The perfect gemstone colors for fall, don't you agree? I discovered this gem a few years ago while shopping at the Tucson Gem show. Instant love! The color range includes hunter green, bright orange, burgundy red, caramel , and soft yellow. This provides me with endless design options. Red creek jasper is also known as Cherry Creek Jasper. The gem hails from Mainland … [Read more...]
Tools of the Trade: Ring Shank
Ever wonder how we Artisan jewelry designers make our rings so round?? How do we determine the sizing? I use two secret weapons. OKAY actually these are specialized tools. The first is this ring shank (officially called a mandrel but often referred to as a shank) The mandrel is made of the finest quality steel. It's calibrated along one side so I can determine the size of the … [Read more...]
Jewelry Design: Where Does Inspiration come from?
I am often asked where my ideas originate when designing a jewelry piece. The answer is... everywhere! Yep, that is pretty vague. I get it. Let's see if I can give you a few examples. Nature. Anytime I can get outside away from the day to day events and distractions.. I get inspired! Sometimes a simple walk around our pond can do the trick. Other times I need to hike … [Read more...]
Do you love COPPER Jewelry?.
Well those of you who follow me KNOW that I adore copper. When I first started taking metals classes, the instructors always had us making the designs and templates with copper. Copper was considered a low cost alternative to silver and gold (Duh!) So we could make lots of mistakes on our journey to become designers... without the financial burden. That made lots of … [Read more...]
Do you love Copper Cuffs? See my newest collection.
I have been playing around with a new technique I learned from a recent class with Eva Sherman. (instructor extraordinaire). Once we had learned this process of crimping the metal, I put my own spin on it.. Because that's the way creative people think. So I combined the crimping with corrugation, forging, mixed metals and different patinas. Voila! A collection is born. I … [Read more...]
