Blog
Sources of Inspiration
As a jeweler specializing in handcrafted sterling silver and turquoise jewelry, finding inspiration is essential to create unique pieces. As y...
Gift Ideas
Looking for a unique and thoughtful gift idea? Look no further than a beautiful piece of handmade artisan jewelry from In The Pines! Each of my pieces is handcrafted in my home studio and inspired by the beauty of nature and the elemental hold it has on our lives. Made with natural materials like beautiful gemstones, turquoise, and high quality sterling silver, each piece is carefully handcrafted to heirloom quality.
Turquoise for the Bride?
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” We're all familiar with the things a bride should carry with her on her w...
One of My Favorite Pieces to Make
Sometimes we need a change of perspective, since it is easy to get stuck in our current surroundings or our comfort zones and find ourselves stru...
Timeless and Trendy Turquoise
Every year is a showcase for a variety of jewelry trends, and we've seen silver tones, mixed metals, and cuff bracelets make their rounds this ...
Why Wearing Turquoise Could Lift Your Mood
An Arabic proverb states, "Turquoise given by a loving hand carries with it happiness and good fortune." Did you know there are benefits to wea...
How Best to Care for Turquoise Jewelry
I believe we can't own the earth, but I feel pretty special when I hold a piece of turquoise in my hand. This is the same experience I want ...
6 John Muir Quotes to Inspire Your Next Adventure
John Muir is one of my favorite nature writers, and someone whose work speaks to my soul. If you haven't heard of him, Muir was a Scottish-Amer...
Packaging and Shipping Jewelry - Process Part 4
Once I’ve chosen materials, designed and built a piece, you would think my job is complete, but even though the piece is finished, there are still quite a few steps before it can be shipped. When a piece is completed...
Building a Piece of Jewelry - Process Part 3
My starting point is to make a bezel for the stone out of fine silver. In a jeweler’s vocabulary, a bezel is the ring around a stone that holds it in place. To fashion the bezel, I use varying heights of silver strips (depending on the height of the stone) to pull around the stone, ensuring a perfect fit. Once I’ve pulled the strip flush around the stone, I mark where I need to cut the strip so both ends line up. Then once the cut is made, I file the ends to be perfectly straight and flat and solder them together.
Inspiration and Jewelry Design - Process Part 2
If you know even a little bit about me, you’ll know that I find my biggest sources of inspiration in nature, and some of my very first pieces were inspired by pine trees, hence my business name, In the Pines. Inspiration comes to me from a variety of sources—time spent in nature, memories from trips like our time spent in Idaho at Christmas, or when we lived in Japan, or even from beautiful photographs and poems about the beauty of the earth.
How I Choose the Perfect Stones for my Jewelry - Process Part 1
I've decided to write a series to share my process with you from start to finish. Part one of the series is about sourcing the perfect stones and creating designs that are complementary to the stones I have chosen.
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