Moose Spotlight: Handcrafted Jewelry Fueled By Life’s Adventures
One of our favorite things to do is introducing our favorite jewelry artists, and one of them is Kristy Decot, also known as @merakioutwest on Instagram! She has been creating jewelry for three years now.
Kristy shares that she sources her turquoise cabochons from us and other lapidaries on Etsy. She says, "[I] Typically source from my FAVORITE shop TQ Moose and I like to source from lapidaries on Etsy.” We are so honored!
As someone whose creations we admire, we got curious as to what kind of factors artists like Kristy consider whenever deciding which pieces to use. Kristy shares, “When I am looking for pieces to purchase I look for unique variations and colors.” She adds that she also chooses stones that remind her of particular places around the Western United States and National Parks.
Being around with turquoise, we wanted to know what it’s like for artists to work with it. Krista shares that she loves working with turquoise as there are so many variations. In addition, it has always been her favorite stone ever since she was a child! The one disadvantage she could think of is that it can be quite soft. Anyone else feel the same?
As per preference, Kristy’s favorite turquoise mine has got to be the classic Royston stones for its unique variations. When it comes to shape, she enjoys free form shapes and according to her, the bigger the better!
If you’re looking for a handy bezeling technique, you best believe we asked Kristy as well! Here’s her tip: “If you mess it up, start over! If this part is not done to perfection it messes up the whole piece and practice and patience = success!”
Love this, and it can also be applied to different aspects of our lives.
Having nature as one of our biggest inspirations, we got curious as to how artists are choosing to do environmental friendly initiatives. Kristy shares she’s always learning and trying to understand the process of sourcing and mining turquoise, this is so she knows what are the right questions to ask when keeping things environmentally friendly.
Lastly, we also asked Kristy if she has a favorite or signature design technique. She describes hers as, “My style is quite the creative paradox… like the softness of sand against the rugged mountains. I enjoy making very simple clean designs, and then my creative side craves to create a real chunky piece with lots of texture.” Adding that her inspiration comes from much of her travels exploring the National Parks. For this, a portion of her proceeds are donated to the National Parks Foundation.
How awesome is this?!
Take a look at her amazing work! We’re so excited to see more!
Kristy shares, “...Sand Hill stone I made into a ring called, "Death Valley Ring." Sand Hill reminds me of the formations in Bad Water Basin in Death Valley National Park. A portion of proceeds from this collection were donated to the National Parks Foundation.”
Follow her work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merakioutwest/
Check out her website: https://www.merakioutwest.com/
What do you like about working with Turquoise Moose?
“I love working with Turquoise Moose because they consistently deliver quality, unique stones, and amazing customer service!”
- Kristy Decot
