I’ve been cutting my own cabochons for a few years now, and people say I’ve got an eye for composition. I tend to agree; that’s always been a strong point for me.

Presently I’ve got at least two hundred stones available, but finding an audience of buyers has been problematic. At times, my cabochons get picked up almost immediately on being listed, but other times nobody seems to even see them. Disheartening!

One of my used to be *go to* selling venues on Facebook is now crickets for my offerings, while importers of factory-produced stones continue to sell. Sure, I can’t compete with cookie cutter cabs at $5 to $10, and I don’t expect to, but the site has become so deluged with that level of offerings that I feel seekers of quality stones have left the site. I know jewelry makers are still making beautiful things, so despite the inflation besieged economy, they still need to buy beautiful cabs!

And so, I’ve started my own Facebook selling venue, American Lapidary. Here you’ll find well-crafted designer gemstones created by lapidary artists residing within the United States. I require selling members to provide links to their various social pages in order to vet them for inclusion. Jewelry artists looking for stones cut by established lapidary won’t have to sort through dozens of factory cut cheap stones to find materials for their projects.

While currently a showcase for my own material, American Lapidary is open to selling members from within the United States. There are a few already signed on to the group, but our buying population is still low. Hopefully once word gets out and the group starts to become more active, sellers will find it worthwhile to include their stones too.

So – please come take a look at the group and sign up as a member if you feel it will be of interest to you – the link is at facebook.com/groups/americanlapidary!

My shop on Etsy still carries my cabochons too, of course. Simply click on the Cabochons Section to see what I’m offering! And, to see my work in progress images(and get first dibs on stones hot off the cabbing wheels!) follow me on Instagram @TalismanToo.