Butterflies Hair Barrette by Oberon Design
Handmade by Oberon Design in Santa Rosa, California.
Form and function unite in this delightful barrette. There is depth and movement in this sculptural piece that anyone would appreciate, not just fans of butterflies or nature. And for all who enjoy a unique and special accessory that is also oh so comfortable and practical.
Size: 3 1/8" x 7/8"
Our Britannia Metal jewelry contains no cadmium, lead or other toxic metals.
All Oberon Design Britannia metal products are hand cast in our studio shop in Santa Rosa, CA. In our casting process we use only the purest, lead free, food grade Britannia metal. Food grade refers to the metal purity of the Britannia metal we use, qualifying it for use in the production of utensils and dishware. Because of its purity, Britannia metal can be cast at very high temperatures that result in a low tarnish, high polish finish.
We carve our own molds and cast all our products in small batches of 6-12 pieces at a time. This insures the casting quality of each individual piece and results in very light weight yet durable parts, especially important in our earrings and hair clips. Our shop features a state of the art water treatment system that utilizes polymers to thoroughly clean soap residues that accumulate in our casting process, eliminating any potential contamination of public water systems.
Caring for Britannia Metal
Mild soap and water is enough to clean Britannia Metal though we recommend the use of a silver polishing cloth. The soft cloth method is preferable because it helps to avoid bending or distorting jewelry pieces. Britannia Metal is a very soft metal so avoid vigorous rubbing that might dull intricate details in the design. Silver polish paste may be used as well.
About Britannia Metal
Britannia metal is an alloy which means it’s composed of more than one metal. The creation of alloys was one of the most important developments in metallurgy because it strengthened pure metals for use in forging early tools and weapons such as axes and wheels. Most modern Britannia metal is composed of a large percentage of tin and a small percentage of copper although there are many variations. Along with bronze, Britannia metal was one of the first alloys known to man. Britannia metal is considered a soft metal with a very low melting point, lending itself to detailed design work when made into jewelry.
Many metals that are often referred to by name as a pure element are, in reality, metal alloys. For example, the gold found in jewelry is almost never pure gold. Gold, like Britannia metal , is a soft metal and can be readily bent or twisted apart. Copper is the most common additive to gold: the term "karat" refers to the purity of gold in the alloy, with 18 karat gold being one-quarter copper. Most forms of aluminum encountered today are, in fact, aluminum alloys. Many of the alloys referred to with the blanket term "titanium steel" or simply "titanium" are really alloys of titanium, aluminum and vanadium.
Employed for use in jewelry making, etchings, hand engravings, cutlery, and dinnerware, Britannia metal has been found in Egypt and carbon dated to 1500 B.C.E. Pewter was also known in ancient China, Greece and Rome, and was a common metal choice during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries) developing with use in Europe in the 11th century and in the 17-1800’s in the American colonies. It’s very evident that pewter design has experienced resurgence in the 20th century and is currently enjoying a new phase in popularity especially as the price of gold and silver accelerates.
Britannia Metal Casting
We purchase Britannia metal in bars or ingots that we cut or melt in whole pieces before placing them in a heated casting bowl. Liquefied Britannia metal is then carefully ladled into a steel centrifuge where our carved rubber molds have been placed. The molten metal seeps into the mold as it spins, filling carved cavities in the rubber that designate the form of earring, necklace or bookmark, etc. When the mold is split open the Britannia metal pieces are lifted out of the mold in the form of a wheel with adjoining spokes where the liquid metal has solidified in our carved, decorative shapes at the tips of the spokes. The jewelry pieces are broken off to make their way through a series of polishing processes where they are vibrated in cone shaped ‘media’ pellets before they are individually hand worked to completion.
At Oberon we’re proud of the fact that the design and casting of our Britannia metal line and all our leather work is done "in house". This combined with our source for domestically tanned leather, use of local and domestic businesses for resources such as non-toxic glues and dyes, thread, zippers, and other items used in our leather and pewter processes; in addition to in house production of catalogs and websites, make Oberon Design what it is today: a good old fashioned, hands on, hard working American company.
In 1967, Brendan Smith, the owner and founder of Oberon Design, embarked on a course of artistry that has occupied his life for over forty years. A talented musician and composer, author, gardener and entrepreneur, Brendan steadfastly adhered to a vision of quality and ‘do-it -yourself’ simplicity in his leather artistry and business practices that has stood the test of time. At age seventeen he began sewing leather with a needle and thread then borrowed a sister’s sewing machine. Wedging it inside his bedroom closet, placing a chair in the open door and hanging various tools and findings on the inside of the closet door, he provided himself with a mini leather shop. Many broken needles later, he purchased an aging industrial quality machine and graduated to an attic room where he set up his first real workshop.
When Brendan was seventeen, he cultivated two important relationships: an incongruous friendship with the cowboy owner of a local saddlery shop who mentored him in the nuances of leather craft. At this time he also made friends with a family who owned The Hide House, a local leather supply business. Oberon Design still works with The Hide House, a treasured and honored working friendship of forty-five years. With their help, Brendan developed his skills for precision and design, sketching in notebooks and spending long hours experimenting and creating in situ at the sewing machine. He set up his first retail venue in his hometown, making and selling sandals and hats during the Summer of Love. With his budding success as a craftsman, Brendan began to identify himself with a life of creative process.
During his college years Brendan supported himself with leather craft, expanding into moccasin making, handbags, belts and wearable art in the form of figurative whole-head masks of extraordinary character. He published a ‘how to’ manuscript entitled Brendan’s Leather Book. Humorously well written and illustrated by Brendan, it was favorably reviewed and achieved a healthy round of five editions totaling over 40,000 copies. One Bay Guardian reviewer quipped that “It would charm the hide off a cow." Although out of print, it still enjoys a healthy circulation online and in used bookstores.
Brendan developed a following for his leatherwork during the seventies and eighties under the name Walking Foot Leather. His reputation grew out of his direct rapport with customers in his booth each year at the original Renaissance Pleasure Faires. In the late 1980s he expanded his business to accommodate a large order for leather fanny packs for a national department store chain. From this expansion sprang the concept of leather journal covers whose popularity in museum shops and gift and book stores across the country lead to the creation of Oberon Design as a company that has flourished since 1992.
Beginning in the 1990s, Oberon Design became a vital and well recognized part of the handmade, craft revival in the United States, participating in elite juried venues such as American Craft Council shows and Buyers Market of American Craft, joining the ranks of the most highly recognized craftsmen and women in the U.S.
In 1999, Oberon Design further expanded to include a Britannia metal casting shop that produces the hand cast buttons seen on most Oberon leather covers, and our line of gorgeous metal jewelry, hair accessories and gift items.
In early 2020, Oberon Design merged forces with our long time colleagues in the local leather craft industry. It’s an exciting change and will allow Brendan to enjoy his well-deserved retirement with confidence.
Occidental Leather is a local company, specializing in leather tool belts and bags, with the same care for craftsmanship and quality as Oberon, as well as the same family vibe and core work ethic. In fact, you could say that Occidental Leather and Oberon Design are cut from the same cloth.
As for current and future operations, we continue plugging away the Oberon way, with our same products and the same Oberon flair and artistry, only now with our two companies being able to offer each other so much in terms of resources and support, this is just the beginning of greater things to come.
Find more work by Oberon Design here.