About Valhalla Silver
J. Malcolm Thompson Owner/Operator Valhalla Silver
In 1978, I began making and selling jewelry under the name Valhalla Silver. I shared a space with another jeweler in a store in Potsdam N.Y. called Argent Silverworks. This was a gap year between college and grad school. Since then I’ve had a career as a history professor and home remodeler. I continued to do jewelry as a hobby, but in 2015 I began my transition into a full time artist, dividing my time between silversmithing and intaglio printmaking. 
At my bench at Argent Silverworks, 1978.
My Art's Style and Ethics
Working as a carpenter for twenty-five years, it's not surprising that wood has become a material part of my silver jewelry. As a historian, Native American, Victorian and Ancient World motives surface in my designs. Currently I'm developing lines inspired by Norse and Ancient Greek myths.
The Red and Black figure designs of Greek pottery offer insperation for silver on ebony cabochons similar to my Mountain/Moon series.
The Ivory Tower ring. Perhaps this ring would appeal to a chess player, but I was thinking of making a piece as impractical as getting a PhD in History.
Whenever possible I use responsibly sourced materials. All the gold and silver in Valhalla’s jewelry is purchased from Rio Grande which guarantees its metals to be sustainably recycled. I cut most of my own cabochons. This not only allows me more creative control, but also insures that the stones do not come from manufactures that exploit child labor or fail to protect their workers from hazardous conditions that cause silicosis. 
left: Fossilized dinosaur bone. right: Ocean Jasper cut by J. Malcolm Thompson
The Story Behind the Logo
J.R.R. Tolkien, Frank Frazetta's fantasy art and Dungeons and Dragons inspired my early jewelry designs; especially my helmet logo. In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the great hall where armor-clad maidens, the Valkyri, take warriors who have fallen bravely in battle. Picture Wagner's operatic character, Brunnhilde, the leader of the Valkyeri and daughter to the hammer god, Wotan. To protect his daughter's purity, Wotan has placed her within a circle of fire. With a ring of power, the hero, Siegfried crosses the flames, and wins Brunnhilde's heart, by giving the ring to her. To accompany her love through the fire, Brunnhilde sacrifices her immortality. For me, the forging and soldering of silver into rings, pendants, and bracelets. brings to mind Wotan's hammer, the ring, and the transformative nature of fire. Perhaps one day I will have the honor of creating a ring of power for you.
