Utah Stories

The Voice of Local Utah

Striking Gold in Ogden: A 45-Year Professional Jewelry Maker Relocates to Ogden’s 25th Street

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Photo of Carl Cox by Richard Markosian.

Carl Cox, of Alaskan Gold Connection, has spent the last 25 years living in Fairbanks, Alaska. After Nevada, Alaska is the second most productive gold-producing state in the country. Cox moved there with a jewelry-making background and decided he wanted to get more acquainted with the raw and natural gold specimens as they were mined from the mountains. 

Gold is usually processed from “paydirt” through an intensive system of conveyors and water which separates the small flakes from gravel. It is then melted down for processing. But gold will occasionally form into larger nuggets and take on unique forms. However, finding these nuggets is a rare occurrence, and buying raw nuggets requires connections.

Cox spent years in Alaska getting acquainted with over a dozen private mining operations, informing them that he wanted to buy their nuggets to craft into precious jewelry. 

Cox explains that, “Specimen value comes from the fact that each nugget is unique in itself, not only because of appearance, but the size. Any gold of any size like this is extremely rare. So the rarity of the piece is what drives the specimen value.”

After he was established in Fairbanks, Cox developed his own system. “When a miner would come into my store, I would get really picky. And when I’m cherry picking the really cool nuggets, the price goes up.” 

Cox’s willingness to pay a premium for the rare specimens ensured he could get his hands on the most unique nuggets. Six years ago, Cox decided he wanted to live closer to his Utah grandchildren and was attracted to living in Ogden Valley and working on Ogden’s 25th Street. He maintains all of his mining connections in Alaska through his business partner who still resides in Fairbanks at his old shop. Still, he feels at home in Ogden.

Cox further explains that, “Two Street in Fairbanks looks just like Ogden’s 25th Street. The Farmers Market, the Harvest Festival, the car show. It’s a very good place for business. It brings a lot of people in. It has a lot of exposure. It’s something that you don’t have everywhere. It is full of locally-owned businesses supported by a loyal population who value the independent Western spirit, a mindset that was similar in Alaska in the isolated outpost of Fairbanks.”

Cox was planning on originally opening his doors March 1st, but Covid caused a two-month delay. While he says certainly foot-traffic is down from normal, he has a lot of customers making custom orders, and Cox can, in his words, “make just about anything.” He often makes custom wedding bands and necklaces, earrings and settings with rings with precious stones, most of which feature his unique raw gold nuggets.

Alaskan Gold Connection

167 25th Street, Ogden, UT 84401

801-621-4247

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Print Lives: Publishing Company Comes to Ogden

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Vince Font, founder of Glass Spider Publishing in Ogden. Photos by Maria Milligan

Most authors will tell you that writing a book can be an exhausting, frustrating experience. For many of these writers, however, navigating the publishing world to get that book in the hands of readers proves far worse. Fortunately, a new publisher in Ogden, Utah is working to change that.

Vince Font started Glass Spider Publishing because he knew firsthand how much trouble writers can have finding a publisher to take a chance on their work. After trying unsuccessfully to get his book accepted, despite positive feedback from editors and publishers, Vince decided to go the self-publishing route. He and his wife Jane researched publication methods, hired an editor, and designed and published the book. He said of this process, “We learned a lot of lessons. We made a lot of mistakes. And we had to do it over and over again until we got good at it.”

After Vince and Jane figured out the self-publishing world, they realized they could put their experience to good use by helping other authors do the same. Vince explains, “I had the idea of starting an online-based service. There are a lot of companies that do what we do, but they’re on the East Coast and they charge a lot of money. And you don’t really get to know the editor, the person who’s looking at your work. So I thought we could set something up and hopefully get a lot of local writers involved.”

If the impressive response from local authors is any indication, writers are hungry for the self-publishing/publisher hybrid that Glass Spider offers. Now writers can have professional help polishing, designing, and publishing their work without having to wait for the attention and approval of big publishing companies.

“We do everything someone can do on their own through the self-publishing market, but we are really good at it,” Vince explains. Glass Spider offers the services of professional editors, designers, and marketers while ensuring the author retains all the rights to their book. Glass Spider also has partnerships with independent bookstores like Booked on 25th, which give authors a place to sell copies of their work.

What really sets Glass Spider Publishing apart from other publishing avenues is the personal relationship they have with authors. Vince often meets writers at Jane’s Pandemonium Art Gallery to discuss their books. Since many of these authors have never worked with a professional editor before, Glass Spider makes it a learning experience for them. Vince explains, “Our editing is not kid-glove editing, but it’s courteous editing. I don’t want someone to say, ‘This is terrible.’ I want them to say, ‘This could be better.’”

Vince has been amazed at how much local talent they’ve found since starting the business in January. The majority of their business has come from authors in Weber County and surrounding areas. In fact, Glass Spider recently published a book about Utah written and illustrated by middle schoolers at Venture Academy called Utah: By Kids, For Kids.img_20160916_164047154

When asked how they decide which books to publish, Vince said “The only books we have turned away have been books that authors haven’t yet finished writing. Because with a good, professional edit, any book can be vastly improved and made publication-worthy.” He encourages authors to go to Glass Spider’s website, GetMyStoryPublished.com, and explore their options. He explained, “The motto of Get My Story Published is ‘Everyone has a story to tell.’ I really believe that. Everyone has at least one good book in them. I’m genuinely surprised by the amount of people who want to write. I think everybody should do it at least once.”

Vince wrapped things up with a quote from Indian author Kiran Desai: “The publishing world is very timid. Readers are much braver.” He said of Glass Spider Publishing and Get My Story Published, “Most publishers aren’t brave enough to take a chance on unproven authors, but we are.”

Learn more and set up a consultation at GetMyStoryPublished.com.img_20160916_164537967

Ogden’s Tentsile Tree Tents

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Tentsile Tents. Photo by Maria Milligan

The trouble with your typical camping hammock is that it fits only one person, provides little cover, and tends to dump its occupant into the dirt. For hammock lovers, one company has solved these problems in designing a unique tent that many folks are adding to their gear collection.

Tentsile Tree Tents on 24th Street in Ogden is a warehouse, an office and a store, making it a hive of activity for the company that sells its products worldwide. According to founder Alex Shirley-Smith, “Our headquarters are still in London. We are a UK company needing to be where our largest customer base is. Production in China, headquarters in London, and our main shop in the USA. We are a small global company.”

The store is set up with tents, each lashed with slack line at three points and stretched above the showroom floor like a forest canopy. Shirley-Smith says, “Our tents are made out of pure tension and keep you off the ground.” It’s a simple approach, executed uniquely by these suspended tents.

In the upstairs office, employees take orders, refill stock and communicate with London headquarters. There may be no one in the showroom at first, but if you make your presence known, employees are happy to answer questions and let you test out models.

Climbing into the tent, you may fear that it will collapse or snap free of its lines and anchors. But the tents remain firm, holding the weight of several people without strain. Lying in them is as comfortable as a hammock without the sudden twists when you adjust. The interest for customers, Shirley-Smith says, is simple: People like to climb up into things. As adults, we still want childlike playfulness, but mixed with a sense of security.

Perhaps more interesting than the tents is their purpose. Tentsile’s mission is to create products that leave no footprint, and they use sales income from those products to serve the environment. For every tent purchased for example, Tentsile will plant three trees through the WeForest initiative.

For Shirley-Smith, caring for the environment has been a lifelong passion. For Ogden, the presence of Tentsile Tree Tents means yet another outdoor products manufacturer whose success can benefit the area’s future economic growth. Utah has always been sought after for its scenery. Tentsile is a good Utah business fit as it aims to keep that scenery as unblemished as possible.

The Ogden store hosted a grand opening on May 7th.13254524_1379728238721105_5334772662749634130_n