Beautiful Jewelry Pieces

A couple months ago I had spoken with a local jeweller about getting a piece done for an aunt of mine, who is a retired nurse. I wanted something special and unique. I'd first seen the jeweller at a Christmas Craft Sale over on Prince Edward Island a a little more than a year ago, then they came to the Craft Sale here in Fredericton a couple weeks later. I found a few lovely pieces that I'd picked up for friends. When they were back this past December, I had browsed their pieces and they had mentioned they do custom pieces. So I thought about it for a bit and contacted them.

The artist is Marcie Poirier, and her company is Wildabout Wampum. The pieces (both pendants and earings) are carved from Quahog and Queen Conch shells.

"Marcia creates her works by meticulously sculpting the rare purple sections of the Quahog shell and the vivid pink hues of the Queen Conch.

Purple Quahog shells occur only in specific areas where they absorb amythest on the ocean floor, making them prized finds for Marcia's jewelry.

Queen Conchs, meanwhile are larger shells found primarily in regions such as Florida, Bahamas, and similar tropical areas.

In Marcia's works, the Quahog and Conch shells are ground, carved and sanded. Many are also then accented with sterling silver highlighting." [taken from her information card]. Contact information available on her website.

The piece I'd gotten her to do was of a nurse's cap. It's just beautiful: