Shattuckite is a mix of azurite, chrysocolla, malachite, and sometimes copper (cuperite) in quartz. It was first discovered in 1915 in the copper mines of Bisbee, Arizona, specifically the Shattuck Mine (hence the name).
Shattuckite is reputed to assist with reconciliation and renewal. Shattuckite is also used to channel information. It is said to calm the mind and create harmony.
Shattuckite is believed to be helpful in healing diabetes, assisting with calcium absorption problems, thyroid issues, mites and other infestations, and tonsillitis.
You can have a little piece of this fabulous stone to wear for your very own!
I have some shattuckite in my gemstone collection. If you find a stone that appeals to you and you’d like to have it set in a ring or a pendant, let me know.
I came across this divine piece of Cherry Creek Jasper a while ago, and just finished making it into a ring for myself.
The design was partly inspired by my dear friend and classmate, Jane. She makes beautiful rings, and her shanks are often very squared off at the ends.
I love the very organic nature of the stone. Jasper is so hugely versatile!
What a pleasure it was to be interviewed recently by Kylie for a ‘Made-It Monday – Seller Interview’ feature on her blog. Kylie creates the most amazing Raw Toys – I really recommend checking them out if you have a little person (and even if you don’t!). My son spends hours playing with his beautiful rainbow (which you can see below in Kylie’s blog header), and I keep one of Kylie’s little wooden tree puzzles on the windowsill by my desk – it makes me smile each time I see it! My nieces are the proud owners of two of Kylie’s little fairy doors, which I believe are helping some flowers grow in their garden as we speak. Kylie’s toys are natural, well made, whimsical, and most importantly of all, stimulate the imaginations of our little ones beautifully.
Below is the interview in full – please do check it out over on the Raw Toys Blog as well, won’t you!
I love Made It. It’s a user friendly platform for me to sell my toys and it doubles as one of my favourite places to shop. Topping off the awesomeness of Made It is it’s lively, supportive and inspirational community of sellers. I’ve invited some of these talented folk to tell us a bit about what they do and share the story behind their favourite creation.
Out of all the people I’ve connected with on this creative small business pathway, Ruthie from The Silver Forge has to be one of my favourites! Ruthie is a brilliant artist whose work I absolutely adore and you won’t find many people more lovely. I’m sure you’ll love reading about what is involved in Ruthie’s work and viewing her incredible jewellery. A lovely giveaway is on offer too – enjoy!
My name is Ruthie, and I live in sunny Brisbane. I am a silversmith.
My shop, The Silver Forge, opened in May 2012. I have been smithing for over five years and last year, completed intensive vocational certification at a local dedicated goldsmith’s school. I feel very lucky, as I love what I do!!
My favourite item in my shop at the moment is this teal green drusy agate and sterling silver ring. (Available for purchase here).
I fell in love with drusy agate a few years ago when I found a gorgeous piece I used to create a ring.
The term “drusy” comes from the word “druse”, which is a rock surface covered with tiny crystals, like those found inside geodes. Drusy crystals take hundreds or even thousands of years to form – molten rock begins to cool with trapped gases inside. The gases create gaps in the rock. As ground water carrying dissolved silica is forced into these porous areas, tiny crystals form, creating sparking clusters. Amazing!!
Since then, I have collected a range of gorgeous drusy cabochons that I love to create gorgeous big chunky rings and pendants with. Because the stones are so full of beauty and colour, I like to keep my designs simple and elegant, letting the crystal speak for itself. I have a number of pieces in my shop.
I also offer people the option of choosing their own stone from my collection on my website.
This particular ring was created using sterling silver sheet. Firstly, I shaped the bezel (which is the part of the ring surrounding and holding the gemstone) using half round pliers, then I soldered that to the backing plate using a propane gas soldering torch. (Whoo hoo, flame!!!) I cut out around the bezel plate with my jeweller’s saw, then bent the ring shank (the part of the ring that goes around your finger) and soldered that to the bezel assembly.
Then, after some filing and emerying, I set the stone into the ring using my setting ball and my gorgeous setting hammer. Finally I gave the piece its final texture – a high polish this time! The whole process is a fairly industrial, noisy, fiery, tool-wielding experience, which sometimes seems at odds with something so delicate and refined!You can find The Silver Forge at:
A big thank you to Kylie for choosing to interview me for her gorgeous blog!
Ruthie has a fantastic newsletter that you can subscribe to either on the Silver Forge website or Facebook page. Just by subscribing, you enter the draw for a monthly giveaway – very exciting! Ruthie is offering a very special giveaway to one Raw Toys readers.. a custom made pair of Czech glass earrings! I have a gorgeous pair of these in green – they are just divine. Here is an example of the style:
Visit Ruthie’s shop and have a look at the earrings there. Pop back here and leave a comment to tell Ruthie your favourite bead and which shape takes your fancy. A winner will be randomly chosen on Friday evening.
Huge thanks to you for sharing your work here, Ruthie, I’m very honoured to have you!
For a long time, I have been coveting a doming block. For Christmas this year, my lovely husband gave me a beautiful set, including a 80mm square block and 12 punches.
Love a man who knows what you REALLY want – thank you sweetheart!!
Also known as a dapping block, and made from stainless steel, this doming block makes it easy to turn flat sheets of silver into beautifully curved domes.
This great tool makes it possible to create everything from a slight curve to a full semi-circle:
which means that I can make spheres, too.
I’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg. The possibilities are endless! Check out my current domed pieces – and stay tuned for more fabulous creations.
Using the random number generator at random.org, I drew the second ever Silver Forge Newsletter giveaway, and the winner for March was Lesley. A big congratulations to her – the prize was a pair of these fanta orange Czech glass sterling silver triangle spiral earrings.
Just around the corner is next month’s giveaway – one lucky Newsletter reader will receive a pair of these seafoam cube Czech glass earrings.
Ruthie Gray is a silversmith specializing in well-designed, comfortable and fun jewellery for everyday wear. She is the creative owner of her own jewellery line, The Silver Forge. The Silver Forge was started in May 2012, although Ruthie has been studying and practising silversmithing as early as 2005. Ruthie’s creative process may start from a simple daydream or art drawing with all possible ideas and designs ‘dumped’ onto paper. The ones that stood out will then be physically prepared from a silver sheet or wire; such as sawing, filing, emerying, soldering, hammering, bending; until the final piece emerges. All the jewellery you see in The Silver Forge were made by hand using using traditional methods and tools in Ruthie’s Brisbane home studio.
Besides managing her creative business, Ruthie is a mother of two children (17 and 2 years old – yes, I checked and it is not a typo!) and has a ‘day’ job working from home. She feels lucky to be able to have another form of paid work that is flexible and not confined in an office building. To make the most of this arrangement, Ruthie ensures that she spends lots of time with her children in the daytime during the week while also working her ‘day’ job in the background plus running her handmade business. As if that is not enough to keep her occupied, Ruthie manages to squeeze in time for reading and indulging in several crafty pursuits; among them sewing, knitting, needlework and painting miniature models.
“It is a privilege to be able to create for a living. Doing something that you are passionate about makes the days fly by, and there’s never a dull moment!” – Ruthie Gray
Even though The Silver Forge is a part time business for Ruthie, she still faces the challenges of juggling the demands of a handmade business with those of having a family life and a ‘day’ job. List-writing works very well for her. Everything and anything that needs to be done goes on a list to make it easy for her to prioritise. Naturally, family duties come first as the whole point of being able to work from home is to spend time with them. Ruthie acknowledges that it can get quite busy sometimes trying to fit the ‘day’ job and handmade business into everyday life. One of the ways that Ruthie does to stay on top of things is having her 2-year-old spend a few hours each week at crèche and also having quality time with his Nanna. This allows him to learn social interaction skills while giving mum some space to focus on work and business commitments.
I asked Ruthie to share her tips for those wanting to start a business –
Have a basic structure on which your business should be based upon. Do you want to stay small as a one woman business or do you have plans to change the world?
Do not underprice your own work. Setting prices too low not only hurt yourself but you are undermining the value of the whole handmade industry.
Maintain proper financial records. Put aside time to do administrative work on a weekly basis. Yes, it may be boring but at the end of the year, your tax accountant will thank you for it.
Time management is essential. If you are feeling overwhelmed, try this – Spend a couple of days to review your daily tasks and how long it takes for you to do each one. Perhaps you are watching too much television or checking your social media accounts too often in a day. Set time limits when you are on the internet and you may be surprised to discover the amount of free time you can uncover.
Several ways to promote your business – Word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Wanelo, Stumbleupon, Blogging, Giveaways, Etsy team membership.
At the end of the day, everything can wait except your children – they grow so quickly! Each precious moment you can spend with them is something you can treasure.
To view more of Ruthie’s work or have her commission a piece for you, do visit the following sites :-
Any purchases made from today and up to 15th April 2013, will be entitled to a 10% discount as a thank you for taking the time to read about The Silver Forge. Just mention in the notes to seller that you are a CassieJene blog reader when purchasing through her Madeit store (a 10% refund will be send to you via Paypal). Alternatively, if you choose to shop through her Etsy store, just use coupon code CASSIEJENE10.
All images featured in this article remained the property of Ruthie Gray / The Silver Forge and is used here with permission. This post is written based on Ruth’s reply via an e-mail interview.
Malachite – gorgeous! I love the endless variations on that swirly green theme. Malachite has a high copper content, which is what gives it the fabulous green colouring. It often results from the weathering of copper ores.
Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from ancient times until about 1800, when a synthetic form of the colour widely replaced it. Large quantities are mined in the Urals in Russia, and Malachite is found worldwide, including here in Australia at Broken Hill, New South Wales. It is often found in the company of Azurite.
Malachite is believed to be a protector of children. It is said to protect travellers, and to protect the wearer from accidents. Malachite has been used to aid success in business and protect against undesirable business associations. It is believed to be a stone of balance in relationships.
You can have a little piece of this fabulous stone to wear for your very own, set in a ring or pendant.
I have some pieces of malachite in my gemstone collection and I’m always happy to try to source something particular for you if you have a special dream in mind!
‘Conflict’ or ‘blood’ diamonds out of Africa; De Beer’s monopoly of the diamond market and their cunning ‘diamond engagement ring’ marketing strategy (in which they convinced the world through advertising that a diamond ring was necessary to show your undying love); and now a huge cache of industrial diamonds in Russia, it’s a strange old diamond studded world! Being a girl of simple tastes, I’d always thought that diamonds were over-priced and under-whelming, and a lot of the information I gathered while researching this post goes some way to supporting my feelings. Don’t get me wrong, a bit of sparkle is lovely, and the many colours that diamonds come in are very pretty!
I think in part it’s the total extravagance that diamonds sometimes represent that can be a little bit dismaying: one of the excessively sparkling celebrities that comes to mind is the lovely, diamond studded Elizabeth Taylor, with whom I share a birthday. Who didn’t love her, despite her over-abundance of diamonds and husbands! Go, my fellow Pisces!
Photo: Hello Magazine
And don’t forget those famously large diamonds, and the dark myths and legends attached to them:
Cullianan Diamonds – Largest gem quality diamond ever found, now cut and set into the Crown Jewels. Photo: www.dial-a-diamond.co.za
The Hope Diamond – Most famous diamond in the world. Supposedly cursed, but it isn’t really! Photo: mineralsciences.si.edu
Koh-i-Noor Diamond – once the largest diamond in the world, much fought over, now rests in Queen Elizabeth’s crown. Photo: www.kohinoordiamond.org
When you look at a diamond using a loupe, unless it’s a very good quality diamond, mostly you will see inclusions from black specks to large black lines, and the sparkle is taken off them a little by that, too. Add that to a pre-existing aversion to faceted stones generally, and you start to see why diamonds just weren’t my best friend. Raw diamonds are, in general, nicer than their fancy cousins IMHO. But that’s just me.
Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Photo source: www.dailyfilmdose.com
However, I have to say that my opinion of diamonds has changed since my beautiful Granny, a living treasure herself now at a youthful ninety-seven, bequeathed me the engagement ring that she received from my Grandpa over seventy-four years ago. It is a beautiful diamond ring, and I treasure it dearly, not because of its economic value, but because it is a symbol of a love which sustained for more three-quarters of a century. The ring has the most beautiful sparkle to it when you look at it in the sunlight, and I like to think that that is in part created by the years of happiness generated by its wearer.
Diamonds may not be a girl’s best friend, but this beautiful engagement ring means the world to me, and I am so proud to have it. Thank you, my very dearest Granny, for entrusting to me such a precious gift. And people, if you’re buying any diamonds, please make sure you source conflict free ones, won’t you!
The unusual malachite gemstone cabochon shown here is 24mm long.
Malachite has a high copper content, which is what gives it that fabulous green colouring. It was given its name because of its resemblance to the leaves of the Mallow plant. Read more about Malachite here.
