In 2018, I started designing small, modular circuit boards for electronic-augmented jewelry: Charmware. The goal was to make simple and open-source designs that would be easy for a newbie PCB creator to learn from.
In 2025, after creating many functional boards, I realized that I currently use the charms to make ad-hoc workshop tools. The new boards are still tiny and modular, but I’m making them more beautiful, with intricate hand-drawn art elements.
The new standard charm format is a tapered hexagon, 28.5mm (long) x 19mm (wide).
There’s a 4mm hole at the top, and a 2mm one at the bottom. As with the original boards, these can be used to attach jewelry findings, to anchor cables (for strain relief), etc.
I’m getting them fabricated as half-height (0.8mm thick) PCBs… because it’s ~elegant~ :)
My process for adding hand-drawn art to PCBs, in KiCad:
iPad to KiCad: PCB Art with Procreate