Choosing a Diamond in your Engagement Ring – Part 2; Bend Oregon Wedding Ring Designer
PART 2 - A Well Cut Diamond After the carat weight of a diamond (Part 1 - Choosing a Diamond series), the cut of the stone is probably the most important quality to examine in purchasing a diamond for an engagement or wedding ring. The best cut diamonds give you the...
Ring Stories: Desert and Water Custom Created Wedding Rings
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to create engagement and wedding rings for many people, each with their own stories to tell. One of my very favorite sets of story rings was created for a loving couple both entering their second marriage. When we began our...
Choosing a Diamond in your Engagement Ring – Part 1; Bend Oregon Wedding Ring Designer
When choosing a diamond for your engagement ring I find that there are typically two groups that people tend to fall in to. The first group is more interested in the size of the diamond and the other is more interested in the overall quality of the stone. Both groups...
Designing Wedding Rings from Inherited or Family Heirloom Jewelry – Recycling At Its Best
When a new client approaches me, one of the things we cover in the initial consult is if they would like to incorporate any family heirloom jewelry to reuse and recycle into their wedding rings? To incorporate materials from inherited jewelry is a beautiful and often...
Same Sex Wedding and Engagement Ring Designer; Bend and Portland, Oregon
Over the last 30 years or so I have been invited to create engagement and wedding rings for many many people from around the world. Young and old, first marriages, second and third marriages, techies, organic farmers, surfers, rock climbers, potters, woodworkers,...
MJSA Magazine Cover and Mystery Box Challenge – Behind The Scenes
Earlier this year I was one of three jewelry designers from the United States and Canada that was invited by MJSA (Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America) to participate in their 4th annual design competition, The Mystery Box Challenge. Each of us received...
Ring Stories: The Brooklyn Bridge
Several years ago I had a couple from New York City contact me about creating their wedding rings. They didn’t really know what they wanted, but the did want something that was personal and unique to the two of them. Through a series of emails and a single phone call...
Perfectly Size and Fit Your Engagement Ring and Wedding Band
You would think that it would be an easy task in determining your correct ring size. There are however several factors that may change your size, so one of the things we do to ensure the best fit is to size them multiple times throughout the design process. It is...
INSPIRATION: Finding your creativity in subtle ways
Years ago there was a television commercial selling something (what it was selling I don't remember), but it had a tag line that in many ways has shaped, or at least reflects much of what I hold dear as a craftsperson and as a human being. The tag line was this: "if...
Searching For Magic – Choosing Gem Stones For Your Unique Wedding Ring
The process of designing and creating your unique wedding ring has many parts that need to fall into place. It starts with design and concept and finishes with your one-of-a-kind piece. At the start, my most critical aspect is to locate materials that stand out from...
Unique Rose Gold Wedding Rings
I have repaired and restored a great deal of jewelry over the years, and many of the pieces that have stood out for me were vintage jewelry from Europe. They were special partly because of their designs and how well they were made, but mostly because many of those...