<phew> This feels like it was a long time coming! Larkin traded jewelry for logo design with a fellow teen artist and we couldn't be happier with the dragon logo!
Dragon logo by Zoi Hunter: Zoi the Creative on Facebook, https://www.artbyzoi.com/, and instagram.com/artbyzoi.
Next up: business cards! Market booth banner! Logo on invoices! Allthethings!
Larkin is still super busy over at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar-- there's still time to join us over there! This sweet little owl is a new addition-- it popped out unexpectedly when Larkin was stocking up on honeysuckle earrings!
Here's a close-up of the piece Larkin finished during a live video series in the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar yesterday! The morado opal is such a gorgeous stone-- Larkin thinks there's enough left for one (maaaaybe 2) more cabs. This piece was a commission and will be making its way to its permanent home soon!
We're pulling out all the stops to convince you to join us at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar! These earrings y'all enjoyed so much will be available exclusively over there until the end of the bazaar in about a week, now in either copper or silver. Idle Talons is a featured vendor on Monday and Larkin will be going live!
Today's the day! Albums are now open over at the Facebook Royaboya Handmade Bazaar! These clearance pieces are all on sale for the first time on-line-- you may recognize some of them. ;) Many of these are practice pieces, prototypes, or pieces that just took too much time to make the regular Idle Talons line-up. It would be a huge help to Larkin if you would check out the Idle Talons album in the group and comment on your favorite pieces-- that bumps them up in the group feed! :)
This brilliant blue aventurine cabochon was calling out for an ocean-themed wrap! These flashing silver scales will make their debut on Friday at the Royaboya Handmade Bazaar! Roya has outdone herself with this holiday extravaganza-- live music, lots of prizes, 30 vendors (!), and definitely something for everyone on your holiday shopping list. If you haven't already, join the Facebook group and get ready for a fun shopping experience from the safety and comfort of home-- but remember the albums aren't open for purchases until Friday!
These earrings are Larkin's most entertaining commission to date! I would pay good money to have a recording of Larkin's younger brother's double-take when he first spotted them "wait... are those...?!" And all the design conversations we usually have about commissions took on a whole new level of culturally-induced hilarity: "so... is it fun if the nipples move-- even if it's possible for them to end up over one shoulder-- or should I solder them in place?" After consulting with the customer, nipple mobility was the clear winner. I was preemptively banned from ever owning a pair due to the likelihood I would present myself ear-first to people I don't know very well and ask them if they want to play with my nipples. In all seriousness, they're a beautiful celebration of the female form. [inside voice: BOOBIES!]
This cab is Larkin's second doublet! The face is cut from a piece of translucent moss agate, and the backing material is applegate jade. The white spot just above the rings on the face is a common opal inclusion. The complex landscape in the stone was begging for a wrap that is literally out of this world! ;)
We went through a very strict two week quarantine so we could visit Larkin's grandparents safely, and I may have gotten a little carried away with a fresh forest of photo backgrounds... 😅
Larkin has been stocking up on these whimsical, viney earrings. We named this design Audrey II because it reminds us of seedlings from the plant from Little Shop of Horrors! These are the combos of metals and colors Larkin has made up and are ready to go. Drop beads are all sparkling glass.
A - silver/bright blue
B - silver/rose-violet
C - silver/deep red
D - copper/bright blue
E - copper/rose-violet
F - copper/smooth black
Idle Talons will be participating in Royaboya's fun on-line bazaar again-- this time a week-long holiday extravaganza! Larkin will be debuting some new items there, and is hoping to do a series of live maker videos that may end up with a new wrap coming together before your eyes.
You can join the Facebook group any time (https://www.facebook.com/groups/royaboyahandmadebazaar), but albums won't be open for purchases until the beginning of the bazaar. This is a wonderful way to support small businesses this holiday season!
A trained eye can determine the approximate age of a jeweler goblin simply by careful observation of their working posture in their natural habitat. 🤣
Larkin is set up by the fire, making hand-shaped earring hooks that are a lovely finishing touch on handmade earrings.
These leaves seem especially timely as the forest around us has started (finally!) looking like autumn! These are probably the last batch of leaves Larkin will have done in time for the winter holidays-- fair warning if you happen to be looking for gorgeous hand-made gifts. ;)
A - red jasper
B - applegate jade
C - grossular garnet
D - red jasper
E - applegate jade
F - mahogany obsidian
G - chert
H - dark green jasper
I - applegate jade (with rind)
K - moss agate
L - red jasper
M - applegate jade
N - red jasper
Random reminder: applegate jade often appears quite dark, but is a deep green stone, remarkably translucent when back-lit!
Larkin was working on some copper-veined leaves, and this little (fawn? dog? donkey?) popped out! The ears are the shape Larkin makes to tie off the veins on the backs of the leaves.
Larkin is stocking up for a week-long on-line bazaar extravaganza coming up at the end of the month-- more details on some exclusive Idle Talons deals for that event soon!
New wire play, including handmade ear hooks which Larkin has had in mind for a while. We need a name for this new design-- what do you think? Are they peacock-y? Breezy?
Fresh off Larkin's workbench! The first picture is taken with the red jasper stone from which Larkin cut the cab. Gorgeous colors, and I'm really digging the asymmetric design. I can't help thinking this piece evokes a lot of feelings of motion and flow for something made from hard stone and wire!
Can you tell Larkin’s jack-o’-lantern was carved by a wire wrapper?
Hi everyone, this is Larkin. I wanted to post here myself because this is something that matters a lot to me, and if you’re in the US it should to you as well.
This is obviously not a political page, but I don’t want to stay silent when the decisions being made will affect my life for years-- if not decades-- to come. At 15, I am not eligible to vote-- if you are, mask up and use your powers for good.
Over the last four years I’ve watched as my world has literally burned around me and listened to the people in power deny it. I’ve sat here as my rights and those of my friends, family, and loved ones have been taken away. I’ve watched as people of color have been murdered by the people who are supposed to protect them. I’ve seen refugee kids being taken from their parents and locked up in cages, and so so many more atrocities I don’t have the time or the heart to list here.
So please, I’m begging you: Vote. Vote for the vulnerable people who can not. Vote because science is real. Vote because love is love. Vote because people don’t deserve to die because they can’t afford a life saving medication. Vote because the murder of people of color is wrong. Vote because women have a right to decide what happens to their bodies, because climate change is real, and because kids don’t deserve to be kept in cages. And if you feel that none of that will affect your life, think about the people you know who it will.
I’m not allowed a voice, please don’t waste yours.
If you haven’t followed Idle Talons over on Facebook, now is a great time to start! Larkin caught the pumpkin-spice-and-everything-nice autumn bug and designed these sweet little (almost exactly quarter-sized) charms! These perfectly plump pumpkins feature textured stems with curly vines and will come on an 18" cord for $18 shipped to the U.S. They can also be made into earrings for $33 shipped. Join us on Facebook to get your pumpkin on! It's finally starting to feel like fall, y'all!
Larkin cut this round cabochon from a brilliant Mexican morado (purple) opal stone, wrapped it in copper, and accented it with handcrafted argentium silver roses and sterling beads (the beads picked up a coppery hue in the polishing process).
Another photography challenge-- the stone is super reflective and a brilliant purple similar to amethyst, not as blue as the full sun photo makes it look. I also included a picture of the back with a penny for size reference-- sometimes I forget after taking/editing photos just how diminutive many of Larkin's pieces are! Images on a phone screen are often far closer to actual size than the giant images on a computer screen. So much detail in this little gem!
Larkin designed these copper foxes* as an addition to a wire-wrapped pendant, but they are so charming we couldn’t resist offering them on their own! Each fox is hand-formed from copper wire and lead-free copper solder, pickled in an acidic solution to rid them of torch scorch (self-directed jewelry learning often results in less-than-official terminology), polished of any remaining residue, dipped in liver of sulphur to oxidize, then polished one last time. They have a ton of personality and eminently boopable snouts!
*Some viewers may see these as coyote pups. Idle Talons hereby acknowledges your right to interpret art however you wish, but insists that in this case you are wrong. 😉🤣🦊
