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ARTICLE:Review of Pardo Jewellery Clay |
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Description: Pardo Jewellery Clay A few months ago, I read that there was a new polymer clay on the block called Pardo Jewellery Clay. I saw some photos and was quite taken by the range of colors available and the unique packaging of the product. Also appealing was that Pardo is phthalate-free and uses beeswax for plasticity. This means there is no chemical smell when baking. I placed an order for 4 colors through PolyClayPlay online, purchasing Pardo in gold, silver, bronze, and agate (translucent). The clay came about a week later in lidded jars containing 2.7 ounces of 3/4" balls of clay. What's great about these balls is that it makes clay amounts easy to measure. For example, if you want to make a half-and-half mix of two colors, you could simply combine two balls - one of each color. Pardo claims that their clay is workable right out of the package, with no conditioning needed. I found this true for the 3 metallics I purchased, but the agate clay was a bit stiffer, and had to be kneaded a bit to soften. The overall texture of Pardo clay is unique - it is generally soft, but not sticky. It does take finger prints, but they can be easily wiped out with just a swipe of the thumb. Also, if you are working with the clay and it gets too soft, you only need to put it aside for a few minutes for it to stiffen up. It "cools down" much more quickly than other clays, which can sometimes take more than an hour. It also holds its own in techniques like mokume gane or stamping without warping. I'm not a caner, so I can't give you any information on how Pardo works in that situation, but the other reviews I've read so far claim that it holds up well in canes. Pardo mixes very well with other clays. I've mixed it with Premo, Sculpey Studio, and Fimo with good results. As far as color goes, after baking the metallics were quite brilliant.I compared a baked piece of Pardo silver with Sculpey Studio silver and Pardo blew the other clay out of the water. It was highly reflective and much brighter than the Studio clay. It was also smoother to the touch. Metallics aside, I was really eager to find out how the agate (translucent) clay baked, and was pleased to find that it was one of the most transparent clays I have worked with. It was even clearer than my old standby, Premo Frost. Because of this translucence, the agate clay is great to use with inclusions like glitter, as they show through quite well. Pardo is also very flexible after baking. I baked a slim rope of the bronze clay and had fun looping and twisting it around. One issue is that I'd like to see Pardo in a more environmentally-friendly packaging. While the jars are convenient and attractive, they are also a bit wasteful. In a world already overflowing with plastic waste, this is kind of a downer. Also, the clay is pricey and hard to get a hold of. You can only really get it online or at Hobby Lobby stores. Unfortunately, there are no Hobby Lobby locations where I live, so I had to get it online and pay extra for shipping which adds to the already steep cost. With the exception of the above issues, I find that Pardo is a great clay that is easy and fun to use. It's excellent for jewelry applications and the color quality can't be beat. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to give it a try. If you do, I'd love to hear what you think. Buy Pardo online here:http://tiny.cc/OxtZG *Photo by Jackie Mello* | |
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Comments
Thanks Jackie. I worked the Viva Decor, maker of Pardo, for a few hours during CHA so I did get to play with the clay a little, plus I have some of their new Artist Clay which comes in traditional blocks.
Lisa Pavelka was demonstrating the Artist clay and it caned very well. Like the jewelry clay, it doesn't have the odor and requires very little conditioning.
Folks, what Jackie says about the bendability of the jewelry clay is so very true. I baked a little piece and was able to fold it nearly in half with no cracking or breaking, and that was after it cooled and firmed up. This is a great clay for dimensional work that could be subject to being knocked around a little bit, such as on bracelets.
For working the booth and assisting with demonstrations I'm supposed to be getting a sample of the new Artist clay to play with. It comes in fewer colors, the theory being that Artists will want to custom mix colors so the base colors are geared for that. So when I get my samples I'll do some of the Color Book exercises from Maggie and Lindly and I'll do a companion article to address the Artist clay, color shifting, and other properties.
glad to hear about the no smell when baking. the price could be a problem though. thanks for the write-up.
Thanks ladies - I appreciate the feedback!
Jackie- one comment about the packaging- Viva is using that package so that it IS recyclable. Those cellophane wrappers other clays come in are NOT recyclable, while the plastic ones are...and the thought is that folks will reuse the jars, since they are so nice. Thanks for letting me add by 2 cents.
Im getting some Pardo on Friday - eager to try it out.
This stuff is beautifully bendy! I baked a small sheet rolled at the thickest setting of my pasta machine and it really bends a LOT! It's not flimsy by any means, but that means that for the kind of work I do I don't have to worry so much about the tips of leaves breaking off, or rose petals chipping. Very good!
been playing with it... some likes and some dislikes so far...
like: the balls, the colors, no conditioning required
what I don't like: problem with crumbling in some colors, doesn't stick together well (like for swirling), difficult to insert metal pieces into it w/o mis-shaping my shape, leaves stains on my table.
Jackie, you say you've mixed the clays. My packages of Pardo say to bake at 248 F max. I am nervous to mix it with Premo which needs 275. Any input on that?
Hi Lori!
I've baked my Pardo/Premo mix at 260 with good results. I do leave it in a little longer than 30 min. though. Depending on the size I'll bake from 40-45 min. I would do some test bakes just to see what the clay can tolerate in your particular oven.
thanks. did you find it crumbly at all? that is my only real complaint with it at this point. tough to work with. some colors were ok but others were horrible.
Price Break
Hello everyone. I am Trish, owner of Poly Clay Play and I had a minute to "surf" and found this great article about my favorite clay, Pardo. Yes, I may seem biased because I sell it but I only sell things on my site that I do or would use myself. Before I found Pardo, I primarily used Premo. Now I can't seem to go back to all that I had stockpiled because I love Pardo. The colors are amazing and that is the main thing I am sold on.
Packaging
I love the jars. They make it so easy to grab some clay and play. As mentioned, they are recyclable. They are also reusable. You can decorate and bake the lid (not the jar) so I have started making holders for all my Kemper Kutters with the shape on the lid to make them easy to grab and play.
Price
First, let me say yes, you pay shipping but unless you are in Texas, you aren't having to pay sales tax.
The price, when you compare it to other brands, is not as far off as you think. There is more clay in a jar of Pardo than in the 2 ounce packages of other brands. I know, I know, you can get other clay on sale. Yes, but you won't find clay with the colors and qualities that Pardo has.
When I first started Poly Clay Play, I decided I wanted my club members to be able to get various tools and supplies at a discount to make playing with clay even more fun. So, if you join the Poly Clay Play Club, not only do you get bunches of tutorials every month, you can also purchase tools and supplies at a 20% discount. That means 99 cents off each and every jar of Pardo you buy.
Please visit me athttp://www.polyclayplay.com/Cart and check out all the beautiful colors available. There is also a Feedback form there you can use to ask me any other questions you may have about this great clay or any of the other beautiful Viva Decor products.
Happy Poly Clay Playing!
I've used it a few times. It works well. BUT the color does change for the ones I have used. There was no indication on the packaging that the colors were translucent, so it was a bit of a shocker when the mauve colored coral came out of the oven orange!
It was a lovely orange, and fortunately it did not take away from the finished piece.
When I use it again, I will do a sample cure before I incorporate it with other colors. I have a pa pack of purple and a pack of green just waiting to be sampled....
The cost gets me, 2.7 oz at 4.95 =/= 2oz at 2.00 a block for Premo- price from Polymer Clay Express. The package looks big but it is mostly air because the clay is in balls. It's good but not worth almost twice the price. I mix my own colors so I don't need 70 colors.
The artclay was very firm and worked well, the price is 3.25 for 2.1, not as expensive. However there are only 14 colors, 4 of which are shades of blue. If they add more colors I would buy more.
I was just at Hobby Lobby and picked up a small package (1.2 ounce) of Pardo Copper. While I was looking through the colors, I noticed they also had solid blocks available as well. Packaging was near to the same size as the 1.2 ounce, but I believe the actual weight was closer to 2 ounces.
I believe there are now 2 formulas of Pardo Clay - the jewelry clay reviewed here, as well as a new "artist's grade" Pardo Clay, which may be better for caning. I have not tried either of them, however. I am hoping to give the artist's grade a try one of these days, though.
Yes, Jackie, in addition to the jewelry clay (which comes in balls) there is also an artist grade clay which comes in the blocks with which we are so familiar. The blocks of artist clay, however, do not come in nearly as many colors so custom colors need to be mixed.
I got to play with both at CHA when my Guild was helping out at the booth, and I did like the feel and workability of both of the clays. I have some and I'm still working with it to find out which of MY favorite techniques are most suitable. Some of the jewelry clay seems a bit crumbly at first - don't know if that's due to shipping, storing or aging, or if that's how it leaves the factory. And, yes, it pays to make color chips and cure them so you will know what each color will do.
I found the artist's clay palette very limiting- out of 14 colors offered, 4 were blues, it was firm and nice to work with but there is one brown, 1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow without any indication of the color. Zinc yellow is very different from cadmium yellow and you can't mix zinc yellow using other colors. I really hope they decide to expand that line, the firmness was much more to my liking.
This review is really helpful. I've been thinking about branching out to other clays so this is great!