Ed is a retired US Marine and the husband of fellow instructor Ronda Stevens.  He has always enjoyed working with his hands and his projects in carpentry, wood craft and stone cutting show the quality of his work.  Ed first became involved with lapidary arts in 2003 on a trip to William Holland to accompany Ronda to a Wire Wrapping class.   She signed him up for a gem and mineral identification course, which involved daily field trips to streams, mines, and sides of mountains to look for gems.  He came home with boxes of big ugly rocks that were relegated to the back of a closet. 

He and Ronda joined the local gem and mineral society and he took his first class in cutting, shaping and polishing cabochons.  He was the one initiating the next trip to William Holland to take a week long course in cutting cabs.  That box of big ugly rocks was retrieved from the closet and it became a treasure trove of cabochons waiting to be cut.  The following year was another trip to William Holland to learn to cut and polish opals.  He is a firm believer in “He who dies with the most tools, wins”.  He owns 3 cabbing machines of varying sizes and ages, one of which is an antique.  If you have any questions on his classes, you may contact him at EdStevens88@msn.com