Having tried on this whole New Year thing for a couple weeks now, I’ve decided to keep it. It’s a pretty good fit, all things considered. In fact, it actually looks to be an improvement on the 2011 model so far, what with that whole New Beginning going for it. Refreshing, really.

Seriously, it is an exciting time to be in this jewelry industry, because we really are on the brink of much-needed change. Consumers are so much better informed about the importance of knowing where their jewelry comes from, and of course this makes them so much more discriminating. I am grateful to be able to provide so many wonderful people with pieces they can treasure without an ounce of guilt. No sacrifices to anyone else’s health or quality of life, no squandering of natural resources, and no political upheaval required. Now, that is really something to celebrate.

I can’t wait to see what this year will bring. Every day I find out about incredible, inspiring new projects using metal that other artists, metalsmiths and jewelry-makers are involved in, and it makes me all the more passionate about my own work. New design inspirations arise from the most unlikely of moments: knots in a barbed wire fence makes me want a barb-free knotted ring, drinking a latte reminds me of that Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain” (from the year I was born! How dated is that?!) and all day I’m humming “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee…” and absent-mindedly doodling swirls while answering phone calls. And hearts are everywhere, of course, even in coffee and barbed wire:

photo courtesy of TheLonelyHeart