...inspired by ancient spirits
Walker Goldsmiths lost wax cast Sterling Silver Lovebirds Ring band#308 celebrates the custom of the Northwest Coast Native Indians. By recognizing the two most important clans, the Ravens and the Eagles in a time honored tradition. “In the last century when the Native cultures of the Northwest Coast were flourishing […] Read more »
Walker Goldsmiths lost wax cast Sterling Silver Flicker Ring #304 is a favorite around our Northwest Coast studio. We love to be the first to see the Flickers in the spring. They come through the area in a flock and flash their pretty orange feathers to announce that, yes indeed, […] Read more »
Walker Goldsmiths Lovebirds jewelry is a wonderful way to say “I love you” on Valentines Day. One of the most popular ways to celebrate and commemorate Valentines Day 2013 is with a gift of our Lovebirds Jewelry. The story of Lovebirds itself is a seriously romantic tradition. An item of […] Read more »
Here’s a pretty Trade Bead necklace, TBA31, that celebrates the colors red and black, by Janet Walker. I’ve created this necklace for the “Red and Black” show at the Stonington Gallery in Seattle this April. From the Stonington Gallery posting; “Red and Black. Color brings vitality and depth to […] Read more »
Ancients of the Northwest Coast believed that some animals could supernaturally change their appearance and take on human form. Some humans could also transform into animals or mythic creatures when it was useful to do so. Bear moved back and forth from animal to human form, and as a result […] Read more »
Dentalium is everywhere and yet, as a Trade Bead researcher and jewelry designer at Walker Goldsmiths, it’s been my experience to find that so few people even know what it is. Dentalium is a seashell harvested on the Pacific coast of western Washington and southern British Columbia in waters averaging […] Read more »
More interest about one of my favorite subjects, Trade Beads, is always a treat for me. I’ve received quite a few questions about Trade Beads in the last few months and have determined that we really need a blog post about them on Walker Goldsmiths not just on Active Artists . […] Read more »
If you lived in a lovely green land that was filled with bears both black and grizzly and did most of your traveling on the sea you would call the animal that we call a sea lion today, a Sea Bear. Grizzly bears eat salmon, sea bears eat salmon, […] Read more »
The Potlatch The potlatch may be one of the most misunderstood social mechanisms in history. When settlers and traders arrived on the Northwest coast, they were invited to great week long winter parties where every one was fed, and fed very well, and great quantities of goods were […] Read more »
Owen Walker has been making and selling these custom made hand carved Sterling Silver Northwest Totem design rings for over 30 yrs at Walker Goldsmiths. These 5 rings shown in the photo are Eagle, Kingfisher, 2 Salmon, and Raven. These are two dimensional designs with some slight deeper carving […] Read more »