The Gems and Mineral Diva

Today was the day Daryl Adonis Thompson was born. He was my adoptive father. He had a heart so big that any daughter that crossed his path without a father he would claim. Daryl, besides being a good father and husband to his wife, was a Grammy winning guitarist and a master of wire wrapping. He is the one who taught me. You can read more about him here . Today I just wanted to do more than wish him a happy birthday while he's in a better place than here. I wanted to post one of my favorite videos of him and Mishka playing on the Carson Daily Show. So Enjoy! .

Daryl Thompson Taught Me More Than Just How To Wire Wrap Gemstones Into Jewelry.  Painting of Daryl by a fan. (I don't know their name) Before I go into detail about his legendary music, let me introduce Daryl to you from my eyes.  In 2007, I was in Atlanta walking through Little 5 Points trying to sell my art. I was broke, a student in Job Corps, trying to make extra cash to help my mother get off the streets. I found myself in Elegance Boutique and met Denise and Daryl for the first time. The Daryl I met was kind, caring, and very informative about jewelry and gemstones. I felt at home from that first moment and knew that these two people were special. Time passed and I became close to them both. Daryl needed a website and online presence for his music. I didn't know he was a musician. I thought, "Okay cool. He can rock out," I had no idea of the gem I found until I was typing up his music resume for the website and learned he was a Grammy winner. Yes...

Last weekend when I went to Atlanta, I made sure to drop by my mentor's shop, Elegance Boutique which is located in Atlanta's Little 5 Points district. Daryl and I caught up and I gave him a nice little collection of gems and I explored some of his new items. One of them, I picked up and he said, "Keep it," He had two pieces. This is what he gave me. He told me that he didn't know what it was and that I would probably know more--which is a huge compliment! So I held it up to the light and BOOM! I saw the fire. Rainbow Moonstone. And the other stuff in it? It looked like hematite or possibly tourmaline, but it has this flakiness that is similar to mica. So I got on google and did some research. Turns out, it could be  the minerals Oligoclase--which is usually white with shades of grey, green or even red at times or Oligoclase--which  usually accompanies Orthoclase which is also in this mix--and is known in some forms as moonstone due to the pale luster o...

I would like to share with you what got me into working with crystals and minerals and let me to the path of making jewelry from them. I was in Denise and Daryl's shop one day and still kinda new to the whole crystal thing. I'd already started a mini collection but was still kinda skeptical of gems and energy.  I was technically blocked from any and all energy. Anyway, Daryl told me about an accident he had while wire wrapping and during this time he was wearing a Moldavite pendant.  The story he told me seemed really unbelievable but, as I later found out, Moldavite has its own power. Here's what happened to him: Daryl had cut his hand badly so he and his wife rushed to the drug store to get bandages and stuff. Daryl told me that he just sat in the car and the sun shone onto the Moldavite, which somehow found itself in his injured hand.  He went into a trance and all he could hear was this sizzling and frying sound that didn't stop until the pain in his ...