Process

Hand Made Jewelry

Alison’s work is all handmade starting from sterling and gold sheet which is transformed into her hollow form jewelry. Everything is hand filed, sawed, shaped, hinged, soldered and set. Her materials are usually sterling silver that has been given an oxidized patina along with 18 and 22 carat gold to contrast the dark metal, along with natural stones in a variety of colors, shapes and textures.

Metal Forming

Using basic tools such as; files, hammers and a jewelers saw, she creates the parts comprised of her hand-made jewelry. Her work begins with parts she calls pods, see how they are made in the short video below. Utilizing hammers, she sinks and forms the metal into these pod shapes that distinguish her specific design style.

I move metal in various ways. The images below are created using a sinusoidal stake, see the video.

There are various ways to create hollow pod forms. For these designs, I curve the pod and raise the sides simultaneously, with my hammers. In this video I create curved pods using a sinusoidal stake - a steel forming tool which looks like a crooked finger.

By Hand

Many challenges are overcome when creating each piece of jewelry. Some of the stones are tricky to set. Stones, parts, clasps are all incorporated into her original designs.

Design Process

Learn about Alison’s design process in these videos.