Moose Spotlight: Making Jewelry for Adventurous Souls

This is jewelry artist B. Rockit Milligan, also known as @crimsonclawjewelry on Instagram. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, she has been making jewelry her whole life. Her smithing journey started in 2018.

Jewelry Artist B. Rockit Milligan of @crimsonclawjewelry on Instagram

@crimsonclawjewelry on Instagram

Since we see a lot of turquoise cabochons incorporated in her amazing works, we were curious as to where she gets her turquoise. To our surprise, this was her answer, “I was sourcing through random sites on Etsy and unhappy with the quality, then I discovered Turquoise Moose. It’s now my go-to.”

Always happy to hear satisfied creators as we continuously aim to provide genuine and high-quality cabochons!

Speaking of turquoise, we also wanted to know if there are factors that help in making decisions as to which pieces to work with. For her, she says she loves working with pieces with free-form or geometric shapes in non-traditional colors.

Her impeccable taste is truly evident in her jewelry designs!

From a jewelry artist’s perspective, we wanted to know what are the advantages and disadvantages of working with turquoise. In her opinion, she says some of the turquoise cabs she gets online come dyed, which we understand is extremely frustrating; this is why she appreciated knowing where her stones come from, and that she can expect good quality pieces.

Related: How To Spot Fake Turquoise (Scroll through the third topic in this article).

Personally, she loves working with geometric shapes. In addition, she says she would also love to see more coffin and shield shapes in the market. As per the turquoise mine, she loves the looks of Desert Lavender and Yungai. She also mentioned White Buffalo, which is also a crowd fave!

When we asked if she had any handy bezeling techniques she wants to share, she says, “I’m working on perfecting the use of my hammer handpiece. I love a bezel with texture.”

As a brand that strives to be more environmentally friendly, we want to learn what steps other inspiring artists are doing. For her, she stated that she will not buy stones that she cannot trace back to the source. Moreover, she also melts down and reuses all her scraps. Amazing!

For her personal style, we asked if she had any favorite or signature design technique when she’s creating her jewelry. She says she likes letting the stone dictate the setting and design. She also uses mixed metals to bring out the color of the stones. Also, bolo ties are her favorite thing to create, especially with turquoise.

Take a look at some of her amazing jewelry creations!