@onetribeorganics / onetribeorganics.tumblr.com
I recently carved some gorgeous tourmaline included quartz inlays for my new "iona" weights. Here they are test fit into my prototypes. I'm really loving the large open back stone settings in these pieces. This pair will be finished and available at my booth at the Association of Professional Piercers conference next month.
Piercers attending conference get access to the first small production run, and the first retail batch will be available as a pre-order soon!
I had the pleasure of working some beautiful Kingman Turquoise into inlays for my new "iona" ear weights debuting at this year's APP conference in a few weeks.
This shot also shows the huge open back on the lower right. Not only is the inlay in these pieces larger than all of my previous ear weight inlays (almost 38mm/1.5" across), but almost the entire stone, front and back, is visible from various angles.
I'm having a lot of fun with these. Are you into it?
A family photo of the metal options for our Ghost in the Shell ear weights. Black Nanoceramic over bronze Rose Nanoceramic over bronze Silicon bronze Sterling silver Black and Rose will be available as unique pairs and for custom orders. Bronze is the standard and is always available. There’s currently one pair of sterling silver available for a custom order until I decide what to set into it myself. Silver is available in the future if enough folks are interested in custom pieces for me to cast a full run. All finishes are available with any stone inlay we make. The orange inlays in the photo are a one of a kind set of Condor Agate (not set, just split into different pairs for the photo), the pale blue is Kingman Turquoise, and the deep blue is Lapis Lazuli.
Ghost in the Shell ear weights with gorgeous Australian Chrysoprase inlays are now available.
Chrysoprase is one of my favorite stones and it looks fantastic as the “Ghost” in these “Ghost in the Shell” ear weights.
A pair of EPIC custom 51mm (2") natural texture raspberry fluorite plugs finished yesterday. These is the largest pair of this material I've made to date. It was a good time but my hands are happy they're finished.
I finished setting this pair of Ghost in the Shell ear weights with a Lapis Lazuli “Ghost” this afternoon and just sat here staring at them for a few minutes. The Lapis and bronze are such a nice combination, and the rich color of the Lapis peeking from the rear setting in this design works very well.
I’ve been working on a new project called Material. It’s a body jewelry industry blog focusing on work from our beloved makers, as well as overall coverage of great ideas in body jewelry. It includes features about interesting pieces that I have run across as well as formal reviews of body jewelry, something I am not really seeing done elsewhere. Going forward, there will be interviews and workshop visits with makers, articles to help makers with various facets of running a small business in this industry, and articles from myself and other guest writers about body jewelry production, consumption, history, etc.
This is a big experiment, so I would appreciate if you’d give the site a visit and share if you enjoy it. Feel free to provide feedback, and use the form on the site if there’s anything you would like to tell me.
Website: http://materialjewelry.com
Instagram: @materialjewelry Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/materialjewelry
Pyrite weights cast in yellow bronze are now available for preorder! A unique cubic form reproduced directly from a Peruvian specimen.
Thanks to Jake Boomhower for the wear photo from the APP conference.
I’ve been working on setting all of the inlays we’ve carved for the “Ghost in the Shell” ear weights over the past few days. This combination is my current favorite - a pink banded Agua Nueva Agate ghost. This (one of a kind) pair and others will be with me at the Association of Professional piercers conference in Las Vegas next week.
I have been working like crazy to get a run of unique Display Weights finished for the Onetribe booth at the Association of Professional Piercers conference later this month. I finished these last week and I’m hoping to at least double this quantity before the show. The top row is three pairs of Kingman turquoise (the only pairs of that material I will have) and the bottom row is high grade lapis lazuli, lavender quartz, and an outrageous pair of AAA smoky rutilated quartz.
Started work on a small army of Dharma reversible ear weights this week. Faceted white topaz, amethyst, sky blue topaz, swiss blue topaz, and deep red garnet. I’ll make and set stone cabochons for the opposite side next week. These and more will be at the Onetribe booth at the Association of Professional Piercers conference in a few weeks.
Folks wanted to see a wear photo of this new ear weight style and I'm handing over the prototype to my casting facility today for molding and production, so this was my only chance to do it. This is "Ghost in the Shell" with blue Kingman turquoise in a 1.5" lobe. I'll have numbers and prepare a pre-order in a few weeks once I know all of my costs.
My latest ear weight: "Ghost in the Shell." Some futurism and light bending partially inspired by the amazing manga/movie of the same name, which explores ideas about consciousness and interaction of the mind (Ghost) with the body (Shell) and the world.
The shape has a drastically different look depending on your view and has the unique characteristic of reflecting both the external environment and the internal "Ghost," the natural stone set within. The prototype houses blue Kingman turquoise.
Dual wearing surfaces give a unique look and also functionally prevent it from rotating back and forth in the lobe so it will always face the same direction. Will squeeze into 19mm+ lobes but is ideal for larger lobes, and is designed to lay flat against your body if your lobes are long enough.
Available in a variety of Ghost options in late July at the Association of Professional piercers conference and retail to the public in August. I'd love your feedback.
I've had a sketch for Morning Glory blossoms in my book for years, and a customer recently gave me free reign to do something interesting with this red-skin Chiapas amber material. He liked the idea, so I got to work. The result is stunning. Very dynamic plugs that change based on light and angle. To top it off, not only do they have rare red hue but they are full of 25,000,000 year old insects.
I had a lot of fun with these. Sometimes the projects that look simple are some of the hardest. These are an anniversary gift for a customer’s significant other.
27mm black Guatemalan jadeite plugs with sandblasted faces and thin high polish rims, inlaid with .54ct of IF/E (internally flawless, colorless) diamonds in a white gold hardware setting with signed and numbered backplates.
I'm not usually a diamond person but the amount of light play (sparkle and color) in these stones is stunning and unfortunately impossible to capture in my light box due to the diffused light. In other light they sparkle like crazy while moving, and the depth of the bowl allows color to dance around the surface even despite the matte sandblasted finish surrounding the setting. Every now and then the setting and the thin high polish rim both catch the light at the same time and it’s a nice surprise.
