Alaska Adventures & Herbie the Salmon Cuff Bracelet

Curious who Herbie is? He’s our unique Salmon Cuff Bracelet crafted from recycled sterling silver and sand from Ketchikan, Alaska. Herbie has captured everyone’s hearts! When we made the decision to open our Dune Ketchikan store in Alaska, the task fell to me to create a few exclusive jewelry pieces for the grand opening.

Having not spent much time in Alaska at that point, I was uncertain about what would appeal to fans of The Last Frontier. However, every outdoorsy friend I talked to expressed a desire to journey to Alaska to fish for halibut and salmon. This inspired me to think that a cuff bracelet reminiscent of the great outdoors could be both fun and a wonderful way to commemorate any Alaskan adventure!

Creating our Salmon Cuff Bracelet

My journey of creating the salmon-inspired jewelry began with researching the aesthetic of salmon. I discovered that despite not being conventionally beautiful fish like Mandarinfish or Butterflyfish, Alaskan Salmon have a rugged charm with silvery bodies and distinctive markings. This unique appearance, especially the textured and weathered look, presented a design challenge that intrigued me.

The initial sketches of the bracelet design were far from perfect – they were actually quite rough. However, as I persisted through the design process, I developed a strong attachment to the idea of transforming this uniquely beautiful fish into a wearable work of art.

By the time the grand opening unfolded on April 28th, 2022, my vision had materialized into reality. We introduced our Salmon Cuff Bracelet to the world. Crafted with certified recycled sterling silver and a tiny amount of sand from Ketchikan Alaska, its textured finish and detail on the eye received delightful feedback. Our team affectionately named the bracelet “Herbie”, a moniker that quickly caught on. The feedback from customers couldn’t have been more gratifying. So, here is our Herbie, now available on the Artful Bracelets website, a perfect gift for both yourself and your nature-loving friends and family. We hope you adore him as much as we do.