The Silver Lining of My Day Job

Oval Pendant

Today I want to share with you the inspiration for the Half Craft Studio jewelry line. As much as I love making things and have had the idea of 3D printed gemstones swirling in my head for two years, it really came about as a balm for my post-graduation anxieties. I graduated with a Jewelry/Computer Aided Design degree last May and was immediately hired to work at a custom jewelry manufacturer, making engagement rings and other fine jewelry on the computer.

And as I sat at my desk, day in and day out, measuring tiny diamonds and duplicating the same trendy, boring rings on the computer so they could be made for real people to enjoy (or hate, and send back, as sometimes the case was) I realized that I was not on a track I wanted to be on, even though I was in my field, using my Computer Aided Design training, which is something that I do enjoy very much. I want to make work that I find both interesting and beautiful, and that allows me to be creative and entrepreneurial. I want to make things happen for myself.

Round pendants

So I used the training I have gotten in the fine jewelry world to make jewelry that is the antithesis of my nine-to-five. Fine jewelry focuses on the diamond. How can we make it look bigger than it is? Can we make the ring any sparklier? Can we surround it with more diamonds, and then, surround that part with more diamonds? It really gives you an appreciation for the simplistic. I think this is evident in the Half Craft Studio line. My jewelry uses color and shape for visual impact. The facets on the stone are so interesting to me when they are matte instead of reflective; when they become geometric forms and color, clarity and symmetry are taken to a whole new level . I’ve found the silver lining of my day job.

Emerald Cut Earrings

Since I started working on the Half Craft jewelry line in January, I have felt that I am finally on the track I want to be on. But also, I am most definitely only on the bottom rungs of that ladder. My dream is to be able to support myself by my work. I am anxious to keep moving up my personal ladder and to learn new skills that might spark my next personal creative revolution.