...With a Little Help

Sarah Loertscher and me in my second Seattle studio working on pieces 

for an LA trunk show, 2007

I just started working with a new intern a few days ago, Samie Todd. Samie and I met at the VCU Handcrafted Entrepreneurship Symposium and she emailed me a few weeks later asking about a possible internship. Between starting with her and contemplating my ten years at work, I began to think about all the assistants, interns, and friends I've worked with over the years. All of these individuals' help proved to be invaluable, some working with me for months, others as semester interns, and others just helping me for a few days to get me through a tough spot. It's a challenge to manage and delegate simply because it's another way of thinking and hard to do when under pressure, which was often the case when I sought help. But, it's a good challenge and gave me an opportunity to work alongside some great 'smiths and people. I really enjoyed working with each of them and I still can't thank them enough. 

Emily Breyer

Seth Papac 
Heidi Thompson

Caitlyn Davey

Holly Lendosky

Sarah Loertscher

Emily Breyer

Caitie Sellers

Hannah Ferrara

Ian Henderson

Samie Todd

Caitlyn Davey

Hannah Ferrara

Samie Todd

I hope you will take a few moments to visit their websites. Most of them are full-time working metalsmiths and artists. (And, I hope I didn't forget anyone!)

Thanks for reading.

Old Friends

Horizontal Diskis Necklace

I was thinking about my old collections today as I drank my coffee and then started looking at pictures of them. I had forgotten about some of my designs so it was fun to look back and remember. I realize these pieces helped me get to where I am now and they allowed me to make jewelry everyday, which is the bottom line for me. Here's just a sampling of that work, an piece from each collection that was both popular and a favorite of mine. You can see more images on Facebook and Flickr.

Link Necklace

Preface Earrings

Wreath Necklace

Men's Collection

Signal Earrings with Chain

Small Bean and Egg Necklaces

Thanks for reading.

Some Really Good Press

500 Silver Jewelry Designs

my Line Drawing Brooch and Cluster Necklace are pictured inside

I've been pretty lucky to have gotten some excellent press over the years. My tiny feature in Lucky Magazine in 2004 helped to propel my production jewelry forward, seeing my Twig Collar on Amy Lee at the 2004 Grammys remains one of the most exciting nights for me ever, and it's still hard for me to wrap my head around that Metalsmith cover. I've gotten to do interviews with blogs like Honey Kennedy and Rena Tom, was mentioned on Daily Candy and Design Sponge, and got a nice profile on the American Craft Council website. My work has also been published in some gorgeous books, like 500 Silver Jewelry Designs, New Rings, and Art Jewelry Today 3. I am grateful for each and every bit of press I've received. It's always exciting and still surprises me. I don't often update my press page on my website, but for the archiving purposes I plan to do so soon. In the meantime, I created an album of press highlights on Facebook if you would like to see more.

Amy Lee with her two Grammys and my necklace

Lucky Magazine "Lucky Breaks" feature

My Metalsmith cover

Thanks for reading.

Oh, I forgot to Mention, I've Been in Business for 10 Years.

my first studio in Seattle, set up right after I graduated from UW, 2002

it was 42 square feet

2012 marked my tenth, yes, tenth, year in business. I thought about this occasionally during the year but failed to talk about it. I had so much going on, I just never got around to it. Then as the year came to a close I began thinking about it more. I've been in business for ten years, seven of which I have been full time. For both of these facts I am excited and grateful. I've been doing this thing that I love more than anything else everyday (and often literally every day of the week). All this week I will be blogging about my ten years at work as a celebration of sorts. To begin, here are pictures of all my studio spaces over the years and I've added an album to Facebook where you can see more.

Seattle studio, 2002

 my studio at Vain in Seattle when I had a four-month residency, 2004

 my Portland, OR studio, 2005

my second Seattle studio, 2006

my first Asheville studio, 2007

my Penland studio, 2009

my new Asheville studio

Thanks for reading.

Guest Star Friday #108...Kranitzky and Overstreet

On my drive back to North Carolina I stopped in Richmond, VA and spent a few hours with today's guest stars, Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet. I met these two wonderful women last year when I taught at Pocosin Arts Center and I am so glad I count them among my friends and colleagues today. They are lovely and make some pretty incredible mixed-media work in the form of sculpture and brooches. Each piece is a collaboration between the two long-time friends and contains layers of different materials and endless detail. Their studio is loaded with stuff, all organized in tiny drawers and stacks of boxes. After lunch and a mimosa we sat in the studio and talked and looked at stuff, which i probably could've done all day. And, when I arrived at my apartment in Asheville hours later, there was a package waiting for me. They told me it was "nothing" but really is was quite something. A thoughtful collection of security envelopes, bits of ephemera, and a little note. Our visit and that sweet package made that long drive worth it! 

Thanks for reading.

Home...Part 2

early work by Sol LeWitt, a favorite artist, at Mass MOCA

I visited three museums while I was home: The Fenimore in Cooperstown, NY, Mass MOCA in North Adams, MA, and The Valentine Museum in Richmond, VA. I saw a lot at each one, but in an effort to keep this post relatively short, I posted photos of the highlights. I was pretty psyched with each visit, especially Mass MOCA. It's probably the best contemporary art museum I've been to in the U.S. and I liked all of the exhibits. All of them! (This does not usually happen.) In brief, I got to see many of my favorite things: historical clothing and jewelry, tattoos, an artist studio, some creepy stuff, and the work a few favorite artists. I posted all my pictures on Flickr so you can see more more more...

hemline of an evening gown from 1824 at the Valentine

tattoo portrait exhibition at the Valentine

posthumous memorial of a baby at the studio of Edward V. Valentine at the Valentine

Civil War era dress at the Fenimore

detail of a sculpture by Lee Bul at Mass MOCA

tiger-skin rug made of 500,000 cigarettes by Xu Bing at Mass MOCA

Thanks for reading.

Home...Part 1

I went to upstate NY to spend a several weeks with my family for Christmas and had a wonderful visit. In addition to all the family time, I did venture out on a few occasions, despite the snow and cold, to take pictures of things I like. I even found a bit of graffiti. It's not terribly exciting compared to things I've seen in Antwerp, London, and Paris, but graffiti none the less...someone was there with a can at some point and left behind a mark.

I created a set on Flickr so you can see more images there.

Thanks for reading.