Michigan Stones Lapel Pin

Whoever says that stones aren’t precious jewels has never had the distinct pleasure of plucking the perfect Petoskey from the crystal clear waters of Lake Michigan.

For the first time ever, we asked our friend and jeweler extraordinaire Liz Saile to create lapel pins for us–stone versions of enamel pins. Each one is entirely unique, polished by hand to a high shine and tens of thousands (if not millions!) of years old. Every shade of brown and gray, blue, green and everywhere inbetween; some are dark, some are light, some have very distinct tessellations–and some don’t. We’ve hand-selected some of our favorites for this collection–we promise to pick out something beautiful for you.

Petoskey Stones: Fossilized corals, their tessellations preserved over 10,000 years ago in the areas surrounding Lake Michigan.

Leland Blues (as pictured above): Created roughly 130 years ago, Leland Bluestone isn’t really a stone at all. It is a by-product, or “slag” created by the process of smelting iron ore inn the late 19th century. There are 21 naturally-occurring colors, ranging from a light, slightly bluish-white to a deep purple, with every color of green and blue in between.

Kazoo Blues (the blues in the upper right of the main product photo):Very similar to Leland Blues, created from the by-products of the iron ore industry in Kalamazoo from 1847-1851.

Sweetstone (the creamy, swirly blue stones in the lower left): Slag created from a Saginaw sugar beet processing plant that closed before 2003.

Pudding Stones: a popular name applied to a rock made up of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained, often sandy, matrix or cement surrounding them. The rounded pebbles and the sharp contrast in color gives this type of conglomerate the appearance of a raisin or Christmas pudding.

Frankfort Greens: Very similar to Leland Blues, created from the by-products of the iron ore industry during the same time, but retain a green color because of the shoreline’s microclimates and forestation.

Wear this pin on your jean jacket for a decidedly retro 80s feel, or our favorite–flair for your Fringe Supply Co. bag, either the Porter Bin or the incomparable Field Bag.

Size: 1-2″ in width. Comes with a locking bar-pin backer.

Looking for our entire enamel pin collection? Find it HERE–under the ‘Fringe Flair’ category.

Looking for our exclusive Petoskey Stone yarn? Find it HERE.