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About me -- Jan Marie
My passion for beading began as a child, when I discovered the beads, buttons and other bits of
glitter and glitz that filled Grandmom's well-worn tins. I was amazed to find that the more I looked
through the beads the more I saw. I played for hours. It was another world. A tiny world. It was the
intricacy that involved me then and the intricacy that involves me now. It's the variety of colors,
textures, shapes, sizes that lures me to play with beads even now.
I've taken three college courses in silver jewelry making , which included fabrication and lost-wax
casting methods, two courses in ceramics, one in precious metal clay.
I've collected antique and vintage beads and jewelry throughout my life from all over the U.S., and ,
with some favorites from flea markets in Paris, and in tiny villages throughout the French countryside.
I rummaged for vintage beads in charity shops in England, combed antiques shops in Florence, and
was invited, with my husband, to observe lampwork bead makers in Venice and Murano, who still
follow a centuries-old process of glass making. I've bartered for beads with private collectors and
gathered beads and jewelry from the Netherlands, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, Hawaii, the
Bahamas and the Caribbean Islands. Some of these beautiful beads have found very special places in
my designs.
I've studied silver jewelry making and pottery in college, and have collected antique and vintage beads
and jewelry throughout my life. I met my husband , Preston, in 1999 at the William Holland School of
Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia , where I took classes in beading, and he, in chain making.
Th Thee
om
We married in 2001 and six months later moved to France, where we lived for nearly four years.
We traveled to other European cities, including Italy, the Netherlands and England, all the while
becoming inspired by the various cultures, the people, the beautiful natural landscapes, lovely, historic
architecture.
I love to incorporates vintage and antique beads and unusual "found" objects in my jewelry designs.
Many of my designs are asymmetrical. I use semi-precious gemstones, vintage and contemporary
crystals, sterling silver and gold-filled precious metals, copper, brass. I enjoy creating intricate, hand
woven, needle stitched, one of a kind pieces and lighter, airier contemporary styles as well. My
jewelry is often inspired by classic designs of the past -- Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, or
nature, color, texture, travel and life.
I find great joy in the deeply engaging process of combining many tiny elements to create a
harmonious whole.
My passion for beading began as a child, when I discovered the beads, buttons and other bits of
glitter and glitz that filled Grandmom's well-worn tins. I was amazed to find that the more I looked
through the beads the more I saw. I played for hours. It was another world. A tiny world. It was the
intricacy that involved me then and the intricacy that involves me now. It's the variety of colors,
textures, shapes, sizes that lures me to play with beads even now.
I've taken three college courses in silver jewelry making , which included fabrication and lost-wax
casting methods, two courses in ceramics, one in precious metal clay.
I've collected antique and vintage beads and jewelry throughout my life from all over the U.S., and ,
with some favorites from flea markets in Paris, and in tiny villages throughout the French countryside.
I rummaged for vintage beads in charity shops in England, combed antiques shops in Florence, and
was invited, with my husband, to observe lampwork bead makers in Venice and Murano, who still
follow a centuries-old process of glass making. I've bartered for beads with private collectors and
gathered beads and jewelry from the Netherlands, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, Hawaii, the
Bahamas and the Caribbean Islands. Some of these beautiful beads have found very special places in
my designs.
I've studied silver jewelry making and pottery in college, and have collected antique and vintage beads
and jewelry throughout my life. I met my husband , Preston, in 1999 at the William Holland School of
Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia , where I took classes in beading, and he, in chain making.
Th Thee
om
We married in 2001 and six months later moved to France, where we lived for nearly four years.
We traveled to other European cities, including Italy, the Netherlands and England, all the while
becoming inspired by the various cultures, the people, the beautiful natural landscapes, lovely, historic
architecture.
I love to incorporates vintage and antique beads and unusual "found" objects in my jewelry designs.
Many of my designs are asymmetrical. I use semi-precious gemstones, vintage and contemporary
crystals, sterling silver and gold-filled precious metals, copper, brass. I enjoy creating intricate, hand
woven, needle stitched, one of a kind pieces and lighter, airier contemporary styles as well. My
jewelry is often inspired by classic designs of the past -- Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, or
nature, color, texture, travel and life.
I find great joy in the deeply engaging process of combining many tiny elements to create a
harmonious whole.
Preston
About Him:
A native of South Carolina, Preston has been a "rock hound" since childhood, started cutting
cabochons in the late 70's, and began creating jewelry in 1994.
In addition to degrees in metallurgy and material engineering at MIT and RPI, he has taken classes in
Silver and Gold-Smithing at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia,
and Precious Metal Clay in an evening class at Furman University.
About His work:
Preston enjoys using his engineering skills together with his love of nature and the arts to create
complex silver chains and jewelry, and discovers new techniques and processes as they are needed.
After seeing a museum reproduction, he started developing a technique to make a chain from
half-round wire, which was improved on by his father (who is a long-time instructor of chain making
at William Holland School), and further refined by Howard Siegel (another instructor at William
Holland School of Lapidary Arts) , who published a how-to article about it in Art Jewelry magazine
(September 2007 issue) as "Celtic Challenge - Push your chain making to the next level by soldering
silver links. "
His design inspiration often comes from the multitude of shapes and patterns in nature, whether it be in
the forests, the oceans, or the heavens. He seasons all these inspirations with whimsical twists,
sometimes creating "ancient relics of civilizations that never existed."
About Him:
A native of South Carolina, Preston has been a "rock hound" since childhood, started cutting
cabochons in the late 70's, and began creating jewelry in 1994.
In addition to degrees in metallurgy and material engineering at MIT and RPI, he has taken classes in
Silver and Gold-Smithing at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia,
and Precious Metal Clay in an evening class at Furman University.
About His work:
Preston enjoys using his engineering skills together with his love of nature and the arts to create
complex silver chains and jewelry, and discovers new techniques and processes as they are needed.
After seeing a museum reproduction, he started developing a technique to make a chain from
half-round wire, which was improved on by his father (who is a long-time instructor of chain making
at William Holland School), and further refined by Howard Siegel (another instructor at William
Holland School of Lapidary Arts) , who published a how-to article about it in Art Jewelry magazine
(September 2007 issue) as "Celtic Challenge - Push your chain making to the next level by soldering
silver links. "
His design inspiration often comes from the multitude of shapes and patterns in nature, whether it be in
the forests, the oceans, or the heavens. He seasons all these inspirations with whimsical twists,
sometimes creating "ancient relics of civilizations that never existed."
| And, last but not least -- my two muses and studio assistants who help track down runaway beads, keep feet warm, etc.: Beauty Callie |
PRESS: Jan's fanciful wire wrapped bracelet was spotlighted in Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine, Fall 2006, vol. 2, no. 3, p.63 |
Preston's beautiful chainmaille and silver work sometimes
inspire and/or embellish some of my designs, and his work,
when available, will be featured on this site.
inspire and/or embellish some of my designs, and his work,
when available, will be featured on this site.
| PPOSTCARDOSTCARD FROM FRANCE |
| POSTCARD FROM FRANCE |