I have two favorite stones found by our family so far: this one, and a particular piece of applegate jade. Larkin cut this phenomenally striking brecciated jasper cab from a rock we found on the northern California coast. The copper mermaid tail setting combined with the stone is like a perfect marriage between water and fire! Larkin has really been enjoying making (very labor intensive) wire doodles to hold the stone in place on the back of the wrap, and this one formed from fused argentium silver turned out beautifully.
Rose Drops and Books
fun, musings, process, product, venuesComment... and the sort-of-companion earrings to yesterday's pendants are up on the website for the first time, too! It's so fun seeing the different colors jump out in oxidized silver.
On a slightly different note: Larkin has a book-themed bazaar coming up and is looking for ideas! Are decorative sheet metal bookmarks a thing? Are there specific fandoms you think might translate well into Larkin's style? A product we haven't thought of that might particularly suit readers and/or authors? The fun thing about throwing lots of ideas at Larkin is seeing the results for the ones that stick! ;)
Rose Wreaths
product, venuesCommentThese sweet vining rose pendants have been showcased only at special markets, and are finally available on the website! See these and all sorts of other goodies Larkin has been working on tomorrow at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market! The Idle Talons booth will be set up from 8:30am-1:30pm at the Ashland Armory.
Background Noise
process, musingsCommentSome behind-the-scenes shots today. We went to our first (outdoor), small live music event since the pandemic and thoroughly enjoyed some stellar blues rock. Larkin, tools ever at hand, stocked up on tiny silver leaves while listening. Here at home, a freshly painted batch of dragon pendant boxes dries on the porch. The next in-person Idle Talons market is coming up-- next Tuesday in Ashland!
Chert Blues
process, productCommentWe are visiting grandparents at the coast, and Larkin was inspired to finish a wrap on this cab cut from a beautiful blue-green chert we found here on a previous trip! Silver swoops and swirls mirror some of the darker lines in the stone. Bonus: it's always nice finding new photography backgrounds away from home. :)
Applegate Jade Vines
musings, process, productCommentLarkin cut this asymmetric cabochon from one of our favorite applegate jade finds, then used a combination of wrapping and fusing to frame it in sweet silver vines. Pictured with the stone from which it was cut, plus one photo to show how gloriously gleamy it is in sunshine. Larkin's grandpa gets first right of refusal on this beauty, the lucky devil!
Moonstone Scroll
process, product, venuesCommentOne more piece, just finished and added to the Idle Talons album at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar! There's even a video of Larkin doing the finish work over there. :) Larkin wrapped the purchased moonstone scroll in bright argentium silver scrollwork.
New Tree Of Life
venues, product, process, musingsCommentThis is the finished piece Houdini the cat was helping with the other day! The background cab of this piece is cut from a stone we found while we were still learning what applegate jade looks like in the wild. We suspect this stone is a mixture of applegate jade, serpentine, and magnetite-- the raw stone is pictured here.
The mini moon cab is cut from local quartz and tangled in the branches of a tree of life. The frame and tree have been oxidized and polished.
This piece is currently exclusively available at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar, and will be on the Idle Talons website Monday if it survives. ;)
Hair Sticks!
product, venuesCommentThese are each one of a kind and will be available starting tomorrow morning at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar!
No Crossing Your Fingers, Either
fun, musings, process, venues, productCommentHoudini is helping Larkin wrap up (get it? 😅) a couple more pieces before the bazaar opens on Friday. These photos also illustrate why you should ALL solemnly double-dog swear, cross your hearts, no takesbacksies NOT to ever ever play the "find the white cat hair" game in *every* *single* *one* of Larkin's product photos. It's a terrible game, trust me.
Market Season!
product, venues, processComment<Phew> Larkin is busy re-stocking for tomorrow's first Tuesday with the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market at the Ashland Armory from 8:30-1:30. Stop by the Idle Talons booth if you're in town! AND the next Royaboya Handmade Bazaar starts this Friday! Larkin is working hard on new wraps and hair sticks perfect for keeping cool this summer. It's an amazing line-up of vendors with everything from handmade eco-friendly laundry products to skin care, clothing, and fine art. Best of all, you know you're supporting small mom- and youth-owned businesses. This is a virtual market on Facebook, so join the group to get in on the fun, prizes, and amazing handmade products.
Scarf Wraps
product, process, musingsCommentA neighbor found these stones on their property and polished them in a rock tumbler. They wanted a simple wrap suited to their natural 3D pebble shapes so Larkin wove them into what we've been affectionately calling a "scarf" wrap. These are a beautiful, quicker way to tie in stones that haven't been cabbed!
How A Jeweler Does Fencing
musings, funCommentEmile (Larkin's dad) and Larkin were sealing up some escape routes in our chicken area and Emile was hemming and hawing over the lack of necessary hardware to make it easy to clip up bird netting. A few twists of Larkin's pliers later and those hens aren't going anywhere!
Inspiration Strikes
musings, process, product, venuesCommentSometimes inspiration comes from some pretty odd places! The lid on a storage box in the Idle Talons bedroom/workshop has a pretty little scroll on its edge and Larkin translated it into wire.
We are thinking it would make a pretty gorgeous circlet/headband! I've been (somewhat selfishly) trying to talk Larkin into expanding into hair decorations, and look! A hair stick with those same delightful curls!
Scorched copper is so pretty, but isn't practical for most jewelry since it turns people green. Another point in favor of copper hair decorations! ;) Larkin is hoping to debut a collection of these lovelies next month in the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar-- we hope to virtually see you there!
It’s Elemental, My Dear Wire Bender
musings, productCommentIt's a little ironic that, in the middle of this extreme heat wave, Larkin discovered it was time re-stock Avatar: The Last Airbender fire pendants! These have been super popular over the years and we can't recommend the show enough-- it's one of the few shows every single person in our family loves. These elemental symbols sure translate beautifully into wire!
Pride Event
fun, product, venuesCommentLarkin is braving the heat (and breaking in the new banner!) at a Pride event today-- stop by to say hi if you're in the area!
Vining Leaf Earrings
musings, process, productCommentRemember the back of that applegate jade pendant that featured a sweet little leafing vine? Larkin translated that design into earrings! These are made up in copper, bright silver, and oxidized silver. Thanks to cousin Theresa for the design inspiration!
Amazonite Lagoon
musings, process, productCommentLarkin cut this teardrop cabochon to get a feel for working with amazonite before making the drawer pulls. This stone looks so much like clear Caribbean waters!
Wrapped in argentium silver and accented with smooth mother of pearl and faceted amazonite beads, this piece is sure to conjure memories of the halcyon days of summer even on the darkest winter night!
Amazonite Drawer Pulls
musings, process, productCommentLarkin had a special request for amazonite drawer pulls and they turned out beautifully! Amazonite is a difficult stone to work with and Larkin's poor perfectionist soul struggled a bit with the small chips at the edges. These will be winging their way to their new home tomorrow!
Fired Rocks
A neighbor posted in our local Buy Nothing group looking for someone who might be able to clean up their grandfather's tumbled rock collection after it burned in last year's Almeda fire. I'm kicking myself for not getting a before picture-- they were all coated in a thin, grey, smokey, cemented-on film. They had tried scrubbing and soaking to no avail and were hoping to find someone with a tumbler to see if that grimy coating could be coaxed off.
We put one load all the way through the tumbling process, but the structure of the stones had been compromised in the high heat of the fire so many broke, and getting anything to polish when they kept generating their own ragged edges was nearly impossible!
We ended up running them in small batches overnight, in a tumbler barrel with plastic medium and borax. That minimized the breakage and actually got the coating off! I'm sure the stones lost some color being burned, but they look (and feel) SO much better than they did. It feels like we helped restore a little piece of family treasure. 💕
