Carole's Jewelry Design

I create one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry from quahog shells are found on the beaches of Cape Cod and New England. Each shell is carved using a Dremel rotary tool with a diamond bit. The back of the shell is ground down to see how much of the natural purple color comes through the shell and then is cut into the rough design. I fine tune the shape and design by sanding with finer detailed bits. Once complete, the rough-cut pieces are put into a rock tumbler for 3-4 weeks. Using water and pea stone, the tumbler smooths the edges and polishes the shell. Finally, a hole is drilled using a drill press with a diamond bit in a container of water so the piece came be worn. In order to create earrings, I need to have both halves of the quahog shell as they are a mirror image of each other. Each piece is truly unique because no two shells have the same markings on them. Due to the toxic fine dust from the quahog shells, my work space is outside and I wear a full respirator mask during the cutting process. The Dremel rotary tool is my main piece of equipment although I do use a wet saw, a cabbing machine and 2 drill presses. If you cut too fast or the shell get too hot, it will crack so ultimately, water and patience are the biggest part of working with the quahog shells. Here is a quick look at the process - https://youtube.com/shorts/GqY4CQpWA4M