Nature's Creations Jewelry
A Story Of Integrity And Success
By Diane Illis
ACF NEWS, October/November 1996
The issue of exhibitors who present imports or buy/sell items as handcrafted has long been a sensitive issue for promoters and crofters alike. Crafters lose business to exhibitors producing knock-offs, and the public unknowingly purchases items they believe to be handcrafted, but could probably be purchased through a catalog or in a shopping mall Shows can lose their reputation when the public realizes exactly what they have taken home. It seems that the only people winning are those selling the pre-manufactured merchandise.
Happily, the knock-o(Ts aren't always winning Sometimes by continuing to produce quality items and working to educate promoters, jury committees and the public, an artisan can come out on top This is the story of Nature's Creations Jewelry - how they retained the integrity and their market
Nature's Creations produces beautiful jewelry from leases, flowers and herbs The whole process was started in the I'MO's by Cash (ashman, a musician from Aspen. Colorado He developed a uniquely new process of electroformmg. which is the covering of non-conductive materials (in this case, aspen leaves) w ith a conductive metal such as copper, through electroplating The pieces he produced had a heavy. elegant feel and look to them.
In the early l')70's. Cashman shared his process with his relatives. Don and Edith Ann Ray of Rockvillc. Maryland. Don Ray and his eldest son designed and built their first workshop, while the rest of the family displayed and sold their work at local craft shows The family involvement continued In the I'JKO's. the Rays' son. Dennis, moderni/ed the whole process He and his parents agreed on a family venture scheme, which included slow changes over time, w ith a continued emphasis on quality and consistency
The Rays begin with leaves, herbs and flowers harvested direct from the garden After a process called coppering, the garden items arc ready to be sculptured into jewelry and have the findings (or fastenings) attached Then the items arcoverlaid with gold or silver
As long ago as the Colorado days, importers were producing knock-offs Unlike those carefully crafted by the Rays, the imported leaves were mass produced on conveyer bells Hundreds of identical items were simultaneously made with no sculpting or hand crafting The coppering process was reduced substantially. rendering items very weak, and a gold wash replaced the heavy gold layer
The imports, according to Dennis Ray. could be identified in several ways Although billed as one-of-a-kind gold dipped leaves, they were any thing but that - leaves could not be dipped in gold without being destroyed They were actually lightweight, rather flat leaves with very little detailing The biggest tip-off was a small clamp at the top of the leaf that was pressed on before electroplating It was later used to attach the leaf as a pendant or onto earring wires. When compared to the handcrafted items. Dennis states, "it's like the difference between a poster and a painting."
But if they were so easy to rccogm/e. how were they getting into shows'* Ray explains, "this field is so small that there arc no experts, except for artists like us It took a decade of educating the public and promoters alike about the difference."
The Rays continued to produce quality work and exhibit at shows They never gave in to the idea of selling any item that was not handcrafted. All of their jewelry is handmade except for the findings, which arc American made
Many people bought the imports only to become disappointed by the quality and short life of their purchase
To help educate consumers, the Ray s would actually keep sample imports at their booth to show the difference to customers They also kept catalogs of the mass-produced jewelry, which they would show to promoters when an exhibitor was passing off these items as handcrafted
Usually, the promoters would ask that exhibitor to leave If not. the Rays did not return to that show
The Rays have recently moved into a new and beautiful line ~ patinas. This process "captures the pieces as vibrant as they are in nature" Like the rest of thejewelry the Rays produce, they start out with the coppering process and are sculptured into jewelry Then they arc patmacd with green, blue and beige oxides of copper As a finishing touch, each piece is highlighted with acrylic paints The jewelry now exactly mirrors the item it was created from These lovely pieces hav c become v cry popular, and dcscrv cdly so
This is this the kind of story all craftcrs love to hear Nature's Creations retained their integrity. recaptured their market, and have developed a thnv ing business All this, and a public that rccogni/cs their worth That is truly handcrafted success
