Amanda Hunt - August 10, 2018

Panning for Gold:  The Puddle Collection

Full disclosure, I have never panned for gold.

When I get time away in nature I usually choose to spend it getting closer to the elements, calming down, and opening my senses to design inspiration instead of hunkering down for a few hours of recreational gold mining. But I have always loved the way gold looks when it comes right out of the ground. Like a golden puddle of clay pressed paper thin between the layers of time. Gold is precious and rare, but it is also found on every continent on Earth, save Antarctica. It can be found in rock formations and the small waterways that run through them. Waterways that carry out flakes or small nuggets of rough gold into the rivers, streams, and creeks looking to be discovered by patient 'panners' or more likely...lost forever.  Fun fact, the largest amounts of gold on Earth are found in the oceans, but it is not yet feasible to extract gold from seawater.

I have been looking for a way to incorporate the beautiful organic rawness of found gold into my designs for a while now. I wanted the gold to look truly FOUND, imperfect, but also like a secret treasure that only YOU were lucky enough to come upon. The Puddle Collection was born from this aesthetic of earthly rawness. The perfect imperfection that nature does so well.

When I began to explore how to recreate this tiny design of nature in my workshop I was immediately drawn to my ever growing stash of solid gold odds and ends.

Over the years of making jewelry, I have accumulated many little bits of gold pieces, shavings, and dust as well as stray gemstones from custom projects. I am not special here, no jeweler in their right mind tosses gold away, but most recycle their shavings and ends through metal dealers for cash in return, or melt it into ingots and repurpose it into sheet or wire on a rolling mill. I was waiting for another idea to come, and the Puddle Collection was just that.

Contrary to what one might think, it takes a lot of trial and error to make a perfectly imperfect design. The process really makes one appreciate the natural workings of nature. Humans can easily mess this process up, making things too perfect and no longer aesthetically pleasing, or just plain messy. It is a delicate balance.

In the end, I wanted to make a raw natural design that felt right to me and that I myself wanted to wear. Something that made me feel like I had found it in the beautiful California rivers I love to visit. Something that made me feel connected to nature and the mystery of its effortless design.

I hope you find your own unearthed treasure in the Puddle Collection.