I am often asked where my ideas originate when designing a jewelry piece. The answer is... everywhere! Yep, that is pretty vague. I get it. Let's see if I can give you a few examples. Nature. Anytime I can get outside away from the day to day events and distractions.. I get inspired! Sometimes a simple walk around our pond can do the trick. Other times I need to hike … [Read more...]
What’s so Special about Peruvian Opal?
and the Answer is... everything! For starters this vibrant blue/green gem is the national stone of Peru. I just love knowing that these gems are only found in the Andes mountains. How amazing is that? This rare stone can be as clear as the color of the Caribbean sea. Or it may feature some darker inclusions as you can see in the stones shown here. One single specimen of … [Read more...]
How do I create Pure Metal Earrings?
I love working with metal. Can you tell? Creating my collection of Copper and Sterling Silver PURE METAL earrings requires lots of elbow grease. First I texture the raw metal. This is usually done by hammering but can be done with a rolling mill as well. The metal must be softened (heated) before starting the texturing. Since the metal becomes distorted from the … [Read more...]
Tiger’s Eye Gemstone: Legends and Facts
Tiger Eye (also called Tiger's Eye) is a semi-precious gemstone from the quartz family. It is easily spotted by it's luminescent band that resembles a cat's eye (or tiger in this case!!) Mostly you see these in brown tones, but they can also be seen in red tones or yellow tones... all with the tell-tale band. I love working with this gem. The brilliant 'band' seems to … [Read more...]
Tools of the Jewelry Trade: Disc Cutter
Do you have any idea how much fun it is to get a new tool? OK, I know this sounds like a 'guy' thing... but any metals jeweler will tell you that we get so much pleasure from being able to do something creative with our new 'toy' This new disc cutter cuts squares from metal. So what you say? Now I can create my own designs more quickly. Plus I now have endless ways to … [Read more...]
