Larkin is licensed to drive! Life as a young entrepreneur just got a little less complicated. 😁
fun
Owl Be Darned
fun, musings, process, product, venuesCommentAnother trip to the coast to get out of the wildfire smoke! Not a bad office view, eh?
Larkin is working on a design for a repeat customer at the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market who likes to get something special for his daughter every month. He was hoping for an owl next. What do you think, cute caricature on the left or essence-capturing line work on the right?
Mermaid Tail Retrospective
fun, musings, process, productCommentAlternative title: Larkin Doesn't Like Doing The Same Thing Twice
This first photo is Larkin's proof of concept piece, the very first Idle Talons mermaid tail on blue aventurine made in April of 2019 (for those keeping track, this was when Larkin was 14).
Next came a silver tail on seraphinite, a very similar style as the first because Larkin was not yet ready to jump into new designs in spendier silver wire.
Then another blue aventurine piece, this time wrapped in silver with a different tail position.
Next came a copper tail on fossilized coral, again with similar design elements tweaked in new ways.
Finally the brecciated jasper tail Larkin finished yesterday.
Each piece has so many similar elements, yet is totally unique as Larkin made changes to suit the stone and cab shape. This makes me want to collect other styles for a side-by-side comparison! Maybe trees next...
Rose Drops and Books
fun, musings, process, product, venuesComment... and the sort-of-companion earrings to yesterday's pendants are up on the website for the first time, too! It's so fun seeing the different colors jump out in oxidized silver.
On a slightly different note: Larkin has a book-themed bazaar coming up and is looking for ideas! Are decorative sheet metal bookmarks a thing? Are there specific fandoms you think might translate well into Larkin's style? A product we haven't thought of that might particularly suit readers and/or authors? The fun thing about throwing lots of ideas at Larkin is seeing the results for the ones that stick! ;)
No Crossing Your Fingers, Either
fun, musings, process, venues, productCommentHoudini is helping Larkin wrap up (get it? 😅) a couple more pieces before the bazaar opens on Friday. These photos also illustrate why you should ALL solemnly double-dog swear, cross your hearts, no takesbacksies NOT to ever ever play the "find the white cat hair" game in *every* *single* *one* of Larkin's product photos. It's a terrible game, trust me.
How A Jeweler Does Fencing
musings, funCommentEmile (Larkin's dad) and Larkin were sealing up some escape routes in our chicken area and Emile was hemming and hawing over the lack of necessary hardware to make it easy to clip up bird netting. A few twists of Larkin's pliers later and those hens aren't going anywhere!
Pride Event
fun, product, venuesCommentLarkin is braving the heat (and breaking in the new banner!) at a Pride event today-- stop by to say hi if you're in the area!
A Banner!
fun, venuesCommentLarkin's next in-person market booth is going to look so professional! This will make its debut at a Pride event in Grants Pass on the 25th, then appear at the first Tuesday RVGCM at the Ashland armory. Woot!
Rock Shop Day!
fun, musings, processCommentRock shop day! Larkin was pretty thrilled to be back in the machine shop after a fairly long hiatus. Slabbed up some recent finds with pretty amazing results, rough cut some cabs, and cut some amazonite for a special request for knob pulls. Lots of inspiration for new pretties!
Clearance Items!
fun, process, product, venuesCommentOne of the opportunities presented by online bazaars is the ability to present some fun pieces that never made it to be final products. There is nothing wrong with these items-- they are practice pieces, discontinued designs, or prototypes of designs Larkin later finalized.
These are Larkin's clearance boards for the upcoming Royaboya Handmade Bazaar. Join the Facebook group any time, sales start this Friday morning!
Copper Shrooms
fun, process, product, venuesCommentLarkin got distracted while making eensy weensy mushrooms and turned out a few of these merely eensy mushrooms. Each is sculpted from solid copper and are heavier than you might expect from their diminutive size!
These sweet fungus dangles will be available starting next Friday at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar!
Fungus Among Us?
fun, processCommentI'm just going to leave this right here because apparently Larkin is planning on making something with teeny tiny mushrooms and I'm super down for that.
Mad Scientist!
musings, process, funCommentMore new mad scientist toys... just look at that grin!
Larkin has been saving every little wire trimming scrap for the last few years for this very moment. ;)
Yesterday, the crucibles arrived, and after seasoning/glazing were ready for their inaugural copper melting. Here is the unused crucible (it's being saved for silver) with the amazingly colorful patina left in the one used for copper.
These little blobules (I'm pretty sure that's the technical term...) are the results of pouring melted copper into a bucket of water. Some of them turn out like perfect abstract little sculptures, and Larkin is thinking of adding a jump ring to favorites to make fun charms. The others can be re-melted and shaped into sheet metal and wire for more intentional jewelry work.
And here is Larkin in full protective gear-- welcome to the glamorous world of fine jewelry making!
Rolling Mill!
fun, musings, processCommentA new toy arrived today! Larkin's latest acquisition is this rolling wire mill. It had to be fully disassembled, cleaned, oiled, reassembled, and tested before we figured out that one of the pieces was the mirror image of what it needed to be for the rollers to sit flush. Soooo... drill press to the rescue! Larkin added holes in the right position and is now happily squishing metal.
We experimented with getting leaf prints on sheet metal (they're there, but fainter than hoped) and made the world's unhappiest clump of lichen in the process. This little powerhouse can also turn round wire into square, triangular, or half-round wire, can make comfort bands for rings, and has several patterned rollers. Can't wait to see where this leads!
Back To Work!
fun, musings, product, venuesComment<Whew!> Larkin and the Idle Talon minions needed a bit of a break after last weekend's extremely fun and successful bazaar! Larkin came up with these sweet little heart charms as raffle prizes-- pretty perfect for a certain upcoming holiday! ;) Each heart is constructed from a single wire, with a dot of solder at the join for reinforcement.
Happy Inauguration Day!
fun, musings, process, productCommentHi everyone, this is Larkin. I don't do as much beading as I used to, but in honor of the inauguration and anticipation of less hostility towards LGBTQ+ folks from the incoming administration I thought I would post these. I never found any techniques online for making a beaded flag that I was happy with, so it was particularly satisfying to work out this pattern (using an expanding and decreasing brick stitch) to make pride flags.
"Studio" Space
fun, musings, processCommentLarkin's room is looking more and more like a jewelry studio all the time, full of glorious, creative chaos! Larkin was hoping to get more rock work done today, but came in with frozen fingers. So a pivot to silver smithing play... with copper. Is that a thing? Does anyone talk about copper smithing? This kind of metal work is a pretty new trick and I'm excited to see what comes of it!
Free Gift With Next Website Purchase!
product, venues, funCommentUPDATE: the free gift has been claimed. :)
Free surprise gift with the next purchase here at www.IdleTalons.com! Perhaps Larkin will make it a little something with a Valentine's theme... We are SO excited to finally have this complete set of packaging/presentation materials! Larkin's Idle Talons business cards arrived today (woot!), we have fancy schmancy boxes for wraps, fancy schmancy product cards for everything else, and a thermal printer for shipping labels! These are all shipping out today... don't *you* want some happy mail?
Royaboya Handmade Bazaar
fun, musings, product, venuesCommentLarkin has participated twice in the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar on-line market now, and it is hands-down the most fun, best run small business on-line market we've participated in (as a vendor and as shoppers!). Lots of games and prizes, you get to know the real people behind the small businesses you're supporting, there's an amazing young musician performing one evening, and more!
Larkin was thrilled to be invited back so please, if you haven't already, join the group and get in on the fun! Larkin is planning some Idle Talons goodies that will be available only at the Bazaar, including new products and live videos. Hope to see you there! :)
Double-Sided Cabs
fun, process, product, musingsCommentLarkin braved the cold of our rock shop (okay, okay... it's a tent... without heat... and all rock work is done in water) for a couple of hours today and turned out these new double-sided cabs. These are domed and polished on both faces, with a hole drilled sideways through the top so they can be hung on a cord. Top: serpentine; bottom left: chert; bottom right: some kind of funky orbicular jasper from who-knows-where that should obviously be worn by someone with a penchant for pizza.
