Underpaid Artsy Penny Thinker

Doodled Portrait of a Pair #poorlittlebinkbink #lilabunbun The cutest assholes I ever did love (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRkh3x5Bgg_/?utm_medium=tumblr

Find someone who loves you more than snacks. Lila's personality is showing me how smart and brave she is. Bennie is teaching her the art of chaos. It's going to be an interesting week @sam_originals HQ. They slack off full time, nap on the job, forget what they're looking for snd destroy the breakroom furniture. They're the worst shop assistants! But I do love these two💜🤎 #lilacbunny #bluetortbunny #minirexrabbit #bestbunny #poorlittlebinkbink #lilabunbun (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRNxflwhiJA/?utm_medium=tumblr

This #wholeclothquilt Sue just completed is one of my favorite pieces she's ever made. Through the various stages of planning, marking out designs in the cloth and quilting, this quilt easily has 40hours of work poured into it. This is level of skill and seemingly bottomless hours of labor that is why quilts are called a labor of love. #heritagehandcrafts #madeinalabama #madeinenterpriseal #apqsquilting (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPrDg7drNo8/?utm_medium=tumblr

Happy Easter! #minirexrabbit #bestbunny (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNQTyU-B0oG/?igshid=ezwakyuhigpu

Hey everyone! Sam here, and I hope you're doing well. It's been an insane decade of calamity this past year. Thanks for going gray with me, I appreciate the show of solidarity. We're still here. And we're kind of excited about it. It's true, despite the quiet you're accustomed to while following this account. We're making cool stuff for in Enterprise, AL. Some of the same sort of stuff. Some seemingly unrelated stuff. We make all the things now. Cool huh? There's a blog post about the changes we're working on, and why we did such things on our website. The link is in our bio. Thanks for being here. This photo is by @palm__sunday of our #10K #yellowgold mermaid pendant. Wash your hands. Drink more water. Unclench your jaw. Take stretch breaks. Be kind when you can. #thingstoremember #breathe #thanksforbeinghere (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMn7dNVL-2s/?igshid=qai8nitdktzt

This pendant is a favorite, even with its simplicity. It was made from a hand selected leaf carved from one of the most vibrant truly blue pieces of lapis I have ever seen in person. I bought a pair of them, and this one is held in 10K #yellowgold prong setting #lostwaxcast in studio with my own hands. She's on the site but @palm__sunday has it currently as she took these pictures. She is an incredible photographer and jeweler, and how a portion of you have made it here to find me. (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfkgvvhzFg/?igshid=1g7ekbeh5d656

Here's the culmination of weeks of work. This signet ring is 10K yellow gold with french blue enamel, in a ring size 7 3/4. I love the color of the blue against the gold so much, and I learned a huge amount making it. It will be available online soon. #10kyellowgold #vitreousenamel #thompsonenamels #madeinalabama #supportsmallbusiness #madelocal (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL7tSmMhwrd/?igshid=1xa5pzh74u21t

Here's the final look at the last casting from Sam's shop. Quite a harvest of #10kgold and vitreous enamels. #lapis #thompsonenamels #black #frenchblue #lostwaxcasting (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL4_7fSLWXR/?igshid=fz0cur2lz71i

#IYKYK Happy Valentine's Day to my friends here. Congratulations on very nearly making it to my favorite day, discount chocolate day. If you're celebrating with a S/O, friends, family, or via zoom - I hope you have a great day. Or a great night. Either way, I hope your Valentine's is sweet! 💕 https://www.instagram.com/p/CLRAuNDBkDa/?igshid=1rctj2pd7jijv

#10k yellow gold #mermaid pendant. This pendant was a labor of love. But the wiggle is so satisfying. I thoroughly enjoy this part of the production: the done and fun part. So gratifying. Also available in #sterljngsilver (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKF8CJUncgB/?igshid=1imv7rnppa1mr

This year has brought a lot of changes to SAM Originals. The biggest is the addition of quality homegoods and gifts made by hand, in an effort to eliminate "fast fashion" in the home, with low waste. These Santa bottle hats are made from strips of fabric that most people would toss than stash for a scrappy piece. @sbmerrill03 Sue is a quilter, a scrap user, and has had a big influence on my creativity to reuse or reinvent things. She's also my mum. Follow her over on her Instagram for insight into her studio, life, dogs, stitching all the things and process photos. Purchase her quilts at the webstore, link in bio. #quilter #slowfashion #scrapquilter #reducereuserecycle #slowstitching #shoplocal (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CINAqKLARLG/?igshid=1vzy955ar8pnk

Manufactured start to finish in 10k yellow gold. Made by my own two hands in my shop in Alabama. I'll share more pictures in daylight but now, time to relax. Happy Veteran's day to my armed forces folks. We didn't have helicopters go over today in observance of the holiday, but they were missed. I got to spend the afternoon with ranger dad and mum, relaxing. #todaywasagoodday #madeinalabama #yellowgold #lostwaxcasting (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHelKtEh-kD/?igshid=syyed90tg5iq

I enjoyed making this flat lay I posted on @sam_originals so much, I'm working on more things to hold the loose stones shown here. It's pretty exciting. #makeallthethings #jewelrydesign (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGy5Xbuhg75/?igshid=1anbv9tejlkhn

Here are some of my latest pieces and some stones I've been waiting to use. These are solid 10K #yellowgold #lostwaxcast pendants, earrings and rings. I'm sure it's been noted that silver is my main medium, but gold in this market is a sure investment. And everything fabricated or cast from the SAM Originals shop is made of recycled precious metals. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGy3mqMAdYX/?igshid=klri538bai2w

Some #lostwaxcast 10K yellow gold pendants. Left to right, we have a #lapis leaf pendant, a #rosequartz arrowhead knapped by my mentor, Bill Tharpe. He's a Veteran, friend, and a really amazing teacher. A carved #tanzanite pendant in a fabricated 10K gold bezel. And a 10k gold #crescentmoon pendant that was cast a couple of years ago. Let me preface this by saying, I hate the word blessed all over the place. It gives me heartburn. It causes actual acid reflux. Everyone is in their own way, but why brag? Those of us who have worked for our skills are tired of hearing how blessed and talented we are, like we haven't busted our tail meeting those blessings halfway and cultivating those gifts for decades. BUT I'm very blessed to have the people in my life who have pushed me, dared me, taught me, and done all of that at a pace and distance I am comfortable with. Many of these people I met through instagram. And many of them are other female hard working jewelry professionals. Thank you, and you know who you are. 💗 (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGsfsOwBI-z/?igshid=idmamloyfmag

Piece by piece, art is going up. This bas relief sculpted unicorn I did a while back got custom framed and hung up. The way the light hits the relief is what I was hoping for. It kind of gives it some umph from across the room. I'm very excited to try more #heraldryart pieces in a similar style. #basrelief (at Enterprise, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CF6YnkJH8Mb/?igshid=try2wnb3py8u

My latest piece I work on while I'm watching TV. This 25 year old piece of recycled #pine is a scrap from my childhood bunk bed. Now it is a piece I've been hand carving all weekend which is an absolute bastard to work on. I may as well be whittling marble. Understandably, progress is slow but it's kind of fun working on something from nothing. I decided on something flowy-ish for form. Might burn later, IDK. #recycle #myartwastrash #makeitagain https://www.instagram.com/p/CE01rLcFHU7/?igshid=mynuezrenry7