Ebay to Stop All Ivory Sales!

Dave learned today that Ebay will stop worldwide sales of ALL ivory items and items with ivory in or on them effective January 2009. You can read more at the following link:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/ebay-bans-sale-of-ivory/

While the ban is intended to stop international trafficking in illegal elephant ivory, Ebay is banning sale of ALL ivory including legal ancient mammoth and fossil walrus ivory because Ebay cannot be sure if any ivory is being properly listed and described so they are "throwing the baby out with the wash water" and banning all ivory products, including heirlooms.

So what does this mean for Dave and the mammoth ivory items he makes?  Well obviously he won’t be selling them at auction on Ebay after January.  He plans on listing some items with mammoth ivory in our ETSY Shop and we are considering posting some items on our website with BUY NOW buttons that link directly to PayPal.  Also, he will continue to fill custom orders for items made with ancient ivory. 

As we have stated many time, we do not use elephant ivory in making any of our items.  Ancient mammoth ivory is considered fossil ivory and is legal to import and export without restrictions. It is a shame that some bad apples in the ivory trade are ruining the Ebay market place for the artist who only use legal ancient fossil ivory in their craft.

Update:  Etsy has joined Ebay in banning the sale of fossil ivory.  We will now be selling our fossil ivory items directly from this blog using PayPal.

Ancient Ivory Nalbinding Needle

This nalbinding needle has been hand carved from ancient ivory and has been hand polished to a high gloss. Each of our nalbinding needles has been initialed by Dave and comes in its own velour drawstring bag. This nalbinding needle has been photographed on a ruler so you can see the precise measurement, so be sure and click the link above to view the additional photos.

Figured Maple Dragonfly Bobbin Tatting Shuttle

Dave made this 2 ¼ inch lightweight bobbin shuttle out of Figured Maple and then burn etched the dragonfly design by hand. The end of this shuttle is inlayed with dark brown ancient woolly mammoth ivory. The bobbin is a common plastic singer available at any Wal-Mart and comes in a 4 pak. It has a #14 steel crochet hook inset in the nose. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

Fossil Ivory with Silver Inlacing

This primitive inspired piece was created from a shard of fossil ivory. Dave has used silver powder and resin to inlace (also sometimes referred to as inlay) a ancient spiral design into the pendant. This pendant hangs from an 18" silver plate ball chain.

This fossil ivory pendant can be found in our Etsy.com shop.

Ancient Ivory Spirit Pendant

A wizened old spirit face was carved on this pendant by Dave from a beautiful piece of ancient ivory. The pendant measures nearly 3 inches in length and 1/2" in width. Very old African trade copper and four carved bone beads accent this piece . The cord is a wonderful faux suede material that doesn't "shed" on your clothes like real suede does and is very easy to tie so your pendant can compliment any neckline.

Ancient walrus and mammoth tusks are dug out of the permafrost or bone mounds by Alaskan and Siberian natives annually during the summer thaw and sold to subsidize their family or village income. No wildlife has been harmed to produce our art.

"Fresh" ivory and elephant ivory will never be used in any of the artwork created by Grizzly Mountain Arts.

You can find this wise old spirit in our Etsy.com shop. Please click the link below if you would like to view this item.

Ancient Ivory Spirit Carving at Etsy.com

Fossil Ivory Scissor Fob

We usually sell our scissor fobs on Ebay, but we thought we'd try a couple out in our Etsy.com shop. This 4 1/2 inch length scissor fob is an OOAK (one of a kind) piece! Dave has hand carved the acorn and Oak leaf from fossil ivory and Jo put it together with cat's eye, Swarovski crystals and gold tone beads. A gold tone clasp will securely fasten your fob onto your scissors. The scissors shown in the photo are for display purposes only.

This item is for sale in our Etsy.com shop. If you would like to view this item, please click the link below.
Fossil Ivory Scissor Fob on Etsy.com