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Mossflower Collection, Pt. I (First Preview)

August 21, 2020 · Leave a Comment

You should see my studio, sweet friend! There are leaves piling up in every corner, ferns are tickling my ankles as I try to saw, ivy is crawling along all the walls, and I am assuming the moss devoured my hammering stump because I swear I used to have one.

This collection is my most beautiful yet, I am gathering up whole forests of green and texture for you.

I am glad that this offering is going to be so big and beautiful, because I have decided to move the Mossflower Collection to a biennial schedule, meaning I won’t create another full prehnite collection again until 2022. I know this puts a bit more pressure on you if you are hoping to claim a particular piece, but I think a more spaced out schedule will allow me to expand into new a bit. Not to mention, I will be able to save up soooo many more Mossflower designs before the next iteration!

With that said, I hope you get the piece you have your eye on.


Spring Glow Rings

Cost: $86
Sizes that will be available:
(4.5, 4.75, 5.25, 5.75, 5.75, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6.25, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.75, 6.75, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 7.75, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 8.75, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9.5, 9.5, 10, 10, 11, 11.5)

The first design I made for this year’s Mossflower offering! Spring Glow Rings, perhaps the simplest, sweetest design of every Mossflower Collection.

Spring green prehnite that glows in the light, the veining of a real leaf pressed delicately into the bezel, serrated edge to resemble a nettle leaf, careful oxidization shadows resting in all the nooks and corners.

Looking at all the different hues of prehnite in these Spring Glow Rings feels like looking into a crowded wood: countless shades of green, spots of shade, thorny rutiles, feathery inclusions. Some stones are soft and minty, other the bright green of a new leaf. I love them all unconditionally.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in requesting a ring in their size. I made sure to make at least two rings in each size requested. Per usual, when I make the listings I will put the size at the very beginnings of the titles, to make it easier to find your size quickly.


Nellas Necklaces

Cost: $125 each
Adjustable between 17″ – 20″

From last year’s blog post:
This necklace was originally designed for the briefest of Tolkien characters, and elf-maiden called Nellas. She was a solitary being and “was unwilling ever to walk under roofs of stone” of the elven city of Menegroth. She lived alone among the trees and rejected the modernization of the Sindarin. Because of her knowledge of the pathless forest, she was asked to follow Turin, mortal son of Hurin, if he strayed in the forest.

Nellas eventually befriended him and imparted wisdom: “From Nellas, Turin learned much concerning the ways and the wild things of Doriath, and she taught him to speak the Sindarin tongue after the manner of the ancient realm, older, and more courteous, and richer in beautiful words.” Nellas was a source of ageless knowledge for Turin, a lonely young boy in a strange land. As Turin grew older, “he turned his thoughts to deeds of men” and walked less in the forest. And so he did not see Nellas again, though she continued to watch over him, and she remained hidden.

When I first read about her, the vision of Nellas was a beautiful one: an unseen maiden living alone in the forest, learning wood lore and speaking to the trees in an ancient language. And so, this necklace was made with her in mind.

Large, beautiful prehnites, some with dark thorny rutiles, others the bright green of a new leaf, all faceted to catch and reflect the light. The sides of the pendants feature patterning taken from a real leaf, to make it look as though the stone is being cradled by leaves.

Some Tolkein scholars translate the name Nellas from the Elvish to mean “three-leaves.” It is this translation that inspired the back of the pendants. I have sawn a window in the shapes of sprig of three leaves to show the back of the stone, hidden from sight but ever-present, like Nellas herself.


Birch Bracelet

Cost: $165 each
Sizes that will be available:
(6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.75, 6.75, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7.25)

“On glorious branches, glittering and
Pale green as she grows,
The birch tree bears her lovely leaves,
The flower of flowering trees,
Fair of hair and lithe of limb,
The mistress of the mountain.

The winds now call, soft winds are stirring,
She lowers her limbs in play.
Sleek and straight and white of bark,
She utters a trembling tongue.
Great mystery, bright token is she,
A blessing on my people.

The twilit sky obscured by clouds
Is bright again with lightning.
And standing strong and faithful while
Her lovely leaves take flight,
The birch will wait there, bare and white,
Still mistress of the mountain.”

– J.R.R. Tolkien, “Bagme Bloma”

Tolkien, an avid philologist, originally wrote this poem in Gothic, an ancient language of Germany. His reverence for the glorious birch is so evident here: bright token of blessedness, the mistress of the mountain.

As my fella and I were sipping coffee one late afternoon a few weeks ago, we were watching the forest behind the house as the wind kicked up. The willows were dipping down towards the pond and the dragonflies had taken refuge in the long grasses around the water’s edge. But what caught our gazes was the stand of silver birches at the forest’s far edge, caught in the tumult of the wind. Those slender trees were yawing, their branches pitching, and leaves rolling. As Tolkien described, “her lovely leaves [took] flight.” But the magic was in the way in which the silver birch leaves scooped up the golden hour sunlight and tossed it back. The sparkle amidst the saturated green tops of the birch trees looked just like sun glitter atop the dark Atlantic sea. It was a halcyon moment.

And that very same evening I finished my very first bracelet in this design. With those tumbling birches, deep forest shadows, and the late afternoon glow of birch leaves in my mind, I completed this piece. I set the last prehnites, spilled in some shadows, and fastened it around my wrist for the first time. And I couldn’t help but feel as though I had built a birch bough my wrist; glittering pale green and lilting with every movement.

Tolkien wrote his love letter to the birches with ink, it seems I have written mine with silver and stone. Alternating birch leaves and glowing prehnites, like a summers day.

(Note! Before purchasing a Birch Bracelet, it is a good idea to measure your wrist. The easiest way is to wrap a piece of string around your wrist as loose as you’d like you wear the bracelet, mark the string where the end meets, and then measure the string where you marked it. In the photo of the bracelet on my wrist, I am wearing a 6.5” bracelet, which I consider a small.)

Keep an eye out for more previews of the upcoming release!

✖️Mossflower Collection Release (PART I):
Sunday, August 23 at 7pm EST in the Etsy shop✖️

   

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A place for stories behind jewelry pieces, glimpses into the process, and musings on inspiration.

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Recent Posts

  • Be My Valentine
  • Silence Amidst the Owls
  • The Ravens Are Flying In
  • Beren’s Shield Necklaces
  • Mossflower Collection, Pt. I (Fourth Preview)
  • Mossflower Collection, Pt. I (Third Preview)
  • Mossflower Collection, Pt. 1 (Second Preview)
  • Mossflower Collection, Pt. I (First Preview)
  • Just a few more owls…
  • Owls of Feather and Bronzite
  • North Wind Collection
  • A Winter Solstice Collab with Maia Toll
  • November is for Ravens
  • Winter Bee Collection – Part II
  • Winter Bee Collection – Part I
  • Nocturne Collection
  • Honeybee Collection: Last Preview
  • Honeybee Collection: First Preview
  • Light and Citrine
  • Silence, a Beatitude
  • The Building of Potential Energy
  • Thoughts on Art as Business
  • On Tolkien and Trillium
  • Mossflower Collection: Fifth Preview
  • Mossflower Collection: Fourth Preview

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I am sorry it has been so quiet here lately. My st I am sorry it has been so quiet here lately. My studio is a flurry of blue gemstones and hammered sterling silver, I have so much to show you, but I just keep saying "I will photograph tomorrow!" and then run back to the bench to make more. I am en fuego creatively, swirling from one design to the next. I promise I will snap some photos soon!

In the meantime, Winter Oak Earrings. What do you think? Do you like them?

———————————————
✖️North Wind Collection Release: Early-Mid March in the Etsy shop✖️
I am pushing through drifts of snow and snapping i I am pushing through drifts of snow and snapping ice from pine boughs, all to gather up enough winter for my North Wind Collection!

As you may remember, I decided to move the North Wind Collection (as well as the Mossflower Collection) to a biannual schedule. I love these stones, these palettes, these seasons so much that when I work with them, I want to honor them with as bounteous of offerings as I can muster. And so they take months and hundreds of hours to conjure.

Therefore, to make space in my year for all the new collection ideas I have had tucked away in my sketchbook and gemstone cabinet, I decided to make those two seasonal collections every other year, rather than annually.

All of this to say, this will be the last North Wind Collection until 2023, but it is going to be SUCH a beautiful one!

Oh! Quick little poll for you, I am feeling pulled in two different directions in my earring creation. Which do you prefer: light, lilting, dangly earrings with small stones and perhaps a fringe OR bold, drop earrings featuring slices of stone?
After asking you in a poll and in the comments of After asking you in a poll and in the comments of a recent post, it looks like you would much prefer an early March release, rather than a February one, for the North Wind Collection.

This will allow me catch a bit more winter, create more pieces, and give me a bit more time to share the stories behind these designs.

I have so so so much to share with you. If only I could tear myself away from the bench to snap some photos of everything I have finished!

I haven't settled on a date in early-mid March quite yet, I need to see how long things will take me to finish. But you will be the first to know!
The surprise collection from yesterday is all sold The surprise collection from yesterday is all sold now, but garnet will return!

I have been collecting garnet, redder hessonites particularly and some almandine, for about four years with the intention of a big collection.

I am a bit like a crow with my gemstones, I find a little handful of beautiful turquoise or agate, and I tuck it away in my gemstone cabinet.

I have another little surprise collection planned for sometime next month. What stones would you like to see in an upcoming collection? Do you have a favorite that I havent worked with yet? One you'd like to see return? I would love to know!
Edit: Sold Out (Just three left! Sizes 6, 9, and Edit: Sold Out

(Just three left! Sizes 6, 9, and 11.)

As I mentioned before, I am hoping to do semi-frequent surprise collections throughout this year to offset the fluster of my scheduled and long-anticipated collection releases. These surprise collections will allow for serendipity to carry my pieces to their intended owners.

For some of the collections, I will give a slight heads-up on the blog, since I know social media algorithms can be really problematic. I will put up a blog post announcing the date and time when the previewed collection will be released.

Other collections will be true surprises, and I will announce on social media the moment they land in my shop.
Surprise! The very first of my surprise collection Surprise! The very first of my surprise collections just landed in the Etsy shop. 

Valentine Rings. 

Sweet, romantic rings featuring natural, faceted hessonite garnets. The January birthstone, and a wonderful representation of love, I think. They range in hue from deep cherry to magenta to brick red. Set in ornate inverted heart bezels with beaded circlets to accent them, romantic and regal.

They are set atop half-round hands for comfort and fit true to size. 
The sizes available will be 6, 6.75, 6.75, 7, 7, 7.5, 8, 8, 8.5, 9, 10.5, 11.
My hands are flying over sharp sterling edges and My hands are flying over sharp sterling edges and a color palette that reflects the world outside my studio windows. I am enthralled by blue this year, and you will be able to find a lot of it in this year’s North Wind Collection. There will be the deep, crackling teal of moss kyanite, magical shimmer of moonstone, the soft liquid blues of aquamarine, and the dusky snow-squalling blues of dendritic agate. Deep winter ice and shadows on snow, all encased within stone.

(Here is a sneak peak at a new necklace design!)

I am oscillating between release times for the North Wind Release, the last week of February or the first week of March. Do you have a preference? I would love to know!
✨A call for ring sizes!✨ With my recurring co ✨A call for ring sizes!✨

With my recurring collections, most designs don’t make an appearance in every iteration. Some designs I only make once, others I revisit every now and again. A few weeks ago I asked which designs you’d like to see return from last year’s North Wind Collection. And I heard a resounding call for Winter Current Rings.

And so, I have scoured every drawer in my gemstone cabinet, and was able to gather the sweetest little bowl of teal kyanites for the rings. Nearly two hundred people raised their hands when I asked who was hoping to claim one during the release, and I am afraid I wont be able to make that many. But I will have a good offering of them! A few dozen with the sweetest, wintery gemstones.

And now, if this is a design you’re hoping to scoop up during the release, let me know in the comments below your ring size! (They fit true to size.) I want to try to have the best spread of ring sizes possible, and I will make the most requested sizes.

I hope you are weathering 2021 comfortably. Perhaps by catching snow squalls and spinning magic out of ice, all while holding a steamy mug of something warm.
❄️ Winter Oak Earrings ❄️ I made a versio ❄️ Winter Oak Earrings ❄️

I made a version of these for my very first Mossflower Collection, featuring a round shape and little prehnite gemstones. My initial vision for these were of sturdy oaks, rough in texture and bold in their size. And those earrings reflected that.

While I smith in the studio, I can look out towards the slender, leafless birches and tremendous trees beyond them, thick and sturdy. And what a thing to see a tree in winter: weathered, bare, still. To run hands along branches slick with ice, touch the coarse bark in its hibernation. But in that same moment to know that they will soon shake the ice off their arms, kick the snow off their toes, and then toss on their green, glowing mantles.

And so, these earrings are for them. The winter version of my Oak Earrings. Emulating the beauty of great, frozen trees, lovely in their roughness and glowing with winter. Earrings for walking through frozen oak glades and filling your pockets with winter.

They are sawn in a marquise shape, seemingly spilling below the ear. The surface is textured, weathered, and oxidized. And at the bottom of each earring, a beautiful kyanite. I have sawn a window behind the stone so these gemstones truly glow below the ear.

So far I have only made this pair of Winter Oak Earrings. I wanted to put out a call so I could get an idea of how many I should make. So if these earrings are calling out to you, and you think you’d like to claim a pair during the release, let me know in the comments below!
Friends! I have decided that I am going to start s Friends! I have decided that I am going to start sprinkling surprise collections throughout the year. Since the long-scheduled shop updates can be a bit hectic and frustrating, I think a few small, surprise ones will allow for serendipity.

I will let everyone know about surprise collections in posts here that will be simultaneous to when the pieces appear in the Etsy shop. Since the algorithm can be a bit of a bother for some people, I will try to put a blog post up the day before. So if you are signed up for the newsletter, you will get a collection preview and the timing of the release slightly in advance. (You can find the signup on my website.)

First surprise collection coming soon!
❄️ February Rings ❄️ The companion design ❄️ February Rings ❄️

The companion design to last year’s January Rings. They will feature shimmering white moonstones and icy aquamarines, varying in surface cut.

Some of the aquamarines are the deep blue of an arctic lake, and others the softest blue, like early morning blue skies above a winterscape. The variations of blues and the different ways in which they shimmer and glow will be so splendid to see all together.

I finished these just as the fresh snow arrived, and I was able to catch a few snow crystals and place them daintily around these gemstones. I tucked a few frosty pebbles around the stones, and set them all atop a heavy-weight half round band. I have lightly textured the surface of the bands to look like a lightly trod footpath over fresh snow.

I am in love with this design, I have been wearing the aquamarine ring all morning, tilting it into the light to look down into its crackling depths. These are truly rings made for queens of winter. Made for holding snow squalls in the palm, and reaching into frozen pools towards the deep undercurrents.  Rings for February.
————————————

The rest of the February Rings are unfinished and waiting for bands, there will be a few dozen made for the collection. If this design is calling to you, let me know in the comments your ring size and whether you prefer shimmering white moonstone or icy aquamarine! (These rings fit a smidge snug as the bands are about 6mm wide, but I think ordering your true size is just fine.)
I am positively thrumming with excitement about my I am positively thrumming with excitement about my upcoming North Wind Collection! I only have a few designs that I will be revisiting from last year (thank you to everyone who weighed in on the polls!), which means my bench is covered in brand new sketches, prototypes, eager piles of gemstones, and tools just itching to be used.

This morning it snowed a fresh blanket, cedars dipping under the weight and the pond all but swallowed up. And it arrived just in time, because I was able to reach my hand out the window and pluck some snow crystals from the air for these February Rings I am making. Shimmering white moonstones and deep, icy aquamarines will be set beside some daintily resting snowflakes and mounds of snow.

Keep an eye out here because I am going to send out a call for ring size requests so I can know how many to make for all you snow queens and winter walkers.
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