Why Buy Handmade?

One can’t help but notice that there is jewelry everywhere. At shows, usually about 30% of the booths are jewelry. As a jeweler, you will often hear a customer walk past and say, “There’s another jewelry booth.” It’s jewelry fatigue. As a jeweler it can be very disheartening, but we continue making because it is in our souls, something we simply need to do. And when one stops to really look at all of the work, the styles are as unique as each individual jeweler.

Then, there is inexpensive jewelry available everywhere you look, from Walmart to Kohl’s to any department store, and even in gas stations. Handmade is much more expensive, so why even spend the money?

One spends money on handmade because each piece is unique, and each piece tells a story. A handmade piece of jewelry holds passion, meaning, and almost has a soul itself. It forms a connection with the wearer, and it becomes a touchstone, bringing the wearer back to a time, a place, a feeling...

As I began my journey as a jeweler, it was important to me not to make “cookie cutter” jewelry, where the pieces are mass produced. Each piece I make has a unique significance, a story as to why or how it came to be.

For example, this piece is called Secret Door. I was in a show called Secret Gardens at State College Framing Company and Gallery, and was trying to design a focal piece for my display. I began to think about the book A Secret Garden, which was one of my mother’s favorite stories. That led me to think about something my mother would often say to me, “You never know what is behind the door until you open it and walk through.” I think of her words often as various opportunities present themselves, and I wanted to create that ivy covered door to the secret garden, and through the keyhole is the light of the unknown. All you have to do is walk through.

I hope that as you look at my pieces you will be able to feel some of this connection, and find a piece that becomes your personal touchstone!