The stone is always cut here in house by me, then handmade with 14kgf and sterling silver. This listing is a size 8 1/2
This listing can be made bigger by a full size and a half, please send me a direct message on Instagram, my work email is unfortunately down at the moment.
There is a sacred spot located right here in the true wild wild west of Central Oregon. Just beyond the foot hills of the towering Cascades, lives a unique set of retired volcanic hills. Covered with sage brush and freely grazing wild antelope, rattle snakes and scorpions, tumble weeds and old abandon ghost towns… these modest little mountains stand watch over the Badlands.
Francois & I spend a lot of time walking these lands collecting sheds, harvesting native plants and fungi, and putting our hands in the dirt. We’ve spent many evenings giving silent gratitude in the stillness of the “golden hour”. Its a burly off road mission to the tops of these volcanic buttes, but that’s all in the fun… and might be my favorite part. I love putting on my rough and rowdy mining clothes - you know the Carhartts you never want to wash because you’re scared it will break the washing machine they are so caked with mud - then load up the picks, hammers, and eye protection and mount up.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty work though, I always start my mining trip with prayer. I like to give thanks to Spirit and all things living, and to all who have walked before us. I give thanks for the soil, the sun, the rain, Mother Earth, and Grandfather Sky. I then ask the universe to guide me to its treasures; the best I hope, but only the ones that are ready for their next journey: to be turned into tangible gifts for you and your loved ones. Francois and I live for this. He calls it “earth to skin.” For us there is nothing like standing on top of a mountain, howling into the wild, and coming home with beautiful and ethically mined stones.
In the heart of the winter or 2019- stripped as bare as the landscape around me; free from clutter and able to dwell on my life’s simple truths - I resolutely decided to sharpen and fully harness my jewelry skills. It was time to level up in a big way. Francois has gotten so very busy with his craft and I kept finding myself having to bug him to cut me stones… so I decided it was time to learn myself. After many hours at the Pixie learning my way around those diamond coated wheels, I took a leap of faith (in myself!) and started learning how to do inlay. At first, I floundered, but I persisted and in time was rewarded. And so, from our sacred mountains, to your skin, I am tickled to present The Badlands Collection