Back in the Saddle Again

View in Big Sur

We got back from California two weeks ago and boy am I sorry I left!  The snow and cold has descended upon us with a fury and I was much happier in the 60-70 degree weather we had while away.  And speaking of snow, now that we have multiple feet on the ground and more on the way, parking in Cambridge has gotten even worse than it usually is.  So I wanted to remind you that we do have one parking space available most of the time we are open.  You just need to call ahead of time and I can tell you where it is and whether or not it is available.

Our trip however was quite wonderful.  We had perfect weather and for the first time in years it was actually green when we got out there thanks to a couple of large rainstorms they had.  Unfortunately California has had so many years of drought that they really need a lot more rain, but it was even more beautiful this year thanks to what they did get.  My younger son is living in California now and my older one came out to San Francisco for a friend's art opening so we had the entire family together for the first time in two years for a few days while we were there.

As always the Big Sur scenery is amazing (the picture above is one I took when I walked up the mountain road behind our inn) and one customer in particular is benefiting from my trip as he had ordered one of my Big Sur rings just before I left and I re-sketched some of my favorite mountains while I was out there and used one of the sketches for his ring. I once again would like to recommend that any of you who are looking to travel in the Big Sur area check out the inn we stay at: Ventana.  If you're more into camping, Ventana has a beautiful campground as well. Besides the wonderful accommodations and surrounding views the staff is always quite wonderful and helpful. 

In the meanwhile, I am back at my bench.  Valentine's Day is coming and I'm starting to work on one of my Valentine's Day pins (an almost annual tradition here).  The pendant below is a custom piece I made up this past Christmas that had a wonderful piece of jadeite in it.  I don't often get requests for jade and the reality is that very small pieces of fine jade can be hugely expensive (perhaps one of the reasons I don't get more requests).  This piece that I found for the customer had a wonderful luminous quality to it that was quite exceptional. 

Jade Pendant in 18k Yellow Gold

If you're new to my blog please make sure you check out my blog directory that you can find a link to on the right of the page here.  I believe my next article is going to be about tourmalines, one of my favorite gemstones. 

Happy New Year

18k yellow gold pendant with tourmaline and diamonds

I'm in recovery mode right now.  That six week period leading up to Christmas without any days off always wears me out a bit.  And then to only get one day off before you have to go back to work is never any fun.  I always prefer Christmas to fall on a Saturday so I can get a three day weekend.  No such luck this year.  But it was nice that we had a busy season and when I'm working on the weekends I get a chance to do thing I love most and be creative on the bench.  This seemed to be a big year for necklaces.  The ruby beads I posted a picture of here sold almost immediately and all of my gold necklaces that I had out also sold.  One lucky woman also got a beautiful strand of South Sea pearls.  If you weren't lucky enough to get anything this year you needn't worry.  I believe that there are any number of holidays that are good gift giving excuses.  For example in February there is  Chinese New Year and Flag Day.  In March there is Daylight Savings Time ends day and the first day of Spring.  These are all huge gift giving holidays around here.  Of course there is also January 25.  Why you might ask?  Well because it's the only January 25th we're going to have this year!  What better reason do you need?

I am making my annual trip to California this month and I am looking forward to the break and the inspiration that always comes from being in Big Sur.  We will be open some of the time I am away and we have some workmen in and out of here during the period to take care of some things in the workshop, but please call if you aren't sure if we're in or not.

In this article I talked about a customer who had taken twenty years to purchase a ring from me.  They came into my store this past week and we had a wonderful time getting to know one another better.  We couldn't resist getting some pictures of us so I have posted them below.

I'm looking for topics some of my readers might like to hear.  If any of you have any interests in particular stones or topics please send them my way.  I always love to hear from any of you so any comments are appreciated.

If you're a new reader please remember to check out my blog directory on the right side of the page.  It breaks down many (although not all) of my articles by topic.

The pendant above is one I custom made for a customer this Christmas.  It has a magnificent tourmaline in it as well as some of my sparkly diamonds.



I hope everyone had a happy New Year and I will be writing again upon my return from California.