From My Design Studio

To challenge myself this summer, I’ve been creating palettes that explore summer colors and rendering them into my signature flower abstracts. As of mid July, I’ve created a total of sixteen original florals. Each one is its own story, manifesting a celebration of both bright and muted summertime hues with an occasional sprinkling of metallic… read more

  Hammered Copper Wide Band Ring   By now you may know that copper is my favorite metal to work with.  As a base metal, it’s less expensive than silver, it’s rustic, warm in tone, and allows for a rainbow of patinas.  With some basic tools, you can make a simple copper band ring that… read more

  Giving customers a peek at what I envision when designing jewelry forced me to articulate what I am drawn to as an artisan and why.  In other words, how do I describe my designs?   Commercial store-bought jewelry rarely appeals to me. I want that rustic, handmade feel to my jewelry–unique pieces that capture… read more

If you work with copper metal, a simple way to create a unique finish is to apply a heat patina.  Here I used a 2″ x 3″ piece of copper sheet metal that I fold formed along the length, bending and folding it over then hammering to make it flat.  The result is a stronger,… read more

Recently I had the misfortune of losing my internet connection for 3 days.  Yep.  Three.  Whole.  Days.  What’s a girl to do?  Aside from making daily treks to Starbucks and Panera to check e-mail, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to work on new jewelry designs and play with wire.  The three stones… read more

I’ve been told (shown, actually) that I don’t need to make big elaborate posts to be more consistent with my blogging.  So today, my advice from the beading studio is this: 1.)  When wire wrapping anything, always cut more wire than you think you will need.  Because inevitably you will need more, no matter what… read more