I just came back from a gem show. My main reason for going was to source a rose cut diamond for a client I’m working with. I found some nice possibilities for the rose cuts and also a few gorgeous strands of beads. Here are some lovelies of precious, semi precious, seed and heishi beads.

Strands of Pyrite, Copper Seed Beads & Raw Diamonds

Strands of Black Heishi Beads on Black Sand

Strands of Neon Yellow Apatite, Jade, Red Jasper & Lapis

I’ve made a lot of wedding rings for men, but they usually prefer white gold. Recently, I made a custom wedding band with my Glacier texture and cast it in Rose Gold. It turned out amazing. The Glacier’s rough and tumble terrain, combined with the copper’s warm and yummy hue, make for a unique manly wedding band.

FOR HIM: Glacier Wedding Band in 14 Karat Rose Gold listed in my shop’s CEREMONY COLLECTION.

I’m about to celebrate 10 years of making jewelry. I first began at Penland School of Crafts learning the art of metalsmithing.

This is one of my first designs, an organic hand-formed bronze cuff with detailing wrist bone relief. I quickly realized this design isn’t one to bring into production, everyone’s wrist bone is uniquely shaped and placed.

A yummy gold chain, a bit of black and a sweet thorn… yes, please.

Ready, steady, point & shoot with the oh so useful & quite handy dandy i-Phone.

Gold chain on charcoal soldering block. This was taken with the Instagram App. I love how abstract it looks.

Rose thorn cast in silver with yellow gold cable chain on charcoal soldering block.

Self portrait with finished Rose Thorn Necklace from the Botany Collection in my shop. This will go to a lucky lady in Chicago.

I just finished this redesign ring project. Here are a few pics of the process.

This is the final redesign image. From here we’ll go back to the beginning.

This is the original nugget ring that was used for the redesign.

Wax carved model for redesign. Diamonds are in place just for client approval, but will be set after the ring has been cast and cleaned.

Casting in the rough before sprue removal and cleanup. Setting the diamonds is the last step of the process.

Another picture of final redesign using Instagram.

This lovely rose band was made for a special friend of mine. The couple got married a year ago and the husband (a dear friend as well) wanted to upgrade her ring for one of my designs. She always coveted my Glacier Band that I have created for men in White Gold. I created a slightly thinner version for her (approximately 6mm) and cast it in 14K Rose Gold. A sweet combination with the raw textural landscape of rough terrain found in Glaciers and yet utterly feminine with the vintage hue of Rose Gold.

from the Manlier Collection: Glacier Band

I just finished this necklace the other day. It’s my favorite among the seed bead designs I’ve been making in my studio this summer.

A grouping of bright seed bead necklaces with gold accent beads. Featuring cocinas of different sizes and an anchor.

I cast several tiny shells that will be translated into jewelry. A fresh catch of castings destined for my Conchology Collection.

Before I began crafting tiny metals, I worked as a production assistant for a couple of beaded jewelry designers. When I started to do my own work, I felt limited in just stringing beads and so I went on to Penland School of Crafts to hone my skills in metals. Lately, I’ve been going back to my beaded roots and mixing it up with some hand-cast pieces. Here are some results.

Cast Auger Shells & Clasp strung with Kelly Green Thread and Granite Agate Beads.

Cast tiny Cocina Shell with Teal Seed Beads and accent Gold Seed Beads.

Cast mini Anchor with Poppy Seed Beads and accent Gold Beads.

Cast Blackbird Cameo strung with Poppy Thread and Indigo Seed Beads and Black Matte Heishi Beads.

Detail of cast Bronze Clasp.

Knotted Turquoise 6mm Beads with Gray Thread and finished with Braided Bronze Clasp.