For the next day or two I'll be working on obsidian Lost Stone necklaces and earrings. These are a relatively new product for me -- I made the first ones in 2006 and started wholesaling them in 2007.The inspiration for these came from a Ramah chert necklace that I made for a friend's wedding in 2006. I made a Ramah necklace for the bride and cufflinks for the groom. These were gifts. I'm pretty limited with how I can work Ramah chert, because the stone comes from an archaeological site and has federal and provincial protection. If someone gets permission to collect the stone, then I can work it for them, but I don't sell the stone myself.
The Lost Stone necklaces and earrings that I sell are made from
obsidian or flint, which are also translucent, like Ramah chert. I call them Lost Stone because they are made from flakes, which I normally don't keep. They are the by-product of flintknapping. Each flake is simple and somewhat random, so the jewelry I make from them emphasizes the colour and pattern in the stone more than the shape imposed on it by the flintknapper. I make the necklaces in two sizes, large and small -- small necklaces have 5 or fewer pendants - large necklaces have more. Small flint or obsidian Lost Stone necklaces retail for $115 tax inc and large necklaces are $155.25 tax inc.I had no idea I was going to talk about the Lost Ston
e series today. I had a very confusing week last week and I'm trying to get as many small jobs out of my head as possible. I got two wholesale orders finished and out the door last week, plus the remainder of the sandbox dig items heading to Gros Morne. I received a couple new wholesale orders to fill in June and we had a few visitors to the house last week who stayed anywhere from an hour to 3 days.Then on Friday, when I got back from my run I started hiccuping. It lasted for 12 hours. I'd manage to stop long enough to fall asleep and then 2 hours later I'd wake up and start hiccuping again. By the time Saturday came around I was exhausted, confused, and stupid. Hopefully this week is a little simpler. I only have two orders to finish before the AGM starts on Friday.
Photo Credits: Tim Rast
Photo Captions:
Top: 3 Large Lost Stone Necklaces. The top two are obsidian, and the lower one is flint.
Middle: Ramah Chert necklace - the inspiration for all other Lost Stone necklaces.
Bottom: Large Lost Stone flint necklace and earrings.
Besides the fantastic reproductions, I think this has to be my favourite Elfshot jewelry product - and as a hunter-gatherer, it's perhaps the most fashionable way to carry around enough "blanks" to ensure all your hunting and butchering needs would be met in any emergency :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Someday I'd like to do a Palaeoeskimo microblade version of these necklaces. I'm hoping to get some Port au Port chert this summer and I find that stone a little easier to make microblades from than the chert I've been using recently. Maybe I can do something like that for a new product at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI would totally buy a Palaeoeskimo microblade version! Though it could never top my Ramah necklace :D)
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could use the expended micorblade core as the centrpiece to the necklace? If you could also manage to fashion it from quartz crystal, I imagine you'd have the crystal-folk market cornered.
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