Darrell Reese
Welcome! My name is Darrell and I am the founder and a team member of Star Crystal Shop. Here you will find a variety of products including many variations of Moldavite, Libyan Desert Glass, Amethyst, and Herkimer Diamonds in both raw, polished/faceted and jewelry form. Not unlike many familiar with the above gemstones, my introduction was through traditional, natural, energy-based self-care modalities. These include sound, crystals, reiki, qi-gong, yoga, and meditation. My initial and continued interest is amethyst which is found throughout New England and most of the world and is also the birthstone of all of my children.
For those sensitive to energy, moldavite in all forms is often placed in ones surroundings and/or integrated into part of a self-care toolkit. The metaphysical connection to all chakras, in particular the heart chakra, makes moldavite ideal with meditation. Moldavite is also known to have an energy amplifying affect, accelarating all fields in its presence.
Over the last several years this interest has expanded to include both purchasing and creating the items available seen here. Star Crystal Shop is located in Wilton, NH at the Riverview Mill in the studios of Sussy Rose Shields. As collectors and artisans, the highest importance of Star Crystal Shop is authenticity. We guarantee that all products sold here are genuine and exactly as described.
Our intention is to provide high quality products as well as be a trusted source in the moldavite and metaphysical gemstone marketplace. Please check back often for additional products and informative articles. Thank you for visiting.
Liz Nichols
Liz Nichols is a New England based artisan that among other talents creates kiln formed glass to be used in jewelry and other art pieces.
Along with creating moldavite based hand-crafted jewelry pieces, Liz is currently working to bring a variation of the philosophers/alchemy symbol to life. This is currently being done with silver art clay.
Liz has made many moldavite, amethyst, Libyan desert glass, garnet, Herkimer diamond as well as other custom pieces as rings, pendants, earrings in a variety of shapes and combinations.
Liz can be found on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/LizNicholsStudio/
Sussy Rose Shields - Silversmith
The Riverview Mill, formerly the Abbott Machine Company at the end of Howard Street, is home to a variety of retail shops and small businesses. The white clapboard building closest to the Souhegan River, which once housed the company offices, is now the location of many artists’ studios since 1990.
Silversmith Sussy-Rose Shields isn’t quite an original member of the group, but she has been there the longest of the current residents.
Sussy Rose
“I think I was number four,” Sussy said recently. “I’ve been here for 29 years.”
Artists and craftsmen have come and gone over the years, she said, and there are currently twenty-four. Residents have covered a wide variety of arts and crafts – fine art painters, jewelers, photographers, wood workers, glass blowers, potters, musicians, a few massage studios and offices.
The Abbott Machine Company was incorporated in 1931 but had been producing textile machinery since 1926. Turning part of the complex into studios for artists was the brainchild of the late Kay Roedel who always stayed in the background saying she wasn’t an artist, just a supporter.
“Kay became more than a friend over the years,” Sussy said. “She was like a mother hen to all of us here at the Mill.”
Most of the studios are only ‘open by appointment’. Open studio weekends have been held over the years, watch for them in May and November. The buildings retain much of that previous use in their old wood floors, exposed beams and brickwork, and original windows, many having a wide view of the river.
Sussy is a native of Oklahoma, child of a military family that traveled world-wide.
Receiving her degree in housing and interior design from Oklahoma State University, she set out for California to be an architect, not a silversmith. “I took a job selling jewelry supplies to Bay Area craftspeople, took a class and that’s where the bug bit me.” But having spent almost half my life in Wilton, I consider it home.
“I’m pretty much self-taught,” she said. “I wanted to be an independent artist.”
She became a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsman in 1988 and has been involved at the Sunapee Craft Fair as a vendor of her craft, the original manager of Craftwear and five years as Shop of the Fair manager. In 2016, her design of an Elf Boot was chosen by the Craftsmen League for their annual Christmas ornament.
Along the way she followed another path as well. In 2000 she graduated from what is now Antioch University with a master’s degree in Environmental Education.
“My job as Director with the non-profit Barakat, based in Cambridge, MA., lasted eight years. We provided education for Afghan refugee women and children living in Pakistan. It also involved pure-water projects in places such as India, which I visited several times, and distributing grants to small non-profits worldwide that were environmentally oriented.” Sussy also worked at Environmental Centers in Manchester and in Amherst, NH.
Environmentalism has influenced her art as well. “My designs draw inspiration from nature and world cultures” she said, “like using textures from volcanic leavings or images from cave drawings.”
Continued
In her studio, Sussy does custom work and repair as well as original pieces in silver, gold, and other metals. She also holds classes in metal work. Asked the length of time it takes to create a piece, “It depends on the design,” she said. “I can spend days or months on one piece.”
“I feel honored to be supported by the Wilton community,” she said, but noting, “people haven’t come to fully realize the artistic gem of the Riverview Mill. There are only a few such artist communities in southern New Hampshire. Being in a community of like-minded people is fantastic. There is an energy that flows through the building. Art isn’t just about making a living, it’s about your passion. We’re all looking forward to having visitors in our studios again -- check with the studio for more information. Masks are required.”
Sussy’s passion is displayed in her one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings and bracelets.
She can be reached in her studio at 603 654-5310 or sussyrose@hotmail.com.
https://www.sussyroseshields.com/index.html