This shell is really something amazing. I doubt very much that if you live a thousand years you will find another one with this kind of unique color. It was nearly destroyed by boring sponges and I think the sickness caused by them is what caused this strange color. The center piece is blue green abalone as well from a healthy shell. The petals are all the very unique blue green abalone I came across. I hope you like it

Here are a couple of shots of a project I am working on. This one has been in the works for a while now But I am very fond of it. It consists of apple wood for the base, Blue green abalone and polished river clam for the flower and Blue green abalone, New Zealand Paua shell, and bone for the dragon fly. The leaves are a piece of copper tubing I found and flattened out with a hammer. They polish up nicely I think.

My first Butterfly

This was my first attempt at a butterfly out of bone. It turned out very well for a first time.

More Hooks

Afew more Hook designs. The one on the left is antiquated bone found in the local stream bed by my house.

An inlay attempt

Red abalone, Paua, and bone, this was sort of an expiriment. Its not bad but Im not sure if I like it or not.....feedback would be welcome!

An Eigth Note please!

I really like the look and feel of this one as well. You wont find anything else like this out there!

The Symbol of Peace

I made this piece for a very special friend of mine. I turned it into a pin with a bit of stainless steel welding rod for the pin parts. It worked great and it looks really nice on her dress. I think the bird is one of my favorite pieces to make It just stands out and has a great look all its own.

Bone Hooks!

This bone fish hook is accented with a bit of Paua abalone on the hook

Red Abalone Tear Drop

Angels Tears. Red abalone is by far my favorite shell to work with

This piece of Red Abalone came from The Duke of Pearl.
Thanks for the great materials Chuck

This symbol means one of a kind.....Unique to the point of sticking out. Last of a dieing breed

This is the very center of a Blue Green Abalone shell.

This is a small bone coy fish or chinease carp

A couple of new pieces I did I really like the texture of these pieces. The look and feel is great too

Bone Draggon 2

I finaly got another bone draggon done. I love this characters eyes!

One of my most recent pieces. This sword fish is a pretty cool looking fish if you ask me

Just a quick note for any who have seen the site. My Email address has changed recently. The new address is mikestoner38@yahoo.com If you have any questions or want more information you can contact me there.

A few new projects

Ive been rather busy lately and have not gotten a lot done. the projects I have had a chance to complete are disappearing faster than I can get pictures of them however. It does not help that my digital camera took a dive and now takes pictures more reminiscent of a Picasso painting than an actual photograph. :( So, until I get them money for a new camera I am stuck with these for now. They are not the best but they do show the color of the shell which is the important part.

This piece of Red Abalone is roughly shaped like a spear point. The color and luster are unmatched by any piece of shell I have yet worked with. This piece is spoken for, however if that falls through you can purchase it for $35.00

These are a pair of post hole earrings that I may have posted before but the color and luster are incredible. Definitely worth seeing again. This set of earrings sells for $16.50

This is a free style piece of Red Abalone. It is reminiscent of the sea or a dolphin in some aspects but is really just a free style design that I liked a lot This piece sells for $25.00

This little 2 inch flower pot makes a wonderful desk accent piece. The sunflower design is made from Blue Green Abalone found along the southern California shoreline area. This piece also is spoken for but I can make similar pieces for around $25.00

Humming Bird Update

I added a few things to my humming bird sculpture a while back. I think that with this addition it is complete. With possibly one more flower being added in the future this is how it will look

Copper Silver and shell

These bracelets are the first in a series of similar styles that I am experimenting with. I’m hoping to get around $25.00 for these

Precious Cargo

My latest earrings.

"Precious Cargo"

Red abalone heart....Hematite beads Sterling silver wire and hoops. These sell for $15.50

Some new Cabs and Earrings

Some of the nicest shell I’ve worked with yet. These will mostly be earring with one or two pieces becoming a pendant

Moon and Stars

Here is a piece of red abalone that is truly amazing. The Jump rings in this piece are chromed steel. The wire is sterling silver. This piece minus the chain sells for $75.00

Red Abalone Earrings

This shell is fast becoming my favorite to work with. The iridescence and sheen far surpass anything I have worked with before. The small sets sell for $16.50 The larger earrings which are not finished yet will sell for $40.00 I will post pictures of the finished set.

This little serpent though not an earring was just too cool not to post a picture of. No pricing information yet on this piece as I have not strung it yet. Will update later with more info

The Duke of Pearl

I have been searching everywhere for a place that I can purchase shell here in the US. I have only found a small handful of people or businesses that actually sell usable amounts of shell. I can import abalone or oyster shell if I want to purchase quantities as small as a mere ton from several suppliers but could not find a place that sells to small businesses like mine. Until now. I recently met a gentleman named Chuck Erikson who has a company called The Duke of Pearl. I was very impressed by the quality and the variety of shell blanks, dots, feathers, and other inlay pieces that are available from their website http://www.dukeofpearl.com/

This business is geared toward making products for inlay on musical instruments. They do however sell some raw shell as well as blanks of several thicknesses that are perfect for the the type of bone inlay jewelry that I make. They also have instructional guides as well if I remember correctly. I definitely want to put the heads up out there for anyone that works in the shell and or jewelry industry that this is the place to look for quality shell inlay materials. Its definitely worth checking them out

Creepy Crawly Critters

These are some fun artistic creatures that I have created using various methods. They are a lot of fun and are made from some of the nicest pieces of shell I have come across.

Red Abalone

I recently purchased a red abalone shell. This shell was a large shell picked up by a local collector 20 or 30 years ago out in California. No telling how long it sat around his shop before I came a long and destroyed it. :o) It was a truly beautiful shell, but probably would have been graded medium quality at best as far as those things are rated. Still even this shell was amazing in comparison to the color of fresh water shell. Here are two of the pieces I have made so far with that shell. Once I get my earrings posted you will see why abalone is the king of shells, but these pieces certainly show the incredible depth of color and some of the iridescence of pure natural abalone I am definitely looking forward to purchasing more of this incredible material.

Araogonite Arrow Head

The scanned image looks darker only because it is poorly lighted they are the same piece of stone

Is South Eastern South Dakota there is a lot of mineral called araogonite. It typically forms in what is called a septarian nodule. An interesting bit of geological history if you will. Calcite is created by an acid that forms when limestone and water come together. The calcium deposited by ancient sea shells is the material that makes up lime stone. This calcite seeps into the cracks left in the dried mud of an ancient ocean floor. Aragonite is formed when heat and pressure come together to metamorph calcite into something different. Similar to the process that turns carbon into diamond but on a less magnificent scale. Septarian Nodule in a mixture of fossilized mud matrixed with Calcite and aragonite crystal. Kind of ironic in a sense that this rock that I carve is or at least was at one time a seashell. This arrow head is one of the first arrogonite carvings that I have done. I latter went on to add a feather made from beaten copper plate and copper clasp. This also is a favorite of mine and can be purchased for $40.00

Bone Shell and Copper Wire

This piece is to become my signature piece for River Treasures. The tinny Maori style hook is made from shell and inlaid along with three slanted lines of MOP from pink mollusk shell. The addition of wire wrap for the clasp and highlights makes this one of my absolute favorite pieces. This one is not for sale but it can be replicated for $40.00