Why did vampires become the inspiration for ChrisCrafting’s inaugural jewelry collection?

Blame Dracula

I had always liked fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural stories, but my fascination with vampires truly started sometime in the late 80s, when I saw the 1979 Dracula starring Frank Langella on TV. Need I say more? Frank Langella. As Dracula. I mean, look at the poster! I think it was his eyes that undid me. That intense look really made it easy to believe people could fall under Dracula’s spell. As well, unlike so many other Dracula movies, this one overall stayed fairly true to Bram Stoker’s novel. (See featured image.) Langella’s Dracula is, to this day, my favorite version of the Count.

From then on, I gobbled up what vampire material I could. Particular favorites are The Lost Boys, Blade, Underworld, and, on TV, Blood Ties. If you haven’t seen the latter, do! Kyle Schmidt is amazingly convincing as a 470-year-old vampire. I haven’t been able to catch up on newer offerings, but hopefully soon. In book form, I enjoyed Tanya Huff’s series on which Blood Ties was based, as well as Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.

Spark of Inspiration

The Gothic atmosphere, the supernatural elements, the erotic tension… what’s not to love about vampires? So while I was working on a design for my hand-crafted jewelry, the name “Blood-Drenched Lace” came to me. That spark of inspiration was enough to set the ball rolling: Blood red and black were obvious colors. The netting techniques I loved to use lent themselves naturally to a Gothic/Victorian style. One thing led to another, and after some trial and error, the Blood-Drenched Lace Collection was born at last.

Eventually, I’ll create more jewelry collections, inspired by my other geeky, gothy, nerdy interests. But over the course of the next few months, I’ll be adding more pieces to my vampire-inspired Blood-Drenched Lace collection. Sign up for my email list below so you won’t miss these new releases, and get free US shipping on all future orders!