Father and Daughter, Silversmith Artisans at the Ballard Farmers Market
/Joshua Marceau, his wife Ellen, Daughters Aliyah and Rowenna, and son Ian are Bitterroot Salish from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.
Josh began making jewelry after taking a metalworking class facilitated by his chemistry teacher at the local Tribal college called Salish Kootenai College. He moved to Seattle with his family to work as a research scientist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center.
Joshua, Native American Silversmith, began vending at the Ballard Farmers Market in 2019.
Joshua uses various rare minerals & semi-precious gemstones such as Sonora Sunrise, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Opals, Carnelian, Charoite from Siberia and Larimar from the Caribbean to make earrings, pendants and rings set in silver. He cuts and polishes these bold and colorful stones in-house, and repurposes his silver scraps.
Joshua’s daughter, Rowenna, began making jewelry 2 years ago, when she was only 9 years old; following in the footsteps of her father.
She enjoys working with silver, and creating filigree designed earring and necklace sets. Rowenna also makes stud earrings using synthetic Opal, Carnelian and Abalone. She works with silver very confidently and skillfully, and her artistic skill is remarkable for someone so young.
Joshua and Rowenna enjoy interacting with customers at the Ballard Farmers Market. They demonstrate the torch method of creating silver accents to incorporate into their jewelry designs.
With the holiday season soon approaching, stop by Native American Silversmith to find well crafted, personalized and uniquely designed gift ideas beautifully made by father and daughter.
