New Life in Rio Rancho, NM

It is hard to believe that 4 weeks ago we were filling up a 26' moving truck and on our way to New Mexico!! We loved the home we built in Alpine AZ. It IS one of the prettiest places in AZ. After four years we felt isolated - at least 28 miles from the nearest town, 75 from the biggest town and 250 miles from Phoenix, Tucson or Albuquerque! There was no income opportunity apart from our Website and shows that we would travel great distances to. We knew we needed a change and other than moving back to Scottsdale the other nearest jewelry manufacturing hub was Albuquerque - so that's where we decided to move.

We're not attending shows for a bit while we research indoor venues in New Mexico, Colorado for next year. We will still be attending shows twice a year in Flagstaff, AZ - one of our favorite show locations. Instead Mark is already picking up trade work for the jewelry industry here (stone-setting, manufacturing, repairs), we're going to work hard to improve our website, create new jewelry lines and one of a kind pieces. We are so inspired by New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment that it won't be a problem. :)

Apart from the work opportunities we are appreciating all the conveniences of civilization again. Rio Rancho is a quiet, low crime area. Everything is 5 min from home. The weather is beautiful as well as the sites. We have amazing views of the Sandia Mountains. Every Sunday I go to the Corrales Farmers Market. This picture above is from one of my trips. It has become a Sunday morning tradition to get out and support local growers and bakers. Love it!

Every year we can enjoy the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival http://www.balloonfiesta.com/ and any given weekend morning they fly over our neighborhood. Sometimes so close you can see the passengers in the basket.

Not only can we rave about the weather, our new home and studio, conveniences and neighborhood but there is also a dog park across the street for Sam! Incredible views of the mountains and a place to take twice daily walks.

Mark and Sam in the Park. So much to explore in this new state and city!

One of the many pretty sunsets at our new home.

Now that the traveling and moving are done there will be more posts showing our new designs, interesting things we learn about New Mexico and the beautiful natural surroundings.

It's nice to feel truly at home somewhere.

Jewelers For Children - 2010 Facets of Hope Fundraiser

We were featured for our fundraising efforts at Jewelers For Children's Annual Facets of Hope Fundraiser. We are honored to be a part of JFC and hope that in the near future we can make an even greater difference with our contributions. Feels Great!

Please click on image below to read story.

For more information on this charity we work with please see their website - http://www.jewelersforchildren.org/

Flagstaff Art in The Park July 2010

We always luck out and have the BEST neighbors at our shows! No exception this past weekend. If you're ever in Flagstaff please check out the Art in the Park shows - always July 4th and Labor Day weekends.

Brian & Pauline Vaughn were right next to our tent. They make beautiful, functional and creative fused glass pieces. They are based in Tucson, AZ. You can check out their gorgeous glassware at Tortolita Creations http://www.tortolitacreations.com/

Adam & Becky Frus were right across from us at the show. Adam creates organic, sculptural and functional glass pieces. He also brings his background in Geology to his unique creations. Based in Mesa, AZ you can check out his amazing work at Frus Glass http://www.frusglass.com/Index.html

The other great neighbor we had was Marv Poulson. He is a photographer AND a sculpture from Utah. You can check out his extraordinary photography and kinetic sculpture at Imagedancer http://www.imagedancer.com/

I never tire of the new friends we make and the inspiration from being around their creations!

June 29th - July 4th On Our New Adventure

After leaving Alpine we stayed with our Friends Kristen, Bert, Ethan and Hudson for a few days before heading up to Flagstaff for our Show. Thank you so much guys! We had a great time getting to know the boys better, eating so well and hanging out with you two!

Sam, our "Buddha Dog" LOVES being at our Craft Shows. Every day he met hundreds of dogs. Every night he was so pooped out after socializing . On the last day he had it and didn't want anymore social time.

Some of the MANY dogs Sam met. Dad corgi and his two 15 week old babies. He's so good with puppies. Grandpa Sam.

The little Corgi babies - Brother & Sister.


One of our neighbors at Motel 6 in Flagstaff. Very funny - and he was a real character too! From the deep South. We always like to be at the Art in The Park Show in Flagstaff. We meet so many friendly eclectic people and enjoy the city's vibe!

June 21st to 28th On Our New Adventure

It was sad to leave our home in Alpine, AZ but we're both excited about the future, new adventures and city living again! We were blessed with beautiful weather those last days. We got to stay at our friends Hotel for a few days to fully enjoy the outdoors and other friends came up to visit.

We had some rain storms brew over our last few days in Alpine. Nice cool weather!

Sam Mid Bark - you are NOT leaving without me!

A herd of Elk our last day - in the meadow behind our house. What a nice goodbye.

Storminess at Luna Lake. I will miss those summer Monsoon Storms.

Kevin, Gia and Mark. What a delicious feast of fresh caught trout and roasted veggies! It was so nice to spend time with them and do some rockhounding over our last days.

Miss Gia hamming it up on our hike behind Luna lake.

This rainbow was MUCH prettier in Person over the Sportsmans' Lodge in Alpine.

Beautiful clouds over Nutrioso as we headed down the hill. Crazy mountain weather on the drive down to Phoenix. Drove through rain, dust and hail at all the different elevations - starting at 8050' to 1500'.

Just outside of Globe, AZ - we though IT was hot - ha ha - Phoenix is a LOT hotter!

Changes and New Adventures

I haven't been posting much these last two months. All of May and June have been about organizing and packing. As of today our workshop is officially packed up and moved until after our summer shows when we re-open. Strange to be "camping out" in an empty house!

We both loved Alpine so much but there is no opportunity here for young folks like us that are still interested in working. It's a great place to vacation and most of the retired residents are only here from May to September. They have it figured out! Here for the beautiful weather and gone during the severe winters.

Albuquerque is calling us and we hope to have our place lined up in July so after the show travels we can be up and running ASAP. A city with action, culture, an Art Community, hiking, great food...can't wait - can you tell? As soon as we land I'll be in touch .

Hope you have a great summer!

Our Studio Will Be Closed 6/15-9/15

We will be moving our studio this September. We live in a remote area and need to get back to civilization. :)

If you are thinking of an upcoming gift please place your order ASAP because our workshop will be closing down the week of June 15th. After that we'll be on the road until the beginning of September at which time we'll be setting up the new workshop.

We have a lot of upcoming traveling to do - we may even be in your area! Please see our Show Schedule for confirmed dates.

If you place your order by June 7th we can ship it to you before we leave. We will still process orders as we travel if your item is in stock but any orders that can't be filled wouldn't be able to ship until, at the latest, the second week of October. We are starting wholesale in June so if you are wanting a custom piece for the holidays it would be good to have your order in our production schedule as soon as we get back.

Thanks for your patience! I'll be posting pictures of our new studio when it's set up - plus all our cross country show pictures as we travel. Can't wait to have a new, bigger workspace!!