Since I was a little girl making Barbie clothes on an old treadle sewing machine and jewelry out of tiny beads and thread, I've had a passion for creating beautiful things.

I feel that creative expression is something we all need to really keep in touch with our souls, our inner selves. It doesn't matter if it's just creating a nice flower arrangement or a nice vignette on a table…the important thing is to find a way to create beauty.

I could go on about the details of my life which have taken me to a lot of places, some planned, some completely unexpected. My life hasn’t taken a straight path from one place to another, but followed a lot of twists and turns. The changes in my life have brought a lot of wonderful people into my life, some for a long time, others have shared time with me briefly, but all these connections brought something beautiful to me. I’ve been an accountant, a sales person, a writer, a clothing designer, an office manager and a few other things along the way.

The one constant has always been a need to keep growing and creating. Totally by accident I began this new career in jewelry design. I went to the Milwaukee Bead and Button show and completely immersed myself in fabulous stones and beads. With the help of a good friend, I ended up with a dresser full of gorgeous beads and gemstones. From that point I’ve turned my passion for jewelry, crystals and stones and creative design into lot of fabulous jewelry.

Michelangelo said “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it”

I have that same feeling about jewelry. I read books and magazines about jewelry designs and look at a lot of inspirational idea. But when it comes time to sit down and make something, all that goes out the window. My creative process consists of opening all the drawers in my bead cabinet (all arranged by color) and seeing which beads call to me. Then I wait for them to let me know what they want to become. Sounds odd, perhaps, but I feel that each bead has an energy and a purpose and they truly help to inspire. Years ago, I designed clothing the same way, I would layout a bolt of fabric and then would wake up in the morning with a vision of what it was to become. Jewelry is even more intuitive than that, and much more immediate. I pull out a collection of beads, and then sit with them for a while. Sometimes I have an immediate picture of what I’m making, other times it evolves completely on its own as I work. It’s a fun, and often surprising process.

The other part that continually surprises and humbles me is the interaction that happens when my jewelry finds its owner. How to explain this? When the right person puts on a piece, it completely transforms into something much more than it was. I feel a huge “rush” when this happens and know that I’m doing something that is much bigger than what I can understand. I’ve also seen, felt shifts in the energy of the wearer as they connect with the piece. Jewelry is a beautiful decoration, but it can also connect us with parts of ourselves that we may not have fully expressed, or strengthen those that we have.

If all this sounds too strange, then let it go, and just see what pieces attract you.

Have fun with it. I am.

Carolyn