How to make a jewelry collection

As an intuitive jeweler, designer and metalsmith, I create designs to honor our whole being. My handcrafted jewelry emphasizes harmony and balance through gemstones, metalwork and crystals.  Each piece is infused with spiritual meaning and a connection with the natural world and becomes your piece upon wearing, infusing you with elegant power and joyful energy.

So how do you take all of this and turn it into a collection of jewelry.  A collection is a group of pieces which have a similar theme and over my 30 years of experience, I have created many collections including the Nature, Spirit and Healing Gemstone Collections.  

On October 27th, I am thrilled to be launching my Mystic Goddess Collection and the planning for this launch party got me to thinking…

“Do people really understand what goes into creating a jewelry collection?” 

It starts with a vision.  In this case, I had a general sense of what jewelry I would be making.  I could see the display and feel the edginess of each piece.  I knew the overarching theme would be based on four pillars: spirit, courage, thrive and balance.  

So, I had the beginning and the end in sight. Now for the hard part…the middle – the design of each individual piece, the materials, the style and fit and the price point. There are many layers and steps going into a collection and it takes about four months start to finish.  

Here’s a (very) shortened version of the entire process – concept to completion.

1. I usually have a dream about a shape or color that sparks my creativity!
2. Once the basic premise is conceived, I begin to draw and mold and order the metals and gemstones. 
3. Next we start to fabricate the pieces.  This entails soldering, filing, stamping, adding patina and hammering.
4. My team and I set to assembling the piece.
5. Time for testing – try it on, wear it, touch it, feel it and ask customers about it.  Sometimes we are good to go and sometimes not so much.  In this case, we take it apart, rethink, restyle, remake and retest until the piece of jewelry is exactly what I had envisioned.
6. Now we need to price the jewelry. This is a whole other beast involving the daily pricing of metals and gemstones, the amount of time, labor and materials…blah de blah…you get it.  Can you tell this is my least favorite part?
7. Once this piece is completed, we put it in the “collection” tray and move on to the next.
8. Repeat steps 1-7 for each piece and often step #5 over and over as new pieces come together.

The last step is the launch party!  After reading this, perhaps you’ll better understand why I celebrate once a collection has come to fruition. There’s that and also I’m like a little kid with a secret and I can’t hold in any longer!

If you are around on October 27th, come by the gallery from 5:30 – 8:30 for my Mystic Goddess Collection launch party!