Natural Stone Jewelry Supplier, Interviewed!

Rainbow Rocks necklace – Made (by me!) with natural, undyed stones from StoneStudiosToo

Rhonda Sommerfield is a stone-drilling jewelry designer who lives in Idaho. I came across her shop of natural stone jewelry supplies on Etsy and was immediately struck by the wonderful, naturally colored stones that she had for sale. I knew I needed them for my natural stone Rock Collections Necklaces. After I received my first order of naturally colorful pebbles, I knew that I’d become a regular customer. The stones are truly unique, and their colors are all-natural and undyed. AND she always sends a few extra stones as a free bonus! How sweet :D Rhonda was kind enough to let me interview her, so my customers, admirers and fellow jewelry makers can learn a little more about her. (She’s a bunny lover, too!!!) That’s all I’ll say, I’ll leave the rest of the interview to her:

A spectrum of natural stones.
Collected and drilled by Rhonda of StoneStudiosToo

Jenny: I see that you live in Idaho, do you collect the stones that you drill from near where you live? Where do you go stone gathering?

Rhonda: Yes. I live in Cocolalla, ID and gather the stones from a little lake called Spirit Lake. The name is appropriate because the stones seems to have their own spirit.
Jenny: Oh, I really like that! Not only are the stones meaningful because they’re hand gathered and drilled by a real person, she gathers them in a special, spirit-filled place! Excellent!!

Sea Silt Rock Collections Necklace made with two of
StoneStudioToo’s colorful stones an an interesting
crinoid fossil from another seller.

Jenny: These colorful pebbles that you drill seem like mudstone to me. Do you know anything about the geology of your stones?
Rhonda: They are sedi-mentary rocks. The colors vary depending on the environmental contition when they were deposited and what minerals were present. Initially the materials of these stones were deposited on the bottom of an ocean and as the continental plates collided, the stone was transported to the surface within the new mountain ranges. As erosion occurred over millions of years, the stones have taken shaped smooth and colorful, compliments of Mother Nature.

Jenny: Well said! I was going to major in geology before I changed over to fine art in college. Stories of continental plates colliding is about as hot as it gets! ;) For any readers who might not know, sedimentary rocks come from sand/mud/etc being deposited and then squished a whole lot over millenia to turn them into rock. Different from igneous rocks, like granite, that come from the rock melting of volcanic activity and metamorphic rock that are normal rocks that have been squished and pressurized even more due to plates colliding. Metamorphic rocks are like the superhero versions of sedimentary and igneous rocks. Super hard and durable slate (for roofs and sidewalks) is the metamorphic version of mudstones, statue-making marble the metamorphic version of soft, sedimentary limestone.

Blackeyed Susan Rock Collection Necklace
made with black, red, orange and yellow stonesfrom StoneStudiosToo

Jenny: Which of the stone colors that you gather are the hardest to come by?
Rhonda: The hardest to come by are red and black.
Jenny: Interesting, isn’t it? In some places about the only thing you can find are black rocks. Like around the basaltic mountains by my husband’s home town in Mexico!

Jenny: Did you go to college? What did you study?
Rhonda: I went to Boise State University. My major was Finance.
Jenny: I bet having a major in Finance helps a lot in running a business?

Jenny: What path brought you from there to drilling stones and creating jewelry?
Rhonda: I was sitting on the beach one day and picked up one of the stones and that’s when it all began. I started experimented with drilling and took jewelry courses and now am thoroughly enjoying my hobby/career.
Jenny: I had a similar experience. I was sitting in the Geology Hall at college knitting a scarf between classes and it hit me like a lightning bolt: so I switched to an art major!

Rhonda’s even got natural stone buttons for sale in her shop!
These would be such a fun present for any
authentic seamstresses or tailors that you care about :)

Jenny: Is your natural stone jewelry and craft supply business your full time job? If not, what else do you do?
Rhonda: Yes, me and my husband both are full-time crafters.

Jenny: That’s wonderful!

Jenny: What’s your favorite food? Stone soup? (hahaha)
Rhonda: Idaho potatoes…no kidding.

Jenny: Potatoes are really tasty. One of my favorites, too!

StoneStudiosToo = Bunny Approved!

Jenny: How do you feel about bunnies?
Rhonda: I had a bunny when I was little. It’s name was snuggles. I adored him and all bunnies.

Jenny: Excellent! Bunny world domination going according to plan!!

Jenny: Is there anything else about your business, your life, or the universe that you’d like to share with my readers?
Rhonda: I love looking on the forest floors. I am always surprised at what I find. I enjoy making something out of just about anything I find. My friends laugh at me and then ask if I will make them one.

Jenny: That’s nice :) I’d love to see some pictures of those creations! I’m always picking up sticks and seedpods and other somethings. I’ve got them piled all over the place :)

Conclusion? Not only does Rhonda of StoneStudiosToo have a great eye for beautiful natural stones and great skill at drilling them, she’s Bunny Approved! It just doesn’t get much better than this!! Thanks, Rhonda, for the interview and for your beautiful work. I’ll certainly be a regular customer of yours! I hope this has been interesting for my customers and admirers and inspiring for my fellow jewelry designers. Come back by the blog on Tuesday for some more in my series of Natural Jewelry Design Tips!

Here are some more of the natural stone necklaces in my Etsy shop that I made with colorful, natural pebbles from StoneStudiosToo: