Wallis Reid Jewelry

Artisan fine jewelry for women and men handcrafted from agates, and other rare gemstones usually found on Oregon's beaches.

I was the kid who always had a favorite rock in my pocket, and over the years, a growing collection of agates, obsidian, arrowheads, fossils and petrified wood. Growing up in Idaho is a rock hound's heaven, as the state is rich in geologic history, but it wasn't until I found a carnelian on the beach in Southern Oregon that I started experimenting with making jewelry. At first I made simple necklaces for my friends and family and had such encouragement from them that I began selling at craft fairs. I sold over 100 pieces at one 2 day fair and decided that my interest in geology was more than just a hobby. My husband and I moved to the Oregon Coast and launched this business to offer my work beyond the Pacific Northwest. I hope you enjoy looking over these one-of-a-kind items and please contact me if you have questions or ideas for your own piece.

About my process: Finding a raw stone on the beach and imagining a jewelry piece from it is, for me, half the artistic journey. I explore Oregon beaches hunting for agates, petrified wood, carnelian, jasper, opal and other stones. On a sunny day agates glow like jellyfish marooned on the beach. Or the distinct lines of an ancient piece of petrified wood subtly call me from under a tangle of kelp. Locally coveted blue black agates come in colors from twilight to midnight. I drop them in my rock bag to be sorted at my home studio, and, eventually painstakingly drilled, polished and strung. Each stone tells me what it wants to be and I try to enhance the stone's inherent beauty. Druzy, light flashes, prismatic effect, inclusions, and other natural characteristics are left intact to reveal a stone's geological origins. It can take me many hours to create a jewelry piece, and each piece is wildly different from the next, although, a common thread through out my collection is reverence for the earth and nature's elegance. This is truly an organic effort from start to finish. My gemstones are gently plucked from their natural settings and produced in a sustainable manner, not mined with earth harming methods. I love sharing a piece of the magical Oregon coast...one rock at a time.

I opened my online store on Etsy in September of 2014 and will still offer my jewelry at select festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest. The initial response to my online offerings has been very encouraging and I have gotten a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Sales online is steadily growing as my web presence grows. I can always use your help is telling friends about me and my jewelry though. This website is my main storefront but I will continue to offer my full line on Etsy at: http://www.wallisreidjewelry.etsy.com

Please stay in touch to learn of new types of jewelry that I introduce from weekly, like the men's bolo ties I just introduced, and also new gemstones and hand crafting techniques I am continually developing and refining.

Tags: Jewelry Store,Jewelry Supplier