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My first love was working with gold. I found that the warmth of gold seemed to breathe life into the stones I loved so much. For years I only worked with gold, but when I pivoted away from designing reproducible collections that I could wholesale to retailers I found that I needed to rely heavily on social media to keep my work visible. Family time was always my priority and so I had no desire to trek all over the country and do shows if it meant being away for multiple weekends. And honestly, producing multiples for retailers felt soul sucking. This is when I discovered I thought more like an artist than a designer.
With the changes to the economy post Covid, and changes to Etsy, Facebook, and Instagram in recent years, independent artists like myself have felt the squeeze that limited visibility has placed on them. Material costs continued to rise and it became more difficult to maintain a large inventory of precious materials such as gold. Like many of my friends, I have tried to adapt creatively and work with silver more, but for those of you who have followed my work for the last few years have seen a lot of experimentation. Of course this hasn't all been bad and I'm proud of the work I have produced. However, if I'm being honest nothing lights me on fire like taking interesting and unusual stones and wrapping them in gold.
Recently, I wanted to make a pair of earrings for myself for an upcoming event and really wanted to use gold, but I knew I needed to save the gold I had in stock for work I could sell. I pulled out my old stock of gold fill and once again I felt that thrill of watching something beautiful come to life in a way that sang to my soul.
Since then I have created some new pieces using 14k gold fill and the sweetest stones. I was blown away by the positive response to this new work and so I've decided to continue taking my work in this direction.
So what is 14k gold fill? A layer of gold has been heat bonded over a core of brass and this solid 14k gold layer must make up at least 5% of the total metal. Gold fill gives the same look as solid gold and is far more durable than cheaper gold plate, which often looks fake and flakes off. What this means is that you and I will be the only ones who know it is gold fill and not solid gold. This will also offer you a beautiful one of a kind piece of jewelry at a more affordable price point.
Of course, I will continue to use solid 14k gold in my most beloved pieces such as my Calavera collection and I'm always happy to create a similar solid gold version of any piece upon request. I hope you enjoy this new direction as much I am.
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