Lisa Heller, an Atlanta lawyer turned jewelry designer, calls her work Modern Artifacts. That is because she likes to take moments from history and reinterpret them into modern pieces of jewelry. Artist: Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Heller’s family moved to Stuart, FL, when she was nine. In Stuart, her dad was mayor and her mother…
Inspired by historic maps and architectural details, New Orleans native Brandi Couvillion tells stories in her historically inspired jewelry. Artist: A New Orleans native, Couvillion graduated from Tulane University. To explore her creative side, she took workshops at Penland School of Craft (NC) and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. A few serendipitous classes at New…
New Orleans jewelry designer Emily Zawislak uses traditional metalsmithing techniques to make striking, minimalist pieces, integrating faceted gemstones and the elegant luster of gold accents. Artist: Born in Houston, Zawislak’s family moved around the country many times before they settled in New Orleans when she was a teenager. After high school, she went to the…
North Carolina jewelry designer Emily Rogstad translates architectural details and everyday objects into wearable pieces. Artist: Born and raised in East Calais, VT, Rogstad got her start working with metal in the eighth grade at her public high school, which had a metals and jewelry studio. From there, she was hooked. Rogstad went to Maine College…
Architect turned jewelry designer Linda Azar has heard it said that silver collects and stores moonlight. The North Carolina metalsmith tries to capture that feeling in her work. Artist: Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Fl., Azar earned a BS in architecture from University of Florida. In 2001, after graduating, she moved to Asheville, NC,…
Known for her fresh and often bold designs, Texas metalsmith artist Helen Dorion believes jewelry is art and your body is the gallery. Artist: Originally from the North West of England, Dorion received her undergraduate degree in Fashion and Textile Design from the Sir John Moores University in Liverpool in 1987. After meeting and eventually…
Whether it is black birds on sterling branches or dragonflies on bracelets, Baltimore designer Lisa Cimino creates unique jewelry interpretations of land, sea and sky. Artist: Born and raised in Baltimore, Cimino studied jewelry at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she experimented with a variety of jewelry making techniques. Ultimately, it was lost wax casting,…
The latticework of bridges and electric towers inspire the 3-D sculptural jewelry designs of North Carolina’s Sarah West. Artist: Born in Seattle, West grew up in the greater Boston area. She earned a two-year bench jewelry certificate from the North Bennet Street School in Boston. In her 20s, after working as a bench jeweler, West…
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…
In Alabama, chase and repousse’ artist Norman Morgan captures the natural beauty found in the outdoors in his detailed jewelry designs. Artist: Morgan grew up in Tarboro, NC. His art career started as a teenager when classmates discovered that he could draw reasonably good rock stars, and they were willing to pay for them. After…