Utilizing chinquapins as the focal point of our jewelry to raise awareness of a vanishing species. All pieces include family grown, harvested Allegheny chinquapins combined with stone, wood, bamboo, coral, and other materials to create earrings, necklaces & braclets. As no two chinquapins are alike, no two pieces are alike! The inspiration for these creations is to foster an awareness of a vanishing and endangered species as the same blight that wiped out the American Chestnut at the turn of the century has decimated the Allegheny Chinquapin. Nostalgia for those who are older and remember chinquapins from their childhood (young girls wore chinquapin beads & young boys using them to play games such as "Jack in the Bush" with the winner keeping all!
American Chestnut Foundation
`Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network
Juried