My journey in jewelry has been evolving since I made my first pieces five years ago. In 2009, I got married and made my bridesmaids necklaces. I remember carefully choosing the czech glass beads and brass charms that went into making them. From there, I was hooked. I loved that I could make my own jewelry instead of buying it. I started experimenting with more materials – lace, gold plated charms, then moving on to semi precious stones and 14k gold chain.

Somewhere along my journey, I started feeling inadequate as a jewelry maker. To me, it felt like a cop-out to be buying pre-made charms and stones from other vendors, stringing them on chain, and saying I made it. I wanted to truly create my jewelry from scratch. So I enrolled in metalsmithing classes at my local craft guild.

Nearly two years have gone by, and I've learned so much about soldering, stone setting, fabrication, and casting. I have found that I have a deeper sense of ownership over my jewelry pieces, now that I can claim that I made a necklace or a ring from start to finish. Learning about metalsmithing has deepened my passion for making jewelry. I hope that each of my pieces is a good indicator of that passion and dedication to craftsmanship and unique design.

And I'm excited to see where my journey in jewelry takes me next!