I am Deborah and I have made things since I was a kid.
Our garage was stuffed to the gills with arts & crafts materials, tools, a tiny jigsaw my Dad used to fashion model boats with, scale trains, accompanying model landscapes and the ever present fix-it projects of my Mother. Even my favorite shows to watch, when I was little, were usually pretty creative. I'd laugh and laugh with my grandpa as the 'Lil'Rascals' would make a machine with a squirrel running on a wheel to power a wooden device that would send a snowball flying. All pretty outrageous and silly, but those kids seemed they could do anything and I kinda believed I could too.

I think my Grand Pa knew I could because my favorite place was in the garage, with him as he tinkered and puttered around, and he always welcomed me there. Always something brewing on the bench and Goddess knows it usually had something to do with electricity and a soldering gun. He would help me try out my hand if I was curious, guiding me and talking me through the process. That could be scary and thrilling but I would walk away feeling ever so powerful. There was one thing I was never allowed to touch though. The scariest thing of all was the table saw, sitting with magnificent, menacing glory in the middle of the garage. It had hideously large teeth and looked like if given half a chance, it would start itself and chase you down! When Grand Pa fired up the table saw, we all took a respectful giant-step backwards.

Now I have my own shop. My own bench, littered with things and stuff and what-nots. I work there nearly every day making metal and gems behave, trying to divine what the fey folk and the elven family heirlooms will be this season. Being a bit rebellious by nature, you won't find too many "conventional" jewelry pieces here. My favorite jewelers are fantastic artists creating wonders rather than common jewelry. Angela Blessing, Faberge, Sergio Bustamante, Erte and the divine, delightful Candace Stolley of Bindu Jewelry, all have had a major impact on my stylistic charge. I aspire to create to the visions dancing in my head, but for now I offer the trickle I am capable of tapping into at this time and welcome you back always!

Where to find things for sale...

To day is good...Make today better and watch this...

http://www.wisdombook.org/

Now go do your day!

Times are tough.
Everyone knows it.

Being a jeweler in these times requires patience, perseverance and flat out luck. I sometimes find myself slipping into despair, thinking bad thoughts about the things I make, then someone longingly comes along an pines over a piece I have made....walking away wistfully.

Because I am so new to this means of expression <sculpture, painting and model-making for toy companies has been my mainstay for the past 15 years> I have little to compare my quality to. I do know one thing...the local Farmers market ain't the place for me. But....and everyone has a big BUT....it is exposure. It is Advertising. It is public relations. Can't buy that kind of face-time for the price <free +10% of my take> So every Friday AM I pack my self into the truck, haul my set up downtown and plant myself to face a day of selling to buyers who are counting every dime just to make their grocery list. Sparkly shiney silver and gold is something that is less than priority for them....but a girl can hope.

So strike out. Be brave. Put yourself somewhere you don't feel comfortable. See if it works. If you have the time and the cost is not too high, my rationale is this may teach me something. Clearly these times are tough. Clearly i chose to go into a high luxury market at a supremely difficult time. I must remember that the positive side of living in a major metropolitan area is the rebound time the dollar will have. We will feel relief from this depression quicker than the middle of the country and with any luck be able to help out our brothers and sisters there more readily as the financial support structure rebuilds itself. 

I am hoping it will only be built in a manner that is not as closely related to the last failed paradigm and will be a harbinger of a shift in our culture. We so need a new way of thinking about things and a new way of doing business with each other.