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North Wind Collection, Part I (First Preview)

February 27, 2021 · Leave a Comment

As you likely know, this North Wind Collection is my last annual collection for a little while.

I absolutely relish working within the seasons. I love tucking unmade design ideas into my gemstone cabinet with the comfy knowledge that I will pluck them back out next year. And I could wander around within a color palette for months. I truly get lost in prehnite and aquamarine.

But since I can’t seem to help myself in making the annual collections positively huge (the thought of only choosing two or three designs for a Mossflower Collection? EEP!), moving the recurring collections to an every other year schedule feels more comfortable. That way I can lose myself in Tolkien and prehnite as much as my little green-loving heart desires, but also allows me to create my other dreamed up collections that have been tucked in my sketchbook for years.

And so, though the North Wind won’t be whipping through my studio for a few years after these two releases, I have tried to make this one as big and wonderful as I could.

And so, without further ado, here are the pieces that will be included in Part 1 of this year’s North Wind Collection!

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Icicle Earrings

( Price: $135 )

“Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the night-thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.”
_ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Above is the last stanza of Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight.” I have thought about it often since reading it in college. It exemplifies what I feel is the most wonderful aspect of English romanticism: the reverence for nature, its affect on the soul, and the way in which nature nourishes art and imagination. This poem could be etched on my heart.

While creating these earrings I thought often of the phrase “silent icicles.” These earrings could be woven from the last few lines of “Frost at Midnight.” The dark shadows, quiet coolness, and the soft shimmer of matte silver. They look as though they are made for winter communion with the moon.

A few years ago I requested a batch of custom rutilated quartz. I asked for a range of perfect little teardrop stones, some clear and sparkling, others crackling and gray. All of the gemstones have shoots of rutile cutting through them.

To me they look like twigs and bits of detritus frozen just below the surface of a winter pond, captured by winter. I have opened a window on the backs of each earring to let light through and accentuate the feeling of ice.

And below the gemstones are swaths of little sterling icicles, bright and swaying, caught by the cold and fixed mid-air. The gentle lilt and sway of these earrings is delightful.

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February Necklaces

( Price: $135 – $155)

Chilly aquamarine and shimmering white moonstones with gently placed snowflakes and mounds of snow tucked around them.

I only made a few in this design. I wanted each and every one to be unique, with a different shape, hue, or gemstone cut.

Some are faceted to allow light to dance across the surface, others are smooth and look just like a slice of glacier.

Necklaces for conjuring winter.

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Icicle Earrings

( Price: $115 )

Oh, how I love these simple dendritic agate earrings.

The stones in each pair were cut from the same rough, meaning that they match very well and in some cases are the mirror image of the other.

Like on a February forest hike and encountering snowy fields and stark forests both on the way in and on the way back.

I have sawn them with rims around the stones and then textured them to look like tree bark. Rough and silver, like a wintery pine.

Each pair is so incredibly different. I love to inspect each landscape to see if any look familiar to me.

There was a dendritic agate I found once that held a place I knew from my childhood. It looked just like the snowy path through an alder thicket that led down to the cove behind my house. I kept that stone.

I wasn’t able to finish Icicle Necklaces in time for Part I of the North Wind Collection, so they will make an appearance in Part II coming in March!

I will be putting up more previews for tonight’s release throughout the day. So check back!

   

Filed In: Uncategorized / Tagged: aquamarine, artisan, Artisan Jewelry, dendritic agate, moonspinner, moonspinner jewelry, moonspinnershop, moonstone, north wind, winter jewelry

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Recent Posts

  • North Wind Collection, Part I (Third Preview)
  • North Wind Collection, Part I (Second Preview)
  • North Wind Collection, Part I (First Preview)
  • Be My Valentine
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  • The Ravens Are Flying In
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  • Mossflower Collection, Pt. I (First Preview)
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The wind is whipping outside right now, and the bl The wind is whipping outside right now, and the blue satin sky looks as though you could take a scoop out of it with a spoon.

This bright, brisk winter day has me thinking about snowy hiking in the Adirondacks. Micro-spikes digging down towards granite, breath frozen to my hair, and -9 degrees before wind chill at the summit.

Winter hones you like a blade. You feel crisper, bolder; joints and legs gliding like machinery. I wouldnt trade winters in the northeast for anything.

Are you a winter person? Are your winters harsh where you are?
Phew! I have gotten nearly a third of your orders Phew! I have gotten nearly a third of your orders in the mail, and the others should be all packaged up by the end of tomorrow.

What a joy to tuck these pieces in paper and cotton, and know they are going to be loved and cherished by so many winter walkers and snow queens.
Fueled by coffee and very strong tea these days! B Fueled by coffee and very strong tea these days! But I have gotten through everyone's orders and printed all the shipping labels, and you should receive tracking information by Wednesday.

Now to package up each frosty piece! I will whisper words of gratitude to each one as I set them in their boxes and top them with a bow made of paper ribbon.
Kyanite has really stolen my heart this year. 💙 Kyanite has really stolen my heart this year. 💙
I am currently working on shipping refunds for tho I am currently working on shipping refunds for those of you who placed more than one order. I am hoping to have everything in the mail by Wednesday at the latest!
Friends, the warmth you continually show my work n Friends, the warmth you continually show my work never ceases to send me dancing. Your patronage allows me to continue buying silver (goodness, have you see the price of silver lately?! ooph!), keeps food in my kitties’ bowls, and reaffirms that life lived through art is a joyous one indeed. 

When you support my collections, it allows me to dream even bigger for future offerings. When you claim a piece that I have based around finding light in winter or a translation of my magpie-like tendency to collect bits of nature, it shows me that the designs that (in my doubtful moments) feel too particular to my own soul also sings to yours. This work has allowed me to share my heart, and in turn has revealed so many kindred souls. (I think Anne Shirley would have loved my Bee Garden Necklace!) 

Thank you for the encouragement, the orders, the sharing of my work, thank you for being here with me.
Everything is in the shop! I hope that if you are Everything is in the shop! I hope that if you are trying to catch a piece as they float by, you catch all the little snowflakes you love best. 💙💙💙
The final preview for Part I of the North Wind Col The final preview for Part I of the North Wind Collection is up on the blog!
The second preview is up on the blog! Working on t The second preview is up on the blog! Working on the final preview as we speak. ✨✨✨
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✖️North Wind Collection Release: PART I - TONIGHT at 7pm EST in the Etsy Shop✖️
The February Rings are set atop matte sterling sil The February Rings are set atop matte sterling silver, 6mm wide, half-round bands. I added a slight hammered texture on the ridge of the band, which to me looks like a path trod through fresh snow.

Don't forget that since these bands are 6mm wide they fit a bit snug!
———————————————
✖️North Wind Collection Release: PART I - TONIGHT at 7pm EST in the Etsy Shop✖️
Currently hurriedly writing listings and working o Currently hurriedly writing listings and working on blog previews! 

The blog posts will include additional pictures, ring sizes, and prices for the pieces in the North Wind Collection, Part I. I have the first preview up (link in the profile) and should be finishing the others soon.

Someone send me a time-turner!
✖️IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR THE RELEASE!✖️
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🔸 All the pieces I have been previewing the last several weeks will be in tonight’s 7:00 p.m. EST shop update. It is first come first served, to give all a fair chance to claim the pieces that are calling.

🔸 Remember! Etsy won’t reveal my new listings for you right at the release time, you have to refresh and reload my shop page, sometimes a few times, before they all show up. It even does the same for me! 

🔸 Etsy is often slow with populating my shop after I publish my listings, I believe because I list so many pieces at once! I have been told this is because they work out of the cloud now rather than dedicated servers.

 So if you want to try for a piece at release time, start on the home page and move through the pages from there. If you click on the collection section on the left, sometimes it takes 15 minutes or so for listings to show up. A very strange glitch, but it happens. Refresh often!

🔸 Make sure you look at all the photos of the pieces you are looking to purchase, because I try to photograph these pieces from every angle, in my hand for size reference, and in natural light, so you can see exactly what you will receive. I want you to be sure you are purchasing the perfect pieces for you!

🔸 That being said, an item isn't "yours" until you complete checkout. Meaning that other people can purchase items you are looking at, or that you even have in your cart. This is an Etsy feature that I cannot change.

🔸 My advice is that if you have a piece you have your heart set on, complete checkout with that item first. And then go back for the other pieces you want. Checking out separately allows you to claim your pieces more quickly, and you have less of a chance of a piece being scooped out of your cart.

🔸 Following the release, I will refund any shipping overages for multiple orders. I will be shipping out all the Part I orders together though, that way I don’t get confused when it comes time to ship Part II orders. 
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I hope you are able to claim the pieces that have been calling to you!
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