My interest in jewelry design began a few years ago when I was spending fruitless hours searching the net for good quality bellydance jewelry. Everything I found was made of base metals and only intended to be seen from a distance. I wanted *real* jewelry.

When I saw handmade chains for the first time, well... it was love at first sight. *s* My hands took up this skill in the way you relearn something familiar but long unused. There's a soothing, meditative quality to making something in the same way it was made thousands of years ago. And making chainmaille strangely satisfies the sense of longing an old soul feels for ancient times. That might sound odd to some, but I feel certain other old souls will know just what I mean.

My husband, Gary, is ever supportive of my endeavors and learned to cut the most beautiful rings for my chainweaving. Before long, he was cutting extra rings for people who wanted to buy them and I was answering all sorts of questions about which rings for which weaves... and then Gary thought of kits and I thought that was brilliant. *s* That idea gave us a chance to work together on something we care about and it's turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us.

My favorite picture of us,
outside the Museum of the
Army in Paris. Can you guess
from Gary's pose whose
tomb is there? *L*

We sold our house and invested in commercial grade equipment which Gary set up and worked with on weekends and evenings while continuing to travel and work full time in the computer industry. Meanwhile, I spent a year preparing, working out a logical system for learning ever more complex chain weaves, then designing the kits, writing the books and building the website. Gary soon left his job to work for Urban Maille full time. We're now in our sixth year of business, we have three employees, Valerie, Mindi and Bill, and we're having the best time ever. *s*

If you're interested in reading more about how Urban Maille came to be, you might want to have a look at my interview with Rena Klingenberg. Her site is a wonder and you're sure to find a lot of useful information there.

We hope you enjoy your time here and find it beautiful. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hi, please get in touch. We love hearing from people who share our appreciation of the ancient artistry of chains.

'Cause when a Texan fancies he'll take his chances,
chances will be taken... that's for sure.

Gary P. Nunn
London Homesick Blues