Month: August 2023

Gearing Up for Two Leavenworth Art in the Park Shows

I become a jewelry-making machine in preparation for two back-to-back appearances at Leavenworth Village Art In the Park.

Although I haven’t updated this site in a few days, don’t think I haven’t been busy. I’ve been in my studio every day, making new inventory for my upcoming appearances at Leavenworth Village Art in the Park. This is a great little art show every weekend in downtown Leavenworth, WA. I generally appear on select weekends before and after peak summer months.

Two Pendants
These pendants are so new, I haven’t even properly photographed them for my online shop. They are Tibetan Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli, both on sterling silver. I have a wonderful lapis and silver beaded necklace to go with the blue one.

Although my earring and bracelet inventory is pretty healthy, I was in dire need of making new pendants and beaded necklaces. I’ve glad to say that I’ve gone from just 6 pendants in inventory to 54, including the two I just finished last night that haven’t even made it to my online shop yet. In between, I managed to make 6 or 7 new beaded necklaces and stock up on two of my more time-consuming earrings. Although I’ve been adding these new items to my Online Shop every morning, I haven’t had time to add them to this site.

If you like my jewelry and live in Washington State, why not make a day trip to Leavenworth to see my work in person? If you’ve never been to Leavenworth, it’s a fun little town with a Bavarian theme, nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. In addition to lots of shopping and dining opportunities, there are endless trails up along Icicle Creek to get you out into the cool woods and mountains.

If you can’t make it to Leavenworth and you like my jewelry, I highly recommend you visit my Online Shop and buy whatever it is that tickles your fancy. I sell the same inventory at my shows and once something is sold, it’s gone for good. Don’t miss out. I’ll be fulfilling orders on Friday and Monday with first class shipping to US destinations.

I’ll be there with about 15 other artists on Thursday to Saturday (and possibly Sunday) of this weekend and Thursday through Monday on Labor Day weekend. Consult my online Calendar of Events for details of all my upcoming shows and classes.

More New Pendants and Beaded Necklaces

I add a variety of new items to my online shop and in preparation for two back-to-back art shows in Leavenworth, WA.

I was busy in my shop for most of last week, continuing to make inventory for upcoming shows as summer winds to a close.

I started the week by making six beaded necklaces to match pendants I’d already made. You can find all of these in the Necklaces section of my online shop; I’ll be displaying them with the pendants I made them for at upcoming shows, even though they can be purchased separately.

Bumble Bee Jasper Necklace Howlite Necklace

Kingman Turquoise Necklace Onyx Necklace

Picture Jasper Necklace Ruby Zoisite Garnet Necklace
New necklaces in my shop. Left to right, top to bottom: Bumble Bee Jasper and sterling silver, Howlite and sterling silver, Kingman Turquoise with sterling silver and copper, black Onyx with sterling silver and copper, Picture Jasper with sterling silver, and Ruby in Zoisite and red Garnet with sterling silver.

Then I got down to it and made a few more pendants.

Kt Square w Cuts and Neck
Kingman Turquoise, orange spiny oyster shell, and bronze cabochon bezel set on sterling silver.

I had this nearly square Kingman Turquoise with Spiny Oyster Shell and bronze cabochon that was really calling out to me. I bezel-set it on a nearly square sterling silver backplate, which I accented with hand cut lines and stamped sterling silver balls. I used a tube bail; the photo here shows the pendant with the Kingman Turquoise beaded necklace shown above, which is sold separately.

Malachite Pendant
Malachite cabochon bezel set in sterling silver.

Because I was completely out of stock on pendants with another popular stone — malachite — I chose a small round cabochon and set that with a completely new style, using square wire wrapped around the bezel to form part of the bail. I’m not sure how much I like this design, but the stone is certainly pretty. I’ll be making a malachite necklace to go with this this weekend.

Silver Cross
Sterling silver cross with Kingman Turquoise accent stone.

And finally, since I was so happy with the way the prototype copper cross I made last week came out, I made one in silver using the same techniques but upgrading the bail. I really like the rough, handmade look of these pieces.

All of these pendants are available in the Pendants area of my online shop and will be at my upcoming shows — until sold.

Keep checking in for more items as I make them. I can’t update this site daily, but I hope to be able to keep doing it at least once a week as I add inventory, show dates, and classes.

New Pendants and a Prototype of a Christian Cross Design Now in My Shop

I add four new pendants to the shop, including some fresh new designs.

I spent most of the week working on projects in my garage, but I did get to spend a few days in my jewelry studio making new pendants for upcoming shows and my online shop.

Ruby In Zoisite
Ruby in Zoisite cabochons on hand stamped and pierced sterling silver. Buy it online.

The first is a variation on a design I’d done in the past for a triangular stone. In this case, I’ve got two Ruby in Zoisite (or ruby-zoisite) stones bezel set into a pierced and stamped sterling silver back plate. I do all the cuts and stamping (and related filing and sanding) by hand, so there’s a lot of work in this one. It came out great (in my opinion) and although it comes with a sterling silver chain (like most of my pendants), I plan on making a beaded necklace for it that combines ruby in zoisite, garnet, and sterling silver. Look for it soon.

Ribbon Variscite
Ribbon Variscite on sterling silver. Buy it online.

Next up is the first of two “ribbon” stones. The first is ribbon variscite, a relatively rare and costly stone that I picked up two years ago at the Tucson gem and mineral show. The variscite appears in a vein like a ribbon it its matrix. I did a simple back plate design for this one that has evenly spaced cuts around the bezel setting.

Bio Chrysoprase
Bio Chrysoprase on sterling silver. Buy it online.

The other ribbon stone is bio chrysoprase, a rare form of quartz with a great green color in a line through the stone’s matrix. It’s an almond shaped stone and I used a design similar to one I’ve done before, framing the stone in a hand-textured sterling silver structure and setting it with prongs. This design is a lot of work — there are 10 individual solders! — but I think it’s so worth it.

Copper Cross
Copper cross with Kingman turquoise cabochon. Buy it online.

And finally, something completely different for me — by request: a Christian cross. I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to make this piece and decided to try a prototype in copper before I dive into silver. The design requires thick sheet metal — 18 gauge — which, in silver, can be quite costly. So I experimented with copper to get the right shape, stamping design, and cabochon positioning. I think it came out nice and I will be making more of these in sterling silver over the weeks to come. Until then, if you like copper, you can get this one at a very reasonable price.

I’ll be at Leavenworth art in the park for two consecutive weekends starting on August 24, so if these pieces don’t sell from my online shop, you can find them there — along with any other new pieces I create over the next 10 days.

Why I Left Etsy

A blog post on my personal blog details why I left Etsy in favor of a Square-based shop.

I don’t often share personal blog posts on this site, but I wanted to make an exception since this post is so relevant to my jewelry business. It explains how I sell my jewelry and why I made the switch from Etsy to a Square-based online shop.

Why I’m Leaving Etsy — and Maybe You Should, Too?

Segmented Ring Sterling Silver and Copper Pendants

Several riffs on the same basic pendant design.

Ring Onyx Pendant

Ring Turquoise Pendant

Ring Variscite Pendant

Three versions of the same basic design: Sterling Silver ring with Onyx stone, Copper ring with Kingman Turquoise Stones, and Copper ring with variscite stone.

Inspired by a photo in the now defunct Lapidary Journal magazine, I’ve completed three riffs (so far) on a design that combines silver, copper, and small gemstones.

I start by making and texturing a sterling silver or copper ring. Then I hand cut, texture, and solder on sterling silver and copper circle wedges or halves. I add bezel cups for various sizes of small gemstones such as turquoise or onyx, as well as a ring and hand-formed bail. After applying patina and polishing, I set the stones and the piece is done.

I like making these because they’re all subtly different and the combinations of shapes, textures, metals, and stones is limitless. They range in size from a diameter of 1.7 to 1.8 inches with another half inch at the top for the bail.

I’ll be making custom beaded necklaces for each pendant — provided I have the coordinating beads — that will be available separately. (You can see the one I made for the piece with the onyx stone in the first photo.) The pendants will come with an 18″ sterling silver chain if you prefer not to buy the beaded necklace.

What do you think? Care to sketch up a variation that you’d like to see and wear? I’d love to make your designs a reality and this is a great piece to make variations of.