In 2001 I graduated from UVM with a BA in Art and English. I moved to Celie's to be a live-in jewelry apprentice. I accompanied Celie on her teaching trips around the country and abroad.

For the first few years as an apprentice I absorbed all the techniques I could. I spent a lot of time at my desk exploring this new material and building my skills. PMC was so textural, I made a lot of leaf rings! 

I had a great love for and fascination with primitive jewelry artifacts. I made this piece entitled "Journey Necklace" and it won 2nd place in the first National PMC Exhibit. 

Celie wrote a lot of project articles for jewelry magazines and suggested I write some as well. As pioneers in Precious Metal Clay we had a lot of exciting discoveries to share. My first article was on firing stones in place.

This was a life changing step! I can't believe I was a part of the Artist Market for 16 years. I loved setting up with fellow artists in City Hall Park. Having the direct feedback from customers week after week helped shape my line. I also got to accompany Celie to Japan, assisting with her workshop at their first PMC Conference.

To celebrate 10 years of PMC, Tim McCreight (Master Metalismith who brought PMC from Japan to the States) invited artists from around the globe to show their best work. Four of my pieces were chosen, including my Textured Turquoise Necklace.

I had the huge honor of being invited to write a chapter on setting stones in PMC for Tim McCreight's book PMC Technic. Plus I got to accompany Celie on a trip to England for their first PMC Symposium and to assist with her workshops.

A lot happened this year, it was very exciting! I opened up my Etsy shop and began selling online. I became a juried artist at Frog Hollow. I was interviewed for the Burlington Free Press. I received my first of 5 Seven Daysies (Best Craftsperson in VT!) I wrote another article on setting stones using a textured bezel for Jewelry Artist magazine. Along with Celie, I got to be one of the first people working in Bronze Clay and was featured in a jewelry magazine article called "Now entering the Bronze Age". I also met the love of my life!

I wanted to try my hand at something completely different! I spent some time making silk and leather earrings that were stitched to a sterling wrapped frame. I submitted a project to a fabric jewelry book and they not only choose my work for the book but put it on the cover! It's a Lark book called "Stitched Jewels" by Marthe Le Van.

I moved in with my guy and set up my first studio space in the basement, in our bedroom, in the office... all over the house... It was hard to leave Celie's but after 9 amazing years of helping her with her classes and traveling and finding myself as an artist, it was time. I would miss this view but visit often. The silver market was way high and I cashed in on years and years of scrap silver and was able to buy my own kiln and tools.

This was very exciting! Metal Clay Magazine interviewed me about my work and put my necklace on the cover! Another jewelry magazine interviewed Celie and I for an article called "The Many Faces of the Modern Apprenticeship".

I started making my chakra, healing pendants. Each one has specific stones that correspond to the symbol. The idea is that they help remind you of which chakra to balance. I ran a successful Kickstarter for my chakra wraps in 2013 to produce a line of them for yoga studios. These make great gifts and they're still part of my line. I just designed a new necklace version.

At this time I could barely keep up with the Artist Market, Etsy and selling at one store in town, Trinket. When Stowe Craft Gallery inquired about selling my work I couldn't pass it up. You can still find my work there. I also got married in the Fall!

I fully turned my focus on wholesaling and getting into as many shops as I could. I got into 17, most of them were in Vermont but also snagged some around the country.

This was a big year of growth too. I rented a small studio to work and attended my first wholesale trade show - went right for the biggest one of them all! NY Now at the Javits Center in NYC. To afford to do so I created an entire line of necklaces called Modern Relics and did a pre-order for them through another successful Kickstarter.

After a crazy busy 2015 I just wanted to connect more with other badass Burlington babes so I started a blog which then became a magazine. We printed one issue. It was a wonderful side project but I decided to refocus on my biz... on making jewelry... cause we had a baby on the way! 

I moved my studio back home and focused on our little guy and maintaining my biz... but it just kept growing! 

It was so much fun to work on a collection that was a bit bigger, bolder and more badass than anything I'd made. These pieces are also for sale in my shop and they're as popular today as when I made them! I also created some custom pieces for Phish Dry Goods. By 2018 my work was in 50 shops and I had hit 5000 Etsy Sales. At the end of 2018 I got a small studio in the Soda Plant, it was so good to be out in the world again! 

This year was HUGE! I finally took a big step and moved next door to a big 4 room studio! I love this space and my team so much. You can read all about it HERE.

So crazy that this year marked my 20th anniversary as a jewelry maker! Despite everything this year was a year of growth and I'm so thankful that it brought my brother, Jason, here as my full time studio manager!

Doing my best to feel FIERCE! We are thrilled that 永 Jewelry is now in 80 shops! For those who are local, we love having you visit our Burlington, VT Showroom! We're always working to grow in ways that make sense. This year I invested in some camera and lighting equipment and a small photo studio so that we can take all our model photos ourselves. We're working toward having a model photo for every piece on the website, to make your online shopping experience that much easier! Jase and I have also started a super fun collaborative "Warrior Woman" photo series featuring my jewelry as life size armor. He has created some Amazing Images! Can't wait to work with some of our Ambassadors on this series.

So excited to be expanding our reach through word of mouth and photos from our Amazing Ambassadors. This year we started an official Brand Ambassador program for those who love JK Jewelry and want to spread the word. You get 20% off our jewelry, you get to give your friends/fam/network 20% off and you earn jewelry credit every time they order! To apply click HERE!

I first made these pendants in 2011 when hurricane Irene tore through Vermont. Our state was been broken, torn up but it's being patched together, healed. The beauty is in the binding. I stopped making these in 2012 but brought them back due to all the flooding that happened around our state.

100% of the profits after the cost of producing these pendants are donated to various Vermont Relief Organizations, Farms and small businesses. We've raised and donated over $15,000!

This book is for artists, crafters, makers, vendors, entrepreneurs and small biz owners. It offers advice and tips for those trying to make something... and then sell that thing... online or in person. I am sharing 22 years worth of experience (recounting successes and failures) in the hopes that my jewelry journey can inspire your journey.