Arizona Artist Series: Rebecca/ MissHotcakes Q&A Rebecca of MissHotcakes has a quirky unique style that mixes her love of the vintage and weird in a beautiful way through her jewelry designs. Learn more about her process and style in our latest Arizona Artist segment below! How did you get into metalsmithing? Jewelry making has been something I’ve been doing since high school, maybe earlier, so it’s always been an interest of mine. It started with beads, and then in the late 90s, there were hemp necklaces/bracelets. More recently, I was on the lookout for vintage buttons, and I also was using felt for a bit. I enjoyed that, but I found that I wanted to elevate my skill set, which led me to taking a course at Harold in 2015. I fell in love with the process and the ability to really create something out of nothing.  Creating is just such an important thing to me, and metalsmithing is really my favorite way to scratch my creative itch. What insp...

Tips on Taking Good Jewelry Product Shots from a Professional Photographer – Part 1.   By: Amy Juneau Phoenix Photographer, Sage, of Desert Sage Photography, met with me recently to share some basic tips on how to shoot good jewelry product shots. She has 6 years of experience as a jewelry product photographer and 10 years of experience photographing weddings.   She’s been a real gem (pun intended) in creating quality photos for Harold Jewelry.   Check out her advice in answer to my questions below: AJ: What do you recommend for removing/avoiding dust and debris in close up shots? S:    It depends on what background you wish to photograph the jewelry on. A white background looks professional, but it can be tricky, as it shows lint and random debris easily. Keep a lint roller and or tape handy (Sage always asks her jewelry artist clients what is their preference for a background before a shoot). If you have a photo editing software, like Photoshop, and are...

Arizona Artist Series: Mark Plehn Q&A Mark of Sacred Spirit Gems has a stirring array of crystals and crystal healing jewelry with stone combinations that are carefully arranged to create optimal healing results for the wearer. He was kind enough to answer some questions in our Arizona Artist Series about his design process and what inspires him. How did you get into metalsmithing? I began the initial metalsmithing aspect of my jewelry career learning how to set gemstone cabochons with sterling silver wire.  Almost twenty years ago I was fortunate enough to have met an amazing silver wire stone setting artist.  She had a small table at a very small northern Arizona town craft fair and after some conversation and my bold request for her to teach me, we ended up at my dining room table a few days later as she passed on her knowledge!  I was and am so grateful for her open-hearted sharing of her talents for my benefit and I appreciate the gift I received that day every ti...

30 base patterns for cabochon rings, necklaces and earrings.  If you're like me, drawing perfectly symmetrical lines for your designs can be challenging. It's already hard enough to saw out exactly what you want when making a ring or necklace. I thought it would be fun to make up some base patterns that I use for my cabochon rings and necklaces for you to use. There are 30 of them along with a basic tutorial of how I went about using one with a bezel cup and cabochon. You can download it for free here . Let me know if you like it or would like to see different designs! It was fun to make and I hope it can help you make something special today. This is the silver and turquoise teardrop cabochon necklace I made with one of the base patterns for the tutorial. ...

Arizona Artist Series: Katherine Londen Q&A Katherine makes jewelry that mixes edgy lines with organic shapes and she always uses beautiful stones as a focal point. She just launched her etsy store, shopdearjewelry.com and we can't wait to see what she comes up with next.  Stick Earrings How did you get into making jewelry? I first became interested in metalsmithing in college, when I worked for a year as a sales assistant at a boutique jewelry store in Tucson called Viir Jewelers. I learned a little about gemstones and how they form in the earth, what gives them their colors, where they come from, etc. and I was fascinated by it. Jewelry making is really the intersection of art and science. I think that is the coolest thing! Years later, I read an article about Harold Studio and when I ended up taking a job downtown, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a class and learn. I've since taken several different classes. What inspires you? S...

Arizona Artist Series: Melanie Channon Q&A Melanie Channon is a scientist who makes beautiful wall hangings that will leave you breathless.  One of her pieces, Octopus is currently being featured at Arizona's Herbergur Theatre's Face Off Exhibit  with some other amazing artists until January.  You can see more of her work on her instagram .  How did you get into metalsmithing?   I took a class at Harold Studio in February 2013 and immediately fell in love with manipulating metal. What inspires you?   Metalwork made for religious purposes and/or royalty in the middle ages.  Pieces like reliquaries and crowns that were obviously time consuming and painstaking to make.  I really admire the dedication it took to make them.  I strive to reflect that kind of dedication in my pieces, even though they are not for religion or royalty.   What is your design process?   I try to think of things that I personally like (skulls, animals, character...

How to create with intention. It's so easy to focus on the negative, or the overwhelming list of things to do. The reason I am drawn to create is because it forces me to focus in the moment. But sometimes I can get so caught up in the process of making jewelry, I lose track of time and, more importantly, the goals I have for myself. ...