Local IS Better!

72 inch hand wrapper Sterling Silver and Labradorite necklace with a hand forged Sterling Silver "Leaf" pendant/clasp. $210

Locally made goods of better quality for less than the big retailers with all their "buying power"? Absolutely!

For the past couple of years, one of my staple pieces has been a long hand wrapped chain with gemstone beads, usually pearls. Given my affinity for neutral tones these chains are most often a combination of golden and gray hues. They are a go with everything piece, so versatile, worn several ways alone or layered with another piece.

I had been kicking around the idea of taking it up a notch and including a hand forged pendant that could also act as the clasp. Not only would this enhance the necklace with an additional design element it would allow the necklace to be worn as a lariat, making it even more versatile.

While flipping through the channels a couple of weeks ago, a necklace on HSN caught my eye.

http://jewelry.hsn.com/rarities-fine-jewelry-with-carol-brodie-110ct-cashmere-labradorite-72-bead-necklace_p-6519897_xp.aspx

A 72 inch hand wrapped sterling silver and labradorite chain for $249. Those idea stealers! Hundreds of people ordered this very pretty necklace during the few minutes I tuned into the presentation. I loved the look of all that labradorite and it got me thinking...

So I went searching and found these pretty labradorite beads at a gem show over Halloween weekend. Not faceted like the ones in the HSN necklace, but equally striking and actually of much better quality with lots of that wonderful blue and green "flash" that labradorite is famous for. What I created with over 100 carats of those beautiful stones is this piece. A 72 inch hand wrapped sterling silver and labradorite necklace with a hand forged sterling silver "leaf" pendant/clasp. It can be worn as one long strand, doubled or tripled or fashioned into a lariat.

The price? $210. And no shipping. Nearly $40 less than the one without a one of a kind solid sterling silver pendant. A pendant of any sort would have increased that price by at least $25 if not more. The material for the stones was not mined here, of course, but unlike the necklace from TV everything else, including the manufacturing and design, are completely domestic. I didn't even cut the normal wage I pay myself. Those big retailers might be able to buy in bulk and hire workers on the other side of the world for barely nothing but I have very little overhead. That is the beauty of buying local. In addition to all the the other reasons buying local is encouraged...being green, keeping jobs here, supporting the local economy... one of the most practical reasons is that you can often get better stuff at a better price. Now who doesn't like that?

Best of all, only one woman will be walking around with this original necklace which I think makes it all the more special. Will she buy it at Gifted Hands, our local artisan market or at one of the local vendor shows I am doing this holiday season? We'll see.

Maybe there will be two women actually. I am really liking this necklace and it just so happens that I bought two strands of those labradorites....

Lapidaries Rock!

Tiger's eye, unakite, glass and sterling silver necklace with a hand forged sterling silver
paisley pendant with a bezel set cabochon. $196

I am always on the hunt for an unusual and unique stone to use in my work. It has to be the right stone... an interesting specimen, an eye pleasing balanced shape, a good cut to aid in setting, rich color. I attend gem shows and constantly scour the internet for these little treasures.

Quite often it's the stones that provide my inspiration for a piece. In fact, I see the stones themselves as small works of art. I have seen rough slabs before and it amazes me how a lapidary can take that huge rock and turn it into pretty finished cabochons. To optimize the beauty of that natural material- with all of its imperfections, veining, deposits and other peculiarities takes not only skill but a good eye for design.

I found the gorgeous faceted tiger's eye briolettes in this necklace at a show last year. I had intended to use them individually in earrings but discovered that they were drilled with holes too small to use with silver wire. So these pretty little gems hung above my workbench for months unused.

The Owyhee Jasper cabochon that is set into the pendant was a recent find on Etsy and I purchased it thinking that I would set it into a cuff bracelet. When I opened the package and saw that the veining in the stone was the same color as the tiger's eye I immediately knew that I needed to use them together. I have never seen a stone cut into a paisley shape like this before so logically it made sense to incorporate that into the necklace.

Here is the result of my "collaboration" with this unknown lapidary... tiger's eye, unakite, glass and sterling silver necklace with a hand forged sterling silver paisley pendant with a bezel set cabochon. It's a little Bohemian, a little South West and a little glitz all at the same time.

I'm curious if lapidaries ever wonder how their creations end up being used.