Jewelry Artist

After a voice told artist Karen Smith she’d go to Senegal, she went. Apprenticing there with a master goldsmith, she was watched constantly but silently by a young girl. “She thinks you’re a ghost,” someone finally told Karen. “She’s never seen a woman do what you’re doing.” In response, in 2019 Karen launched We Wield the Hammer in Oakland, CA, determined to empower young women of African descent to wield all the tools and equipment in a good jewelry studio, and launch their own businesses, too. Join Karen and host Katie Hacker as they discuss the progress Karen has made on her startup in this especially tumultuous year, and the hurdles she still faces.

Known for his stunning jewelry designs featuring rough diamonds, innovative artisan jeweler Todd Reed has been redefining luxury and championing ethical sourcing throughout his career. Turning the notion of fine jewelry on its head, he is drawn to these uncut, unpolished diamond crystals for the quirkiness of their personalities. From the perfect simplicity of a single cube to a busy crystal cluster bristling with different shapes, he finds raw diamonds fascinating and provocative. He also loves the challenge of creating custom settings for stones just as they come out of the ground. Listen in with host Katie Hacker and learn to look beyond cut, color, clarity and carat weight to the character of a diamond in its natural state. Learn more here: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/todd-reed-diamond-jewelry/

Jean Gribbon founded and directs Beads of Courage, Inc., an innovative arts-in-medicine nonprofit that supports children coping with serious illness, as well as their families and health care providers. Members receive colorful glass beads during the course of their treatment, which provides a connection between the child, clinician, and caring community. In this episode, we talk about the intersection between art and science – and why experiencing art and making things is good for us. Learn more: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/jean-gribbon-science-art/

The first time I met Susan Lenart was in a cold connections workshop at an art retreat. Her class blew my mind – she taught us to infuse found objects, wire, hand tools, and other jewelry-making bits and pieces with kinetic energy - but to attend to them with intense focus and skill. It was like a journey we all went on together, with Susan as our guide. In addition to being an accomplished artist and jeweler, Susan is also an author, instructor, and expert at product development. In this episode, Susan and I talk about her metalsmithing lifestyle and how listening to her artistic voice is the key to her success.

Moving parts intrigue Kieu Pham Gray, she tells host Katie Hacker. Kieu loves figuring out how to make things happen, from engineering kinetic jewelry that’s meant to be played with to pivoting her business model. Leaving the corporate world behind nearly 20 years ago because she “didn’t fit the mold,” Kieu has been an active jewelry entrepreneur ever since. She’s a jewelry artist, teacher, retail supplier, and event promoter. When Covid shut down her in-person teaching, she was online with a couple of casual classes in two weeks. Today her Virtually Ever Crafting is its own business line. Learn her approach for keeping balance in her busy life — and discover which unlikely profession she does think about returning to for just a moment from time to time. See Kieu's work, jewelry tools she developed, and learn more about her here: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/kieu-pham-gray-6-jewelry-tools/

“You’re shy — so are they,” says polymer clay artist Christi Friesen about making a career of your art, acknowledging how hard it can be to put yourself out there. As she tells Jewelry Artist podcast host Katie Hacker, “We’re always selling ourselves: a piece of our heart, our hand, our brain.” But it’s important to do it and connect with people any way you can, Christi advises. Drawn to her medium first for its super range of colors, she also considers its easy workability and low cost an invitation to play. “You’re not trying to make a masterpiece every day,” she reminds us. Assume you’re going to smash what you make some days, have fun, and learn to be yourself. Find out how Christi has built a Creative Circle that inspires her and sustains her business. Learn more and see Christi's work on our blog: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/christi-friesen/

Why not try it? When Kathy Cano-Murillo thinks up a new craft twist, she jumps in — especially if she hears it’ll never work. Usually she succeeds, carried along by her own glittering cascade of exuberant experimentation. Listen to host Katie Hacker’s lively conversation with the woman known professionally as The Crafty Chica, dedicated to creating, teaching, and sharing all things craft. Join them in a nonstop audio party about making and selling jewelry and other decorative objects in resin, ceramic, fabric, and beyond. As you get to know her a bit, you’ll learn some of Kathy’s favorite tips on design, technique, and running a thriving business. Her enthusiasm is infectious, her advice wise, and her celebratory approach to doing what she loves is so easy to take to heart. Learn more here: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/kathy-cano-murillo-craftychica/

We originally released this episode in August 2020, but the topic is more relevant than ever. Katie Hacker speaks with Carrie Cleveland, Education and Outreach Manager for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. The artist’s safety net for over 35 years, CERF+ launched its special Covid-19 response earlier last summer with one-time $1,000 grants for urgent needs. Find out more about its Covid program, its longstanding emergency relief, and its more recent focus on preparedness. Learn how CERF+ can help you now and help you manage better in the future – and how it’s probably easier than you think! Learn more: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/cerf-covid19-relief-artists/

Prized for its blues, greens, and ever-varying patterns of distinctive matrix, turquoise is among the most popular of gemstones and has been for thousands of years. Think turquoise today, and Native American jewelry comes quickly to mind — and vice versa. Join host Katie Hacker for an exploration into these iconic treasures of the American Southwest with veteran fan and trader Pete Leyba. Pete has spent a lifetime in and around New Mexico in the jewelry business, soaking up knowledge of it all along the way. Listen in for tales of turquoise mining, trading, and jewelry making past and present, and learn what influences the market over time.

It’s the challenge of making that interests Robert Lopez and drives him toward ever bigger and bolder jewelry designs. He thrives on figuring out the engineering of complex pieces, and sometimes develops his own tools to meet his particular needs. That’s today, but while teaching himself metalsmithing he used whatever was at hand: a construction hammer or a plumber’s torch, learning to make what he wanted however he could. Although he’s since discovered purpose-made jewelry tools (“a whole new world!”), his early need to learn on his own still serves him well. Listen in with host Katie Hacker as he describes his surprising journey into artisan jewelry that’s as distinctive as any you’re ever apt to see.

Overnight, Francesca Watson began developing her online jewelry program in earnest. When COVID-19 struck, her teaching studio already offered some tutorials online, but The Makery had been all about learning in person. Suddenly, online was her only real option. Since then, she’s worked out a lot more bugs and now plays host to over 1,500 remote students who tune in regularly. The experience has been disruptive but energizing, she tells host Katie Hacker, and Francesca is now “1000% committed” to online teaching, come what may. It’s just her way of doing things: jump in to what you want, and look for the good everywhere else.

Inlay artist Jeff Fulkerson gives every surface of his jewelry special attention, whether it’s visible when worn or not. Comparing this art to painting with rocks, he says the best part about learning to cut stone is creating your own palette of color and shape. He advises studying techniques so you can apply what you learn any way you want, and combining them to develop your signature style. Listen in with host Katie Hacker, who describes Jeff’s work as simply beautiful from every angle. See our show notes and more here: https://www.interweave.com/jewelry-artist-podcast/jeff-fulkerson-loves-teaching/