Hello, My name is Jared Duke and my affair with jewelry began, in my senior semester of college 2014, at Tennessee Tech University. I was pursuing degrees in History and German, with the intention of further graduate studies in Art History. I was lucky to attend an Intro to Metalsmithing course at the Appalachian Center for Craft during this time and I became enamored with creating art from metal and stone. It was also during my senior semester that I was given the opportunity to study abroad in Paris, where I saw one of my favorite paintings, Bedroom in Arles, in the flesh for the first time. After the viewing I came to the realization that I could never devote a career to studying art, I needed the creation process as well! I felt more fulfilled in that one semester of metalwork than I had in 5 years of writing papers. I knew I wanted to make jewelry.
In June 2015, my wife Amy and I moved out to Oregon so I could study metalsmithing at the University of Oregon. About a year into it, I realized that two degrees is enough for me and the money I'm spending on school could be spent opening my own studio. I turned my garage into a studio and with the support of Amy am now making jewelry part-time, hopefully soon to be full time! We plan on doing local art shows and fairs, as well as traveling to other parts of the West Coast and are excited to see where the new business takes us!