SRC at Belle David Studios are located in central New Hampshire.

We make molds from original models that are designed and sculpted in clay. Our designs are passed back and forth between us. John generally would "chunk out" a sculpture, imparting much of the design, while Katheren takes care of the detail and makes it mold ready.
This is an image of an actual sculpture in oil-based clay, after it has been cast into a plaster mold and sat around in a box in our studio for 15 years!

We also carve some of our designs in reverse, directly into hardened plaster, resulting in a bead like this
one:

BelleDavid Studios
Sweet Relish Charms
John David O'Shaughnessy &
Katheren Belle
PO Box 92
Tilton, NH 03276

  In production, our first faces were "pit-fired". Inspired by the native American technique of burning, or firing a decorative finish on pottery using straw, weeds or various other organic materials. After being fired in a kiln for strength, the bisque is then fired a second time to obtain the finish in a "pit", which at different times consisted of a hole in the ground, an old bathtub, an abandoned chimney burner, even a covered hibachi.

After pit-firing the beads, the soot and burnt debris is brushed away to reveal the rich earthy tones in random patterns and patches.  Each bead is then sealed with a micro-crystalline wax, dried and buffed by hand.

After years of making thousands of beads this way, we gradually phased the pit-fire decorated beads out of production. Now they are primarily made in hand mixed colored clays and terra cottas, fired to stoneware temps.
 

What's with the name Sweet Relish? These have nothing to do with pickles you say?. .  Sweet Relish Charms is a play on words; Sweet; as in amiable and pleasant, Relish; as in great liking or enjoyment, Charms; as in  delight or captivate, and/or object worn to avert evil, etc; an amulet. These beads are created to charm the viewer, and inspire the designer who chooses to use them to embellish or season their own creations.