Coming Back Online Soon with Latitude59

It's been a while, but I'm going to try selling online again.  I'll be using my own Etsy site (linked on this page) as well as Latitude59, which sells copper accessories and jewelry organizers.

SE Alaska State Fair July 26 - 29

I'll be at the Southeast Alaska State Fair from July 26 to the 29 in Haines.  Look for my table in Harriet Hall where the exhibits are.

Thank You Anchorage !

We had a wonderful time at the weekend market in Anchorage and hope to be back again before fall sets in.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by!!!

Anchorage Weekend Market

We're planning to be at the Anchorage Weekend Market on July 7th and 8th.

New Designs added to Gallery

The galleries on the right have been updated so there are twice as many designs there now with more on the way.

Jewelry Travel Carriers

I've been making some of these Jewelry Travel Carriers.  They're great for storing necklaces and earrings in your luggage so that your jewelry doesn't get broken or tangled up.

New Display for my Jewelry

We've made a prototype display case which we'll be sending to one of the galleries that carries my jewelry. Depending on how other shops like them, we may make a few more.

The earring cards hang on metal rods and the rock necklaces in the lower left are held in place with push pins in a fabric-covered cork backing.  The earrings in the middle left hang on removable shelves that slide in and out of the display case.  The mirror is surrounded by a mosaic of beachstones and the two remaining shelves hold cards or decorations.

The display case measures 4 inches deep, 26 inches tall and 41 inches wide.  It holds 20 pairs of earrings on the rods, 12 necklaces on the removable drawers, 11 items on the shelves and 3 to 4 pebble necklaces on the cork backing.

Winter Season Sales

Holiday shoppers who wish to purchase my jewelry can do so at Annie Kail's in Juneau, Extreme Dreams in Haines, Copper Moon in Whitehorse, Yukon, and at the Extreme Dreams table at the Haines Christmas Bazaar.  Follow the links on the left side of this page to find out more.

New Designs for the 2012 Season

My jewelry is going to become more colorful and eye-catching for the summer 2012 season.  Here are a few teasers.

New Workstation

My husband built me a custom desk for my jewelry workstation.  It is made entirely out of birch plywood and was constructed without plans or templates (he's like that).  It has a pull-out tray in the middle for my sorted rocks and the drawers slide on Teflon tape.  The drawers also have dividers to hold my trays of beads and the desk is wired with electrical outlets for my Dremel tool.

For the drawer handles, I used stones from my favorite beaches.  To do this, I bought regular wooden knobs at the hardware store and cut off the stems with a band saw.

I glued the rocks on to the wooden stems with Systems Three Epoxy and then used C-clamps to hold the assembly tight.

About My Jewelry

My Inspiration

I’m lucky to live in a very beautiful part of the world. The scenery and wildlife around me are a great source of inspiration for all of my creative endeavors.

I have been creating my own jewelry for years. When I stumbled across a beach with many beautiful stones, I knew that I had to do something to display their beauty. I started by making a few pieces of jewelry for myself. Since each stone is unique, I embellished each one differently and soon I had more beachstone jewelry than I could ever wear, so it was time to share it with others.

The Process

First I have to find the stone. I love this part for I can spend hours walking a beach and hunting for pretty stones. I find it and the whole creative process therapeutic.

But since I can’t stay at the beach all day every day, I usually take a small bucket of stones home with me each time I visit. This way I can sort them even when the sun is down or when it is too icy to be on the beach.

I do a lot of rock sorting. From the bucket (or the beach) I look for the best, most uniformly or interestingly-shaped stones. These are then sorted by shape and size. This helps greatly when I am looking for just the right rock for a particular design or when I need a pair for earrings.

Once I’ve found the right stone, it gets glued down to a board so that it doesn’t escape when being drilled. I’ve found that it’s more efficient to glue down several stones and drill them in batches.  Drilling stone and glass can be tricky and a lot of pieces get broken.

After drilling the beachstones, I use gemstones and silver to create my pieces.

The Materials

The focus of this jewelry is, of course, the beachstone. The stones are used in their natural state, just as they are found. Other than drilling the small holes, I do not change them in any way. I wash the salt off of them and then rub them between my palms to give them their soft, natural shine. I have not tumbled, polished, or shaped them. 

To add color, I use gemstone beads. I like the juxtaposition of the fine, polished beads and the raw, simple beauty of the beachstone. I sometimes use beach glass, wood, shell, glass trade beads and glass seed beads.

I also use sterling or argentium silver wire, beads, and embellishments. Many of the beads are made by the Hill Tribe people of Thailand. Many of the artisan-made charms are created using the lost wax casting technique.  The chains, wire, and findings (clasps, jump rings, crimps, wire, little silver balls, etc.) are all sterling or argentium silver.  Argentium silver replaces some of the copper alloy with the metalloid germanium.  This makes it more tarnish resistant.

There is only one place that I use silver that is not sterling or argentium, and that is the solder. Unfortunately, the beach stones cannot withstand the intense heat given off by a soldering torch. Most will crack or break. I’ve had to switch to using a soldering iron so that I can apply the heat more precisely and preserve the integrity of the stones. This works wonderfully, but I have not been able to find a soldering iron that gets hot enough to melt sterling or argentium silver.  I have resorted to using silver-bearing, lead-free solder which has a lower melting temperature. Small dots of solder can be found on the back of each piece that requires soldering. It looks much like sterling silver, but does not tarnish.

Why Bowerbird Collections?

Bowerbirds are collectors. The male collects flowers, leaves, stones, and anything else that he finds attractive. He meticulously arranges his treasures in and around an ornately designed lair, or bower. These bowers are used to attract mates.  Many bowerbirds pick blue as their favorite color.

As quoted from a National Geographic article, “[Bowerbirds are] the most intriguingly human of birds. “ “Some researchers have attributed an aesthetic sense and the glimmerings of culture to bowerbirds, traits rarely found in any species aside from our own. Some primates, such as chimpanzees and orangutans, are now regarded as having cultural traditions but not aesthetics.”

As a fellow collector, I decided to name my company after the bowerbird.  Enjoy !

Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh!

Wouldn't you want one of these?  See if you can guess what it's made of.
I'll make you one, but you'll have to e:mail me for details.
Coming Soon . . . How I make my jewelry from ordinary beach stones.

We're on Etsy now !

We just put some items up on Etsy so you don't have to travel to Alaska to find my jewelry.  Etsy is a site where crafters can sell their art online without setting up a large website.  If you go to Etsy, you can find my store by searching for Bowerbird Collections or Alaska Beachstones--what we're calling this line of jewelry.  Hopefully we'll have a lot more on there in the next week or so after we've taken some pictures.

Welcome to Bowerbird Collections

This is the place where you can see my newest creations and browse some of the treasures in my gallery.  Thanks for visiting.