Ahh.....amber

Approximately 90% of the items at Thin Ice are hand crafted by local artists and of that elusive 10% a mere five of the artists contribute to the extensive jewelry selection.  Amongst those five is the amber artist.  Why was an exception made for this lovely lady?  Two reasons- first, amber is predominantly found around the Baltic Sea which is, as you may know, not in Buffalo.  It's actually not even in the United States! (alert: forced geography lesson)  While not a requirement, the fact that the artist and her husband (Nataliya and Ihor) are from Europe means they are there more visiting family and acquiring the amber used in their jewelry, when they aren't at their home in Toronto.  The second reason an exception was made is because it's absolutely amazingly beautiful amber; well made, unique, and diverse.  Without further ado, I give you a few of my favorite pieces of amber, available at Thin Ice, 719 Elmwood Avenue, and also on the website at www.thiniceonline.com.

Made up entirely of different shades of amber, this stunner can be worn as a necklace, as shown on multiple strands of leather with an amber enclosure, or as a pin, utilizing the clever design of crocheting the amber pieces together onto a pin.

The different shades of amber are caused by the type of tree they came from (amber being resin, also know as petrified tree sap), the amount of oxygen they were exposed to, the amount of organic material they came into contact with (plant matter from the tree they came from), and the concentration, or lack thereof, of bubbles, or inclusions within the amber. 

Amber is quite soft which lends itself to many creative ideas such as this flower ring which was made by carving the flower pattern into the amber from the reverse side and setting it in a sterling silver ring setting.

Amber can be left raw, polished, or even faceted to achieve many different looks, all beautiful and wonderfully light weight.