Tips From the Trenches
Custom jewelers share their strategies
Q: Everyone’s an artist. When a customer brings you a sketch for a jewelry piece that just isn’t going to fly for aesthetic or mechanical reasons, what strategies do you use to turn that idea into a feasible project?
Timothy Green and Jo Haemer (Timothy W. Green, Portland, Oregon): Sigh. The worst are architects, geeks, and engineers. They come in with computer drawings done to the micro-millimeter that look good on paper but won’t work in real life. We take the position of authority and expertise when discussing such designs, but we always try to do so with humor so the client doesn’t feel threatened. We’ll say, “Wow. This is quite the drawing. I’m really glad you know just what you want. This makes my job easier; however, you do understand that we’ll have to put this through a time warp continuum and shoot it into another universe to make it work in real life."
We then gently explain what will work mechanically and aesthetically, taking them through the jewelry-making process. Sometimes we’ll do a drawing to illustrate our point, and we go into as much detail as necessary, explaining stone setting and stone security, metallurgy, and long-term wear issues. Our clients tend to be well-educated folks who search out the best craftsmen/designers they can find. They are a curious lot and enjoy the tech talk very much. The more they know, the more they appreciate the work we do.
Justin Singh (Abbey Jewelry Studio, Placentia, California): When a client brings in a sketch, I want to understand why and how he or she came up with it. I ask about what inspired the client to create the sketch and find out the most important design elements in it. If the design has a mechanical flaw—such as a piece that goes from thick to thin to thick again—I explain why it won’t cast right and, even if hand fabricated, will not wear for long.
I also ask if the client feels the person receiving the piece will understand the design. If there is any doubt and I know in my heart that the sketch is not truly expressing what the client wants to share, I offer suggestions for how to better express it through the design, always working within the original concept. My goal is to help my client successfully create a piece of art that is his or her own, not my version of it.
Gary Dawson (Gary Dawson Designs, Eugene, Oregon): If a client comes to me with a sketch or a well-defined idea, I typically don’t question their aesthetics. People often have very specific reasons for wanting something the way that they want it, whether for sentimental or emotional reasons. Occasionally really weird things attract them that I wouldn’t consider wearing in a million years—but I make it because my client loves it. And there’s a hidden bonus in taking on these jobs: It’s often on those weirdly challenging projects that I learn the most about my own aesthetics or a new technique.
Case in point: I had probably been making jewelry for 20 years when a client asked me to find her a large ruby and set it in a very simple band with a heavy bezel—in platinum. Having an aesthetic bias toward yellow metals, I would never have thought to put a ruby in white metal. When the ring was finished, I fell in love with the ruby and platinum combination and have used it several times since when generating inventory.
Susan Eisen (Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches, El Paso, Texas): Whenever a client brings me a sketch, I break it down and look at the various elements—the settings, the size/weight in relation to the body, the overall aesthetic. Then I find pieces in my inventory that feature similar elements and show them to the client. It’s much easier for a client to visualize a custom design when they can view physical pieces of jewelry that feature similar components.
While some customers are flexible in allowing me to use my sensibilities and skills to guide their design choices, others have a very specific idea of what they want. If I am not convinced it will be a beautiful piece and represent my skills as a jewelry artist, I may turn down the request. I’m not a robot; I’m a designer who has to create something that I will be proud to show the world.
Jim Dailing (Jim Dailing Designs, Bend, Oregon): I tend to wear a number of different hats when I work with clients—designer, craftsperson, and educator. I’m comfortable with exchanging ideas and fine-tuning both the good and the less-than-good elements of a client’s design. My belief is that most anything is possible, but I tell my clients that we need to balance the functionality of a piece—both its comfort and structural integrity—with their personal aesthetics. I try not to apply my aesthetic to theirs, but I do attempt to mediate or guide them during the design process so that their newly created jewelry is personal, durable, and beautiful.