Vining Rose Quartz

Everything's coming up roses around the Idle Talons workshop! Larkin cut the cab for this piece from a piece of rose quartz that the folks at the rock shop affectionately dubbed "lavender quartz" due to its blue tinge-- its purple really pops against the true red of the roses!

Larkin shaped the argentium silver roses and leaves first, and fused them into place on the silver vining rose wire. The base of the frame is copper, with the silver vines wrapped in as it was made. The whole frame was oxidized, then Larkin hand polished every single silver component to bring out the bright silver contrast.

This is a gorgeous piece, with meticulous detail. That said, Larkin is not planning to make another like it because it took so. stinking. long! Better act fast if you love it. ;)

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Knobs!

Larkin finished some knobs! The first pair are a deep green, opaque applegate jade with yellow-brown inclusions. The second pair are made from a deep grey-green serpentine. The knob base is a heavy duty brushed metal and comes with the screw necessary for installation. Instant cabinet fancification!

Evil Twin, Anyone?

Larkin is calling this the evil twin of the last moonstone wrap. 😂 That design inspired a few tweaks and Larkin happened to have another moonstone cab on hand to try them out. This is another argentium silver wrap, but this time Larkin did a light oxidation to bring out all kinds of crazy colors in the metal!

It's amazing how similar the design is, but how different the feel of the two wraps are-- I can't decide which I like more!

Clearance Items!

One 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!

Knob Blanks

What looks like a lifetime supply of knob blanks arrived yesterday! Larkin ordered some wood and some brushed metal and is taking advantage of the warm weather today to get in some stone work.

Moonstone Curls

Larkin's latest wrap, spring flowers edition! This purchased moonstone cab has a gorgeous blue-green-peach flash and is framed in argentium silver with a combo of weaving and fusing. The tail curls are hammered and gleaming. Perfect for spring!

Pictured (in order) with: grape hyacinth, rosemary, shooting stars, and houndstongue. This wrap will be making it's debut next Friday at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar!

Copper Shrooms

Larkin 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!

Whispy Jasper

Larkin cut this cheerfully asymmetric cab from a grey-blue-green-with-a-bit-of-yellow-at-that-one-edge jasper stone we found near the coast. Swirly on one side and whispy on the other, Larkin mirrored the feel of the stone with the copper wire of its wrap. Measures 6.4 cm long and 2.6 cm at its widest point.

This piece will make its debut at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar, coming up at the end of the month!

Applegate Jade Scroll

Now that Larkin has shaken out yesterday's clothes, found the missing cab, and tied it in, I'm happy to present this latest wrap! Larkin cut this cabochon from applegate jade, probably our favorite local rock! The first picture is with the rough stone from which it was cut, the second picture of the back shows the cut side of the stone.

The higher "gemstone quality" applegate jade is a very dark green with black speckles, but our family unanimously prefers these kinds of pieces with more shades of green and different materials making interesting patterns in the stone. It shares two of the most fun and defining features of applegate jade; it's translucent when backlit and will attract a magnet!

The sunlit picture with dandelions shows how the stone's patterning really pops in the sun, even as it blows out the argentium silver scrollwork.

Market Day

It is really starting to feel like Spring here in southern Oregon! Tomorrow is Larkin's next market day at Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market and it promises to be beeeyootiful! Come see Idle Talons at the Ashland Armory from 8:30-1:30. :)

Applegate Jade Marquise

Larkin created this piece for someone wanting rich, earthy colors in a copper wrap. The gorgeous marquise-cut cabochon is applegate jade, and includes the full range of materials that stone offers, from the sandy-looking rind to the deep green, translucent interior. It still blows us away that we can find rocks like this near our home!

Moonstone Whimsy

Larkin wrapped this gorgeous purchased blue-flash moonstone cab in argentium silver. This design feels so magical! It will be offered first at the Idle Talons/ Dancing Beads show next week, so be sure to tune in at 7pm (Pacific time) on Tuesday if you need a little more of this kind of fanciful whimsy in your life!

Dancing Beads Trunk Show

Fun news! Local bead shop Dancing Beads has made an amazing pandemic pivot over the last year, offering classes via zoom as well as amazing offerings through live shows on Facebook-- goods can be picked up at their local storefront or shipped. Mark your calendars, because their show on Mar. 22 will feature Idle Talons!

We anticipate that this audience will be a little different since many Dancing Beads fans make their own jewelry. Larkin is stocking up on wire charms and drilled cabs that can be incorporated into the work of others, as well as some of the finished pieces usually featured here. It will be a fun opportunity to see Idle Talons pieces in video!

So follow Dancing Beads and tune in at 7pm Mar. 22 to see Larkin and Carol talk shop and present some fun Idle Talons inventory!

Workshop Tinkering

Multi-tasking in action! We briefly moved Larkin's genie set-up into the kitchen to more easily make adjustments to improve its ergonomic design. After lots of machine height shimming, wrist-rest bumper experimentation, and creative seat height adjustment, we believe we've found a set-up that minimizes shoulder/neck/back/elbow fatigue. Now all we need is to build a workbench the right height outside. And a proper-height stool (no, the footstool + folding chair is not the final set-up). Okay, and maybe a well-insulated workshop with big windows and a heater... but one improvement at a time!

In the midst of all these adjustments, Larkin turned out some new cabs... with an obviously biased color palette. The top row is two round applegate jade cabs (the larger one! *swoon*) and a blue/green chert destined to be a leaf pendant. The chert has a distinctive band through its center that is almost purple. The bottom row is an applegate jade marquise cab, a double-sided applegate jade cab with a hole for a cord drilled sideways through the tip, and a serpentine cab that Larkin plans on making into a leaf.

Rhino Wire Doodle

Larkin had a request for silver rhinoceros statement earrings, and this copper prototype turned out pretty sweet! The metal pictured is still scorched from torch work, so the final product will be much more uniformly shiny. Any other rhino fans here? This makes me wonder if other animals would translate to wire as well...

Market Season Is Upon Us!

Larkin is SO EXCITED to be returning to in-person markets at Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market this season! As in 2019, Idle Talons will be at the Ashland Armory every first Tuesday of the month from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm starting <eep!> next week. Our family did a bit of soul searching regarding safety, but RVGCM is an outdoor market and has a dedicated social distancing officer. Our experience as shoppers last year made us pretty comfortable with the level of masking and social distancing accomplished by this amazing group of organizers and vendors.

Today has been all about populating Larkin's product board-- we're loving how the cards with printing and the logo up the professional feel! First markets are always a little chilly and slow-- if you're local stop by and say hi next Tuesday!

Underwater Wire Doodle

Today's wire doodle, inspired by the watery feel of Larkin's latest wrap! This is about the size of a quarter, constructed from copper wire and copper solder. A magical little porthole!

Underwater Chert

Fresh out of the polisher, here is Larkin's latest piece! This is another cab Larkin cut from a blue-green chert we found in Humboldt, CA. The top line of silver across the face follows a sparkling vein of quartz. The whole piece has a very flowy, watery feel-- Larkin played with making some bubbles on the back and liked the effect so much there may be some stand-alone bubble earrings in the works! Wrapped in argentium silver and polished bright.

Lavender Rose Quartz

Larkin couldn't resist buying a slab of this rose quartz! The good folks at the rock shop affectionately called it "lavender quartz" due to its uncharacteristic blue-ish hue. Larkin cut and polished the round cabochon and wrapped it in copper wire, accented with argentium silver roses and leaves.

Vining Rose Choker and Bracelet

Larkin is ready to offer these vining rose chains in both bracelet and choker lengths! The prototype was made in copper and, unfortunately, turned our hapless wear tester <ahem, I mean dear friend> green in mere hours. So these are solid argentium silver in two styles: one with bright roses and dark, oxidized vines and one with dark, oxidized roses and bright silver vines.

Larkin's Uncle Felix thought the chokers were beautiful, but might live up to their name... so we did a little safety testing, too. Luckily, the links will come apart if pulled with enough force before injuring the wearer. That said, we don't recommend the chokers for children.