I've been creating jewelry for what feels like most of my adult life; the selling of it for income began back in 1984, when I was living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and doing free lance linen artwork and jewelry for a shop in town while my then-husband attended graduate school. After my sons were born in the mid to late 80's, I began having holiday open house jewelry sales, crafting hodgepodge jewelry as my toddler sons slumbered. After a divorce in 1990, I decided to make my jewelry hobby a full time career, and a true business was born.
Moving to the mountains of North Carolina in 1995 strongly influenced a huge change in the direction of my jewelry designs; ever since, I have focused more and more on the beauty of the natural world that surrounds me. I create pieces that speak figuratively and literally of the colors and textures of water, plants and flowers, stones, wood, roots, nests, bones, minerals, and the creatures that frequent my world. a move in 2005 deep into the countryside near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park - 15 minutes away - fed my hunger for treasure that was found washed up on river shores, as well as for the natural color hues that shifted with each changing season. another 8 years later, in 2013, I moved even farther out into the rural countryside, to the architectural antique-filled log cabin that my parents constructed in 1999 for use as a vacation home. Perched on the edge of a hill in a thickly forested stretch of land, with a stream running through the bottom of the property, this cabin felt as loving and familiar as a dear old friend. i named it Heart Rock Hill, after hanging the wooden plaque bearing those words that I had an artist make for me at the NYC Gift market all the way back in 1996.
My two beautiful sons, Robin and Roy, are now grown and living in far flung places that they call home; in April of this year, Roy married a beautiful gal named Lindsey, and it is lovely to finally have a daughter in the family. I live at Heart Rock Hill alone with my beloved seven year old Springer Spaniel, Walter, and the two of us manage to get out at least once daily for a quiet walk through the woods and to a little open meadow. it is a simple practice in meditation to work here out of my home, in a studio that was carved out of the downstairs garage. a wall of windows looks out into nothing but rocks and trees; I've seen deer stroll past, and families of turkeys. an elk once happened upon Walter and me, just down the dirt road. all of this, I'm sure you will see, is evident in my work. I use quotes from poetry, or words of my own, hammered and engraved into warm sterling and weathered brass surfaces. stones that reflect this love of nature are incorporated into a gathering of other natural materials, to be worn at pulse point or next to the heart. Those who have been collecting my work all these years speak of its calming effect on their own spirit, of the deep spiritual energy that it radiates. this pleases me; I want my quiet message of peace and calm and hope for all things good to be at the very core of what I do. and I hope to be able to continue creating art with my hands until I am so old that I am content to simply sit and watch the sun set slowly behind a bank of trees. and I hope that my work will live on, long after my physical body has wound down.
"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do". - Rumi
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Karen on Apr 2, 2018
5 out of 5 starsOh these beautiful earrings, so very special to me being made by Nina... a special person with such a kind and gentle spirit and such a talented artist 💕 - I adore them
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Etsy buyer on Mar 11, 2018
5 out of 5 starsThis heart is amazing and I love it! Thank you so much! xoxo
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Dedri on Feb 13, 2018
5 out of 5 starsAlways a pleasure to get something from Nina. She’s an inspired crafts person whose skills are awe inspiring. Loving this little heart!
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Denita on Feb 13, 2018
5 out of 5 starsomg, how beautiful is this heart! Love love it! thank you so much!
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Etsy buyer on Nov 14, 2017
5 out of 5 starsThis necklace is a very lovely, soulful creation by my favorite jewelry artist. Honestly, this is the only shop on Etsy that I frequent. I find myself cheering even for the people who beat me out on an item I notice... because I know they are going to be so happy with their purchase. Thank you Nina for creating such beautiful work.
About ninabagley
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my shadow on one of my happiest days ever, after digging for crystal with loved ones in Colorado - and new shield work -
always inspired by the beauty and emotions of nature. always always always, forevermore. -
before me on the studio work table, a constellation... -
I am loving soldering, which takes my storytelling to a new level. Here, an antique button becomes the moon. -
Little Meadow, with my studio assistant and constant companion Walter 💛
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