mint museum

on sunday i went to the mint museum of craft and design in charlotte, nc to see ornament as art: avant-garde jewelry from the helen williams drutt collection. as a whole the exhibition is pretty incredible. it includes some 275 pieces by jewelry artists from around the world from the 60s-90s. these pieces are important for many reasons namely due to the ground breaking nature of the work. jewelry like this had not been seen before and has paved the way for studio jewelry today. i have to say, though, much of it looks dated and many pieces appeared dingy and dull. however, despite that, the collection remains impressive.

my absolute favorite piece was a square necklace by tone vigeland made of hundreds of sterling silver squares with a square neck opening. the squares measure maybe 1/2" and form a grid. i can't find an image of it now to share, unfortunately. i also loved seeing pieces by manfred bischoff like the brooch above. other highlights include work by fukuchi kyoko, annelies planteijdt, and janna syvanoja.

i also checked out the mint's fantastic contemporary jewelry collection which includes work by vera siemund, melanie bilenker, tracy steepy, and my studiomate geoff giles.

thanks for reading.

december jewelry of the month

i am incredibly excited about this month’s jewelry of the month - the twig & flower necklaces - because i finally got to collaborate with one of my favorite artists, jill bliss. jill and i have been talking about collaborating ever since we first discovered each others’ work a few years ago. for our collaboration we made necklaces of oxidized sterling silver twigs and fabric flowers and leaves. the necklaces are all unique and measure about 2-3 inches long. the leaves and flowers are made from cotton fabric and are hand stitched to the twigs. there are four different necklaces - no. 1 is pictured above, no. 2, no. 3, and no. 4 are listed below consecutively.

the necklaces are $112 a piece and each comes with a numbered and signed card…signed by both me and jill.

no. 4 is sold. one of my jewelry of the month mailing list members snatched it up immediately. if you would like to be on this list and receive advance notice too, you can sign up here.

thanks for reading.

guest star friday #30...donna d'aquino

i've been thinking a lot about my studio work these days as i prepare for two different shows. i've been drawing and researching and looking around me. this all brings me to the work of today's guest star and one of my favorite jewelers, donna d'aquino. donna's work is based on some concepts that are driving me as well, "line and the act of drawing." i am personally attracted to the layering of line and the structures she creates via this layering. her pieces are strong and thought- provoking both on and off the body.

thanks for reading.

holiday sale is on

my annual holiday sale* starts today! all collection pieces (signature, steel & gold, egg & bean, men's, preface, layered) are 25% off from now until friday, january 16.

this will be your last chance to get signature and layered collection pieces as well as other pieces throughout all the collections. these items have been retired and will no longer be available after january 16.

also, FREE shipping on all orders $75 and up!

*the sale does not apply to wholesale or consignment orders, wedding rings, jewelry of the month, studio jewelery, or custom orders.

happy holidays! thanks for reading.

jill bliss collaboration

i am super excited about december's jewelry of the month - a collaboration with one of my favorite artists, jill bliss. the piece will be available starting monday, december 1. if you want to see it sooner, please send me an email request to be added to my jewelry of the month mailing list or sign up at my website. i send out jewelry of the month advance notices a few days before the first of each month.

thanks for reading.

holiday sale starts wednesday!

my annual holiday sale* starts this wednesday! all collection pieces (signature, steel & gold, egg & bean, men's, preface, layered) will be 25% off from wednesday, november 26-friday, january 16.

also, this will be your last chance to get many different pieces throughout all the collections. these items will be marked retired on wednesday. big changes are coming...



*the sale does not apply to wholesale or consignment orders, wedding rings, jewelry of the month, studio jewelery, or custom orders.

thanks for reading.

my sternum hurts

i am dealing with a slight injury these days. i have costochondritis which is "inflammation of the cartilage that joins the ribs to the breastbone." how did i do this? a very bad habit... about nine months ago i began using my sternum as a place to rest my ring mandrel while i was forming rings with a hammer. the jarring motion of the mandrel against my bones damaged the cartilage. i started to feel the affects months ago and in the last few weeks the problem worsened and i could no longer ignore it. i went to the doctor a few days ago. this injury, although not serious, will take months to heal and it's pretty painful sometimes. i just have to cut out this body-as-tool nonsense and take it easy. so my fellow jewelers (and craftspeople, really) ...please be kind to your bodies. that's all.

thanks for reading.