Here at Ecotone Jewelers we cannot wait to get outside and enjoy all that the Rogue Valley has to offer when it comes to adventures. Wether it is wading through natural creeks to find beautiful local material like our Applegate Jade or wandering the forests in search of the culinary delights Morels and Chanterelles. Usually we try to take at least one day a week to get out of the studio and immerse ourselves in the great outdoors to reset our minds and find inspiration for our next set of creations.
Over the past year our collections have grown to incorporate more of our love of nature, specifically our Mushroom Lovers Collection. This has become a compilation of two of our passions, mycology and art as well as a wonderful representation of the different techniques we use here in our studio.
I want to talk a little bit about these techniques and how we formed this collection. About a year or two ago when I was learning hand engraving I began using mushrooms as a subject matter, not only because I loved the unique shapes and forms that they present but also because of my love of finding them in nature, something beautiful and sought after. I also enjoy the ways that the engraving is able to accent the lines of the gills or shade in the pockets of a morel cap. Hand engraving is done using a pneumatic hand tool with different shapes of sharpened tips that allow for beautiful reflective surfaces, these reflective surfaces are one of the main differences between hand engraving and a laser engraving as a laser will create surface blemishes to create the design and won’t leave a beautiful shining surface.
After working with traditional silversmithing techniques for several years we were looking to add some new tools to our bench and we decided to add 3D printing to the mix. I began modeling mushrooms in 3D sculpting software on my iPad, taking care to model them after mushrooms I have found and trying to bring those natural forms to life. So far we have added Morels, Chanterelles, and Amanitas to our list of mushrooms we are able to print and cast in silver and gold, allowing us to bring highly detailed mushrooms into wearable works of art in the form of pendants and earrings. As always these items are not manufactured anywhere else and are exclusively formed and finished by us in our studio here in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon.
We also offer custom jewelry pieces of all kinds, but would love to help design you a mushroom piece unique to you or the mushroom lover in your life. If that means you are looking for an engraved mushroom knife to take with you to the woods or if you are wanting morel set with a birthstone for that special chef in your life, you have come to the right place and we would love to work with you.
