Manic Production Mode Activate!

These holiday markets are looming (remember the RoxyAnn Winery Holiday Bazaar is this weekend!) and Larkin is hardly coming up for air and food!

This cabochon is a piece of petrified Saddle Mountain bog wood that was gifted to Larkin. They cabbed it in a unique shape that is just perfect for the top of this sweet little mushroom house. The front has a tiny door and window, and it's easy to imagine the wee field mouse or fairy that calls it home!

The back finds a couple of butterflies resting above blades of grass, and the whole thing is topped with a custom vining leaf bail. I'm going to go ahead and use a word that seldom comes up in my vocabulary: this piece is positively Darling.

And we’re introducing a new addition to the Idle Talons market booth! This wood-framed screen is kind of like a real-life version of the website gallery-- it holds 8 x 10 photos of past work. I'm sure some of you will see some familiar images. ;) We hope this will be a larger-than-life eye-catching draw to Larkin's booth full of tiny treasures.

That photo also has some unintended easter eggs! You can see some pretty cute photos of Larkin and younger brother Finn in the background, plus a reflection of Larkin in the window hunched over like a jewelry goblin.

Ho Ho Holiday Markets!

Aaaah! The holidays approacheth! 😅 Larkin has three events coming up! Local folks have two opportunities to check out the Idle Talons booth in person: at RoxyAnn Winery next weekend Nov. 19-20, and in the Talent Holiday Market at the Talent Elementary School Nov. 26-27.

Not local? Never fear! the virtual Royaboya Handmade Bazaar is back, with all the fun and games we have come to expect! The Favorite Things Holiday Bazaar runs this Nov. 25-29.

Bonus picture of pretties: Larkin redesigned the ivy hair pins slightly and I had an opportunity to photograph them with their wild brethren. ;)

Serpentine After Dark

This cab is a beautiful green serpentine (we sometimes call these stones undercooked applegate jade). Larkin created a pretty dreamy nighttime scene with hand fabricated mushrooms and ivy, topped with a shiny crescent moon.

And that mushroom at the top? It's actually the bail! The wee 3d shroom has a loop on its back for a cord to pass through. The back of the stone is secured with a lovely little hand-shaped branch.

This piece will be available at the upcoming holiday markets!

Oak Leaf Clothing Pin

The tools inspired by the Nicole Ringgold Jewelry Designs workshop have arrived and Larkin is hard at work. This hand-fabricated sterling silver clothing pin is extremely versatile-- it could add a flash of fabulous fancy to a dress shawl for an evening out, yet won't look out of place on a warm cap at the farmer's market!

The shots with the original leaf and twig are fun-- you can see how Larkin incorporated details like the surface texture of the twig, and they even matched the look of the hard core and softer surface of the original twig. Larkin used an actual leaf from the forest around us as inspiration, and plans to press it and include it with the final piece!

The twig passes through two soldered arches on the back of the leaf to hold it in place and will work on virtually any knit or crocheted garment (it may be a little loose if used on veeery thin garments).

We tried it on hats, scarves, and even as a buttonhole decoration on a coat!

Larkin is working hard on stocking up for upcoming holiday markets, so you may notice we're not adding new work to the website right now. This is one of the items Larkin will be offering at the ROXYANN WINERY HOLIDAY BAZAAR !

Holiday Market

Larkin's first market of the holiday season happens to be at RoxyAnn Winery, the site of their very first market ever!

Check out this picture from the summer of 2018, when Larkin was 13... they were so excited (and obviously a little nervous). And wow... back then most of their work was beaded. They have come so far!

If you're local come check it out-- admission is free and sipping wine and enjoying snacks while holiday shopping sounds like a pretty nice way to get it done. ;)

Halloween Hiatus

Those of you who have been following Larkin's work for a few years may recall that this time of year there is always a lag in posts while the Idle Talons metal and stone studio becomes a costume production shop.

And, yes, we will be trick or treating. The best part? My teens still want me to go with them! So if you're in Talent you may get some big kids coming to your door while beaming parents watch from the sidewalk enjoying the night-- thank you for being part of one of our family's favorite holidays!

In unrelated very exciting news, Larkin's big sterling order AND new toys (errr... I've been informed these are "tools") arrived yesterday! Tool packaging is no joke! 😅

Larkin's hands are itching to get back to metalwork so costume finalizing is happening as quickly as humanly possible.

Oak Leaf Hair Pin

I am so excited about these leafy hair decorations! This is the first (hopefully) of many. Larkin plans on making a whole line of leaf hairpins, each unique and modeled after actual individual leaves in our forest and surroundings.

Larkin hand-shaped and textured this oak leaf from sheet metal and wire. The wire base is bent and shaped into waves like a bobby pin for greater staying power.

This pin can be used alone for a small amount of hair (it will hold slightly more than a bobby pin and less than most barrettes) or added as decoration to a hair tie.

This is the leaf Larkin made in the Ringgold workshop and is solid 0.925 sterling silver. After lots of experimentation and frustration at home, it became clear that argentium just doesn't behave as well as sterling for these kinds of sculptural projects-- it gets brittle and tears and cracks very easily. While Larkin will continue to use argentium for some projects, they bit the bullet this week and placed an order for sterling that essentially meant replacing all the metal in their home workshop.

Samaras Pendant

And the samaras got their final polish!

These are currently a one-of-a-kind pendant, but once some new tools arrive Larkin hopes to make repeatable designs for earrings and pendants. Larkin hand sculpted these detailed maple seed pods from 0.925 sterling silver.

In our childhood, these “whirligigs” or “helicopter seeds” had a special place in our hearts! Immortalized in silver, these seed pods are remarkably sturdy while appearing amazingly delicate.

Still Life With Twig

Next up in workshop results is what (I think?) is Larkin's most purely sculptural piece yet!

Larkin entirely hand-sculpted this pendant (I've been calling it Still Life With Twig 😅) from 0.925 sterling silver. It is truly three dimensional and can be appreciated from all angles!

The twig itself is impressively realistic, and made even more so by the cluster of cup lichen at its base. A wee silver inch worm making its way toward the bail is the perfect topping for this sweet little piece of nature-inspired art.

I suspect that the right person will know this unique piece needs to be theirs as soon as they see it!

Red Jasper Mushroom

Larkin is slowly putting final touches and polishes on the results of last week's workshop and we'll be listing them in the next few days! First up is this super sweet mushroom pendant.

Larkin cut this uniquely shaped red jasper cabochon from a stone found by our family in Humboldt County, California. All metalwork is done in 0.925 sterling silver. Larkin is having a small crisis of commitment after working in sterling at the workshop. They vastly prefer the color/quality of argentium, but it's not clear if the ease of working with metal at the workshop was entirely due to using sterling or the quality of the tools. Lots of experimentation ahead!

The sweet little rounded mushroom base frames a cluster of young mushrooms, and the back of the bezel setting features a trio of hand-cut and textured oak leaves.

ACME Delivery

As predicted, Larkin came home from last week's workshop with tools on their mind! The first arrived today like this (no, we didn't unwrap anything before taking a photo)-- can you guess what it is? 🤣 Apparently anvils are so big and heavy that they don't bother with a lot of pesky packaging.

Workshop Wrap-up

The last day of the Nicole Ringgold workshop was a bit eclipsed on the home front by Larkin's brother having his wisdom teeth extracted (he's doing great!) so I'm playing catch up now.

When Larkin sent me this first photo I thought it looked like the worst toothbrush ever 😅.

But it turned out to be a pretty adorable inchworm twig ornament!

Larkin also took a class photo, so to speak, of all the pieces (not all are complete) they worked on this week. That little round shape that looks a bit like a wad of aluminum foil is the beginnings of a hollow form pumpkin.

I also want to include a few pictures of the workshop space, which I'm pretty sure has become Larkin's dream studio! Not pictured are all the frogs that apparently inhabit the many plants Ringgold keeps around as models.

Larkin and Emile are now moseying their way south, stopping at every hopeful-looking rockhounding site on the way home. Bonus photo of a maple with Larkin's samaras in amongst their brethren.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the results of this week as much as I have-- I'm super excited to get my hands on this new work in person and get some glamour shots. :)

Workshop Day One

First day of the Nicole Ringgold workshop! This is what's currently on Larkin's bench:

Also, a reminder that this workshop means that Larkin will not be at tomorrow's Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, but will be there next week-- probably with some brand new treasures in tow. ;)

Mushroom Family Portrait

A sweet little mushroom family portrait!

Larkin formed the mushroom caps from copper and they can be kept polished bright or left to develop a natural patina over time.

The mushroom stems and veils/skirts (I learned these are called annuli!), and the frame are all shaped from argentium silver.

These little guys have so much personality! 🍄💕

Next Market!

Larkin's next event! If you're in the north end of the valley, Larkin doesn't get out that way too often so this is a good chance to check out the Idle Talons booth in person! The event benefits an organization that supports local kids in the foster system.

They got the name a bit wrong in the graphic, but we are enjoying imagining what kind of idol might sport talons... ;)

Nicole Ringgold Workshop

Larkin has a busy month coming up! One very exciting upcoming event is a workshop with Nicole Ringgold Jewelry Designs!

Many of you know that Larkin has been entirely self- (and YouTube 🤣) taught. When they first saw Ringgold's work a couple of years ago, they were immediately struck by her nature-inspired designs (I believe Larkin referred to them as "the big kid version of the work I'm trying to do" 😆). But hoo boy, they are not alone-- Ringgold's workshops fill up fast! Last year, Emile (Larkin's dad) was seriously on top of it and signed Larkin up for a workshop the morning openings were announced and next week the time has finally come!

Larkin is super excited for the format of the workshop-- unlike most classes where everyone works on a version of the same project, after demonstrations Ringgold encourages everyone to play with the equipment and techniques in whatever way best suits their style. Larkin is super excited to get their hands on more professional jeweler's tools and will probably come home with a loooong wish list. ;)

Emile and Larkin are making a whole trip out of it, visiting some rockhounding sites on the way, so hopefully Larkin will return with a head full of new ideas and pockets full of rocks.

I'll leave you with this image of the first (very nature-inspired) piece with which Larkin had a truly hard time parting ways. It went home with a wonderful repeat customer in the first few minutes of its market debut this month.

Octopus's Garden Plume Agate

Larkin's latest portal looks like it leads straight into the Octopus's Garden!

Larkin cut this cabochon from a plume agate stone with striking red and yellow markings and two sparkling druzy pockets. The agate agate material means the cabochon is quite translucent when back-lit.

Tube coral stretches up from the bottom left of the solid silver frame, each tip painstakingly drilled to appear hollow and accented by a column of bubbles rising to the bail. Another coral plant on the right completes the front of the frame.

... Which brings us to the back, and a new element Larkin designed that I hope to be seeing again soon! Larkin sculpted a graceful row of pneumatocysts, the buoyant bubbles that keep kelp floating at the surface of the ocean.

This piece has a very dynamic, flowing feel for something made from cold, hard silver and stone!

It's A Match!

One of Larkin's market customers brought in one of their favorite earrings that had lost its mate wondering if Larkin might be able to make a new match. The job was a bit tricky since the original wire had thinned and changed shape over time as it was worn. Here is the finished pair, with Larkin's replacement on the right!

More Hair Pins!

Larkin is adding to their hair pin designs, with visions of similar designs as tie pins, hair clips, and cloak/shawl pins coming soon!

These are both designed in the bobby pin style, with the framing wire bent and shaped into waves for greater staying power.

Solid silver hair pins can be used alone for a small amount of hair (they will hold slightly more than a bobby pin and less than most barrettes) or added as decoration to a hair tie.

Silver Ivy Hair Pin

After losing a battle with kelp (silver kelp... more on that soon!), Larkin needed to switch gears for a bit and designed this super sweet, solid silver hair pin!

Larkin hand-shaped the ivy leaves from sheet metal and attached them to a beefy 12 gauge wire. They bent and shaped the wire into waves like a bobby pin for greater staying power, and balled the end for comfort.

This pin can be used alone for a small amount of hair (it will hold slightly more than a bobby pin and less than most barrettes) or added as decoration to a hair tie.

Here, Larkin's dad gamely demonstrates that, while this hair decoration is very versatile, it is not suitable for *all* hair types. 🤣

The hair pin measures 5.0 cm long and 2.4 cm at its widest point.