BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
A6
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Flora silversmith taught himself the craft
BIZZ
BUZZ
DON MALLORY,
SILVERSMITH
What: Silver works
Where: 82945 Weath-
erman Road, Flora. Take
Flora Lane to Weather-
man Road, turn left and
it’s the fi rst house on the
left.
By Bill Bradshaw
F
LORA — It’s mainly
a post-retirement
hobby, but Don Mal-
lory really enjoys the craft of
silversmithing.
“I really like making bits
and spurs, but jewelry sells
better,” the longtime Flora
resident said. “I’ve got a bet-
ter market for it than the bits
and spurs.”
You won’t fi nd Mallory
with a brick-and-mortar shop
or even an online presence.
“We don’t have a com-
puter out here,” he said, add-
ing that internet connections
in his area are a bit sketchy.
Mallory and his wife,
Sandy, live just outside of
Flora. He has two sons,
fi ve grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren.
His version of market-
ing is mainly word of mouth,
“and I do a few shows.”
Silver enthusiasts can fi nd
Mallory’s work at various
shows and bazaars, such as
one held around Valentine’s
Day at the Hurricane Creek
Grange, during Hells Can-
yon Mule Days in Septem-
ber — for about 20 years —
or, more recently, at bazaars
held during the Christmas
season.
He’s also shown his stuff
outside of Oregon.
“I got invited to Sheri-
dan, Wyoming, to the Great
Western Silver Exposi-
tion in 2011 by silversmith
out of California, Jeremiah
Watt,” Mallory said. “Some-
how, he got my address and
Phone: 541-828-7765
No online presence
items made that he spruces
up with silver.
He has headstalls and
spur straps made at Ray Wil-
son Saddlery in Joseph.
“He does most of my
leatherwork and I just doctor
it up,” Mallory said.
It’s not cheap
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Silversmith Don Mallory of Flora shows some of his silver wares at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Christmas bazaar Friday,
Dec. 3, 2021, in Enterprise.
invited me. He invited sev-
eral silversmiths from Aus-
tralia, Germany, Canada and
all over the United States.
About 20 people were at that
deal. It was to show off your
engraving and what you can
do.”
Largely self-taught
As Mallory neared retire-
ment from about 20 years
working for the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion, he realized he’d need
something to fi ll the time.
“I fi gured I’d need some-
thing to occupy my time,”
he said. “It turned into a job
after I got started at it.”
In 1993, a cousin, Larry
Bacon, who lives near Lost
Prairie in the northern part
of Wallowa County, went
to a silversmithing school
in Nampa, Idaho. Bacon
invited Mallory to accom-
pany him, but he didn’t think
he should leave because of
his job with the ODOT.
“I didn’t go because I
thought sure it would snow
— it was January,” he said.
“He came back with bit and
spurs. He’s the one who
helped get me started in it.”
From there, he taught
himself.
“It was all hit and miss.
I basically taught myself,”
Mallory said. “When I
needed help, Larry would
help. … The rest of it I
would learn on my own.”
Working with silver
Mallory said he buys
the sheets of silver in 16-24
gauge sheets that are about
6 inches wide and 18 inches
long.
“That’ll last you quite a
while,” he said.
He starts by determin-
ing and cutting the pattern of
whatever he’s making with
an air-powered pneumatic
engraver. He said it has a
blade that’s about 1/8-inch
wide.
“It’s like a jackhammer
only it’s a lot smaller,” he
said.
Most of the polishing,
he said, happens before it’s
engraved.
He does that “on a back
porch on our house. I have a
shop where I do the buffi ng,”
he said. “It’s really dirty and
causes a mess.”
Mallory also has leather
& Skylight
Gallery
Mallory takes pride in his
work, and acknowledges that
his fi nished pieces can cost
a lot. He said a set of spurs
go for about $800 for ones
with an overlay and $1,100
for ones with an inlay, since
they require about twice the
work. Bits are around the
same price.
Earrings, he said, go for
$20-$50 a set. Bracelets start
at about $65, topping out at
about $150 for one made of
16-gauge sterling silver.
Still, he said, it’s not a big
moneymaker.
“I don’t make enough off
this silver stuff to justify a
living,” he said. “It’s just a
hobby.”
———
Bill Bradshaw is a
reporter for the Wallowa
County Chieftain. Have a
business tip? Contact him
at 541-398-5503 or bbrad-
shaw@wallowa.com.
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Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
409 West Main - Enterprise
10 AM Worship
Online AND In Person
SUNDAY
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For More Info
541-432-3102
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at 9am
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Enterprise
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100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
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Sunday 9:30am
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Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Summit Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
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at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
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107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
www.bookloftoregon.com
Sundays at 10 am
Pastor: David Pendleton
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
www.summitchurchoregon.org
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Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828
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