Former Mountain Residents Return for One-Day Jewelry Pop-Up at Cooper's

By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times

When Jack and Janette Burton return to the mountain, it feels a little like coming home.

The husband-and-wife artists behind JJ Burton Silver will bring their latest handcrafted jewelry designs to Cooper's Wine Bar in Welches for a one-day pop-up on Saturday, July 11, from 4 to 7 p.m.

For Janette Burton, the Mount Hood area was once home.

"I grew up in Clackamas County," she said. "As soon as I was 18, I moved up to the mountain. I'd already been hiking there a lot, and it just made sense to find a place to live."

Over the years she worked at Bowman's Golf Course, Timberline Lodge, Ski Bowl, Wildwood Park, the U.S. Forest Service sign shop and The Store: Natural Foods & Cafe, becoming part of the close-knit mountain community that drew artists, musicians, and outdoor enthusiasts to the mountain throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s

"It really was an amazing time," she said. "You had to be there."

Jack Burton's mountain connection came through both skiing and his work as a chef. Longtime residents may be surprised to learn he created the original menu for Don Guido's, a popular Italian restaurant that once operated in Rhododendron.

Today, however, the Burtons are best known for their jewelry.

Janette had been buying Jack's work for several years before a chance encounter at a Portland restaurant in the mid-1980s. That conversation eventually grew into a creative partnership that continues today.

By then, Jack had already spent years developing his craft after learning traditional silversmithing techniques from a Navajo craftsman while traveling through New Mexico following his Army service. Janette brought a different artistic perspective, drawing on years of working with natural materials, floristry, color, and beadwork.

Together, those influences evolved into JJ Burton Silver, a jewelry studio established in Portland in 1975. Jack became a familiar face at Portland Saturday Market, where he sold handcrafted jewelry while also working professionally as a chef.

The couple soon discovered they worked as well together in the studio as they did in life.

"I do the silver work," Jack said. "Then I hand it to Janette. She has a 40-year collection of beads that serves as her color palette. She takes my work and adds her work to it, and it becomes something made by two people moving as one."

That phrase became more than a description of their process. It evolved into the hallmark stamped onto their jewelry, symbolizing a collaborative studio built on nearly four decades of partnership.

Today, the Burtons create pieces from silver, copper and bronze using traditional hand tools and techniques. Many designs begin as hand-forged coin silver ingots and incorporate turquoise, Oregon jasper, and trade beads selected by Janette.

In recent years, they have also created custom hat adornments and accessories. Janette said the pieces have become increasingly popular through collaborations with custom hat makers, including Portland's Hitmaker Hats.

The landscapes of the West continue to influence their work. For several years, the couple designed annual collections for Pendleton's Home Collection catalog, drawing inspiration from trips to national parks and other Western landscapes.

For Janette, color often provides the starting point.

"I look at the entire range of colors in a landscape and how they interact with each other," she said. "Nature constantly shows you combinations you would never think of on your own."

Jack draws inspiration from wildlife, Native art traditions, petroglyphs, and the natural world.

"I draw inspiration from Native art, local artists, wildlife and the landscape itself," he said.

Although the couple now live and work in Healdsburg, California, they continue making annual trips through Oregon and still consider the mountain an important part of their story.

"We pass through the area often on our yearly design inspiration trips," Janette said. "We've had wonderful enthusiasm and attendance at our pop-ups at Cooper's."

Returning to Cooper's has become one of the regular stops on the couple's annual trips through Oregon.

The JJ Burton Silver pop-up will be held Saturday, July 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Cooper's Wine Bar in the Hoodland Shopping Center in Welches. Additional information and examples of their work can be found at jjburtonsilver.com and on Instagram at @jjburtonsilver.

Upcoming JJ Burton Silver events:

July 9, noon to 5 p.m.
CowGirl Cash, 924 Brooks St., Bend

July 11, 4 to 7 p.m.
Cooper's Wine Bar, Welches

July 17, noon to 5 p.m.
Hitmaker Hats, 3012 N.E. Alberta St., Portland