I’ll Be Getting Dirty For This One

10 Apr I’ll Be Getting Dirty For This One

When I work with my clients to capture their personal narrative in a piece of jewelry, I never know what might come up. 

This next one is a great example.

Having relocated to another part of the country, my client is having a friend send me a box of earth from the street corner where he and his partner met in the Pacific Northwest. I will be using that actual dirt to create a texture in the engagement band he will be presenting soon.

Below is a page from my sketchbook with an assortment of designs that I provided for him using the dirt texture as a design element. There are other significant details represented in the piece. I was so honored by his reaction to these… he asked if he could have the sketches to frame and keep along with the process photos that I’ll be sending him as I’m working on the ring.

He’s a terrific new client, and I’m hoping that he will be a client for years to come. (I’m holding his identity at the moment, as this ring is still a secret, you see.) I’m enjoying working with him! He’s thrilled to have input in the piece, and he has been quick to help us find signposts in their narrative (his and his partner’s) that we can translate into the design.

The process of creating a custom piece of narrative jewelry is a collaborative one.

Strong technical and aesthetic details are up to me.

The narrative, well, that’s up to my client.

And I love it when my clients light up as they realize that working with me is nothing like shopping in a traditional jewelry store.

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PS. He chose #3.