events and stores page. If you live in the DFW area I can come to you for a trunk show, just send an email and we can get the conversation going. A Note About Silver I work primarily in two grades of silver. The first is sterling silver and is familiar to most people. Sterling is 92.5% pure silver by law, and 7.5% something else. Usually the something else copper, added to improve the strength and hardness of silver. Sterling is an attractive and durable metal, though it is prone to tarnish and will need polishing to maintain a bright look. That said, the natural patina of silver is very attractive on many pieces, so you can skip the polishing if you prefer. The second type of silver is fine silver which is 99.9% pure silver. Pieces made of this will tarnish very slowly, but the metal is much softer than sterling. What this means to the wearer is that if you happen to run a pair of fine silver earrings through the wash in your jeans pocket, they may not come out the same shape they went in. Sterling silver earrings are more likely to sustain the abuse. All that said both metals will stand up to daily wear and tear, just don't stand on your earrings and you should be fine. Yes, I really make all of these pieces Everything you see on this website or in the show booth or store display is made by Joanne. Yes it is time consuming, and at times very difficult. But Joanne really enjoys this work, and the hours just fly by. Why does Red Curl only have silver pieces? To start, there is more than only silver. Joanne also works in gold or golf fill (see the next question), just not very often. What the heck is gold fill? No, it isn't another way to say gold plate. Gold fill is a material that has had a layer of gold pressure bonded to a base metal. It is much more valuable then gold plate as it has literally twice the gold. It does not tarnish or flake off (as plated metal will). In fact gold fill has enough gold that it is safe for people with base metal allergies to wear (unlike plate). Gold fill has the true look of gold, but is much more economical. You care for gold fill jewelry in exactly the same way you care for solid gold jewelry. By the way, all these comments go for silver fill vs. silver plate too. You will only find sterling or fine silver here, just info for you. Certain pieces are available in gold fill by custom order. How does a hobby turn into a business? Red Curl Jewelry was born out of frustration with mall jewelry that all looked the same, and lacked quality. This came to a head while Joanne was planning her wedding and just couldn't find anything that she liked for herself or her bridesmaids. So she designed and made her own jewelry. After lots of "I love your necklace! Where did you get it?" and "Oh my gosh, you should sell those," Joanne decided that she would in fact sell those. A jewelry business was born. Where does that name come from? Joanne is a curly girl. She proudly tends her naturally curly red hair for maximum curliness everyday and thus decided to make the business reflect an element of who she is, and so Red Curl Jewelry was born.