If you’ve ever wished you could create all your jewelry from gemstones you’ve discovered, you’ll love this conversation with my guest today. 

Lisa Carroll is a silversmith and self-proclaimed treasure hunter from Australia who recently joined the Slowmade Collective. She loves incorporating Australia’s beautiful Lightening Ridge opals into work, but an even bigger thrill is going down into the mine that she and her partner own and discovering beautiful opal specimens. I can only imagine. I’m always trying to source gemstones from small family owned mines with ethical mining practices, but honestly that can be really challenging and with so many stone dealers outside of the US, it’s hard to know who you can really trust. I love that Lisa is literally creating jewelry with opals that come from their own mine and I couldn’t wait to chat with Lisa about all of this.

Opal mining is literally in Lisa’s blood. Her grandfather mined opals while her grandmother cut and polished them… and she’s proudly to carrying on this deep rooted family heritage. 

Lisa was an absolute delight to speak with and her energy was infectious. Of course we talk about the unique qualities of Lightning Ridge opals, the intricate process of finding and processing opals and the challenges and dangers that come with mining… including emus and the occasional venomous snake.

Lisa also shares her experiences balancing her work as a hair stylist and salon owner, jewelry artist and miner with family responsibilities, along with the joys and challenges of living a more simple rural life when they are living for extended periods of time at the dig site. 

Follow Lisa...

Instagram: @thesilversmithandheropalminer

Website: thesilversmithandheropalminer.com