uncorked ·
Barrel Staves
Happy International Whiskey Day!
If you ever visit my studio on a particularly fragrant day, I promise you, I haven’t been hitting the hooch. That rich cabernet or intoxicating bourbon aroma is coming from one of my favorite and historied materials: barrel staves.
Distilleries ship me their barrel staves and I make jewelry to send back to them - a pretty terrific trade, if you ask me. In fact, my first pair of B+B earrings ever created was made from a bourbon barrel stave!
Like all of the materials I use, I love to celebrate bourbon and wine barrel staves’ origins. Each bourbon barrel is scorched from the inside to add to the flavor and aging process, and I keep as much of the char as I can so that you can see the history of the barrel. Similarly, the wine barrel is stained red on the inside which you can see in the pieces.
One of the other reasons I love working with barrel staves -and all of the woods I choose- is the reminder that good things come to those willing to wait. When I was back in art school in Maryland, I had no idea that life would lead me to the high deserts of Central Oregon, and certainly not to cutting up wine barrel staves in my studio!
When I’m working on a new piece for The Uncorked Collection, I like to imagine someone taking a sip of the liquid gold once held in that very barrel, holding it on their tongue and treasuring the journey it took to bring them that moment of joy. I hope a similar feeling hits the throat of the person wearing the “Northbound” earrings each time they hook them in their ears.
Cheers!
Shop The Uncorked Collection.