Thimble Boxes

I spent a week of May 2025 working with Silversmiths in Bali! I learned a lot of great techniques that will help me in my designs! It is great fun to learn about products that are natural. They crush a seed and liquify it in a mortar and pestle. It is (apparently) heat resistant. They use a sharp paintbrush to soak up this slime and it's sticky nature picks up tiny silver balls and settles them onto ornate silver jewelry. Then, when the balls are 'glued' to the whole piece, they hold still and are made permanent on the piece with silver solder. They use torches that are controlled with foot pedals and pumped to get a hotter flame. My flux is liquid and I dip the whole silver piece in flux to change the melt point so that it is protected from my torch. Bali flux looks like a stone. Their steel probe is heated, then laid on the stone where it gets coated with flux. It immediately goes to the silver piece and the probe shares the flux and carefully melts solder to join the pieces. So much to learn! Soo little time!

I found these sterling silver boxes in Bali. They are made as a part of a longer training course under the supervision of a master silversmith. I thought that they were beautiful, and hope that you will too. The ornate lids are pounded from a single piece of sterling sheeting. The lids and boxes are fitted together by hand (not manufactured). They are small miracles of creativity and metallurgy. Some day I will go back for a longer course, but for now, I have these boxes that I brought home to share.