homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Construction


Construction Industry Spotlight logo

Subscriber content preview

February 22, 2001

Jade is 'green gold' for former miner

  • Deming man turns giant jade boulders into coffee tables, lampshades and fireplace hearths
    • By TERRY STEPHENS
    Special to the Journal

    When Dean Briske, a gold miner in Alaska, had an opportunity to buy a Canadian jade mine several years ago, he never imagined he’d someday be transforming 20-ton boulders into priceless jade coffee tables, lampshades and fireplace hearths for upscale offices and homes -- "upscale" because at $1,200 to $18,000 each, you won’t find his one-of-a-kind jade pieces just anywhere.

    Briske
    Photos by Terry Stephens
    Dean Briske poses with his stockpile of giant jade boulders in Deming.

    In fact, you won’t find a jade-product fabricator like his Princess Jade company just anywhere either. Briske and his wife, Kathy, operate a unique business at Deming, on the Mt. Baker Highway 10 miles east of Bellingham, that is the only one of its kind in North America. Although people generally believe that most jade comes from Asian countries, where it is extremely popular, Canada actually produces 86 percent of the world’s jade.


     
    . . .


    To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



    Previous columns:


    
    Email or user name:
    Password:
     
    Forgot password? Click here.