All summer we prioritized peace and contentment. I worked languidly in the studio, and took as many book breaks and walks by the river near our house as possible.
And summer passed like a sunshower.
But, in all the in-between spaces, I revisted my beloved Mossflower Collection!
A joyous offering of soothing green prehnite full of feathery inclusions and green thorn-like rutiles. Leaves tucked into every corner. Ferns unfurling in secret places. And J.R.R. Tolkien’s words whispered under every stone and sung into every solder seam.
I meant to return to this every other year, but other stones kept calling to me. It has now been almost four years since I last worked in this collection.
Since I don’t know when this collection will return after this year, I created lots and lots of pieces. Brand new designs, some of which I still haven’t shared, and some returning favorites that you sweet souls often ask about.
Hopefully enough for all who hope to catch a piece of summer to carry into the winter months.
Tinuviel Rings
There will be 30 of these rings available.
Price: $150 – 170 per ring
Sizes available:
4.75 | 5 | 5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
6.25 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.75 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9.25
“and the song of Luthien released the bonds of winter, and the frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold earth where he feet had passed. Then the spell of silence fell from Beren, and he called to her, crying Tinuviel; and the woods echoed the name.”
– from “The Silmarillion”
While her true name was Luthien, “Tinuviel” is what Beren called her when he saw her dancing in the forest. I designed this piece to be a counterpart to my Beren Ring from the last iteration of this collection. Both feature smooth prehnite gemstones and sturdy wide bands with organic texturing and the edges of leaves carefully pressed into the bands.
But her ring needed to be bolder and more magical.
I searched and saved these stones for years, and in making these pieces, I chose from my collection the most beautiful ones. The most brambly thorny rutiles, the most light-drinking domes, and the softest greens comprise these pieces.
So I chose the most beautiful large stones to sit confidently atop the hand, sturdy as an oak. And on the backs of the stones, I have sawn a tiny window in the shape of a delicate leafy frond. A little sprig made of light and prehnite. A secret piece of the forest to keep with you.
Some of the stones are clear enough that you can see the silhouette when it’s atop your hand. Others are truly secret, only revealing themselves when held to the light.
As always with my wide bands, I give the size that it reads on the mandrel. But since it is wide, it will fit snug. Therefore it is recommended to purchase a ring that is listed as 1/2 – 1 full size larger than your regular size. I prefer my wide bands a little looser so my hands can breathe, so I go a full size up.
Tending Necklaces
There will be 30 of these necklaces available.
Price: $120 per necklace
Adjustable between 17″ – 20″
“Your land must be a realm of peace and content, and there must gardeners be in high honor.” – from “The Two Towers”
“The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
Tolkien, a lover of simplicity and home.
He had no interest in grandeur or competition with is neighbors.
He felt it was more honorable to sink one’s hands into the soil and tend new life. Tolkien held gardeners in such high esteem. As noble as kings, and perhaps even more impressive. And this is my design in honor tenders of growing things.
When donning cloaks, people would often put a pin on either edges of the cloak below the neck, and the pins were connected by a chain. This would keep the cloak on the shoulders. And this is my necklace reminiscent of those old-fashioned cloak clasps.
Each necklace features two clusters of unfurling leaves and neatly arranged pebbles reminiscent of cloak pins, and flowing faceted prehnites to comprise the “chain.”
Like green blooming footsteps along an overgrown forest path.
Designed for dedicated keepers of all things growing, trudging through muck and detritus, a cloak thrown over the shoulders, because not even the rain could keep you from that which needs tending. A necklace fit for the kindreds of Samwise Gamgee, if I do say so myself.
Leaves of Lorien Rings
There will be 95 of these rings available, ranging in size from 4.5 – 11
Set atop a half-round band for comfort.
Price: $110 per ring
“Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.”
– from “The Two Towers”
With every new iteration of the Mossflower Collection, it becomes increasingly woven with threads of Tolkien. When I start pushing prehnite gemstones around in my sketchbook, Tolkien drifts onto the page with them. And in the deep of winter, when I reread “The Silmarillion,” new prehnite designs demand to be sketched out and tucked away until springtime. As such, I think of every design now in terms of Tolkien’s legendarium.
So I decided to rename this beloved design.
Say hello to the “Leaves of Lorien” Ring!
Faceted glowing prehnite set in a bezel that I have delicately given patterning from a real leaf. It also has a leafy serrated edge.
There is a slight lip to give the stone a shadow, which accentuates the glow of the prehnite. It is set atop a half round band for comfort, and fits true to size.
Fern Necklaces
There will be 30 of these necklaces available.
Pendants range in size from 1.25″ – 2.5″
Suspended from an oxidized sterling silver chain, adjustable between 17 – 20″
I will include in the listings the pendant measurements, as well as photos of the pendant being held and beside a quarter for size reference.
Price: $145 – $165 per necklace,
depending on the size of the stone
I believe this might be one of the most popular necklaces I have ever made. Ever since the last Mossflower collection, I have continually received questions and requests for it. And so I searched for the perfect prehnite gemstones and tucked them away for years.
And here is my offering of them!
These necklaces are all hand-forged from all sterling silver. They feature soft green prehnite gemstones with feathery inclusions and dark green rutiles, giving the pendant a sense of natural depth.
Bordering the stone is a hand-twisted vine accent, and a few sterling silver pebbles.
On the back of the pendant, there is a hand-sawn window showing the underside of the stone in the shape of an unfurling fern.
It has been oxidized and hand polished for an organic look, and to bring out the lowlights of the corners.
Neldoreth Earrings
There will be 30 pairs of earrings available.
Earrings measure about 2″ from the top of the earwire, to the bottom of the earring
Price: $120 per pair
“But the Enemy was victorious and Barahir was slain, and Beren escaping through great peril came over the Mountains of Terror into the hidden Kingdom of Thingol in the forest of Neldoreth. There he beheld Luthien singing and dancing in a glade beside the enchanted river Esgalduin; and he named her Tinuviel, that is Nightingale in the language of old.”
– from “The Silmarillion”
Named for that important forest in Tolkien’s legendarium. “Neldor” is a Sindarin word meaning “beech.”
It was where Luthien lived, and it was beneath its trees that Beren first saw her dancing in the moonlight. A sacred forest enclosed within the protection of Melian, perhaps one of the most powerful maia to have lived in Middle Earth.
It is also here that Treebeard walked in the First Age, and loved it so much that he composed poems about this particular forest.
And this is my design to honor that place. Pairs of dangle earrings, with faceted prehnite gemstones and sterling silver leaves printed with the veining of real leaves.
Each singular earrings unique and beautiful, yet echoing each other.
Just like the branches of a beech tree. Leaves and glowing green spilling towards the ground.
Luthien Cuff Bracelet
There will be (18) of these bracelets available.
(4) XS – 5″ + gap
(6) Sm/Med – 6″ + gap
(8) Med/Lg – 7″ + gap
Price: $225 per bracelet
When I create new designs, I often keep the first one I make. Perhaps it needs a few more embellishments, or I change my mind on the texturing. The first Luthien Cuff I made was much smaller than I anticipated, but it fit my wrist like it was made for it.
So I kept that first one. And I have not taken it off since. It has accompanied me into cities, on the sea, down rivers, up mountains, and in more days of creating at the bench than I can count.
The way the multi-faceted stone sparkles and throws tiny flames of light onto walls is endlessly beautiful. (And endlessly entertaining for my cats.)
You can probably catch glimpses of her on my wrist in photos from the past few years.
And here is this year’s offering. Each feature large faceted prehnite gemstones on one side, and a cluster of sterling silver leaves and a few silver pebbles on the other.
Set atop a wide flat band textured roughly. Oxidized and given a soft matte polish to accentuate the lowlights and shadows between.
Yavanna Earrings
There will be (49) pairs of these available.
Price: $152 per pair of earrings
These pieces were designed with the Two Trees of Valinor on my mind.
In Tolkien’s mythos, after the world was covered with green, Yavanna, a minor goddess of Arda, set to work on her finest creations, the Two Trees named Telperion and Laurelin, which brought the light to the land of Valinor. These two trees waxed and waned throughout the day and night giving forth their own light, each distinct.
“The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadows of his fluttering leaves. The other bore leaves of a young green like the new-opened beech; their edges were of glittering gold. Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light.”
– from “The Silmarillion”
For these pieces, I chose the most luminous prehnite I could find. Some are very high domed, faceted prehnite to best catch and reflect light, to make the earrings look as though they glowed with their own warm light, like the “young green” light of Laurelin.
And below the stones sway tiny leaves. I chose to put the leaves on varying lengths of tiny chain to taper them to look as though the leaves were spilling towards the ground.
And that’s everything that will be included in Part I of the Mossflower Collection!
And remember, refresh your page often once the clock strikes 7:00, until they all appear!
Part II will include:
- Susurrus Necklace (Simple necklace with tiny leaves and small oval prehnites dangling periodically from a satellite chain)
- Fimbrethil Necklace (A large faceted round prehnite gemstone strung between two strings of riveted leaves worn high like a choker)
- Beleriand Earrings (Dangle earrings each featuring a hammered branch circle with tiny leaves and a round prehnite suspended in the middle)
- Entwife Rings (The teardrop shaped ring I shared a process photo of, with an irregular barkish border and a hammered bark ring band.)
- Yavanna Necklaces (Like the Yavanna Earrings, but with large teardrop gemstones and a hidden leafy sprig overlay on the back)
- The Old Forest Cuff Bracelets (Large smooth prehnite gemstones bordered by a hammered branch and two leaves partially covering the stone at the bottom, set atop two split half-round bands.)