New Tree Of Life

This is the finished piece Houdini the cat was helping with the other day! The background cab of this piece is cut from a stone we found while we were still learning what applegate jade looks like in the wild. We suspect this stone is a mixture of applegate jade, serpentine, and magnetite-- the raw stone is pictured here.

The mini moon cab is cut from local quartz and tangled in the branches of a tree of life. The frame and tree have been oxidized and polished.

This piece is currently exclusively available at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar, and will be on the Idle Talons website Monday if it survives. ;)

Hair Sticks!

These are each one of a kind and will be available starting tomorrow morning at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar!

No Crossing Your Fingers, Either

Houdini 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.

Market Season!

<Phew> Larkin is busy re-stocking for tomorrow's first Tuesday with the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market at the Ashland Armory from 8:30-1:30. Stop by the Idle Talons booth if you're in town! AND the next Royaboya Handmade Bazaar starts this Friday! Larkin is working hard on new wraps and hair sticks perfect for keeping cool this summer. It's an amazing line-up of vendors with everything from handmade eco-friendly laundry products to skin care, clothing, and fine art. Best of all, you know you're supporting small mom- and youth-owned businesses. This is a virtual market on Facebook, so join the group to get in on the fun, prizes, and amazing handmade products.

Scarf Wraps

A neighbor found these stones on their property and polished them in a rock tumbler. They wanted a simple wrap suited to their natural 3D pebble shapes so Larkin wove them into what we've been affectionately calling a "scarf" wrap. These are a beautiful, quicker way to tie in stones that haven't been cabbed!

Inspiration Strikes

Sometimes inspiration comes from some pretty odd places! The lid on a storage box in the Idle Talons bedroom/workshop has a pretty little scroll on its edge and Larkin translated it into wire.

We are thinking it would make a pretty gorgeous circlet/headband! I've been (somewhat selfishly) trying to talk Larkin into expanding into hair decorations, and look! A hair stick with those same delightful curls!

Scorched copper is so pretty, but isn't practical for most jewelry since it turns people green. Another point in favor of copper hair decorations! ;) Larkin is hoping to debut a collection of these lovelies next month in the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar-- we hope to virtually see you there!

It’s Elemental, My Dear Wire Bender

It's a little ironic that, in the middle of this extreme heat wave, Larkin discovered it was time re-stock Avatar: The Last Airbender fire pendants! These have been super popular over the years and we can't recommend the show enough-- it's one of the few shows every single person in our family loves. These elemental symbols sure translate beautifully into wire!

Pride Event

Larkin 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!

Vining Leaf Earrings

Remember the back of that applegate jade pendant that featured a sweet little leafing vine? Larkin translated that design into earrings! These are made up in copper, bright silver, and oxidized silver. Thanks to cousin Theresa for the design inspiration!

Amazonite Lagoon

Larkin cut this teardrop cabochon to get a feel for working with amazonite before making the drawer pulls. This stone looks so much like clear Caribbean waters!

Wrapped in argentium silver and accented with smooth mother of pearl and faceted amazonite beads, this piece is sure to conjure memories of the halcyon days of summer even on the darkest winter night!

Amazonite Drawer Pulls

Larkin had a special request for amazonite drawer pulls and they turned out beautifully! Amazonite is a difficult stone to work with and Larkin's poor perfectionist soul struggled a bit with the small chips at the edges. These will be winging their way to their new home tomorrow!

Desert Landscape

Larkin's latest commission was a wrap around this gorgeous 3-piece cab made by the customer's grandfather. The cab is backed by some green-ish opaque stone, and the front features a picture jasper landscape topped by a blue agate sky.

The piece had been worn as a bolo tie for many years, and Larkin transformed it into a pendant. Larkin wanted to frame the piece without obscuring the cab, and used thicker than usual wire because it's a much larger piece than most Idle Talons work. A gorgeous portal into a desert land!

Applegate Jade Triangle

This is one of Larkin's double-sided applegate jade cabochons, domed and polished on both sides with a hole drilled sideways through the tip leaving both faces unbroken. Larkin squared the copper framing wire in the metal roller then twisted it in various directions to fashion a simple frame that really glints in the light!

The frame and stone are not actually attached, so they each dangle and sway independently. Tiny soldered loops hold the frame on the cord and the whole piece is reversible. This piece was a bit too small to hide the flashlight, but it's still fun to see how it glows when backlit! The last picture features the stone from which the cab was cut.

Vining Applegate Jade

This piece makes me wonder if I finally need to claim my own piece of Larkin's work! If you like petite pieces with intricate detail this just might be the one for you. Larkin cut the cab from applegate jade found by our family, then shaped, wrapped, squooshed, and fused silver wire to form the frame.

The second picture shows how it glows when backlit (!!), and the third shows the sweet little vine Larkin put on the back (as well as the stone the cab was cut from in the background)-- another piece that makes it hard to decide which is the "right" side! Bonus: this translucent green stone also attracts a magnet!

This piece was made for a neighbor who found the stone on their property after it burned last summer in the Almeda Fire. They have invited Larkin back to do some very close to home rockhounding as they have found a ton of jasper, agate, quartz, and even some stones that look a lot like applegate jade (but what the heck is it doing there?!)! Witnessing our neighbors' journey while the whole community recovers from wildfire has been truly humbling.

This was a small Quartz With Cool Green And Orange Coloring (I'm sure that's the technical term) stone to begin with, so Larkin embraced its asymmetry in both the cab and the wrap style. Larkin sees a forest releasing clouds of springtime pollen. :)

Market Day!

Larkin is all stocked up and ready for the first Tuesday Market in Ashland with the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market tomorrow! The Idle Talons board is full of old favorites and some fun new things that you won't see anywhere else. Plus there's new collections of leaves and double-sided cabs-- come say hi if you're local!

Gemstone Whorls

Larkin has been stocking up on these magical gemstone whorls! Argentium silver or copper wire is shaped, hammered, wrapped, and paired with lapis lazuli, amethyst, turquoise or garnet beads. Hand-shaped ear wires top them off. 💕

Serpentine Waves

Larkin cut this asymmetric teardrop cab from gorgeous grey-green serpentine found by our family near our home in southern Oregon. The stone’s impression of fluid movement is mirrored by the waves and bubbles of the oxidized copper wrap.

Applegate Jade Planet

A new planet! Larkin cut this cab from applegate jade found by our family and included that really interesting transition zone between the crust and the deep translucent green at the center of the stone. The argentium silver rings follow healed fracture lines. It's celestially orb-tacular!

Oxidized Vining Roses

Remember those oxidized silver roses? Larkin has put them on bright silver vines! I struggled to capture their multitudinous range of colors in photos, so trust me when I say they're even more brilliant in person. If your neck is 14.25 inches or smaller, or if that length wraps twice around your wrist, this beauty could be yours! Of course, Larkin can also add or subtract links as needed to adjust the length.