Hello and welcome to Piece of Maille!
On these pages you'll find handcrafted maille jewellery and other items, such as key- and wallet-chains and dice-bags.
Maille - which is also known as mail, chainmail or chainmaille - is a material composed of small interlocking rings of metal. Historically, maille was used as armour from the Roman era until the late middle ages, in both eastern and western cultures (today it is still used as armour in medieval and renaissance re-enactment groups). During these centuries, various methods of linking the rings together (called 'weaves') were developed, aiming at flexibility and strength. Other weaves have been (and still are) developed for purely decorative use in jewellery, clothing and so on.
The jewellery and other pieces of maille on this site are created using these time-tested methods, link by link. I mostly work with stainless steel and bronze (my favourite metals), but occasionally use other materials as well, like brass, copper, titanium and niobium. Precious metals - silver and gold - I usually use for commisioned pieces only. To spice up the jewellery I use beads of semi-precious stones, glass beads and Swarovski crystals; sometimes I combine the metals with leather. If you want to know more about the materials used, visit the Information page.
All items shown in Jewellery and Accessories are for sale, see the Buying page for detailed purchase instructions. Gallery holds both the available and sold one-of-a-kind items as well as custom work, feel free to use them for inspiration.
Enjoy your visit!