Do *you* want to believe?
Larkin sees a landscape in this blue-grey-green serpentine cabochon that has seen better days, perhaps due to the arrival of little green aliens.
The back is somehow hopeful, with silver stars twinkling through the branches of a tree. The black in the stone contains iron and will attract a magnet!
While it may take awhile for this piece to find its perfect home, we *do* believe that just the right fan of post-apocalyptic alien invasion fine jewelry is out there!
Larkin made a variation of this silver ivy ring and it's amazing how a slight adjustment in materials and treatment can change the whole feel of a design! The original (right) is all silver and oxidized with the leaves polished back to bright. The new ring (left) has copper leaves for contrast and all the metal is polished bright. I don't know which I like more!
It was only a matter of time...
Here at Idle Talons, we like to think we've carefully cultivated an audience full of friendly people who find it desirable to appear as if they have fungus growing out of their head. Amiright?
Larkin is busy wrapping up bazaar business this week, but had to to take a break to create these awesome little silver mushroom cluster stud earrings. They are so sweet, and sure to be a conversation starter at all the wild mycologist parties.
Sound off, it won’t improve your experience at all. ;)
This video is Larkin casting a cylindrical silver ingot. They keep every little bit of silver trim and scrap wire, then melt it down to use again. Right now, Larkin mostly turns the ingots into sheet metal or larger gauges of shaped bands for things like rings-- both a big investment if you buy them pre-made.
It's pretty darn neat watching the silver turn red then melt!
Today is the last day to get early bird pricing for this upcoming virtual bazaar preview party.
Why might you want to attend the preview party? Many vendors (like Larkin!) make one-of-a-kind products that will be available here first! And, all profits from ticket sales support a great cause. Hope to see you there!
This is totally just a teaser post. Larkin finished this wrap after there was no natural light for good photos, but I am SO excited about it that I couldn't resist posting a sneak peek at what you'll be seeing in full glory tomorrow!
Local folks! Larkin was invited to demonstrate wire wrapping this weekend-- come check out all the purty rocks and say hi! Most of Larkin's designs require a fair bit of torch work these days, but they spent some time prepping torch elements so everything is ready to tie together. It's always fun to get a sneak peek at works in progress!
Here's a fun design that represents the rare confluence of Larkin's two favorite pastimes: jewelry making and bowling!
One of the bowling alley moms has been super supportive of us (as homeschoolers) trying to navigate the sometimes complicated world of high school bowling. Larkin designed these as a thank you for her as she helped us understand which hoops we needed to jump through and, even more importantly, where those hoops are located. 😅
These pins are argentium silver with copper bands around the necks.
Milestones, throwback... Wednesday, website news, a give-away... bear with me y'all!
Larkin is closing in on a milestone number of website orders and thought it would be fun to celebrate the occasion with a give-away! Warning: Larkin is a weird kid so their milestone number is not one of the obvious ones! 🤣 Larkin made this septarian piece at 13, back before they were old enough to cut their own cabs at the rock shop. This is not an original design and if Larkin was going to do it over they would use thicker gauge wire. That said, it's a pretty piece and a fun little chunk of Idle Talons history!
And here's the give-away: when that milestone website order is placed (could be this week, could take a couple of months) this pendant is going to be tucked into that package! So if there's something you've been eyeing it might be time to place an order-- who knows what could arrive at your door! ;)
Speaking of the website, we've made some changes! Larkin removed some older designs (including almost all the beadwork) to focus on the direction and feel of their current work. But don't fret! (🎵You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone!🎶) If something disappeared that you suddenly can't live without, shoot us a message and I bet Larkin will be willing to hook you up.
Larkin and Emile finally made it back in to the shop at Crater Rock Museum to cut some new finds into slabs! I kinda dig the (mustard) yellow jasper with the bright teal and red streaks, but Larkin isn't sure there's a market for "'70s bowling alley chic." 😅
There is, however, already a suspiciously planet-shaped outline on the red jasper with black markings...
So... February always feels like a short month, but when the first Tuesday in March is March 1-- well, let's just say market season took us a bit by surprise this year! 😅 Local folks: Larkin will be back at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market first Tuesdays at the Ashland Armory... starting tomorrow! New hours this season: 9am-1:30pm. Larkin would love to see you there!
The last few days have been a blur of re-stocking, finding findings, making space on the board for new designs, stamping bags with the Idle Talons logo and lots of other preparations.
I also included a photo of one of Larkin's recent "wind-down" projects, pictured next to that sweet tiny silver lily before it was affixed to a wrap. Meet "Crumb," a baby amigurumi octopus crocheted with a single strand separated from 6-ply embroidery floss. This craft is recommended only for the young of eyes. ;)
While the rest of the world was apparently watching some football game (or maybe it was a concert?), we spent a blissfully secluded Sunday out in the Applegate. I spotted: a rare glimpse of a teen rock gnome in their natural element, a very happy dryad cyclops, a similarly satisfied adult rockhound, and a GORGEOUS sunset. I also included a picture of the road. Why, you ask? That big rock in the middle? It's applegate jade! We left it, because... well, it was road! But it's interesting to see how innocuous and easy to overlook it is in its natural state. Larkin is pretty excited to slab up some of our new finds!
Larkin has been wanting to play with rings for a long time and has finally collected (most) of the tools to make it possible! This is a copper-banded prototype with silver vines, leaves, and stone setting. The faceted stone is a lab created garnet. The whole thing is oxidized dark, then Larkin hand-polished the silver back to bright. It's interesting-- to the naked eye the ring looks uniformly sleek and shiny, but in these full sun close-ups the color is uneven and it looks a bit like it was bested in a brawl.
Larkin loves the look of the dark copper, but so many people react to the metal it doesn't seem practical to offer copper rings. If there are any jewelers here with tips on how to treat oxidized copper so it won't react with with skin, we'd love to hear them-- we know some people recommend clear nail polish or waxes, but it's important to Larkin not to use anything that will discolor or degrade over time.
Larkin had an order for an "air" pendant and realized it was time to re-stock. Avatar: The Last Airbender has been a huge hit with our whole family, and we heartily recommend it to anyone who loves cartoons! The show inspired three years of Halloween costumes for Larkin: Katara (Larkin is 9, guest appearance by their 7-year-old brother Finn as a Minecraft pig), Toph (age 10, probably still Larkin's favorite character), and Zuko (age 14).
Larkin translated the Avatar elements beautifully into wire!
After a brief, long-awaited visit with grandparents (including our family's final Xmas celebrations 😅), Larkin is back at work! These sweet little feline companions are individually handmade and each has a unique personality. They are shaped from a single piece of wire, then fused or soldered to assure sturdiness and that they won’t snag. Available in copper (left), oxidized dark and polished, or argentium silver (right) polished and gleaming bright. Ready for adoption now!
Me, wearing my Social Media Manager hat: Larkin. Would you please just finish *something* so I can make a post?
Larkin: Hang on, I have an idea...
Artists, amiright? 😅💕
We recently had some pretty exciting news: The very first sale made by the Crooked Mile Gallery after they opened was a pair of Larkin's silver ribbon earrings! There's definitely something to be said for simple elegance and clean lines!
One of Larkin's new toys (<ahem>, I mean tools) is a flex shaft. For those of you who (like me) are new to all things jewelry making, it's kind of like a wired dremel with a smaller, pen-like body for greater control and dexterity. It's operated with a foot pedal, like a sewing machine, leaving both hands free to manipulate whatever you're working on.
Also like a dremel, it has lots of interchangeable bits for sculpting and polishing metal and stone. Larkin has been wanting to play with setting faceted stones, and here is a first try at flush setting a lab-created garnet in scrap copper.
This tool opens up a ton of new possibilities and I can't wait to see what comes next!
First things first, Larkin turned 17! Woot! And yes, the candle math works out on the birthday popsicle because we lit the popsicle stick on fire when we ran out of candles.
Then we were snowed in for a week as the result of a very uncharacteristically serious snowstorm for our area. Larkin and their younger brother, Finn, made a pretty epic sled run down our driveway and built an ice cave around a large hole so that it is (wait for it...) much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! Snow here almost always means several days without electricity, so we drank a lot beverages heated on the wood stove and played many rounds of card and board games by solar lantern.
The biggest Idle Talons news came in the form of an *amazing* offer by a neighbor in our local Buy Nothing group! This ginormous, 3-piece, just because it's in 3 pieces doesn't make it any lighter, BEAUTIFUL (have I mentioned heavy?) desk is well on its way to being converted to the jeweler's bench Larkin has been dreaming of!
Moving that sucker upstairs, then reorganizing Larkin's workspace almost entirely into it has been an enormous job, but obviously worth it as Larkin kept being distracted by having so many tools easily to hand and pausing set-up to try out new ideas.
A new wrap is in the works, as well as lots of fun new experiments that will expand Larkin's repertoire considerably. Stay tuned!
Larkin's top favorite bowling alley employee is an amazing guy. He takes donated equipment from more experienced bowlers and passes them on to kids-- it is *amazing* to see kids improve when they have their own custom-fit bowling balls and shoes! He knows *everyone's* names, loves the game, and wants everyone to succeed. He's not a jewelry guy, but Larkin found out his wife has a soft spot for hummingbirds and designed this sweet little pendant especially for her. Cheers to Ken!
