Marble Falls silversmith makes jewelry for the ages
Silversmith Stephen Silvernail (yes, that’s his real name) talks to a customer of Silvernail Handcrafted Jewelry at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie. The Marble Falls resident will make and sell his wares at the fair through May 26. Photos courtesy of Scott Fischer
Stephen Silvernail of Marble Falls is a true Renaissance man. He’s a musician, plumber, and silversmith, and he literally lives part of his life as a renaissance craftsman at faires in Waxahachie, Texas, and Sterling, New York.
“Renaissance faires and silversmithing both fell in my lap at an early age,” Silvernail said. “I’ve been around it my whole life. I grew up with it. I spent my childhood running around the faires watching these great shows and great artists.”
The Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, now in its 45th year and running through May 25, is the largest curated and vetted faire for artisans in the country.
Silvernail has been a part of its team of around 200 craftspeople for the past 30 years. His home for the duration of the faire becomes Silvernail Handcrafted Jewelry at Shop #117 on Sir Richards Way, Holly Field.
And, yes, Silvernail is the silversmith’s real name.
“It’s been the family name since they moved here (Central Texas) in the 1800s,” he said. “I do believe it was Silvernoggle, which is German for silver nail. They Americanized it.”
Smithing runs in the family, at least as far back as his father, Gordon Silvernail, who died in 2019. Gordon was also a musician and taught his son both skills.
While playing music in Austin, the elder Silvernail picked up work fixing instruments.
“He couldn’t find a job doing that, so Mom said, ‘Try jewelry,’” Silvernail said.
Gordon Silvernail began selling his handcrafted silver jewelry at street shows, including on The Drag in Austin, the blocks of Guadalupe Street that border the west side of the University of Texas at Austin.
The two skills—silversmithing and instrument repair—are similar.
“You solder, you buff, you do all that with both,” Silvernail said. “My father was a jeweler. He passed the torch on to me. I want to give my dad high praise for teaching me his art. He was a lovely man. He also taught me guitar.”
Young Stephen earned an allowance by shooting waxes, buffing, polishing, and working at the portable vendor booths. When the family discovered the renaissance faires with storefronts that didn’t have to be set up and dismantled each day, they found a new way of life and work.
“I’ve been at ren faires since I was 4 or 5 years old,” he said. “I grew up in the puffy shirts, hats, and pants. We found a nice little niche in there, and we haven’t looked back.”
After two months at the Scarbouragh faire, Silvernail heads for the 50-year-old Sterling Renaissance Festival in New York, which runs from July 4 through Aug. 16 this year. Then, he returns to Marble Falls, where he works as a plumber and musician while perfecting his silver-shaping techniques.
Silversmithing began around 7,000 years ago, with Egyptians making jewelry and the Greeks and Romans hammering out dinnerware. It is one of the oldest forms of jewelry making, but it wasn’t until the Renaissance (1400-1600), when casting was developed and trade guilds formed to train apprentices, that the production of silverware and jewelry exploded on the open market.
The basic techniques remain the same, but the tools have definitely improved. Silvernail runs his centrifuge and wax-casting kiln on electricity rather than charcoal. And like his forebears, he can size to fit on the spot and create custom pieces.
When asked if he considered his work an art or a craft, he quickly answered, “Both!”
“There’s an artistic freedom with it,” he said. “If you get bored, you can dive into doing something cool. I live for bracelets. It’s such a big canvas to work on.”
Supporting artists and small businesses adds to the satisfaction he feels as a renaissance faire artisan and aficionado.
“This is my life,” he said. “It’s worked for me. I love my customers, the people I work with, the renaissance community, everyone. It’s a really special place.”
And so is Marble Falls, he continued. Silvernail Handcrafted Jewelry set up a vendor booth several years ago at Main Street Market and during LakeFests, but Silvernail now concentrates on his ren faire shops.
“I remember one year at the boat race it was so hot that I had to get a ring and dip it in a cup of water before they could try it on because it would burn their finger,” he said.
Now, Silvernail spends his summers in Upstate New York, where it’s much cooler. When he returns to the Highland Lakes in September, he usually picks up plumbing work and plays his guitar.
“I just love it here,” he said. “I love the golf, the food, the people, the lake. Marble Falls is my home between faire seasons.”
For more information on the Scarborough Renaissance Festival, visit srfestival.com. Silvernail Handcrafted Jewelry can be found on Facebook.