s. tector metals

Raleigh’s Sarah Tector treats jewelry as small-scale sculpture. Her pieces catch the eye when on the body. Or not. The company/studio: S. Tector Metals is in Raleigh, where Tector works out of her home studio. A metalsmith for 28 years, she has focused solidly on her business for the last 11 years. The artist: Born in…

sarah cavender

Widely known for her metal mesh designs, Alabama’s Sarah Cavender handcrafts high-style jewelry and accessories that are wearable works of art. The company: Sarah Cavender Metalworks is in an historic area of Oxford, AL. The company’s building has production space in the back and upstairs. There is a little shop open to the public. She…

paper-cut-project

  Thousands of hand-cut papers go into constructing the stunning and highly structured wigs and masks by Paper-Cut-Project. Talk about wow factor! The company: Paper-Cut-Project, founded in 2009, is based in Atlanta and Chicago. The creators: Nikki Nye and Amy Flurry. Born in Rhode Island, Nye grew up in the Chicago suburbs and earned a degree…

kathy king

North Carolina’s Kathy King hand sews thousands of tiny glass beads to construct her intricate and innovative jewelry. The artist: King grew up on Long Island, NY, and earned her industrial engineering degree from Lehigh University in 1991. She served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force after school and moved to Cary, NC, in…

Hannah Long

In her jewelry designs, Florida’s Hannah Long balances bold and delicate while adding keenly observed details and touches. The artist: Long grew up in St. Louis and studied sculpture at Portland State University. She lived in Atlanta, Detroit and New York before moving to Florida. In 2014, after taking a metalsmithing class at the Boca…

Jason Horton

Jason Horton’s close-up paintings of birds and other wildlife are big, bold and beautiful.  With their mesmerizing colors and details, the paintings easily anchor a wall or room. But the creatures also appear to be keeping an eye on you. The artist: Born in Brandon, MS. Horton grew up in a creative family.  His mother…

Brandi Couvillion

Brandi Couvillion tells a story of New Orleans in her contemporary and historically inspired jewelry. The artist: A New Orleans native, Couvillion graduated from Tulane University and studied woodworking and jewelry at the Penland (NC) School of Craft and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. Later, while working as the CFO for a New Orleans…

Muriel Luxemburger

Materials matter to Atlanta’s Muriel Luxemburger. So does Old World craftsmanship. That’s why her fashionable and functional French-inspired bags make a statement. The artist/designer: Born in Paris, Luxemburger studied academic art and design in Paris at the Atelier de Sevres and earned an undergraduate degree from the Ecole Superieure de Design. After graduation she worked in…

John Petrey

Who would’ve thought you could make a stunning dress out of bottle caps, roof shingles and soda pop cans. Chattanooga’s John Petrey did. The result is a sought-after collection of dress sculptures, all made from the most unexpected materials. The artist & background: Born in Southern California, Petrey earned degrees in graphic design and advertising…

Julie Cohn

Self-taught jeweler Julie Cohn describes her work as primitive modern, juxtaposing rough with refined. The company: Julie Cohn Design, based in Dallas, started in 2010. It is the name of Cohn’s jewelry collection but also encompasses collaborative projects with other artists, architects and designers. The artist: Cohn grew up in Tulsa and was educated as…