Posts

The Draw of the Mojave Desert or Why I Started Designing Jewelry

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When you look at my etsy stores you see Mojave Stone jewelry .  In the 1970's, my father and two brothers mined a stone in the Mojave Desert in the middle of nowhere California!  Actually, the mine was somewhat but not very close to Desert Center.  It had been a gold/silver mine before they staked their claim and began mining stone.  My family lived in Missouri and the stone had to be trucked from the desert after strip mining it.  I was married and away from home so I got to hear the stories of making a road, fighting off bees, surviving the heat, being careful of the critters and all the other 'Wild West' excitement.  And I did not have to rough it! Dad was going to retire (some day) and make and sell the polished cabochons (a stone cut and polished usually with a flat back and a convex top) for jewelry.  In the meantime, he had some distributors sell it, some metal smiths create pieces, and he trademarked it as 'Mojave Royal Blue' and 'Mojave Stone'.  He

What’s the story behind “Linda’s Magic Workshop”?

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Once in a while a client becomes a very good friend.   We share experiences, backgrounds, thoughts, and are very honest with each other.   So when that person comes to visit my home, they discover many things.   I am not a great housekeeper.    I have too much stuff and everything has a story.   I have many projects going on at any given time depending on my current interests. A Few of the Stories: The tall glass pitcher was given to my mother by an American Indian man who took care of my brother and I while Mom finished college at age 44.    I learned the meaning of sharing and giving of oneself.   The pitcher was his mother’s, his treasured possession and he wanted us to have it to remember him.   After Mom and Dad died, I integrated many of their possessions into my home.   My mother’s paintings hang on my walls. I remember watching her and listening to her as she created them.   Dad’s collection of red glass admonishes me to look for quality along with beauty.     And my Kal

The Lure of the Cabbage

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I love going to the market and seeing all the colors and shapes of vegetables and flowers and people.  Usually I take my camera and capture whatever catches my eye.  But today I decided to just enjoy everything with my friend and buy some tomatoes and and flowers.  Of course I took a large bag and before my trip was over I had 3 bags full.  I knew that would happen didn't you?  As I turned a corner and went up another aisle, I was stopped by a cabbage with the largest ruffliest leaves I have ever seen.  I said, 'I want that!  I want to take a picture of it.'  Remember, I had no camera!  The lady in the stall offered to take off the big outer leaves so I would have a normal size cabbage.  I almost grabbed it out of her hands!  'No!! Those leaves are why I want it!"  So she carefully handed my the cabbage and I got it into a plastic bag.   We left soon after that with my bag full of tomatoes, squash, 6 large sunflowers and my ruffled cabbage!  On the way home I ima