The Atelier

That curiosity led me to silversmithing.

I built a humble studio at home with more determination than proper equipment, learning through trial, error, and an undeniable pull toward the craft. Even in those early days, I felt an unexpected sense of familiarity, as though my hands already understood a language my mind had only begun to learn.

When I studied with master jeweler Bob Hazeltine in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that feeling was affirmed. He recognized my aptitude and invited me to continue studying jewelry design and fabrication with him privately. Under his mentorship, I immersed myself in the disciplines of fabrication, design, and casting, developing both technical precision and a deeper appreciation for the quiet intelligence of handmade work.

Later, while traveling through Puerto Escondido, Mexico, I had the opportunity to learn alongside another metalsmith whose simple, resourceful approach reminded me that beautiful objects do not emerge from perfect tools alone, but from attentive hands. Rolling metal, drawing wire, and building stone settings from raw materials deepened my respect for traditional craftsmanship and the ingenuity that has shaped jewelry across cultures for centuries.

Only a few months after beginning my formal training, Bob encouraged me to apply for a bench jeweler position at Reflective Images in Santa Fe. To my astonishment, I was hired to fill the role of a master jeweler who had spent twenty-seven years with the company.

That experience became one of the greatest gifts of my career.

I was welcomed into a studio where excellence was paired with generosity, where questions were encouraged, mistakes became lessons, and craftsmanship was treated as both discipline and devotion. I remain deeply grateful to Mark Choyt and Helen Chandler and my fellow jewelers for trusting a young maker, nurturing my growth, and allowing me to become part of their remarkable team.

Reflective Images is the only certified Fairtrade jewelry company in the United States, and working there forever shaped my understanding of what jewelry can represent. I witnessed how ethical sourcing, responsible mining practices, recycled metals, and thoughtful stewardship of the earth are not separate from beautiful design — they are part of it. Those values continue to guide my own practice. Today I work primarily with recycled precious metals, believing that the story of a piece begins long before it reaches the bench.

After two years in the studio, another calling led me south to Mexico, where I continued developing my work independently. There, my practice began to expand beyond technique and into something more personal.

Today, I create jewelry as an extension of the same philosophy that guides my painting, ceremonial tattooing, and embodied practices. I am drawn to symbols, mythology, the natural world, and the quiet moments of transformation that shape a human life. Every piece begins as raw material — metal, stone, fire — and through patience becomes something capable of carrying memory, intention, and meaning.