Watching a design go from inspiration to the sketchbook, to a wearable accessory is a fun and rewarding process as a jewelry designer. In many instances, my custom metalsmith design inspiration is elusive and doesn’t come easily. In others, it can come as soon as you see a focal component.
For me, I saw the design for the focal mookaite stone as soon as I picked up the stone. Conceived at my first Tucson Show in 2014, I was working for Interweave at the time and designed by many of the metalsmiths featured in Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine.
What resulted was a custom metalsmith design that was unlike anything I had made in the past; a partial bezel with two wire prongs on one side and a metal sheet strip on the other.
And there the design sat for the last four years waiting for me to have the time to dedicate to metalsmithing again. Well, I finally found some time this summer and I was able to sit down and make the sketch a reality.
What resulted during the process was not only a one-of-a-kind pendant that I love wearing but a renewed love of metalsmithing I can’t seem to shake. I can’t wait to continue creating wearable works of art with the other stones I’ve been collecting through the years.
