One of the things I do to challenge myself as a jewelry artisan is take advantage of assortments and mixes to expose myself to materials I would not normally purchase. Some of the things sit in my sorting bins for years, only to wait for the right counterpart to come along and complete the design. Such was the case with this necklace/earring/bracelet set. I had the rough chips of this as-yet-unidentified stone that came in a chip assortment I purchased, and while the color and texture was appealing, the inspiration wasn't there.
Lo and behold, some years later my sister-in-law contacted me and said that she had a bundle of beads and materials that she had no idea what to do with, and would I be so kind as to give these wayward materials a home? Of course I would! So a happy bundle of beads showed up on my doorstep some weeks later, and included in the mix were these gorgeous red faceted stones in approximately the same shade as my lonely chips! Add in the focal bead from another assortment of mixed stones, with some silvertone filigree beads, and voila, a design!
