An avid rock hound, I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from Kent State University. It was a calming marriage for me between my love of tools and the satisfaction I get from creating wearable art.

 

I gained recognition for my craftsmanship while working for a well known jewelry artist in Cleveland Ohio where my work was featured in many different publications and worn by celebrities and musicians.

 

My proudest achievement was working on an original line as a fundraiser for the H.E.L.P Malawi Foundation which raises money to educate the children of the Nanthombe Village in Malawi.

 

As a thank you, we were invited to the village to see first hand whose lives our efforts were affecting. I was moved beyond words at how small items that we would consider to be trash were cared for, looked after, and loved like small treasures.

 

After returning home, I began my own jewelry line focusing on bringing this feeling to my work. My jewelry began taking on a greater sense of sentimentality and a value for those small treasures.

 

This is now my main focus: creating jewelry for people using their own sentimental artifacts. The collaboration is very rewarding.