Photograph by Vy Pham
Making chain mail is a tedious process; it involves taking jump rings as small as three millimeters, twisting them just so to open them up, then locking them around other rings. The work is detailed. Precise. And Shannon Leonard loves it.
They’re the artist behind Shenanigan Silver, a jewelry business that specializes in chain mail earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. Shoppers can purchase pieces on Instagram and at markets, and eventually, Leonard hopes to make Shenanigan Silver their full-time gig, selling pieces in storefronts.
Leonard, who lives in North Avondale, was always a crafty kid, making friendship and Rainbow Loom bracelets. They discovered metalwork in high school at Lakota East. A couple years ago, they ventured into making chain mail. The technique uses small metal jump rings interlocked together to form intricate patterns. Historically, it was used as Medieval armor in Europe, lightweight and flexible enough to ensure mobility but sturdy enough to protect.
Photograph by Vy Pham
Those benefits translate to jewelry, too. Despite the amount of metal Leonard uses on a piece—about 35 jump rings linked together for a single two-inch dangle earring—the jewelry is often lightweight. When the rings get bulkier and the designs less complex, the pieces gain more heft.
“[Feedback has been] really positive, which has been really cool and affirming. Sharing my work and putting myself out there has been a fear of mine for a while,” Leonard says. “It’s been really cool to see feedback from people and feel this is professional and worth something.”
Photograph by Vy Pham
A favorite piece so far has been a commission: A coworker had Leonard make a choker necklace as a gift for a sibling. The jewelry incorporated a piece of vertebrae in the middle, which necessitated a search into the preservation of various resins. Leonard found a resin used by museums and fossil collectors to strengthen or preserve bones—they enjoyed the research process and working with the chemicals.
In general, though, the benefit of making chain mail lies in its meditative aspects. “Working with my hands always really gets me out of my head and into my body,” Leonard says, “focusing on one thing and not anything I’m worrying about. It’s so repetitive and usually a very long process. It’s something I can dive into for a long time and focus on only that.”
Photograph by Vy Pham
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