Welcome to Rond Álainn! The first word is Old Irish for "woven chain". The second word is Irish Gaelic for "beautiful". Our web address says "by melody" but really, it's chainmaille by Melody and John! I hope you enjoy the jewelry you see here.
My husband and I handcraft chainmaille necklaces, chokers, earrings, & many other items. We are no longer selling items through this site. We will simply display pictures of items we've made. I will also be adding a blog for anyone to comment or share info about items they've made. Enjoy the site!
Rond Álainn Newsletter June 2009
Site Updates
As stated above, we are no longer taking orders through this website. We will simply be a place for folks to see chainmail items and share info. Hope you all enjoy!
New Products!
I am now working on knight chains. For those of you unfamiliar with the Society for Creative Anachronism, when a person is knighted in the SCA they are granted the honor of wearing an unadorned (no pendants or beads or embellishments) gold chain. These chains, I am told by a good friend who is a knight, should be weighty to remind the knight of the weight of his or her responsibilities. This should be quite an interesting project for me. I'm using brass to make these.
Upcoming Events
I have no upcoming events to post here at this time.
I will from time to time put some of the items from the site up for auction at Ebay.
Keep checking back for further updates and new items.
Because this website is open to the public, please be aware that anything you share with us is also shared with who ever accesses the site. I cannot guarantee that people will not copy your designs (if you post pix). If you have a design you wish to copyright, you can create your own page and list your items there with a notation that your design is copyrighted and can only be used with permission from you. Or you can visit a site like www.mailleartisans.org and become a member (it's free to do that). At that site, folks post many designs and there are tutorials for designs they are willing to share with others. Personally, I don't see the point of copyrighting a design since anyone with an eye for joining rings can simply look at a photo or an item and copy it directly from sight. My designs are made using the tutorials I find available online and I sometimes put in variations of my own. I do make it a point to contact folks who post the designs I modify and let them know about my variations. I believe it's important in any life situation to be willing to share. I also realize in big business, the importance of not sharing some things. Crafting, however, is not a "big" business, but is made up of folks who work from the comfort of their own homes. As such, I feel sharing info with each other increases our own knowlege and the range of our abilities.
Having said all that, I hope your visit to our site is pleasant and helpful. Please enjoy your time here.