I’ve heard it said that men buy jewelry for three reasons only…love, lust or guilt.  About flowers, that I might believe, but in my almost 40 years of working with people to design and make custom jewelry, I think that the shine and polish of jewelry reflects more of life than the low-hanging fruit of love, lust and guilt.  I have written about popular culture and jewelry, reflected in the recently viral nature with which the book and movie, The Hunger Games, accelerated to widespread fame.  And now, soon, The Hobbit, due for release in December of this year, will reignite popular imagination with the precioussssnesssssss of jewelry.  I’m looking forward to this movie featuring (in no particular order) Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchette, Orland Bloom, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman, among others.
And speaking of December.  It isn’t commercialism…
…it’s reality for a custom jewelry design business.
I’m the sort of person that pretty much rails against any signs of end-o-year holiday much before the Thanksgiving holiday we have here in the USA.  But the truth is, if you have any remote thoughts of getting custom jewelry work done (by Gary Dawson Designs, of course) for the end of the year, it isn’t too early to start planning.  Right now, there’s plenty of time, but time flies and we are all on that flight.  My “average” turnover for most jobs is currently 6-8 weeks.  Some go longer…sourcing difficult materials, involved designs, and budgetary (client payment plan) issues all impact the timeliness of production.  And some go much shorter…creating an efficient production schedule means that sometimes I can complete a more simple project or two while I’m waiting on another client’s response or materials.  I try to work on a FIFO schedule, that is, First In First Out, or, trying to produce jobs in the order in which they came.  But that can vary a fair amount depending on the nature of the project as mentioned above.

Having recently been unencumbered of self-imposed ideas of commitment, I noticed an upcoming window in the seemingly perpetual rain that we’re having here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, USA.  I had wanted to take a quick trip to Bend, (who wouldn’t want to go there!) about two hours from my home in Eugene for a couple of reasons.  Both of them sort of business, sort of pleasure.  The rain finally quit yesterday and it looked good for at least 24 hours…So… jump on bike and go.
After landing in bend at my friend Waylon Rhoads home, (more about Waylon later) I contacted my acquaintance and I think new friend, Jim Dailing, a designer, teacher, and goldsmith with a life that has many parallels to my own.  Our paths had crossed a dozen times over the last several decades and we had just never had much opportunity to get to know each other.  This was one of the goals of my trip so I headed out to his house and met him and his lovely new wife, Michelle.  (Hey Michelle, I remembered!)  It may be premature to say that Jim and I have a lot of things to discuss, but our conversation was animated and interesting…I look forward to exploring where this newly established connection will head.
Met Waylon and Justine and their darling daughter Emaline at Bend Brewing Company for some adult beverages and food on the patio.  I’ve heard Bend locals say that Deschutes Breweryis for the tourists, and BBC is for the locals…Jus’ so ya know!  Then after dinner Waylon and I, well, yes, had another adult beverage or two.  If you’re interested in watching talent emerge, watch this space for more about Waylon and his engraving.  He promised to shoot me some pictures of recent work, didn’t yet, so I stole this from his Facebook page…

he is becoming an incredibly accomplished hand engraver!
No matter how late I stay up I tend to wake up pretty early so I was up and going for a while with no sign of the Rhoads family stirring.  Need coffee, need nourishment, remember a breakfast from a long ago ski trip, head out!
Chow
…is a “farm to table”, sustainable breakfast and lunch restaurant located at 11thand Newport, across the river from downtown Bend.  (1110 NW Newport Dr.) When I walked in the door and spotted a bustling Jolie Miller wearing this tee shirt,

ah, now we’re talking!  Ms. Miller was spot on with her cheerful service and when she says “everybody’s doing it”, ya just gotta have more coffee, really.
I chose the Chicken Fried steak topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, blu-cheese gravy served with two eggs and homefries…outstanding is the only word that comes to mind.

…and then I took a picture of the other fellow’s tattoo…
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