09.30.19 Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match...

Ever since I started taking classes and making jewelry - going on five years ago - I've had people ask me if I could repair or rework old pieces for them.  My answer was always no, and after repairing one pair of earrings, the answer remains, no. While I have achieved some level of mastery with silver pendants, and I am happy to make custom pieces for folks, the last thing I want to do is mess up something that is important to someone else.

Photo credit: Snooze Eatery

So, when a dear friend came to me earlier this year and asked for my thoughts on pulling diamonds and emeralds out of old pieces, and doing something new with them - I said I'd be happy to look at them with her - but then I was going to refer her to someone else to do the work.

We met for breakfast at Snooze (the food is all good - but I think my favorite is the Spuds Deluxe), got caught up on lives and kids, and started talking about what she wanted to do with all those stones.

There were some inexpensive diamond earrings she had bought for herself, some emerald earrings, and a ring with a large emerald and some fabulous baguette diamonds.  She was no longer wearing any of it - and she wanted some new pieces that she would wear!

Photo credit: De Pastel

I knew before we had finished our conversation that I was going to put her in touch with De Pastel. You'll recognize De's name from lots of posts - she was my instructor for Fabrication 201, and both kinetic jewelry classes.  She's an amazing metalsmith, and has become a great friend.

Not long after we had breakfast De was in possession of my friend's jewelry, and the process of deconstruction began in earnest.  I also got to be a virtual fly on the wall as the new designs began to take shape.

Photo credit: gift recipient

The first piece was a three stone ring, that I knew was going to be a gift for my friend's daughter's birthday.  I got a message from my friend - along with a photograph - when she delivered the finished ring.  Everyone was thrilled!

The remaining stones were set into new earrings, and two more gorgeous rings that my friend kept for herself.

It can be frustrating to have jewelry that you never wear hanging out on your dresser or languishing in a drawer - and it is so satisfying to see great stones in unworn pieces take on new life.

Photo credit: De Pastel

It's also incredibly satisfying when I can connect people in a way that is beneficial to both of them - and strengthens my bond to the jewelry community.  It has been such a joy to watch the process involving two wonderful friends.

I'm excited to get caught up with my friend later this summer - and see all her updated bling in person!

Photo credit: De Pastel

Until next time.

08.05.19 What I read on my summer vacation

A couple of posts back, I referenced a book, this time - the post is actually ABOUT the book...

...and if ever a book was written for me, it is Stoned, by Aja Raden.

I am the daughter of a physicist and a mathematician.

I have a Bachelor's degree with a major in government and a minor in religion from the University of Virginia (founded by Thomas Jefferson, the first ambassador to France - relevant, at least to me, because France figures prominently in this book).

I have a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and for more than 30 years I worked in the field of public policy.

I am now a jeweler.

Stoned touches on all of these topics!

Ms. Raden begins her story talking about her mother's jewelry:

I've always most especially loved jewelry. My mother didn't have a jewelry box. She had a jewelry closet. Some of the pieces were real, some of them were fake. It didn't really matter - it all held me in equal thrall; it was all real treasure.

With that passage, I knew I was going to love this book - because I had the very same feelings about my mom's jewelry (and when I wear pieces that belong to her, I still do) that Ms. Raden describes.  But, her book is so much more than just an appeal to pretty or sentimental things - it is a book about the science of metal and gems, of history, politics, economics and romance. It is funny and insightful, and I am grateful to the person in one of my online metalsmithing communities (I wish I could remember who) for recommending it.

Ms. Raden divides the book into three sections - Want, Need, and Take.

Photo credit: Stephen Lang.

Want is about what things are worth - who determines that, and how - and why the value of things changes over time.

One of the examples she uses in Want is wampum beads - similar to those used to purchase Manhattan Island.

Photo credit: Encyclopedia Britannica

Take is about what happens when we want something and can't have it.


In Take she discusses - at great length - the diamond necklace created by King Louis XV for his mistress (but never paid for) that was ultimately used to frame Marie Antoinette and lead to her imprisonment and death.

Photo credit: Mikimoto Pearl Museum

Have is about when we finally get what we (think) we want.

In Have, she writes about Kokichi Mikimoto and his quest for the perfect pearl. This is the Taisho-ren (Boss's pearls) necklace - the largest strand of perfectly cultured pearls ever created. He never sold them - but he always kept them nearby, usually in his pocket.







Stoned is the story of modern human history.  As Ms. Raden puts it The history of the world is the history of desire. This is an examination of that history.

I won't tell you anymore - I don't want to spoil the stories for you - but I do encourage you to get a copy of the book, put up your feet, and enjoy.

Until next time.

05.04.15 How you bean?

Last month I titled a post "April Showers", well what rained down on me in April was life, all aspects of it, all at once.  Family crises, which caused me to fall behind on an ever expanding pile of paper demanding my attention, which lead to spending the last two weekends working.  All fueled by coffee.

Weekend work and coffee
and my "college MOM" mug

I refer to coffee as "the elixir of life" - because that's what my mother (who drank hers black - I do not) called it.  Coincidentally, one of my favorite places to grab a cuppa is a great little coffee truck (a modified Studebaker) called...Elixer Coffee.  Two dollars will get you the espresso drink of your choice, as long as you have your own cup.

[I know, you're thinking - this is a JEWELRY blog - why is she prattling on about coffee - well, bear with me].

It's no secret that I run on caffeine, and this year my friends and family gave me some very clever coffee gifts.

First, there were the socks from a friend - who  said to me "you'll probably never wear them, but you had to have them".  She found them on a trip to visit her son at Ole Miss, at the famous independent bookstore Square Books, in Oxford. Actually - I think they're great, and I probably will wear them in the winter when I need to keep my feet warm.

Then, there was the jewelry - you knew I'd get to it - a necklace with a silver coffee bean from my sister in law, which I will wear, a lot.  On a dainty chain with a pearl and my initial stamped on a charm - this is a really fun addition to my collection.

As it happens, my wonderful sister-in-law, has a May birthday...which gives me a reason write about May's birthstone - the emerald.

Emeralds are a gemstone variety of the mineral beryl, known for their deep green color, which is generally a result of chromium impurities.  The "emerald cut", my personal favorite, is used for many stones.  The cut is so called because it maximizes the shape and weight of the beryl's natural crystal structure.

Emeralds have been prized since antiquity; the crown jewel in Cleopatra's crown was an emerald. The name of the stone comes from the Medieval Latin word for green "esmaraldus".

Although I couldn't find any references, I can't help but if wonder part of the reason emerald is May's birthstone is that this is the time of year where everything is so green. The grass, the leaves on the trees, all shimmer like gems when the sun shines on them.

Perhaps I'll grab one more cup of joe, and go take in some of that beautiful spring color before it gets too hot.

Until next time.