Road Trip!

One of the fun things to do in the off season is go on a field trip.  I was so pleased by the llanoite cabs my dad did for me that I decided I needed some more (and what jeweler doesn't need more rocks?)  So we loaded the van with all the necessities for rock collecting and hit the road.  Our first stop was Enchanted Rocks and Jewelry in Llano, TX.

Frank, the owner, is something of a local expert on Llanoite and has access to sources that aren't necessarily open to just anyone.  Besides, it's deer season and we really didn't want to walk around with targets on us.

Thirty pounds of rock later, we headed north out of town on Hwy 16, following Frank's directions to a road cut which is the only place the llanoite is not on private property.  This is apparently a popular spot on weekends, sometimes with several parties collecting at once.

We learned one important lesson this week:  Sometimes the solution really is a bigger hammer!

 Our collecting attempt at an end, we made our way back into town.  A must-visit location for any rockhound is the Living Stone company.  They import granites and other types of stone from all over the world for monuments and countertops, and the variety is mind-boggling.  There's a junk pile out front with all the little cut-off pieces and "oopses", and a little talk with the owner got us permission to snag a few samples of interesting stuff.  It probably won't make it to the jewelry shop, but it's hard to resist a bargain like that.

Wow!  I can't believe it's over--the last show of the year.  We have had so much fun getting out and talking with everyone.  And I want to thank each and every customer who has  bought something special or something fun  (sometimes a little of each).  It's time to scrub the canopy with a little soap and water, wash the drapes and box them up, and try to figure out what all those little leftover notes in the "office box" were about.  And then I can play until February and work on some new ideas.  Watch for a few of the better ones here.

If you visited with us at a show and saw something you would like to ask about for Christmas, now is the time to get in touch.  There's a chance I might still have it, and if I don't I might be able to make something similar.  But you'll never know if you don't ask.

The end of the season

Tomorrow we will load the van for the last time in 2007 and hit the road for Gruene.  I've done a couple of new things, but don't have photos yet.  There's the Texas star cut in Llanoite, a stone only found in one location--Llano, TX.  My dad cut a set of earrings and a pendant.  I rather like the way they turned out.  If they don't go home this weekend I'll try to get some amateur shots next week.  

In the meantime, I'll share another one of Nancy's pictures.  This one is an 18" handmade Byzantine chain with green tourmaline.  My favorite thing about this set is the way the green stones and the silver chain complement one another.  It's rich and simple at the same time.  

I've really been thinking about the "cowgirl cool" thing a lot this fall.  I love the traditional Native American jewelry with turquoise, coral, and silver.  And I've noticed over the last several years that there are silversmiths who are using other stones as well.  The thing is, as much as I love that style, I'm not Native American.  I can be inspired by it, and I own a few pieces and will probably buy more, but I don't want to copy it.  I want to be inspired by it and to use some of the wonderful ideas I've seen as a jumping-off point to do my own thing.

And so I was thinking about a beautiful pair of silver, turquoise, and shell earrings when I made these from unakite and sterling.

p.s.  This is another of Nancy Damron's photos--I'll figure out pretty soon how to add a link to her website.

turquoise, anyone?

This is a variation on one of the earliest bracelet designs I ever worked with.  I love the chunky, almost primitive look of the hammered wire with the turquoise floating in the center.  It's my take on a bit of "cowgirl cool".  The only thing better would be a version with 18k gold accents, so visit me in Gruene, TX next week to see it.

Pics at last

I know it's been awhile since I made the first entry, so here's the scoop...

I am a really bad photographer.  It is sheer luck that anything I shoot is usable.  So I decided to outsource and have a friend, Nancy Damron, take some pictures for me.  I love Nancy; she's great to work with and has some really wonderful ideas for taking pictures.  Her first love with the camera is nature and wildlife, so I was pleased that her first thought was to highlight the natural qualities of the stones in the pieces I sent her.  

Today's piece is a pendant of red jasper with sterling silver.  My dad cut the stone for me from something in his vast collection of rough, then it sat on my workbench for months before I came up with a plan to really show it off.  I have to brag a little because I am pleased with the way it came out, but it is now in a very lucky lady's private collection

Frequently Asked Questions

Since having any kind of online home for my jewelry is new for me, I thought it might be a good idea to answer some of the questions I get asked most often at shows.

First, do I make all this jewelry? Every piece is handmade in my workshop; I even cut a few of the stones I use.

Next, do I sell online? I'm working on it, and this is the first step in that direction. For now this is a place to put pictures of new pieces and new ideas. If you see something you like and want to buy it, all you have to do is email me at lanellet@gmail.com. Most items are one-of-a-kind, but something similar can often be made for you if I have the same type of gemstone in my stash.

Then, what is the jewelry made of? I work primarily in sterling silver, and occasionally add in copper or 18k gold. All sterling earrings have sterling earwires or posts, and I buy my silver from a company that uses no nickel or zinc in their alloy. This cuts down dramatically on allergic reactions, but if you are among that small group of people who still have "metal issues" I can switch them out for niobium or titanium (space-age metals that are ultra-non-reactive). The copper earrings all get the niobium earwires, and the gold earrings get handmade 18k earwires.

So, where do I get my stones? I cut a few of the cabochons myself, but mostly I get them from my dad, who is a very talented lapidary artist and has been for many years. For faceted stones, I turn to my dad and another artist, Bill Vance. I also belong to a local gem and mineral club, and many of the club members are fabulous stone cutters. When I buy stones, I take pains to buy from people I know because trust is absolutely everything in the jewelry business.

Where do I get my ideas? Ideas come from a lot of places, but mostly from looking at a stone's shape, color, and markings and deciding what type of setting will show it off to its best advantage. Sometimes I come up with a design idea and cut a stone to fit, but usually it works the other way around.