cat goolsby

Atlanta designer Cat Goolsby creates metal jewelry that looks like soft, free-flowing ribbon and fabric.

Artist: Born in Ohio, Goolsby grew up in Lilburn, GA. She earned a BS in psychology with a minor in biology at Georgia State University, where she also took some metalsmithing classes.

Though Goolsby pursued what she thought was a more practical and useful degree, she later returned to the study and practice of metalsmithing.

Goolsby has taught jewelry and metalsmithing classes at the Spruill Center for the Arts and, for 10 years, at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, both in the Atlanta area.

In 2007, Goolsby started her jewelry business. When she is not traveling to art shows, the jewelry designer works from a studio inside a mixed-use warehouse in Scottdale.

In the beginning: In high school, Goolsby took her first class in metalsmithing and jewelry making. She loved working with metal, often staying late after school to work on metal projects.

Art & materials: Jewelry using copper and sterling. Also small metal sculptures.

What’s popular:

Copper cuff bracelets ($97 and up), copper earrings ($87 and up). Also sterling earrings ($60 to $145 and up).
Petite Ribbon Pendants ($99 to $250 and up).
Sterling bracelets ($150 to $600 and up).

Other favorites:

Sterling Ribbon bracelets ($425 and up), which require more than 12 hours to create and are scooped up quickly at art shows.
Tear to Flame series of pendants ($175 and up).

Favorite tools: Her hammer, saw frame, #4 fine half-round file, and Foredom flex shaft. Also her sound-reducing ear protection and ear buds.

Inspiration (s) for your work and/or style:

Fabric, ribbon and lace.
Other materials with an organic flow like nature (leaves, foliage, trees).
A concept, experience or metaphor.

Fun or unusual commissions: The most elaborate was a commission to complete an already-in-progress sailboat tea pot with a tea infuser, created to look like an anchor. It took Goolsby four months to fabricate. (See image at right).

See a three-minute video about the work online: https://youtu.be/Xj3MU6E6iMU

Recent awards/honors: Many, including:

Award of Merit, Discovery Coastal Museum, Hilton Head Island, 2023.
Award of Merit, Ocala Fine Arts Festival, 2022.
First place, craft category (including fine art jewelry), Fairhope, AL, Outdoor Art Show, 2022.

Recent projects: