About
I am a wife, mother and a Goldsmith jewelry designer. Creating jewelry is a constant journey of joyful exploration!
For me making art was always my favorite thing to do even from childhood.... It wasn't until Art School in college that I took my first Metalsmithing class and as soon as I touched the metal I knew that was what I wanted to do. Studying Metalsmithing at East Carolina University, Montana State University and in Italy.  I had various apprenticeships with a famous Italian Goldsmith Lisa Sotilis (she owns DeChirico's Sculpture Collection), Montana blacksmiths, swordsmiths (yes,you read that right!) and lapidary artists. Ultimately, receiving a BFA in Metal Design. After that began my own business and have been happily making jewelry for the last 20 years. I love what I do and I hope to design something for you!
 For the past 9 years, I have been Designing and Consulting for Made By Survivors, and great non-profit giving Women a new means to make a living after being rescued from a life of Human Trafficking. Check them out MadebySurvivors.comÂ
Magazine publications: Vogue, Brides, The Knot, Style Me Pretty, Grey Likes, Inspired By This, Once Wed, Magnolia Rouge, Ruffled, Folk, Wedding Chicks and more.Â
Published in the book: RELEVANT NATION 40 artists/activists under 40 changing the world, Jewelry Designer for numerous Feature Films, and Jewelry Designer for 50th Anniversary Piece for Amnesty International.
The importance of "greening" my studio has become even more important after having our 3 kids under 9 years old! So, now I am striving to apply the most environmentally friendly practices including the use of recycled gold and the least toxic studio chemicals. For 20 years I have been taking the scraps and melting, molding, and hammering them into a new forms, recycling and transforming. Craftsmanship to me is about excellence but not perfection; by leaving small marks of the work-process of forming, forging and soldering the hand-made quality of crafting remains visible. A reminder that our human flaws and imperfections are engulfed with beauty, yet real.
xoxo, Melissa
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