The Spencerville Fair 170th Anniversary Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckle Project
Hi there! I’m Alex—jewelry designer, podcaster, writer, photographer, and working artist living along the St. Lawrence River in Southeastern Ontario. My friends call me alexd, and you can too.
I’m honoured to be designing a sterling silver belt buckle for the Spencerville Agricultural Association, to be raffled at this year’s Spencerville Fair in support of their children’s programs.
This project means a lot to me—not just because it’s our local fair or its 170th anniversary, but because of that special building filled with artwork by kids and adults from across the region. When I first moved here, that building showed me I wasn’t alone—that artists live here too. After a much-travelled life, I know now: I’m finally home.
The Idea!
Everything starts with an idea. As David Lynch often said: the idea is everything in art. Here, we have a terrific idea that represents the friendly vibe of the Spencerville Fair: the pumpkin.
To me, their pumpkin logo represents the agricultural soul of the fair—giant pumpkins, fall pies, fields awaiting Halloween, and seeds that represent the next generation of artists this fair is growing in our community.
How do we turn this logo into Sterling Silver? We won’t 3D print it. That wouldn’t be art, and it wouldn’t be good enough for what we want to achieve: a representation of this excellent community-based fair. A fair filled with humans. A fair organized by dedicated volunteers for 170 years.
We will make it by hand because the vegetables are grown by hand, the quilts are made by hand, the flowers are arranged by hand… You get what I’m saying.
Design Process!
Imagining the Design
The first thing that came to mind was the pumpkin in the middle of a rectangular piece of silver with rounded corners. Pretty basic, right? Look, I’m no Picasso and I can’t draw very well, but we have to start somewhere.
David Lynch wisdom: Put your idea on paper, or it will slip away.
Working Within Limitations
Ideas don’t have limitations, but reality does. Our Master Goldsmith Ed tells me to aim for a finished buckle under 150 grams—like casting 40 wedding bands at once. Hot molten Sterling Silver needs holes big enough to flow through (minimum 1mm thickness), and it starts cooling the moment you stop heating it.
The key? Make a master model in plastic or wax, weigh it, then multiply by a factor to know the final silver weight. Zero waste.
Western Buckle History
For an important project like this, I researched Western cowboy culture. There’s only one definitive book: The Western Buckle: History, Art, Culture, Function by David R. Stoecklein-2003 hardcover filled with detailed photography and buckle lore.
Here’s the wild part: The Spencerville Fair is actually older than belt loops on pants. Belt loops weren’t invented until the 1920s! Before that, people used suspenders, buttons, rope.
The story goes: Navajo and Southern USA silversmith designs found their way into rodeo trophy buckles. Then Hollywood costume designers dressed film cowboys with big silver buckles, taking Western buckles mainstream. The Marlboro Man sealed the deal-his glinting buckle appeared in millions of dollars worth of cigarette ads.
Creating the Master Model
Every designer works differently. I start with the general idea and refine it until it comes out right. I picked a rounded rectangle shape, then considered what makes an amazing belt buckle.
The Vibe Factor
There’s an unseen ingredient many designers forget: vibe. The Spencerville Fair buckle needs an agricultural vibe baked, cast, right into the silver. We create this with symbolism:
- The Pumpkin: Agricultural heritage
- Field Pattern: Hand-carved lines representing farmers’ fields
- Real Pumpkin Seed: Next generation of artists the fair is growing
- Rope Border: How the Spencerville Fair ties us all together
Mixed Media Sculpture
I made a small mixed media sculpture: aluminum wire frame, hand-carved polymer clay pumpkin, polymer clay base with field pattern, and a real pumpkin seed.
Using special silicones, I capture this fragile design to make a cast in special plastic—my master model for the Lost Wax Casting Process.
Lost Wax Casting
Here’s how the ancient lost wax casting process works:
- Create the model – Make the item in wax or special plastic
- Attach sprues – Add wax rods for metal flow and air escape
- Make a mold – Pour heat-resistant plaster around the wax model
- Burn out the wax – Heat in kiln; wax melts away leaving hollow cavity
- Pour the metal – Pour molten Sterling Silver into the cavity
- Break the mold – Reveal the rough metal piece
- Finishing & polishing – File, sand, polish to desired finish
Toronto Workshop
Master Goldsmith Ed sets up my plastic model on a base, using wax sprues to create channels for molten silver flow. Things can go wrong—we make one-of-a-kind objects that have never been conceived or cast before. Experience enables us to create incredible pieces that push forward Canadian jewelry art and design.
Final Results
Finishing Process
Finishing involves filing off sprues, then using finer and finer grits of sandpaper to create the desired surface. I wanted a “Butler Finish”—like silverware hand-polished for years.
The hardness is achieved by “peening”—putting the buckle in a rubber barrel with 5 pounds of polished stainless steel balls and burnishing liquid for hours. Thousands of tiny hammers creating that perfect patina.
The Final Piece
What we’re left with is the magnificent 170th Anniversary Spencerville Fair Sterling Silver Trophy Belt Buckle—a Canadian-produced piece of high jewelry combining community spirit with heritage, art with culture. Rich with symbolism, completely Canadian, bearing Canada’s National Precious Metals Mark.
The Sterling Silver belt loop carries the design theme and can be worn separately as belt jewelry.
You could win this $2000 Sterling Silver belt buckle & loop at this year’s Spencerville Fair, September 11–14, 2025. They’re raffling it to raise money for their children’s programs.
Check spencervillefair.ca for more information.
We are so completely honored to have made it.
alexd
CEO / Designer
TRIBE
Follow the journey on my free weekly podcast, Cannabis Goldsmith, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Despite the name, it’s one of the top art and design podcasts online.
