Missy Graff Ballone of Wellness for Makers Shares How Artists Can Move to Stay Healthy While the COVID-19 crisis and resulting quarantine have challenged many aspects of our lives, finding positive ways to guide us through to the other side have been inspiring. While scrolling through Instagram one day, I came across Missy Graff Ballone’s feed, Wellness for Makers. A metalsmith, alignment based yoga instructor, and licensed massage therapist, Missy shares how makers can work more efficiency...

I hope you’re staying safe and well, and I’m looking forward to when we can return to our places of work, get our hair cut, nails done, and get back to all those services and shops that are part of regular routines. Part of the normal routine this time of year is shopping for the seasonal celebrations, like Mother’s Day and graduations. But, shopping from our favorite stores doesn’t have to stop. This podcast is dedicated to all the small businesses who’ve been doing what they can to serve...

My guest in this Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode is Alain Simic, founder of Alain Simic (pronounced Ah-lawn Si-mich) whose specialty is portraying images of jewelry, fashion, fine art, and portraiture. Alain’s photography speaks through images, allowing his subject’s voice to share stories and impact the lives of those who see his work. Alain serves his clients and collaborates with his professional community through a unique background based on his perspective gained through professional...

My guest in this Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode is Alain Simic, founder of Alain Simic (pronounced Ah-lawn Si-mich) whose specialty is portraying images of jewelry, fashion, fine art, and portraiture. Alain’s photography speaks through images, allowing his subject’s voice to share stories and impact the lives of those who see his work. Alain serves his clients and collaborates with his professional community through a unique background based on his perspective gained through professional...

This weekend, I chose to share segments of my podcast interview with Seraphima McLean of Gallery Byzantium. . Her formal background in art history, cast her in the unique role to carry on her family’s Byzantine art jewelry business.   Gallery Byzantium integrates art and history inspired by one of the most influential cultures, the Byzantine Empire.   Creating Christian themed jewelry, like crosses and religious medals, their jewelry designs are often replicated from ancient coins,...

Karin Jacobson is a talented jeweler and artist whose open mind and fabrication techniques allows her to interpret visions into beautiful, wearable jewelry art. Her journey and aesthetic have revealed a unique style that has become unquestionably recognizable as Karin Jacobson Jewelry. I’ve been a fan of her jewelry for a few years now, and the evolution of her aesthetic has been a joy to watch. Karin’s stand-out signature aesthetics are hybrid origami halos that bloom from ring wraps, stick...

Coping With the COVID-19 Crisis Using Self-Care Strategies With Dr. Dana Busch   Stress. Anxiety. Uncertainty.   These are all dark places that become natural responses to stressful and uncertain times, like the COVID-19 health crisis we’re currently experiencing.     The reason for this podcast is to invite you to take a step back and use internal cognitive tools and rational thought processes to view this time as opportunity, and how to disarm stress and anxiety.   Today, I’m joined by Dr....

As we wrap up Women’s History Month in a couple days, today, I share my visit with Noor Shamma, jewelry designer, single mother, and driven career woman. Noor is the epitome of self motivation and drive. She gracefully achieves balance and peace through her persona, jewelry designs, and practices  compassion through it all with sustainable practices in the sources she chooses for her jewelry. While managing a full time career in marketing and communications with motherhood, Noor stays...

Welcome back to Jewelry Navigator Podcast! It's been a few weeks since I last published a podcast episode and the last one was the pre-departure for my Tucson trip and that was in February.   We're rolling into the second week of March, and I wanted to catch you up on what and who I saw in  Tucson.   You can follow along with my Instagram feed as I’ve posted support content that will coordinate with the podcast.   Another thing I want to mention that I'm creating, I'm really excited about,...

Gem Show Pre-Departure Lounge 2020   Welcome to the first Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode of 2020!   It’s been a while since you heard from me. I took some time off during the holidays, and now that everyone’s settled back into school and work, it’s time to get down to jewelry business!   Trade shows have been centralized events for various industries to learn about and share the latest resources, network, and celebrate.   The Tucson Gem Show just kicked the jewelry industry trade shows...

Sue oster is the fearless force behind Feral Jewelry through which she shares an interpretation of life’s strength and vulnerabilities using her signature collections created with sustainable and ethically sourced precious materials. She combines design elements to celebrate who we are and what makes us unique. She IS the Elegant Rebel, and Her MO of highlighting anomalies and the unexpected are the creative thread by which she shares her creative vision and inspirations, defined by her...

As a boy, Stephen Goldsmith had dreams of being a cartoonist. His aptitude for art was innate, but his journey would take a detour to become a master of polishing and finishing national treasures and museum quality jewelry. Stephen Goldsmith is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths, and shares his nearly 50 years of knowledge and experience as a master polisher with peers and students alike through his trade acclaimed book, Polishing and Finishing for Jewellers and...

Jewelry is a powerful touchstone and conduit by which we define ourselves within our life stories, family, and community. Acknowledging this concept with symbolism and icons are reminders that we're connected to a higher power that guides us in how we choose to live our best lives. This week my guest on Jewelry Navigator podcast is Seraphima McLean of Gallery Byzantium, a small jewelry design and manufacturing business in Ipswich, Massachusetts, dedicated to conserving and sharing the...

Clarity, insight, and wisdom are three qualities I feel this week’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast guest exhibits naturally. Tonya Powell is founder and creative initiator of Pareure, a collection of  jewelry designed for women who define themselves with confidence, and reach beyond limitations. Her classically simple signature circular designs are the embodiment of her tagline, “Be Seen. Be Heard, Be Bold”. I’m excited to share Tonya’s story on this week’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast episode, and...

Telling stories with gems and jewelry is like speaking an enchanted language. Hidden for millennia, gems are treasures that speak a universal language. Cynthia Renée Marcusson is my guest this week understands the hidden language of gemstones. Geologist turned jewelry designer, Cynthia’s adventures began with her curiosity of rock formations and unusual terrain from the car window of her family vacations. As part of her geologic studies, she mapped two of the biggest gem producing mines in...

Before departing for a creative career in jewelry design, Dana Busch enjoyed a professional career as a doctor in clinical health psychology. After completing a masters program in art therapy, she chose to focus on public health, and spent her career in medical centers creating programs focusing on lifestyle choices for patients with chronic conditions. While she enjoyed helping her patients with programs she developed, she left the corporate politics and bureaucracy behind to reinvent her...

Some people keep away from wearing opals, believing the ancient rumor that they cast bad luck on anyone who wears one without it being their birthstone.   No one is certain where opal obtained its bad reputation, but in today’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast, I’m replaying last Halloween’s podcast, “The Not So Scary Truth About Opals With Matt Hopkins, of Hopkins Opal”. . I’ll be back next week with a brand new Jewelry Navigator Episode, featuring Dana Busch of Dana Busch Designs. . DON’T FORGET...

Emma Hoekstra is my guest this week on Jewelry Navigator Podcast.   Founder of Emma Elizabeth Jewelry, and winner of this year’s Halstead Grant, it seems everything is going well for her.   While we hope joy and celebration prevail in our lives, loss, grief, healing, and discovery remain unavoidable to the human experience.   After the loss of her boyfriend in a tragic car accident, Emma reclaimed her joy and purpose through a process of healing through jewelry design, which eventually led to...

This week’s Jewelry Navigator Podcast is unique and exciting!   If you love colored gemstone, or want to learn more about them from source to store, you’ll be mesmerized what today’s guest shares on Jewelry Navigator Podcast.   My guest has an established gem and jewelry store as well as a successful online gemstone and jewelry business.   Steve Moriarty is an accomplished gemstone cutter and jeweler in Crown Point, Indiana, about an hour southeast of Chicago.   His story begins with early...

Now that we’re in the last quarter of the year, we need to capture the attention of our clients and customers to optimize income potential as jewelry brands and businesses. If you haven’t kept ahead of your marketing plans, it’s not too late! Kathleen Cutler of Bespoke Commerce, and CEO of Kathleen Cutler Strategy shared valuable strategies that will be easy to scale to the time and client list you already have.   Kathleen is a former bench jeweler and has worked in a myriad of roles within...

The Passion Behind Anastasia Simes’ Dramatic Jewelry Designs & How Her Frustration to Find the Perfect Gift Led to Her Jewelry Career   Anastasia is as lovely and captivating as her jewelry!   I found her background and story fascinating, and felt the dramatic aesthetic of her jewelry is a perfect fit for October!   I’m so grateful for her taking the time with me to visit for both the podcast and in person in her studio, because she’s a VERY busy woman! For jewelry images and show notes...

Laryssa Wirstiuk of Joy Joya Jewelry Marketing Shares Tips for Successful Holiday Marketing For Jewelry Brands     Laryssa Wirstiuk of Joy Joya Jewelry Marketing is my guest this week on Jewelry Navigator Podcast.     She shares what small brands and designers can do to get in front of their ideal customers in time for the upcoming holiday gift season using tools and techniques you’re probably already using alone with others you may not have though of.   Laryssa shares the basics of what...

Tracy Trainor became a jewelry designer and maker as she meandered across the globe, and uses inspirations from her formative years in Japan, to the countryside of Ireland, where she currently resides.   What captures my attention with Tracy’s jewelry is the movement she coerces from wax carving, to casting, down to the texture.   When challenged to make a butterfly ring unique to her own aesthetic and creativity, she crafted a 3-dimensional butterfly that appears to be taking flight from...

Nayla Shami Shares Life’s Experiences Through Her Jewelry Designs   In last week’s episode, I mentioned a few jewelry destinations for upcoming podcast stories.   Today’s jewelry designer’s story is influenced by traditional hand fabrication methods passed down from generation to generation of Lebanese goldsmiths and jewelers.   Nayla Shami is a delightful jeweler and designer based in Lubbock, Texas.   Originally from Lebanon, Nayla’s jewelry story grew from her appreciation of jewelry gifts...

Even though it’s small, jewelry carries big meaning and represents connections from our past, into our present, and future.   In this episode of Jewelry Navigator Podcast, I talk about showing your school spirit with jewelry, and I shared how I wear  color and theme relevant jewelry to the Penn State football games with pieces by CRASH Jewelry, Emily Kuvin Jewelry, and Mary van der Aa.   Staying with the school spirit theme, and for those who want alternatives to traditional class rings, we...