Sterling Silver jewelry based on Medieval and Renaissance art & architecture
My love of symbolic art and architecture has taken me all around the world for more than 25 years, working with craftspeople in Mexico, designing for companies in the US, Europe and Asia and setting up a design department in a jewelry factory in India that employed over 1000 workers.
My story began many years ago when, after college, I served a 3 year apprenticeship with a Pennsylvania silversmith who specialized in jewelry with Modernist and Scandinavian influences. This was in 1962, at the very beginning of a cultural shift in the craft movement.
I have been fortunate to be involved in many "firsts", starting with my workshop in the mid to late 60's - Sorcerer's Apprentice. We designed and produced symbolic silver jewelry, selling to clothing boutiques and head shops that had proliferated throughout the northeast US.
With about 12 workers, we made models of my designs in metal or carved them in wax, made production rubber molds, injected waxes, cast the pieces in silver and polished them. Other styles were fabricated entirely in metal and embellished with hammered or hand-stamped designs.
There were no other makers of counterculture silver jewelry in these early years and needless to say, it was an unusual and exciting time. We were the only silver company to exhibit at the very first Boutique Show in NYC and we were also a vendor at Woodstock in 1969 (I still have my original program) and other music festivals.
This led to meeting Janis Joplin, who along with Joe Cocker and other musicians, purchased some of our silver ornaments. By now the craft movement was in full swing.
In the early 70's, I participated in the American Crafts Council fairs in Rhinebeck NY. It was at these fairs that handmade crafts of all kinds were flourishing and silver jewelry became even more popular. During this time, I continued to sell to boutiques and craft shops, but finally decided to open a retail shop in historic Clinton NJ, where I could also do one-of-a-kind pieces.
In 1980, when precious metal prices skyrocketed, another opportunity presented itself and I designed enamel pins for the first few Space Shuttle launches. I had these manufactured in Asia where they specialized in enamel work. I traveled back and forth, working closely with factories during the next few years, making high quality enamel costume jewelry.
By this time I had started to do design work for companies in New York, which led to extensive travel in Europe and Asia for the next 25 years. It was during the many trips to Europe that I continued my lifelong interest in art and architecture, visiting cathedrals, monasteries, museums and libraries in many countries - drawing and photographing details that I use in my designs.
One special interest has been medieval and renaissance art, and my current Cathedral Collection consists of designs that I have created based on these travels.
Each item comes with a Legend Card that notes the particular place and time of the original work of art that inspired my design. I hope you can appreciate these historic influences as much as I have enjoyed creating a link to these ancient treasures.