Moose Spotlight: Handcrafted Bolo Ties and Western Accessories
Meet Alisha Jerelle, the amazing artist behind the account @bolorevival on Instagram. She has been running her business since 2015. Originally from Eastern Oregon, they moved to St. George, Utah late October 2020. Alisha shares they love living in the Southwest as it gives them abundance of inspiration from all the nearby national parks, cacti, and gorgeous red rock formations.
In the past, Alisha has purchased Tibetan turquoise from overseas as it was cost efficient, but to her, it doesn’t really have the same quality or beautiful turquoise colors that US turquoise mines have to offer.
When we asked what are the factors that help in choosing which turquoise stones to work with, Alisha says the first thing she considers is the size. She mainly creates bolo ties, belt buckles, and other statement pieces. With this, for her the bigger the stone is, the better!
From an artist’s perspective, we got curious about what they like about working with turquoise. Alisha mentions she loves working with them as it seems to be what her customers are after the most. In addition to this, she finds that turquoise looks great paired with copper, which is what she uses mainly.
As per the disadvantage of working with turquoise, the only thing that Alisha can think of is that turquoise cabochons tend to run on the thinner side. However, she shares a really great, quick and easy fix to this - she just places a small sheet of copper inside the bezel to raise the stone a little. How neat is that!
When it comes to turquoise preferences, Alisha’s favorite turquoise mine to work with is Kingman turquoise. She describes it as having that beautiful sky blue color. She adds that she is also drawn to turquoise that has more greens. As per the turquoise shape, she loves working with freeforms the most, but trapezoid and coffin are also her favorites.
Here’s an amazing bezling tip from Alisha: “I recommend that every metalsmith use acrylic bezel pushers to set their stones! The ones from Flow Studio Supply on Etsy are great and don’t scratch your stones or metal! They’re lifesaving!”
Alisha’s favorite design/technique is she loves the shadow box effect as it really showcases the stone, being surrounded by a beautiful black patina. Her personal style is Western goth, so the more black her pieces have, the better!
Here are some of her gorgeous bolo ties!
by Alisha Jerelle of @bolorevival on Instagram
As we are trying our best to be more environmentally friendly, we almost always ask our favorite artists if they are taking part in doing the same efforts so we could also follow suit. On her part, Alisha doesn’t print off invoices and she also sells through Etsy, which offsets 100% of carbon emissions for every shipment! Amazing :)
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bolorevival/
Check out her website: https://bolorevival.com to view more information for those who are interested in placing large wedding orders. You can also choose from all of her genuine and vegan leather options, plus some neat bolo tips!
What do you like about working with Turquoise Moose?
“I love working with Turquoise Moose because you guys have THE MOST beautiful turquoise stones! Great variations of color and certainly top quality. I also love how you sell most in a unique set- it helps to visualize what my collection will look like all together!”
-Alisha Jerelle
