KarenEdgeStudio Creates Imperfect Jewelry Perfectly

The wonderful KarenEdgeStudio is returning to Firefly Handmade at our Holiday Market this November 20 & 21! Karen’s jewelry beautifies the imperfect, creating unique one-of-a-kind pieces. Utilizing silver, gold, precious gems and greek sea glass, each piece speaks its own story. Read on to learn more about Karen’s journey:

How did you get into silversmithing?
I discovered silversmithing when I was 13 years old, I took a class at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, where I grew up. I was hooked. I took jewelry classes all through high school and college, where I majored both in science and art. But it was a hobby until 10 years ago when I left my teaching career to become a full-time silversmith. 

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
My daily life inspires my designs.  I have spent my whole life wanting to be a full-time silversmith and the floodgates opened when I moved away from teaching to being a silversmith full-time.  I look around not only at nature, but also at lines in small objects, fragments of found objects and try to see what makes them interesting to the eye and try to mimic that in my jewelry. 

How do you choose the stones and gems that you use in your work?
I choose stones (cabochons) by their color and cut. Most of the time I don’t want a perfectly round or oval stone. I am always looking for shapes that can easily be decorated with small faceted stones around them. I like cabochons that are multi-colored or have a little vein of a different color in them, such as turquoise with a brown vein. These streaks of colors in cabochons help me pick the color of my faceted stones. Unlike cabochons, I like perfectly round faceted stones with a tendency to be attracted to blue, green, and teal. But I love fall colors so I have plenty of faceted stones that are orange and red.  

How has your style evolved and why?
My style evolves around the new techniques I learn. I call my style organic classic. My style has gone from being more precise and shiny to a looser one that works with oxidized silver and gold. I adore fusing gold on silver and letting the process dictate some of the outcomes. From there I decide where stones should be placed. So, while I draw most of my pieces, the final piece is not exactly as it was drawn. 

What’s the best advice you ever received?
The best advice I ever received about becoming a silversmith was right after I had taken a sabbatical from teaching to work on my silversmithing. I was deciding whether to go back to teaching or to continue on my new path. My principal said to me, you can’t come back to teaching, you have already moved on. She let me let go of my teaching career. I can’t thank her enough for saying to me you need to leave your present job and walk a different path now.

What excites you for the future?
I’m excited about the new projects that I don’t even know about. I’m excited about the classes I’ll take to expand my skill base. I’m excited to become a more skilled silversmith and the new people I’ll meet along the way. 

What do you like about being a Firefly Handmade artisan?
I really like being a Firefly Handmade Market artisan because the people that stop by, talk and look at my jewelry, always are interested in knowing more about a piece and the techniques used to make it.  I am proud because it is a market that attracts a great clientele and a fun group of people.

Connect with KarenEdgeStudio at Firefly Handmade Holiday Market, November 20 & 21, on Old South Gaylord Street, Washington Park, Denver.