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Amber is the fossilized tree resin of now-extinct trees which grew millions of years ago. It is a material which has been highly valued by cultures around the world, and it has been used for tens of thousands of years in jewelry and craft objects. Amber is one of our favorite materials to carve, and we produce several styles of amber plugs and ear weights using this gorgeous ancient material.
Labradorite is a low key gray stone with a big surprise. When cut correctly for proper angle, high quality material displays a bright flash of color(s). Colors from the blue and yellow-orange portions of the visible light spectrum jump forth from the darker base stone. Only a small percentage of all of the labradorite mined is of high enough quality for our body jewelry.
Inspired by my love for ethnobotany, the study of the human relationship with plants, the Somnia ear weights are a tribute to the history of Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. This controversial plant has seen ancient ritual and medicinal use, been used as the economic basis for war and the addiction and enslavement of an entire country, and most recently has provided medical science with the single known natural source for lifesaving opiate medications. Follow the story of this beautiful flower from ancient use to the inspiration for our new Somnia ear weights.
Three pairs of bronze ear weights with select cuts of "Red Creek Jasper" reminiscent of the surface of Jupiter's moon "Europa." I've been working on this weight design concept for well over a year now, and I'm thrilled to finally make them available in their full size glory (I previously released several half-sized test pieces). Europa represents the first limited quantity run in a continuing release schedule of unique stones set in these beautiful bronze ear weights.
A local customer happily wore a pair of jade "Maya Flower" plugs we carved him until he began stretching again. Upon reaching a new goal size, we cut apart his old jade flower plugs and reused the faces to create a new pair with prong set faceted moonstone inlays.
For some time now I have been interested in Prehispanic culture and jewelry, and so called "primitive" lapidary. After completing the first of what has become many personal interpretations and historical reproductions of Mayan stone plugs from traditional jadeite, I was interested in tackling the idea of ear flares that involved multiple pieces.
Our customer Sergio has sent us some very nice photographs of his one of a kind multi-piece Mesoamerican inspired jade ear flare reproductions, produced by head Onetribe artisan Jared Karnes. After over 250 hours of work, we are so excited to finally see these pieces being worn. A huge amount of the research and time spent on them was dedicated to not just making a pair of pretty reproductions, but making a set of jewelry that could actually be worn comfortably. His feedback suggests that goal was achieved!
It's important to know that the wearing length of jewelry is measured differently depending on the style of jewelry, and that it is not the same as "overall length," which varies wildly by style and only contributes to good fit in certain circumstances. If you are custom ordering a piece of jewerly and you specify an overall length instead of a wearing length, your jewelry will not fit properly. Knowing your ideal wearing length, which can change as you stretch your piercings, ensures you're able to order jewelry that will fit well every time.
The demand for jewelry to adorn stretched piercings has never been higher. With that demand comes a marketplace hungry for new work and innovation, both aesthetically and technically. I believe the largest hinderance to that progress is the immense number of sizes at which people expect to be able to obtain similar styles.
