Newly Relisted: Gel Electrophoresis Chainmaille Bracelets

Guys, I am so damn proud of these bracelets. I spent years thinking about how to incorporate chainmaille into my work, until I hit upon the idea of gel electrophoresis art. Then, I probably spent another couple of months thinking about how I could pull it off. I finally debuted these puppies during this year's SciArt Tweetstorm, after some valuable input from Peggy over at The Vexed Muddler.

Biology has always been a field that I've had to neglect. The nature of the work is not something easily encapsulated by simple bead-stringing; chainmaille finally allowed me to represent images instead of numbers. I was, and still am, excited about taking my jewelry in this direction.

You can imagine, then, that it's breaking my heart a little that they're not selling, but I have no one but myself to blame for that. I picked the wrong time of year to stop promoting my shop -- the triple whammy of Pi Day, Mother's Day and graduation events within a three-month period means that this is exactly the time of year for nerdy bespoke jewelry to be popular, right? Usually, yes. This year I dropped off the map.

That's a long way to say that these bracelets deserve better than me. More promotion, a sexed-up photograph, some clever copy . . . all three? But there's only so many balls a person can juggle.

1kb Step Ladder Gel Electrophoresis Bracelet by Kokoba Jewelry

I love bead-stringing, and I always will, because I am a sucker for pretty rocks. But there is a Zen-like simplicity in chainmaille. No knots, no crimps, no string or wire: just you, two pliers, and a bunch of jump rings. It's a lot easier to pick up and put down, which is something I need at this point in my life.

Right now I only have these two colors (black and a silvery champagne). Once I recover from the hit that is tax season in two different countries, I'm going to put in an order for more. I have visions of rainbow pride versions of these, for the LGBTQ+ scientists and allies in the field, but that might have to remain a pipe dream for the time being. I don't think I could get more than a couple out in time for actual Pride this year.