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.

A Joyous Occasion

Several years ago you may have seen one of the early YouTube video’s that went viral. The dancing wedding! It is delightful.  If you have not seen it, there is a link below.  The couple asked me to make custom rings for them and I happily agreed.  The link is for their wedding site, which contains the YouTube video that you just have to watch!  

http://www.jkweddingdance.com/#donate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0&noredirect=1

About a year after they were married, I received an e-mail from them that I thought I would share with you:

“Hello,

My husband, Kevin, and I had our wedding rings made by you last year (we love them!).

You have also made wedding rings for some of our close friends who are also in that video (Ann and Jeff Mason, Lisa and Jimmy Krieger).

We are working on making a short online ad for Google about our wedding- showing websites that we used to plan our wedding. We would like to show your website briefly in the ad- because ours rings are really special to us.  

Sincerely, 

Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz”

All weddings should be this joyful! Enjoy the video!

Tire Tread

This wedding ring was made for a client who lives out east. The couple found me through my web site. We, unfortunately, never met. (I prefer meeting with people. It is just more personal) It was all done on the internet and by phone. They are a really nice couple.

He is a motorcycle racer and wanted a tire tread ring! She was OK with that. A good sign, I think! He sent me a picture of a specific tread design. My guess is that it has a design meant for going around in circles at some kind of frightening speed and precarious angle.

Tire tread picture

Wax casting

Finished ring

How’s that for unique? 

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.

This was fun. It is a man’s ring. He brought me a picture of water and said “Do water.” The small stones are black diamonds. (Very manly!)

 

Stebgo Metals

It is important to me to integrate my values with the people I work with. I would like to share with you a brief story of the company I buy my gold from.  This is a small, local, family owned business called Stebgo metals. I have been with them from the beginning more than thirty years ago. Tom Stebbing Sr. worked for another company that I dealt with occasionally but did not connect with particularly well. But I liked and respected Tom. Tom left that company and started his own company which is now run by his children whom I knew as little kids. I have included a link to a recent article in a trade magazine called Mid-America Jewelry News If you would like to read more about the company. http://midamericajewelrynews.com/featured-articles/1583-minnesotas-stebgo-metals-a-greener-integrity-minded-family-refinery 

The reasons I deal with Stebgo are first of all these are honest and honorable people. They offer a good reliable product, they are prompt and fair in their pricing. They provide only recycled gold. We all consume products that in their production have an impact on the environment. I, as I am sure you do, try to choose those that have the least impact. The practice of offering only recycled gold means that less of the earth is torn up to find new gold by mining. They have invested in state of the art facilities to make the refining process as environmentally save as is possible.

One of the services I offer is to recycle old gold that you may have; broken chains, no longer warn class rings, single earrings, ugly jewelry you know you will never wear, even old gold teeth returned by the dentist. I pay considerably more for this gold, silver or platinum than anyone else I know of. I collect it and when I have enough I bring it to the refinery and have it returned to me as pure gold which I then alloy to make Karat gold to make new pieces. The value of this gold can be used for payment of something new that I would make for you (often I can use the actual gold in the new piece if it has sentimental value) or I will give you a check. Now is a good time to sell since the price of gold is high and it will be recycled as beautiful and meaningful handmade jewelry. (And you know it’s just going to sit in that little drawer for another twenty years)

Jim