Steven Douglas has been making things with his hands since building model airplanes on the kitchen table as a kid in the ’60’s. In his early teens, friends introduced the Douglas family to rock hounding and lapidary (the shaping and polishing rocks and gems), while on a camping trip near Lake Tahoe.

With stones in hand, Steven took his first jewelry metals class in 1972 at Sir Francis Drake High in San Anselmo, California. Steven continued his jewelry and arts and crafts education at Marin Community College in Kentfield, and on the job at various jewelry manufacturing concerns around the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 1979 Steven took a position as a goldsmith’s apprentice in Sonoma, California where he worked and studied under master goldsmith John Stephan Garfolo and like Elyse, took advantage of advanced training at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco.

From 1983 to 1988 Steven worked in Santa Rosa, California for Larry Williams Manufacturing Jewelers where he learned a more traditional style of jewelry making in contrast to the very modern style of John Garfolo. Born in Heidelberg, Germany while his father was in the Army, Steven developed a fascination with the German tradition of quality craftsmanship. While working and studying in the San Francisco Bay Area, he gravitated toward German-trained designers and goldsmiths.

Steven tends to be more the technician for the store, whereas Elyse is the lead designer. His primary responsibility in the shop is ensuring that client projects are completed on time and to specification, maintaining the high standards that people have come to expect of The Sunstone Store.

When Steven designs his own jewelry, he likes to explore the boundaries between traditional technique and modern technology.

To contact Steven please email him at info@suntonestore.com

From an early age, it was clear to Elyse Douglas that some form of artistic expression would be a central theme of her life’s journey. Growing up, she was consistently involved in arts and crafts, from dance and music to graphic art and painting.While studying graphic art at the University of Texas at Austin, she took a non-credit jewelry making class — just for fun — and found herself hooked for life. It was the challenge of designing in three dimensions and the excitement of working with precious metals and a myriad colors and fine gems that made the medium so enticing.After moving to Sacramento, California, Elyse sought out employment at small jewelry and lapidary shops, where she could practice and expand her jewelry making skills while studying art at American River College. Continuing on her path to becoming a jewelry making professional, Elyse moved to Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, where she began working in fine jewelry stores, while accessing advanced training at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco.It was at this time that Elyse also began to study the science of gemology through the Gemological Institute of America, the world’s most prestigious Gem research and education organization.In the summer of 1981, Elyse interviewed for a goldsmith position at Vineyard Jewelers in historic Sonoma, California, where Steve Douglas had been working since 1979. A little over a year later the two were married and continued to work in Sonoma until they moved to Bend, Oregon, with their two boys, in 1988.Elyse’s personal style tends toward fluid, organic lines and asymmetrical designs incorporating non-traditional colored gems and is most influenced by the Art Nouveau period of the late 19th century. When working with clients to design a piece, she demonstrates an uncanny ability to intuit a person’s individual style that borders on a sixth sense. Her experience at the bench and thorough understanding of manufacturing techniques give her an unparalleled grasp of the custom jewelry process from concept through completion.She works in the jewelry studio designing and executing her own original creations as well as designing for her inspirational clients. Her current works are featured in The Sunstone Store’s Downtown Bend Showroom and the Hood Ave. Art Gallery in Sisters.Elyse currently holds certificates in Diamonds, Diamond Grading, Colored Stone Identification, and Colored Stone Grading. She is also a graduate of the Master Valuer jewelry appraisal program.To schedule a design consultation with Elyse Douglas please email her at info@suntonestore.com