Ginkgo Leaves

Folks have been requesting that Larkin try their hand at ginkgo leaves for some time, and a recent request from a friend finally sealed the deal! Here is their take on the unique fan shape and ripply notches of the gingko leaf. 🍃

Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species. Known as “living fossils,” the species has survived relatively unchanged for over 200 million years. Fossils in the genus have been dated back to the middle Jurassic— yep, they shared the earth with dinosaurs! 🦖 Some trees live over 1,200 years and have survived some extreme events— perhaps most notably the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Due to their remarkable tenacity, ginkgo trees have come to represent strength, longevity, and endurance.

Not gonna lie, my college had ginkgoes around the library and *I* associate them with long hours of study and that <ahem> distinctive vomit/dog poop 💩 smell the fruit develops when it drops. 😅

Want to see them in person? The Talent Artisans & Growers market is back and Larkin will be there TONIGHT 5/23 5pm-sunset!

Medford Comic Con

Larkin is at Rogue Comic Con, in the Medford Pear Blossom Park this weekend!

They made this sweet copper cloak pin to complete a friend's cosplay. Extra points if you can identify the character from the pin! 😉

Comic Con is always a good time, rain or shine!

Rogue Comic Con is TWO DAYS for 2025

Saturday, May 17th 10am - 6pm

Sunday, May 18th 9am - 4pm

Finally, Vending By Bicycle!

Guest post by Larkin's dad, Emile!

For tomorrow's Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Saturday Market, Larkin is finally going to realize a longstanding dream: vending by bike! 🚲🎉 They have been an avid pedal power advocate from the beginning, and in a somewhat nostalgic twist the last piece of the puzzle was finally converting the kid-hauling bike trailer from Larkin and Finn's youth (seen here with the car seat strapped on top) into a cargo trailer that could be pulled by Larkin's cargo bike.

We're always looking for inspiration; do you know of other folks vending by bike, here in the valley or elsewhere?

There's a lot of fun call outs for this one. Larkin got this bike from the lovely folks over at @piccadillycycles almost two years ago, and Piccadilly provides bike valet parking at many RVGCM markets (it's lovely, you should try it out!). I've been wanting to learn to weld for forever, and the family got me a very sweet little TIG machine for solstice that I used to weld up a new towing arm and hitch receiver so we could use the cargo bike to pull it. Larkin and I salvaged the wood used in the new trailer decking from some pallets that the ACE Hardware over in Medford gave us, and @bearcreekbicycle kindly gave me the old inner tube out of their recycling bin that I used for the deck lashings.

And of course, our cat Houdini helped Larkin pack the trailer! 😻

[Jenny's note: the first photo is totally staged, when Larkin rides away tomorrow they will be in full reflective gear and securely helmeted... I just didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn to see them off 😅]

A Market Postponed and A Bloomin' Lilac

Larkin is down with a wicked cold and prudently decided to take a rest day tomorrow rather than attending their usual first Tuesday market-- so if you're a @Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market regular, they will be there next week rather than tomorrow!

Meanwhile, Spring is seriously sproinging in our neck of the woods, and our lilacs are putting on quite a show this year! I thought it would be a fun time to throwback to that time three years ago when Larkin was a wee bairn of 17 and made their grandma Mary a sterling lilac sprig.

Drift Co Re-Stock

Larkin is re-stocking today at The Drift Collective Ashland, including their prototype pair of these samara (the winged nut of the maple) earrings! 🍁

It has been so interesting seeing what Larkin's biggest hits have been in a brick and mortar location-- it's definitely a little different than online and at their in-person markets! Of course, the roly polies still kind of dominate everywhere they go-- more of them are being delivered to the Drift Co today as well. Team isopod for the win! 🎉

Otherwise, it has been hard keeping the copper and silver vining leaf earrings in stock and all of Larkin's mismatched earring designs have been doing very well.

If you're local and haven't checked out Drift Co, you absolutely should! They have so many amazing products, all handmade by local artists-- and believe me, the local artists could really use your support right now! 💕

Holiday "Break"

Hey, friends! We're back! We're easing our way back into social media after a long break with this short photo essay illustrating the daily trials and tribulations of Larkin's product photographer. 😅

Holidays are always busy around our house-- Larkin and their brother both have birthdays in late December, as well as all of the usual holiday hoopla. Larkin is 20! I know... what?!! So I guess now we have to find and edit all the digital places we've referred to Larkin as a "teen jeweler" in the last seven (!!) years.

This is also the first holiday season that Larkin was so busy filling orders and keeping inventory in stock at @thedriftcoashland that they didn't have time to do very much new, creative work. They are back to it, and really enjoying the play time. 😊

This year will bring some fun, big new changes for Larkin! We'll be posting new updates, including more flattering (less Catzilla 😹) photos of their latest piece soon... thanks so much for joining us on this wild ride!

A New Board Is Born!

Aaaaah we made it-- just in time for the 2024 Talent Harvest Festival tomorrow! Larkin will be at the Wagner Plaza Local Goods Market downtown and it seems like every business in town is offering up specials and fun activities-- don't miss it if you're local!

It turns out we made swapping all of Larkin's inventory onto new cards even harder than it could have been. 😅 As long as we had everything off of cards, we figured it would be a good time for Larkin to give everything a thorough cleaning and polish before re-carding them.

During this process, we were chagrined to discover that the masking tape we've been using to affix cords to the back of cards does leave a sticky residue if it has been on there too long. 😬👀 Larkin has a rapid enough turnover that it probably hasn't happened often, but if you've purchased a sticky cord please stop by Larkin's booth any time and they'd be happy to give you a new adhesive-free one! Meanwhile, fancy new tape that claims to be residue-free is arriving this weekend. ✨

We are super pleased with the end result-- Larkin's board has never looked more professional! 😁 The first picture is the new board, the second is the old board (with a few blank spaces right after a market).

New Product Cards!

Here's an Idle Talons business milestone that probably means more to me (Larkin's mum) than anyone else! 😅 WE GOT PRODUCT CARDS PRINTED!

Until now, I've been printing cards on card stock, ironing them (I know... but our laser printer always made the pages curve!), stamping them, and cutting them out.

These ones are so much better! It's a heavier, more durable card stock, we had contact info printed on the back so they also kind of act as business cards, they have rounded corners... and I didn't make them! 😁 I am still stamping them with the handmade silver dragon logo stamp so they retain a bit of that small handmade business chic. ;)

We won't have all of Larkin's products moved to the new cards in time for (tomorrow's!) First Tuesday Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, but we hope to have an all-new display ready for the next Saturday market!

First Tuesday!

It's first Tuesday already! If you are local and it has been awhile since you checked out Larkin's booth at @Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market this would be a good day to come check it out-- they've been turning out so many cool new designs lately! Plus, summer fruit and veggie season is in full swing and it doesn't get any fresher than buying right from the farmers 🤤

Larkin will be in Ashland at the ScienceWorks parking lot from 8:30am-1:30pm today and would love to see you ☺️

A Happy Accident

Larkin was re-stocking their wild rose stud earrings when a few stud posts refused to solder properly. So they pivoted, added a couple of leaves and turned the stubborn studs into sweet little tiny necklace charms.

These aren't part of Larkin's regular line, but are something you can find on their ever-evolving market display. Next opportunity to visit in person is this Saturday August 3 at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market in Ashland!

At a recent market, someone told Larkin that one of their favorite perks of supporting Idle Talons is that Larkin is willing to break up pairs of earrings. Not everyone has symmetric piercings, and as a handmade business Larkin is always happy to provide a single earring!

Holy Moly... More Roly Polies

It's still roly poly season in the Idle Talons workshop! Larkin appreciates all the support so much and was totally caught up on orders... several times this week. 😅

Larkin had a couple of special requests that inspired adding two more necklace designs to their regular offerings. After playing with a few different designs, Larkin finally settled on a way to hang a balled isopod from a chain-- they create what they're calling a cherry pit centerpiece that the roly poly curls around. It can move freely (it's not soldered to the "pit") but the slightly flattened shape of the pit keeps it mostly oriented with the curled isopod's profile facing out.

Larkin also added a necklace design featuring all three isopod poses. The isopods are connected by hand-shaped hammered loops. This trio necklace is quite delicate but has enough heft that the isopods dangle rather alluringly (if I do say so myself).

The free movement means these necklaces make a very subtle jangling sound that brings Larkin a great deal of joy. 🥰🎶

Local folks! Larkin will be participating in the RVGCM Saturday market in downtown Ashland on Oak Street for the very first time tomorrow-- they'd love to see you there! :)

Medford Comic Con!

Tomorrow! May the Fourth be with you at this year's comic con! Larkin started vending at this super fun local event as a wee young 14-year-old Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Their products have certainly matured a bit in the last 5 years. Stop by and say hi!

Wagner Plaza Market

Local friendies! Larkin will be at this sweet little local market for the first time TOMORROW! And yes, the forecast calls for rain so they and the other vendors will be even more than usually super duper appreciative of your visit. 😉🌦

If you're hoping for roly polies, come early. 😅 Larkin has been turning them out and sending them off as fast as humanly possible over the last couple of weeks-- they will have just a few on their board!

Cat Tails Revisited!

These cat tails are another design Larkin has tweaked slightly-- making the seed heads contrasting copper really makes them pop! I always think Larkin's cat tails conjure up memories of halcyon summer days by the pond-- such a lovely, flowing design.

Larkin spent the last of their post-holiday/pre-market-season break visiting a friend at university in Canada and returned just a couple of days before the opening market of the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market! As in years past, Larkin will be there on the first Tuesday of every month. Remember they have a fabulous new location this year at ScienceWorks in Ashland!

On Shopping Small

Larkin's next market is this weekend at the Talent Elementary School! Talent Artisans & Growers curates a super sweet market with lots of amazing artists.

Having a kid embarking on this wild world of artisan craftsmanship has really brought home how important it is to support small businesses. Larkin is 18 now. These next few years will determine whether Larkin has a career or a hobby in lapidary and metalworking-- I know their creativity has positively exploded with the unfettered time and passion they've poured into their work in the last few years.

Supporting artisan businesses is supporting individual dreams, bringing a little more beauty into our world, and investing in local economy.

No more hard sell. 😉 We won't be jumping on all the seasonal buzzword sale days-- Larkin is too busy creating! Thank you for being here. Know that your comments, shares, and purchases never fail to light up Larkin's face. Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this week!

RoxyAnn Winery Holiday Market

Larkin's first holiday market of the season is this weekend. Open 10-5 each day, RoxyAnn Winery throws a mean holiday party! Lots of local makers will be there, plus food and beverage trucks... plus, of course, wine. This is a wonderful, fun opportunity to support small businesses this season. 🍷🎁🎀⛄️🎅

Barter Is Best

One of Larkin's favorite things about market is the other vendors! Josie from TerraSol Organics has gotten our whole family hooked on her pea sprouts! They dress up a sandwich like nobody's business and are an amazing addition to salads.

At the end of just about every market, Josie shows up like a beneficent sprout angel and bestows her treasure upon Larkin.

Unfortunately, Josie doesn't wear much jewelry, which is traditionally how Larkin gives thanks. But! She's a crocheter! And she had a problem with her pinky curling too tightly and hurting while she crocheted. So Larkin made her a silver finger splint that keeps her pinky at a comfortable angle while she works. She has been using it ever since, thus securing our inside connection to beautiful, crunchy sproutlings.

Chakra Crystal Vine

A regular brought Larkin this "chakra crystal" (7 different stones glued together and polished into the shape of a crystal) that had originally come with a glue-on bail. The bail had fallen off and they requested Larkin come up with a cage design that would hold it more securely.

Not one for simple cages, Larkin wrapped it in a silver leafing vine that holds the stone firmly in place and topped it with a secure bail. Et Voila!

In other news, tomorrow is Larkin's last Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market of the season! They will have many new items there that we haven't had a chance to photograph and list yet, so come on by for first pick of some of this season's pretties!

Harvest Festival

Larkin is super excited to take part in the Talent Harvest Festival for the first time! Our small town has been through a lot in recent years and still manages to throw a pretty amazing celebration!

Sign up for the fun run, eat delicious fresh food, listen to live music, shop from local vendors, and participate in a slew of fun activities! The Idle Talons booth will be set up right on Main Street at Old Town Park, next to the skate park and across from City Hall.

Hope to see you there!

Happy October!

As holiday markets approach, Larkin is wanting to re-stock so as many of their designs as possible are available. It had been a long time since we went through the Idle Talons website and compared it to Larkin's current stock!

So... we made a list. A very long list. And Larkin has been hard at work. You never know what you'll find on Larkin's workbench. Most of the items pictured here are bits and pieces of (or completed) items off the list. But I also spy some silver lichen-- who knew?!

And tomorrow is already first Tuesday! Come see Larkin and pick up some fresh veggies at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, tomorrow at the Ashland Armory from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm!