A Family Affair

We live in a world where most things we buy are mass produced, put on a shelf and sold to us. Once it was common to go to a craftsperson and have something made especially for us – the way we wanted it to be. This is exactly what I offer.

Christmas card

The oak leaf rings

This past Christmas I received a picture from a couple I made wedding rings for five years ago. They had found me on the internet. We exchanged e-mails and then met at my studio. They wanted their rings to have an oak leaf pattern. I did some sketches with their input and made the rings. I have not seen them since.

It is a truly wonderful picture and I am so pleased they wanted to share this event in their marriage with me. It made my day. 

Driftwood rings

Last week I received an email from former customers announcing another new arrival:

"Hey Jim, it's Mark and Anna!

You designed our rings over seven years ago when my husband came to you with his idea and you created a beautiful engagement/wedding ring out of cast driftwood twigs. We hope you are well! We would love to see you, and if possible perhaps get our rings cleaned, this Saturday - as we plan to be in Stillwater. Also, we have a little girl, Lenora who is almost 4 months old and we would love to introduce you to her!

Mark, Anna, and their baby

Let us know if this might be a possibility. Ideally we could stop by mid morning.
Cheers, Anna and Mark"

I guess my point is that the rings symbolizing a marriage are more meaningful when you know the person who makes them and when they are made especially for you. In a way, we become part of each other’s lives, part of an extended family.

Please check out my “customer letters” page on my web site and feel free to contact me for more information. And I would appreciate your sharing this blog with anyone you feel may be interested.

Winter Wonderland

Final ring- Front with cabin 

Ann and Steve are good friends of mine who were recently married. Steve and his family have a cabin in the Black Hills where they have spent wonderful times together. They asked me to make their rings for them. 

Final ring- Deer tracks leading to rose

When I asked what they wanted their rings to be like, Steve thought of the cabin. He then drew a sketch. Ann wanted a rose to be a part of the design as well. There are deer tracks leading from the rose to the trees surrounding the cabin- a winter wonder land.

The "sketch"
You don't need to be a Rembrandt, I'll know what to do

The Wren

Several years ago I made wedding rings for a great couple,  Dave and Wren.

In November, Dave called me to ask if I could make a wren pendant for his wife. It sounded like a fun project and I think it turned out well. It's made from platinum and is a little bigger than a quarter. The branches are made from molds of tiny driftwood pieces from the north shore of Lake Superior.  There are small rubies set in the blossoms of the branches to give the piece a bit of color and suggested the berries of spring.

Happy Holidays From James Hunt Designs

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Dream Big

Dream Big - slideshows

Enjoy!
James Hunt

Love is The Law

As a "straight" person, I grew up with a prejudice toward and a lack of understanding of people who were "gay". Age and experience, if we pay attention, enlightens our minds. 

Back in the mid '70s, a woman asked me to make a ring for her "girl friend". They had been together for ten years. She wanted me to carve a symbol of corn growing in the snow. She explained that this was a native american symbol of something that was impossible. This was to signify how hard their relationship had been to maintain in the climate that existed at that time for same sex couples. It was a moving encounter.

Ten years later her partner contacted me to make a matching ring for the first woman. I have never forgotten that experience and have had a particular fondness for the many same sex couples I have made rings for over the years.

I may have a picture of that ring but I have not been able to find it yet. However, several winters ago I was driving to work and passed a field and saw two stalks of corn left standing in the snow. It was the symbol that I had carve so many years ago.

I have been making rings for same sex couples throughout my career. These came to be called "commitment rings".  I never liked that term since it was clear to me these couples were no different from the couples coming to me for "wedding rings" and who are just as much in love and just as committed to a life together.

I would like to express my joy for my gay and lesbian sisters and brothers and my pride in the people of Minnesota for abolishing that arbitrary distinction.

Roman Glass

This pendant was made for a friend of mine. His daughter went to Israel on an archeological dig. The site was a 2000 year old roman ruin. Scattered about the site were pieces of glass from that era. She was allowed to take pieces outside the specified work area and brought them home.  These delicate shards had developed an amazingly beautiful patina, after all that time, that was like an opal. The piece we chose to set was very thin and the coloration was vulnerable to flaking off, both concerns in setting and wearing.  Also the coloration was faint.  What I ended up doing was to mix two part glue, which dries thick, with black india ink and put it on the back of the glass. This gave it strength and enhanced the color. I then sprayed the colored surface with clear enamel to protect the patina.

The setting is made from tiny pieces of driftwood giving it a look of something found along a shore.

Ruby and Diamond ring

This ring is a twentieth wedding anniversary gift. They were both students when they were married and could not afford a diamond engagement ring. She is of Czechoslovakian descent and loves the look of jewelry from that part of the world. They commonly to use garnets and the gold is a different color from what we are used to seeing. The diamond is a little under one carat and of very high color and clarity. We used deep red rubies instead of garnets and the 14 K gold has a more reddish hue. The pattern of the stones is similar to the designs used by her ancestors. I am pleased with how it looks and she loves it.