Leora Coronel - Cutting River Stones & Making Jewelry with a Sense of Place

Leora Coronel - Cutting River Stones & Making Jewelry with a Sense of Place

From Slowmade: Nourishing Conversations for Jewelry Artists and Metalsmiths by Christine Mighion

June 3, 2026 · 49 min · Season 3 · Episode 101

About this episode

Leora Coronel discusses her journey in jewelry making, the significance of using local materials, and the challenges faced by independent artists.

In this episode of the Slowmade Podcast, I’m talking with jewelry and lapidary artist Leora Coronel. Leora lives in Northern California, where her work is deeply connected to the Yuba River. She collects stones from the river, cuts them herself, and transforms them into jewelry that carries a strong sense of place. Our conversation begins with the long and winding path that led Leora into jewelry. From collecting rocks as a child, to making feather earrings while working at a yoga studio in Los Angeles, to slowly learning metalwork and eventually finding her way into lapidary, Leora shares how working with her hands has always filled a deep need to create. We talk about what it means to work with materials from your own surroundings, and how powerful it can feel to turn something ordinary and often overlooked into something wearable and meaningful. Leora shares how learning to cut her own river stones opened up a whole new world in her work and became one of the most defining parts of her creative path. We also talk about the push and pull so many independent artists feel between making what lights us up and making what sells. Leora speaks honestly about depending on her jewelry…

People in this episode

Host: Christine Mighion

Guest: Leora Coronel

Topics covered

  • jewelry making
  • lapidary art
  • sense of place
  • creative process
  • independent artists
  • teaching

Keywords

  • jewelry
  • lapidary
  • Yuba River
  • creative confidence
  • independent artists
  • teaching
  • imposter syndrome

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Northern California, Yuba River

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