Welcome to Folks On The Edge Blog
My husband and I are the creative force behind Folks On The Edge. Our roots run deep in the Idaho soil with both of us. We were rock hounds before we knew it was a thing......*-) but embraced it officially over 10 years ago when we joined a rock club and actively went out into the wilds looking for gemstone. Through the years the passion for stone has seeped into our very souls and is the center of our creative process with everything that we create.
Our first endeavors with serious lapidary art work was doing customized knives. We later added metalsmithing and silversmith jewelry and wearable art accessories. This is why we say the stone is the center or heart of what we create. You will find there is a wide variety here on our website from knives with gemstone on the scales and even an occasional from the steel up knife to belt buckles, necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, hair forks and barrettes and also hat bands. Give us time there will be more! So much to create and so little time.
Our creative process is complex. We do the lapidary work ourselves which means we cut the rock by making a slab, decide on the stone shape and cut that out which leads to us shaping it and polishing the stone to it's finished state. Then the metal work is started with recycled copper or sterling silver to create a finished piece of jewelry. The hat bands are create out of leather or vegan materials to make some hat bling. Last but not least we still create the knives that we finish with gemstone.
Our years spent being Rock Hounds has honed our skills. The knowledge that we have learned from being rock hounds has helped us to be able to know what high quality material is and it has proven useful as we work with all the different types of stone. Our kids are not kids anymore and when we go out kicking rocks the areas are infused with plenty of memories for all of us. The relationship building that has taken place with our family has been amazing out staggering around in the wilds of the west.
Our family has always felt a kinship with the outdoors and through the years the gifts have been many with the experiences the great outdoors have provided for us. There has been so many life lessons that we have taught our children out in the wilderness areas of Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. We have watched beavers build dams, wild horses run across a basin in the Owyhee's and hear the coyotes greet the sun in the early mornings. Basic wilderness survive was also a necessity especially since rattle snakes and scorpions like to hang out in the areas we were wandering in. You add to that the the fact that we needed to teach them about staying hydrated due to heat and the basic first aid it created a perfect setting for our children to grow into knowing how to handle themselves in the outdoors.
We taught them stewardship of Idaho and surrounding wilderness areas we went to so that they can help preserve the outdoors for many generations to come. Taking an extra garbage sack and doing clean up in areas that you stop in can actually go a long ways to keeping campsites and trails nice!
Thanks for joining us on our adventure! We do travel on the roads unknown and sometimes we walk a long ways from the roads! You will find out more about us and our adventures here on our Blog. We will be sharing current information and also catch you up on past outing in the outdoors and info about what is happening at the bench. Thanks for stopping by.
Take care, Julie
Come to our website and see our creations.