Clockwise, left to right, Tanzanite beads, blue Zircon faceted stones, Kingman Turquoise, Sonoran Turquoise beads and Royston Turquoise
December babies are some of the lucky ones who have three birthstones to represent their earth-side arrivals.
The first stone that comes to mind is Zircon. This lovely stone is often confused with manmade cubic zirconia due to its name, and it can exhibit fire similar to that of a diamond. It is the oldest mineral on earth and can be found in jewelry in a range colors from brilliant blues to warm, smoky browns, fiery reds and even deep greens. It is mainly mined in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Next is Tanzanite. Mined and named for Tanzania, Africa, this stone was discovered quite a bit later than most, in the late 1960s. Top quality Tanzanite is trichroic, displaying flashes of red in a deep violet-to-blue body. Lesser quality Tanzanite is a lovely choice as well, and can be found in shades of purple and purply-blues.
The third birthstone of December is Turquoise. This one is my personal favorite and can be found all over the world, with some of the highest quality rough (uncut chunks of stone from the mine) coming from right here in the southwest United States. Turquoise comes in its signature color (turquoise, ha!), but also light and deep greens, brownish greens and combinations and variations of them all. It can even be found with lavender tones. You can choose solid colors like the well-known Sleeping Beauty material or stones with matrix like Royston or Sonoran Gold. There seems to be some thing for everyone and you're sure to find a variety you like!
Well, December baby, which is your favorite?
]]>Maybe you've been considering ordering a paw print necklace, but you don't know where to begin. I am here to help!
It may be obvious that it all starts with a clear print, but how do you do this when you have a wiggly dog or a kitty who would rather you didn't touch her paws at all? We don't want any traumatized pets or pet parents, so read on for some tips!
Below are the best and easiest ways to capture a paw print that will get the result you want for a necklace. These apply to any type of pet, from dogs and cats to birds, rats or horses! Once you have one of these paw prints, you just snap a photo and email it to me and I will take it from there.
Inkless or Ink Stamped Print Inkless or ink prints will usually yield the best result. They enable me to get the clearest artwork because shadows don't usually become an issue and the paw prints don't get distorted.
Inkless kits can sometimes be found at craft or scrapbooking stores or websites. They are typically used for fingerprints, but are safe for and work great for pet prints.
Ink pads are also available at craft or scrapbooking stores and come in non-toxic varieties (they will say "non-toxic" on them, so be sure to look for that!). Be prepared with wet paper towels or cloth to wipe any excess off the paw after the stamping.
If possible, press the paw into the ink pad and then directly onto a piece of card stock or plain paper. It may be an option to press the paw onto the stamp pad and then have the pet walk on a piece of poster board or large piece of paper to minimize handling of the paws.
As long as the print is easy to see on the paper, it doesn't matter what colors the ink or paper are. It will end up being made into black and white artwork as I work through my process.
If you have lost your pet, sometimes veterinarians will provide an ink print for you as a keepsake at your last appointment. These typically work very well for pendants and are what I work with most often.
Finger Paint Print Children's finger paints are another great tool for capturing paw prints. Make sure not to use too much paint in order to avoid globs, and stamp a few to get the best results. That way, you will have options and can pick the best one!
Rain or Dew Print (Dino helped me with this example.) A great and non-confrontational way to get a paw print is to use rain or dew to your advantage. This could be a great option for a dog who doesn't like his paws handled. Just walk him through dewy or damp grass or through a puddle and then onto dry pavement—concrete or blacktop will work. Then just snap photos of the prints. Your dog will be none the wiser!
Snow Print The same idea as the rain or dew print, but using very a very light snow accumulation.
Paw Pad Photo Sometimes you can catch your dog or cat sleeping in such a way that you might be able to get the perfect photo of the pad side of her paw. This is another acceptable option and is nice because it can be another "hands-off" way to accomplish what you need. Or, sometimes she will let you hold her paw and you can snap the photo!
This option will make a pendant with a look similar to a drawn paw print, because I will trace around the pads and basically draw the print.
Note: It's important for this one that you get as straight on as possible as opposed to being at an angle, so that the photo doesn't distort the shape of the paw pads.
Clay Impression Print I have had people contact me after losing their dog and this is the only paw print they have available. Not to worry—I can work with a clay impression also!
This will yield a similar style as a paw pad photo in that the print will look more like a drawn paw print.
Note: It is really important to get as straight-on and with as few shadows as possible when taking a photo of the impression to minimize distortion. This allows me to see the print outline clearly and will get you the best result for your necklace. Sometimes taking a photo outside in the shade will yield the best results.
So there you have a few ideas! Can you think of more? If so, or if you need help troubleshooting, please send me a message! I am here to help.
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As I sit near my studio window on a bright, sunny and lovely spring day, I can't help think, "Wow! What a perfect day for Earth Day!" It's warmer than recent days (topping out at 68ºF). The birds are chirping, squirrels are doing their squirrel things. My hostas are flourishing already and lots of other plants are coming out for a stretch after what seemed like a forever-long winter. Other than that, it's pretty quiet outside.
This year is a bit different than Earth Days of the past. People in Ohio are still under stay-at-home orders (or, as our governor likes to call it, SAFE-at-home) due to COVID-19. We don't currently have the freedom to dine out at restaurants or wander aimlessly through Target spending our minimum $100 (we all know who we are here and I am not judging!). We really have to think when we leave the house right now; grab a mask, hand sanitizer and combine trips!
Happy Earth Day, today and every day!
Maybe that's not all bad though. Combining trips is certainly benefiting everyone even if they don't realize it. People are cooking more and eating more meals at home, which I can only imagine means not wasting as much food (I know we have been eating more leftovers in our house!). I have seen lots of friends on Facebook with a new found interest in growing their own vegetables.
Then there is the big break the planet has gotten with more of us not out driving around daily. Pollution has decreased. There is less noise pollution with fewer vehicles out there. Wildlife is enjoying not having us around in their space so much. That must bring a sigh of relief and be so relaxing for them!
Part 1 of this series talked about the ins and outs of responsible stone sourcing. Part 2 was about building the jewelry with responsibly sourced and reclaimed metals. The last step is one I enjoy also: packaging and shipping.
Why do I enjoy that part? When I was a young girl, I used to go with my mom to a department store near us called McAlpin's whenever she needed to buy a shower or wedding gift. It was where brides used to register, back before the days of Target! My favorite part was always after the shopping, when we would take the gift to the gift wrap department. They had these giant rolls of glossy colored paper on the walls, and wrapped gift boxes displaying each paper color and ribbon color, so you could choose by number. My mom would often let me pick colors and then the lady behind the counter would work her magic, tearing that great big sheet of paper and making tight creases at the corners, using that super-clear tape and, lastly, adding that big beautiful bow!
McAlpin's isn't around anymore and I don't use glossy paper. These days, I make conscious choices about my packaging to minimize my impact on the earth.
Boxes: Each piece of jewelry you purchase from River and Birch comes packed ready to give in a jewelry box tied with a ribbon. The boxes I've selected are dark gray and are made from recycled materials and my hope is that if the recipient doesn't store the piece in the box that it will at least be reused or recycled.
These days, I make conscious choices about my packaging to minimize my impact on the earth.
Each box contains cotton fill for cushion and it also inhibits tarnish. Each necklace, pair of earrings or bracelet is put on a card made from recycled paper, wrapped in tissue paper that is imparted with an anti-tarnish agent (great for storage or can be recycled) and comes with a tiny care card. The one part I am still trying to replace is the tiny zip-top bag that I put the loose part of necklace chains inside. I don't like to use the plastic, but I would hope the bags would be reused for safe and tarnish-free storage. This is something I have been seeking a replacement for in a paper option, but have not found the right thing yet! (Hopefully I can provide an update to that here soon!) Edit 12/6/19: I am happy to add that I have found biodegradable zip-top bags that now hold all of the chains for the necklaces I make and ship!
Mailing: I ship the majority of my orders in Eco-enclose rigid padded mailers. They are made from recycled Kraft paper and provide cushion without any plastic. I will always use the smallest mailer I can while ensuring that the contents will arrive safely. For expedited shipping I use USPS Priority Mail small flat rate boxes, which are recyclable cardboard and for larger orders I use small recyclable cardboard boxes. I add extra cushion to all of my packages using shredded Kraft paper, which are also recycled materials.
The smaller I can keep the packages, the less material has to be disposed of or needs to be recycled. I like that I can control the amount of materials going out in the mail and ultimately to the trash (or hopefully to the recycling bin!), and am constantly on the lookout for more ways to trim down materials. It also helps to keep my shipping costs down.
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Silver scrap, left to right: sterling silver, fine silver error pieces,
fine silver from fired leftover clay
In Part 1 of this series I talked about the ins and outs of responsible stone sourcing. Now comes the next fun part: pairing stones with precious metals to make the jewelry!
Typically the materials I start out with for, say, a pendant or ring are sterling silver sheet (.925), fine silver bezel wire (.999) and lots of times some sterling silver wire. These days it's pretty easy to find suppliers who carry these materials that are made up of recycled scrap. There are a few big players in the jewelry making world known to be reliable sources, and those are the ones I choose every time.
When making a piece, I figure out the design I want to execute and then shape the bezel wire around my selected stone, snip the ends, file them and solder them closed into a ring to fit around the stone. Then I begin positioning the bezel on the silver sheet to determine how much sheet to cut to make the backplate (exactly what it sounds like—the back of the piece). More times than not, the backplate is roughly sized so that embellishments can be added around the stone, or, the shape of the stone is most likely round or oval, and so square corners will need to be sawn or filed off to give me the shape I want.
The little trimmings of corners or mistakes in sizing are not lost, as they can be used to make the embellishments for the pieces later in the design process. Nothing is wasted!
Clean scrap: All of those steps mentioned above create scrap! Silver scrap is valuable, both in that it can be collected and sent off to the aforementioned suppliers to be refined and recycled into new silver sheet or wire, etc., and in that the little trimmings of corners or mistakes in sizing are not lost, as they can be used to make the embellishments for the pieces later in the design process. Nothing is wasted!
This garnet ring features examples of embellishments made from clean scrap silver.
Dirty scrap: Sounds scandalous, but it's not! Every speck of dust from my bench pan is collected and saved up also. This would be considered "dirty scrap" as it can also contain shed grit from sanding papers or silicone wheels. When I wipe down and clean any surface in the studio, even the paper towels are kept and sent off for refining, because they have picked up that silver dust. During the refining process, the silver particles are separated from any other materials and recycled into new silver.
You may have heard of another commonly used tool in a jeweler's studio called a pickle pot. This is typically a small crockpot that holds and heats an acid/water mixture that is used to clean silver during and after the soldering process. Since the pickle pot can contain metal particles, it shouldn't just be dumped down a drain, which can contaminate water supplies. When it comes time for me to make a new batch of pickle, I sop up what's left of the old pickle with paper towels and—you probably guessed—add them to my dirty scrap.
Metal Clay: I hope you're still with me! Another material I use in my designs is Precious Metal Clay (PMC). It consists of reclaimed particles of pure silver in an organic binder that gives it its clay form. This is what I use to make pet portrait, paw print and handwriting necklaces, as well as some embellishments that can be soldered on, like the flower on the ring in the photo above.
PMC pieces are formed when the clay is wet and pliable, then dried, shaped and filed, and then kiln-fired. In the kiln the organic binder sinters, or burns away, which leaves the particles of silver to cling together to form fine silver (.999). I typically save up a few orders at a time to fire in batches, which helps save energy vs. heating up the kiln over and over again.
As with other silver, the filings and dust from dried PMC pieces are collected and reused to make slip, which is essentially a silver paste, that is used to join PMC pieces together before being permanently joined during firing. Sometimes I end up with bits of unused clay that has dried up. These can be used to make slip or popped into the kiln and fired and then used for embellishments in its pure silver form. It's very versatile!
Being able to reuse and repurpose bits of silver in my designs makes my materials go farther and keeps my costs down, and I love that these things are put to good use and not wasted!
Next up: Packaging and shipping.
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Happy Earth Day 2019!
Ever wonder what it means when you see "eco-conscious jewelry"? It's okay to wonder! With so many things these days that are green, recycled, up-cycled, eco-friendly, etc., etc., it can be confusing to know what is really happening behind the scenes, and I don't want you to think I am just a person who slapped some popular words on my website.
To me, eco-conscious means that I am being conscientious of practices for everything that goes into making a piece of jewelry from start to finish. That means everything from sourcing the stones and metals to creating the pieces in an efficient way and then getting them safely shipped to their (hopefully) excited new owners. In this 3-part blog series, I'll share with you my efforts and my goals to do my part in protecting the earth.
To me, eco-conscious means that I am being conscientious
of practices for everything that goes into making
a piece of jewelry from start to finish.
Sourcing stones then: When I started out making jewelry, I honestly didn't put much thought into where all these beads had come from. I bought them from various dealers at local bead and stone shows that would pass through Cincinnati and I amassed quite a pile! I have always been what my family calls a tree-hugger (usually accompanied with an eye-roll), so it's pretty out-of-character for me. I guess I got caught up in all of the sparkle and getting to see these gorgeous gemstones in such quantities that I didn't think to concern myself with sourcing. No excuses, and, I can assure you, I carry quite a bit of guilt about it now.
Sourcing stones now: When I started making yearly trips to Tucson and purchasing more cabochons, I started to actually THINK. I think about where the stones come from, who is being affected by their mining and cutting processes, how the environment is affected around the mines, etc. It is a little heavy, right? I mean, I'm just trying to make pretty jewelry. But, I can't let it go like that.
The good news is I am not the only person who thinks of these things and I am certainly not the first! I started making the conscious effort to seek out stones mined and cut with sustainable practices. I now know a handful of people who own mines, who are there on-site to make sure things are being done correctly, with the least impact to the surrounding areas. They have created jobs and pay their employees fair wages. I purchase a lot of turquoise, white buffalo and wild horse, which are mined here in America, where there are stricter standards for workers and land, and where the stones are easily traceable back to the mines.
I also have relationships with several people who cut the stones that end up in my jewelry, so I get to support other small businesses, which feels really good. Here are a couple pics from my 2018 buying Tucson buying trip, hanging with my jewelry-making friend Richelle and some of our favorite stone miners, cutters and sellers:
Left to right, Richelle (Richelle Belle Jewelry), Sue (Broken River Mining) and me (Theresa). Photo credit: Richelle Schmitz
Left to right, Tom (tbeneze), me (Theresa), Richelle (Richelle Belle Jewelry), and Eric (CactusYogi). Photo credit: Richelle Schmitz
Next up: Building the jewelry.
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The holidays are behind us, but fresh in our minds. A new year marks a new start with lots of promise for all of the year's adventures to come.
Like many people this time of year, I am trying to get a handle on the house because the holidays always blow through here like a tornado. Between orders to make and fill, and actually spending time with my family, it doesn't leave much time for anything but quick tidying up here and there. I use the phrase loosely!
Going through a stack of mail recently, was like uncovering lost treasures. I was again looking through the cards we had received for Christmas, ogling all the handwriting from a few of our older relatives. In a world of photo collage cards with stock type treatments—which are super cute and always appreciated, don't get me wrong—I sat there thinking about how the type of card my mom signs and sends is in an ever-shrinking category.
Love and sentiment on a piece of jewelry that can be enjoyed everyday.
You probably have a note or greeting card stashed away somewhere. And maybe you pull it out or stumble upon it every now and then when you're looking for something else. Why not put that love and sentiment on a piece of jewelry that can be enjoyed everyday?
With a photo of the handwriting, I can create something unique and really special for you or as a gift for a loved one. A handwriting necklace makes the perfect sentimental gift and can be writing from days gone by, or something that you want to put into words right now.
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I love my birthstone, sapphire, for all of its colors, but I think if I were to have to choose another for myself, I would lean towards opal. There are so many different types out there, from the more traditional jelly opal to colorful boulder opal, to bright and almost prehistoric-looking fire opal, that you never have to run out of jewelry options.
Romans once believed that because opals contained so many gemstone colors that they were the most precious of all the stones. Other ancient civilizations believed the stones contained captured lightning. It's not hard to see how both of those ideas came to be.
There is a colorful variety of opal to fit just about any budget!
Known for its play of color, opal is made up primarily of silica and contains a significant amount of water trapped within its structure. The minute grids of silica can create the beautiful flashes of red within the stone, which can often make it more valuable. No two opals will display all of the same colors and no two are alike!
Different types of opal can be found across the globe, from Australia and Africa, to Mexico and South America, and even here in the U.S.
With so many different types of opal available, and many grades among each type, the good news is there is probably a colorful variety to fit just about any budget!
xo, Theresa
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When most people think of sapphire, their minds go straight to that amazing, breathtaking blue. And who can blame them? That color is the stuff of fairytales—like Princess Diana's and then Kate Middleton's engagement ring kind of fairytales.
Sapphires for centuries have symbolized nobility, sincerity, truth and faithfulness. Like many other gemstones, it has traditionally been used to decorate royalty.
Sapphires come in just about every color you can imagine.
Blue is certainly my favorite, but did you know that sapphires come in just about every color you can imagine? We talked about its famous sister—the ruby—back in July. Along with ruby, sapphire is a member of the Corundum family. Any color of the mineral that is not ruby red is considered a sapphire. It can be blue, green, pink, orange, brown, yellow—even gray or black. Some even have intriguing color-change properties. So don't consider yourself limited to blue if you are lucky enough to call sapphire your birthstone!
The most saturated and vividly-colored blue and most highly-valued stones have traditionally been found in Burma, Kashmir and Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), but sapphires are also mined in a variety of places, such as Thailand, Australia, Madagascar, Tanzania and even here in North America.
xo, Theresa
]]>Lucky August babies get a little taste of spring color well into the summer. The birthstone of the month is peridot—a bright, cheerful green—to add a pop of color against vacation-tanned skin.
Peridot is thought to eliminate negativity and bring good luck.
The gem variety of the family olivine, there is much more to peridot than its beautiful color! It forms deep within the earth's crust and it also forms in volcanic rock and can be found in lava as eruptions, and sometimes even earthquakes, bring it to the surface. If you remember recent stories about gemstones raining from the sky with the eruption of the Kīlauea volcano on Hawaii, that was olivine. (To be clear, it was not actually raining gemstones, but old deposits of olivine were showing themselves in the lava rock if crushed, and that's still pretty cool!)
It is also an other-worldly gem, as it can also be found in meteorites that fall to earth on occasion. It has been spotted on the surface of Mars as well. Yep, that's right—Mars! It is quite a special stone.
Peridot has been mined for centuries. Most notably it was found and used for adornment by ancient Egyptians on the island of Tapazios (which is now known as Zabargad) in the Red Sea. It was called the "Gem of the Sun" and was believed to protect its wearer from evil spirits. Today it is still believed by some to eliminate negativity and bring good luck.
xo, Theresa
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Well, July babies, it's only fitting that you have an intensely colored birthstone to carry you through what is traditionally one of the hottest months of the year—ruby!
Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum. Trace elements of chromium give ruby its luscious color. The more chromium present, the more intense the color, which can range from deep orange-red to more of a purple-red. You may also be familiar with its corundum sister, sapphire. (We'll talk about that one in September!) Like sapphires, they can display asterism, or "stars" when inclusions of the mineral rutile are present and positioned in a certain way within the stone.
Ruby symbolizes courage, love and passion.
Rubies have been mined and treasured for centuries. They have been worn by warriors and royalty. They are found in locations across Asia, such as India, Thailand, Afghanistan and Myanmar (formerly Burma; natural Burmese rubies actually glow under black lights due to their fluorescence! They are considered to be the highest quality in rubies). They are also found in Brazil, Namibia, Australia and even in here in the United States.
With a Mohs scale hardness of 9, that are nearly as hard as diamonds, so they make durable pieces of jewelry (or instruments of battle if you are one of those aforementioned warriors).
Like most other gemstones, ruby is usually treated or enhanced. Fractures in the surface are often filled with glass to make them less noticeable and make the stone look more transparent. Gem-quality rubies can be heat treated to remove the purplish color or rutile inclusions. Ruby beads are often treated with a permanent dying process to enhance their color and make them a more intense red. Any of these processes should be disclosed if used if you are purchasing a ruby.
One thing is for sure, no other stone represents passion, courage or love quite like a ruby!
xo, Theresa
]]>Don't you just love when unpack a brand new piece of silver jewelry? It's so bright and shiny and new...Ahhh. And then some months go by or years and you notice the piece may be dulling a little and it's not quite so shiny anymore.
Well, fear not! I have a few simple ways to help you maintain your shine without a ton of elbow grease and struggle. Here is how I care for my own personal jewelry and my sterling (.925) and fine (FS .999) silver supply inventory:
Remove jewelry before bathing, showering, swimming or exercising. Moisture is silver's arch enemy. Along with sulfur in the air, it causes the copper that is in sterling silver to react; it speeds up tarnish and makes your jewelry look dull and just blah.
Store your jewelry in an airtight container when not being worn. This doesn't have to be fancy! This is one area where I tend to give new life to what is intended to be a single-use plastic container or a plastic zip-top bag. For years, I have used a small plastic container that once had mashed potatoes from a chicken chain in it. A trip through the dishwasher made it good as new, and it's great for traveling or home storage because it doesn't take up much space.
Add a desiccant packet. These days those tiny bean-bag-like packets show up in everything from shoeboxes to electronics and everywhere in between. Don't throw them away! They are the perfect size to add to your airtight container or zip-top baggie with your jewelry. Again, I love the reusable factor of these little guys and it doesn't hurt that they are freebies!
Buff with a soft cloth. From time to time, you can wipe down the surfaces of your silver pieces with a polishing cloth specifically made for silver, like a Sunshine® Polishing Cloth. This will keep the shiny parts shiny while not removing any purposely darkened bits (providing you don't dig into recessed areas).
Remove your jewelry before bed. This one is less about tarnish and more so just a good habit. You probably won't have many worries about wearing a simple silver ring to bed, providing it doesn't have stones. Once you get into necklaces, beaded or chain bracelets or rings with stone settings, you run the risk of things catching on your sheets and bedding, potentially loosening settings or snagging wires—plus, it can be downright uncomfortable! For sweet dreams, leave your jewelry in your mashed potatoes container. :)
Each piece of jewelry from River and Birch comes to you ready for giving, packed with a care card for reference.
xo, Theresa
Spring is finally in the air! It seemed like it would never get here this year, but here we are on May 2 in the 80s. I will take that any day over being cold!
There is a ton going on around here behind the scenes. My rebrand is in full swing, and as you can see, my first standalone website is live. Very exciting!
If you're not familiar with my work, here is a little background: I have been in business designing and making jewelry since 2008, but with the name madison house designs. I had stumbled upon Etsy, which, at the time was a different place—a place for all things handmade. I picked a name and set up shop with some okay looking jewelry and some pretty awful photography. I chose a name that made sense to me at the time, as I was living in a house on Madison Avenue. See what I did there? I know, it's not clever, but I never really dreamed that it would still be around all these years later! There may be a lesson or two in there...
Over the course of the last 10 years (that sounds crazy when I say it), I have taken classes to improve my skills with Precisous Metal Clay (PMC), metalsmithing, stone-setting and lost wax casting. I really enjoy learning from expert jewelers, and usually it ends up saving me time and frustration in my day-to-day making.
When my full-time employment in advertising came to an end due to downsizing in January of this year, I decided it was finally time to get my business together and give myself a fighting chance. River and Birch was born.
So here I am! Still learning techniques from masters and evolving my style and finding my voice, but also really figuring out what things are important to me in my business: sustainability, ease of wear and durability, to name a few.
I hope that when you choose and wear one of my designs you find it to be well-made and able to be enjoyed for years. I hope that you enjoy the eco-friendly packaging and that you recycle it (or better yet, reuse it!) I hope you know that I am making choices for my business that minimize my impact on the planet while making jewelry that is easy to wear for many occasions. Enjoy!
xo, Theresa
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