{photo by Jill Frasier Photography}

Greetings from the bench!

I’ve thought for a long time whether or not I should create a more personal space on the internet for my work, and had pushed against the notion for just as long. The hermit in me has been very resistant to starting a blog that features my pictures and words for fear of losing something. But as I’ve grown in my craft and have built an online presence through both of my shops (Shop #1, Shop #2) and Instagram, I came to understand that creating this space is important. Many wonderful people have reached out to me online wanting to connect. Some want to know where I get my ideas, many want to share how my pieces connect to them personally, and others want to just send some love.

What makes my work special is that every piece I create has a story. It begins with a spark of inspiration, a whisper from the muses, a half-formed dream quickly sketched in my nightstand notebook before the idea slips away. And then comes the circling of the idea. I root around in my supply cabinet, places gemstones on my fingers to imagine how they will look, make sketches of the piece from different angles, and imagine the kind of person to whom it will eventually travel. Will they be fierce and unfettered? Will they be delicate with a flare for the romantic? Will my piece be tucked away in a jewelry box, only to be taken out on special occasions or when curious little hands want to imagine a time when they too can be glamorously bedecked? Or will my piece become part of a person’s unique identity by being worn every day for many years, eventually becoming dinged and scratched, containing its wearers history in its surface?

And then comes the most satisfying part, fabrication. Each piece requires many hours to build from sheet metal and wire, the mixing of gemstone, metal, and fire. It is pure alchemy. During fabrication there is also whispered encouragement for the solder to flow true, foot stamping frustration when I melt a piece in the last stages of creation, and pure elation when it all works out.

And these are the stories that I plan to share with you. Despite my anxiety about putting the indelible impression of my life on the internet and losing some of my privacy, it is worth being able to show you glimpses into the creative process, debut collections as a whole with an explanation of their inspiration, and allow my craft to be more than a just an impersonal conduit through which products get stamped out.

So welcome and may you get something out of this! Because it is for you that I do this, friends.