I’m all about the bling. Jewelry, that is. I also love jewelers, especially local ones. The Walker Art Center (something else I love) is having their Jewelry Artist Mart this Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Skyline Room. This is one of my very favorite events in the entire world. I have met my favorite jewelers (it’s not just their work, they’re also awesome people!) at this event in the past couple years. Amy Torello, from Taxco, Mexico, is one of the artists I met two years ago at the mart. She came over to my house last night for a jewelry party. We had a lovely time sipping wine, snacking, and looking at her awesome jewelry. Not only did I already buy a bunch of lovely pieces but I also got to introduce her to some friends. The party inspired me to tell you all about a few of my particular favorite jewelers. All of the lovely ladies in this list are local except for Amy—who I wish was local so I could see her more often!
Tia Keobounpheng, Minneapolis
I love pretty much everything this lady comes up with. She is often a part of Voltage and her organic shapes and bright colors always attract me to her wood, acrylic, leather, and wool pieces. I rocked a magenta cuff and matching earrings at Glamorama last year. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is my pod bunch necklace she made me in green (custom, since I always need more green in my life). Check it out on her Facebox!
If you ever get a chance to check out this lady’s home, it’s amazing. She and her husband both have terrific senses of design and together their claims to fame include not only jewelry, architecture, and interiors, but also art and other ridiculously cool products.
Jennifer Merchant, Eden Prairie
This chick is super rad. She’s the next one on my list for a custom “Nicky-sized” piece of jewelry. Her huge rings are some of my favorites of her work, made out of Corian and acrylics, often with big gemstones. Her mom is often with her at shows and events and she is always wearing the coolest selection of jewels. They’re both super fun to chat with. Jennifer is always fun, talkative, and energetic and I absolutely can’t wait to start wearing her pieces around town. Check her out on the Facebox.
Molly Spilane, Richfield
Cuffs with seahorses and bicycles, huge acrylic butterflies and hearts (the actual organ, that is), and killer gold lockets are some of Molly’s collection of bling. Molly, who is an absolutely lovely and sweet lady, has some of the greatest ideas for prints to put on the coolest of materials. Vintage gold lockets and cuffs are some of my faves and she also does great things with acrylics. (She has some fantastic non-jewelry work, too!) She’s also on the Fbox.
Amy Torello, Taxco, Mexico
I might move to Mexico to hang out with Amy. She is just a beautiful person to be around and I also just can’t stop buying things from her. I’ve bought my mother birthday jewelry from Amy for the past two years and Ma gets all sorts of compliments on them. I also often have people loving on my Amy bling so that’s why I decided to have her show up last night at my place to party and show off her stunning work. She uses enamel and resin to bring in color and the great combinations she comes up with always captivate me. She’s lovely and you definitely want to meet her on Saturday!
So, show up at the Walker, talk to some jewelers, try on some bling, and tell me that I don’t need to buy everything.
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