Cowboy earrings…the attraction is in the imperfections. If they matched  I would die of boredom. I love the crinkles, the uneven border that defines the piece and especially the imprint of antique watch parts I use for texture and design.

   I like to dig through my box of antique watch “leftovers” for an interesting piece to imprint the silver. Many artists from days gone by are represented in that box of leftovers  and I love to keep their work alive in this new way.

  Vermont’s own Green Mountain Coffee Roasters recently featured our watch imprint pendant in their holiday catalog. The response was heartwarming as customers called or wrote to tell us how our “time” pendant connected with them in endearing ways we could not have imagined. 

   Time to get back to work….

Vermont, Peru and Lithuania

We are in the grips of a spectacular Vermont spring day today. The only snow left in the valleys is on the north side of sheds and barns. It is warm enough to sit outside on a bench in a T-shirt…with a flannel shirt at your side just in case.

Everyone is happy again.

I finished this gorgeous summer piece this morning with the shop door finally open. Whoopee! The Peruvian Opal teardrop beads are the color of the Carribbean…I think, though I’ve never been there myself.

I would have to miss ski season to go in the winter and that just wouldn’t be right.

The color of these beads is so incredible, everyone who sees them is captivated by their bright, minty color.

We met a family from Lima that was mining and cutting these beads and though we’ve seen other blue Opal from there this family had the best beads by far. We purchased some Pink Opal from them also and were charmed by this warm family business.

The unique cube Amber in this piece is from a Lithuanian company we have worked with before.

Like us, they work hard to carry only the best items and it shows year after year. This year on our trip to the Tucson gem shows we met a new member of their team. His name was Arvydas and when he saw my, I love climbing shirt, he became really excited and in impressive broken english began telling me of his climbing stories in Lithuania and the U.S.

I was anxious to see all the new Amber (relatively speaking of course as natural Amber is very old) this wonderful company had though I didn’t want to appear rude as Arvydas told his climbing tales. An avid outdoorsperson myself I tried hard to give Arvydas my attention, all the while sneaking peeks around him to see the beautiful Amber.

“Oh really, hhmmmm….cool, were you using technical gear?” I mused as I lifted feathery Amber strands that dripped like honey from my fingers.

The Amber cubes in this necklace were purchased that day and here they are combined with the Peruvian Opal for a union made in heaven! I think an angel will wear this soon….

When I got back from Tucson, true to his word, Arvydas had sent me many photos of his climbing adventures from around the world. A new friend.

It is one of the things I love so much about our work. The chain of connection I have with people.

We have direct contact with people all over the world that are mining and cutting gems. We get to hand pick the gems we think are the most unique, best quality and worthy of all the soul and labor we will pour into making something special for you.

So much more than a job…. like Vermont, it is a way of life.

Check back soon… we received a call today from a gentlemen mining and cutting a semi precious gemstone in Vermont that is fabulous. Jim will be sending us some samples soon.

Sandra and Bill

Back it up Mom

All the elements in making this necklace were coming together nicely today. However, I found myself hesitating, staring at it, then putting it down.

Twice I sat on the chilly cement bench (not long enough to get piles as my mother warned) in front of our Vermont shop and ate peanut butter Ritz crackers while pondering the necklaces design.

Mid afternoon our daughters came into the shop and “oooh’d” and “aaaah’d” over the piece but also hesitated over the design.

I realized the piece just wasn’t right and the three of us mulled over how to improve it. The girls input was perfect and exactly what the piece needed to move from really nice to fantastic!

I will “back it up” and make the improvements we settled on, then put up an image when it is finished.

Thanks girls, love you

Mom

Mouse Patch

 Today I am working on a lovely Mastodon Ivory and Ruby pendant. I need to step away from it for a few minutes and ruminate my next step in it’s creation, soooo……

  One arctic, Vermont winter night a mouse moved into my boyfriend’s (now husband) 8′ camper. Yes, I did say “arctic Vermont winter” and “8′ camper” in the same sentence. Bill and I lived in there as well.

   The rodent seemed charming and a good source of  winter entertainment  until one morning I stepped onto the icy camper floor and pulled on my new Johnson woolies. 

  Those thick, checkered wool pants loggers and ski lift attendants wear (which is precisely the work Bill and I were doing at the time), were/are a must in severe northern climes.

  My brand new woolies had a 3″ hole chewed clean through the calf area. I went digging through the table seat bin and found a fluffy nest of new gray and black wool….”get that little turd!” I whined to Bill, “he ate my new woolies”. “I thought he was charming” Bill piped up in a muffled voice, his head crammed under the tiny sink as he swatted at a pile of rusty traps.

   The next morning, by the glow of the propane heater too small to heat a doll house much less a camper, I saw the splayed, frozen body of the  mouse on the floor.  When I squinted my eyes it looked just like a miniature bear rug.  The tiny pelt gave me an idea. Excitedly, I threw off the frosted blanket which had stuck fast to the thin metal camper walls and searched for a suitable skinning knife.

  ….oh, excuse me, I just thought of what to do next on the Mastodon Ivory pendant, gotta run….

The Tween Season

  Welcome to my landscape. Yesterday, I was skiing in snowcapped mountains. Today, I dragged out last years mud encrusted sandals, clipped, then painted my toenails and let my feet out for the first time since Halloween. I donned a long sleeved flannel shirt from my husband’s side of the closet and stood along the sun warmed wood of the house, coffee in hand for my first outdoor breakfast of the season.

 It’s a start. In fact, that is what Vermont is in the spring, or more precisely, fits and starts.

  This weekend had us on our patio that by fits and starts had emerged from deep piles of snow. Lawnchair backs peeked out first, then stone benches and items caught in last fall’s merciless takeover of the outdoors.

    It was time for the “Lighting of the Christmas Tree”. An annual show full of hiss,crackle and spectacular pop. Warm Christmas thoughts returned, as we stood with the hot,sweet smell of Christmas on our faces and a deep spring chill at our backsides.

 Life is very good indeed.

 gotta go put socks on inside my sandals…my feet are cold.