The Legend Of Froon

[Today we are introducing Larkin's latest piece with a guest post from Larkin's grandpa Jim. Jim has never actually been on social media but is pretty confident that he knows what the people want. 😉]

Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a small furry froon. As you know, froons are friendly creatures and normally live together in underground communal groups, often in caves where precious jewels abound, and decorated with secret, precious treasures. Froons are very observant, and often find such treasures in hidden forest glens, caverns, and dragon nests.

But, this froon had traveled far from their homeland in search of arcane knowledge and adventure. It was now too old to travel back to its homeland. It settled in a cave hidden in a remote corner of the shire. The froon made friends with many hobbits. It was particularly enchanted with Bilbo's magnificent home, and in particular Bilbo's fine entrance.

Crafting a comparable door for his home was sadly beyond the froon, for while his imagination was unbounded, his craftsmanship was limited by age. When his friends, the roly polys, discovered the froon's longing for an artisanal entrance, they pitched in to create a charming, vine-covered edifice, both useful and inspiring. The door was created in ancient wood, surrounded by silver vines. It was soon renowned throughout the shire, and even beyond, with rapt stories of the door told by adventurers in far lands.

From the mists of time and legend, Larkin has created a facsimile of the legendary froon entrance, using petrified wood (rumored to be part of the original froon creation) and sterling silver. The diligent roly-poly craftspeople are depicted as well, proudly showing their handiwork.

Book Of Remembrance

Larkin was asked to make a remembrance piece based on their book design and was both honored and a little anxious at the prospect of working with ashes for the first time. They made a prototype with a bit of wood ash to make sure their fabrication process would keep the ashes safe and secure before making the final piece.

Larkin designed the books as hollow forms so they are light enough to be comfortable as a pendant or earrings, and for this purpose they fabricated a small silver pillow pocket to fill with ashes and include inside the book. The packet is loose inside the book and its soft rattle serves as a gentle reminder of its presence.

Tentacle-Wrapped Applegate Jade

Today's the happy day! I have been begging for tentacles since... well, pretty much since the day Larkin first picked up wire. 😅 Check out these tendrilly wendrilly undulating copper lovelies! 🐙

This is a prototype piece, and Larkin is hoping to make a series of these, each unique with different stones and tentacle patterns. This one has copper tentacles with itsy bitsy silver suckers on the largest-- it has been awhile since Larkin has worked with copper and there is a tiny crack on the largest where they didn't anneal it sufficiently before twisting it into its final form. 🐙

The deep green pool is "applegate jade," (actually bowenite) probably our family's favorite local stone. It's almost black in some light, glows when backlit, and attracts a magnet! ✨

Larkin shaped the back plate from solid sterling silver and fashioned the tentacles to look as if they are emerging from or grabbing it. 🐙

Vining Leaf Earring Update

Another sort-of-throwback-Thursday to a tried and true older design that Larkin has, quite literally this time, tweaked slightly. These vining leaf earrings are always popular at markets and it was time to re-stock!

The picture on the ear (thanks again to Larkin's younger brother and willing jewelry model!) is the older design.

The difference is subtle, but adds quite a bit of dimensionality to the finished feel of these earrings. Rather than the leaves being perfectly flat, Larkin has gently torqued the tip of each leaf, giving them a slightly cupped appearance.

Such a simple yet graceful design! 🍃

Tree Planet Hair Clip

Larkin has a new hair clip design! I love the imagery in this one-- the overall shape is that of a ringed planet, and the interior incorporates the graceful branches of a tree. The moon and the star inclusions enhance both the celestial and terrestrial aspects of Larkin's design.

If you've been following Idle Talons for awhile, you know I can't help waxing poetic about Larkin's hair clips occasionally. 😅 I lost a treasured hair clip when Larkin was little, and tried countless others trying to replace it. They were ALL uncomfortably bulky against my head and the metal wasn't hard enough so they unbent over time and I continually needed to re-place them in my hair.

Both clip pieces in Larkin's hair clips are slightly bent so the clasp lays flat against the head and is comfortable even when leaning back against a head-rest. They are designed to be placed with the concave faces together, then the stick is twisted 180 degrees to tighten the clasp and fasten the decoration securely in the hair. Larkin hammers and work-hardens the frame so the fit will remain snug over time. They roll the pin through a mill to achieve the same result.

Even folks with the kind of straight, silky hair that usually defies this kind of hair clip have reported successful staying power with Larkin's designs!

Double Sided Agate Moon Locket

This out-of-this-world piece is Larkin's second locket and first ever truly double-sided stone piece! Larkin has always loved making the backs of pieces beautiful, but the nature of cabochons means one side is naturally the front (domed) and one side is the back (flat). With a locket, the back of the cab is... well, the inside!

🌕 One side of this locket features a round polished banded agate cabochon, while the other is a silver cratered lunar dome.

Larkin cut the banded agate cab from a stone found by our family near our home in southern Oregon and it includes creamy layers of agate and some crystalline structure. A bit of staining on its face gives the moonscape unique coloration.

As always, Larkin's silver work is entirely hand-fabricated, from the cratered moon face to the hinge and clasp.

Larkin cut stylized stars ✨ on the back of the cabochon so the agate shines through when the locket is open. The locket’s inside space is fairly capacious— it could easily fit a small lock of hair, packet of treasure, photograph, or remembrance memento.

This locket is sure to be loved (dare I say it…😅) to the moon and back! 🌝

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!

Wedding Whimsy

I don't think Larkin has *ever* been this busy filling orders and stocking up for markets! Wowza, what a wonderful whirlwind!

This l'il geode slice came to Larkin from someone who wanted it wrapped to wear in their wedding! They originally were looking for one of Larkin's more elaborate wrapped/fabricated pendants, but Larkin thought the raw edges and druzy sparkle of the stone was better suited to an open, vining frame.

It's fully reversible, but Larkin has a strong preference for which side is *right*! 😅 Can you tell which side they think is the front?

Roly Poly Rings!

They're here! As soon as they laid the first batch of roly polies out on their hand, Larkin knew they had to make rings!

Not gonna lie, I kinda want one to creep across every finger. 😅

Each isopod is entirely hand-fabricated from sterling sheet metal. They are mounted on a hand-made hammered sterling band that Larkin custom makes to order in just the right size. They are sized to sit on top of your finger without adding bulk between fingers. I've slept in one for two nights now and can attest to their comfort! :)

Thanks to Larkin's younger brother, Finn, for always being ready to model jewelry. Aren't his hands purty? 😄❤

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!

On Strawberries And Pilfered Foliage

Larkin took our cargo bike in to its servicing appointment this morning, and went armed with a sack of metalworking tools as entertainment while they waited. 🚵‍♂️

I received thisphoto with a text: This is my happy place! Yes, my dear wee jewelry goblin, a bucket of strawberries and pilfered foliage. That looks about right. 🤣

Larkin was able to complete this ivy leaf before the bike was ready to go home, but is not sure what to do with it. What do you think-- a hair accessory? Clothing pin?

I would very much like to have seen the looks of passersby while Larkin sat in the park and pounded on metal. 🔨😅

Oak Leaf Hair Or Clothing Pins

The oak leaves are officially unfurling here in our neck of the woods! Larkin models these silver hair/clothing pins after individual leaves from the forest surrounding our southern Oregon home. Each leaf is hand shaped and textured from sheet metal and wire. The wire base is bent and shaped into waves like a bobby pin for greater staying power. Each leaf is unique, just like their wild counterparts!

These solid 0.925 sterling silver hair decorations can be used in a variety of ways to dress up a style! A 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. We also like wearing them as decoration in a knit cap, scarf, sweater, or shawl.

I was feeling rather guilty for breaking off a growing tip from an oak branch while trying to get a photo... then Larkin reminded me that between gusts of wind, browsing deer, and rampaging squirrels, I was probably the least of these trees' worries.

Silver Ladle Charm

Larkin is not usually inspired by things made by humans, but the other day they got a wild hair and made this tiny, fully functional ladle charm!

This wee ladle is the perfect adornment for a kitchen witch, or anyone with a penchant for making soup for fairies (not to be confused with fairy soup 😅👀)!

🧚‍♂️🍵 Larkin included tiny details like rivets at the base of the handle and a decorative handle loop to complete the piece. Right now this is a solo charm and Larkin is thinking about making sets for earrings... what should they be paired with? I wanted a stubby little footed cauldron, but they say it would be too big made to the same scale (which is apparently very important). Other kitchen utensils? A whisk? Spatula? Broom? 🧙‍♀️

Vining Rose Components

Larkin has been working on re-stocking components for these vining rose chokers/bracelets. They're a fun one at market because Larkin brings along the tools to shorten or lengthen them to whatever length is desired right there on the spot!

And if you're a fan of find-the-hidden-object type games, you'd enjoy the process of separating out all those individual components from the polishing shot. 😅

More Roly-Polies, Please!

Roly-poly? Pill bug? Sowbug? What did you grow up calling these cute creepy crawly critters? All of us here at the Idle Talons home studio think this silver version is abso-freaking-lutely delightful!

I turned over a ton of logs and rolled quite a few rocks trying to find some of their native brethren for them to pose with, but apparently it's still a little early in the spring here for roly-poly collecting.

Larkin hand-fabricates each isopod entirely from sterling silver sheet metal and wire— and while no two are perfectly identical, each is uniquely perfect!

Larkin designed these critters to come in three modes: flat, half-curled, and balled. Earrings can be mix and matched for however you’d like to pair them-- I'm partial to the half-curled ones that look like they're hugging your ear lobe!

Necklaces feature a flat roly-poly because Larkin couldn't figure out a satisfying way to hang the other modes.

Ceramics... A Jeweler's Best Friend!

Usually being self-taught has served Larkin extremely well-- their work doesn't look like that of many other artists and they aren't plagued by pesky but-that-isn't-how-it's-SUPPOSED-to-be-done thoughts when they get the urge to try something new and potentially crazy. 😆

The one exception to this rule that comes to mind is TOOLS. Talking to other metalworkers sometimes helps Larkin discover tools that make their life much easier!

The most recent example of this is ceramic polishing shot. Larkin has been using stainless steel shot to give items their final shine all along, and that has been super helpful-- throw metal in the rock tumbler for an hour or two and come back to perfectly polished gleaming beauties! ✨ But they were doing all the harder work (sanding off burrs and rounding edges after cutting, polishing off oxidation on high spots to add dimensionality, etc.) by hand.

Lady J Arts to the rescue! Larkin was chatting with Jessica at a market, and she shared that ceramic shot will make short work of some of those tedious tasks Larkin had been doing by hand! With a couple of different grits, Larkin has been creating some designs that would have been prohibitively time-consuming before-- and their fingernails are looking a little less... demolished. 😅

Hooray for trade... what's the opposite of secrets? Generously shared bits of experience! ✨🎉

Silver Water Droplet Sculpture

Have you ever watched a small stream of water hit a puddle? It forms a sort of cup-shaped splash in the center of concentric waves. Larkin fabricated this little sculpture to capture that moment in sterling silver!

To make the slow-motion-liquid-flowy-goodness of the water drip and cup-shaped splash, Larkin melted silver in a crucible and carefully poured it into a bucket of water. It took *a lot* of pours (each one setting off all of our fire alarms 😅) before they succeeded in getting the shapes they were hoping for.

They finished off the piece by mounting it on hand fabricated concentric circles of silver, just like the ripples in a pond.

This photo of actual water by Nadezhda Vasilieva shows the effect Larkin was going for. 💧💦

Sprouting Plume Agate

Larkin cut these two cabochons from the same slab of plume agate. The “inside” edges are the raw outside surface of the original stone.

Larkin positioned a three dimensional silver leafing vine creeping between the two stones, mirroring the vining feel with the swooping wires on the frame.

Squiggly root tendrils hold the stones securely in place on the back of the piece. That sweetly spiraling little vine between the two pieces of stone feels like a testament to nature’s triumph against overwhelming odds! 🌱🍃

There are some air pocks along the plume lines, accentuating the organic feel of the stone. The stone is partially translucent and will pick up a glow of color from what it it worn against. For example (third photo), if you put it on your orange cat it will pick up a distinctive orange tinge. 🤣😻

A lot of technical skill went into this piece! Setting two cabochons securely without touching is a trick-- and they DO NOT BUDGE. I tried. 😅 There are also a bajillion (at least) connection points where wire is soldered to the wrapped frame, and each of those points is an opportunity for disaster to strike, requiring a do-over from the very beginning.

This piece is honking big (follow along for more technical jargon 😅)-- much larger than most of Larkin's work!

Kinetic Silver Drop Spindle

Larkin has been crafting ever since they had the dexterity to pinch two fingers together! It is somehow fitting that they created this silver homage to another beloved craft. 🥰

This is a sweet little kinetic sculpture that all spinners will recognize! Modeled from a drop spindle, Larkin created the pendant to hang naturally at full extension and collapse when gently pressed against a hard surface to produce a two-ply “yarn”! 🧶🐑

Spindle comes on a cord and can be worn as a necklace or hung as a decoration!

Silver Splats

The first of these silver splats was a happy accident when Larkin got some metal too hot and it dripped onto their soldering block. The rest happened quite rapidly when Larkin got excitedly splat-happy and started spilling molten metal for funsies.

When Larkin first showed them to me, I saw lichen, but I think they could make amazing sea foam/spray and who knows what else, too! I'm guessing we'll see a design incorporating silver splats in the not-too-distant future... 🌊🍻🦠🗯