About the Artist
Lavender Cottage Jewelry is truly a "cottage industry" that I started in my own little cottage style house built in 1935. It was in a historic little town in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. I settled on the name Lavender Cottage because of my love for growing lavender, my favorite herb. The workbench in my basement studio faced a door into my garden, looking out on my favorite rugosa rose, Moje Hammarberg. As the years went by, and the trees grew larger, there was not quite enough sun anymore for the lavender that used to grow happily next to Miss Moje, the rose. To follow the sun, I moved my herb garden to large pots on my sunny front porch instead - always ready for the picking!
A big change in my life was my move to New Mexico in 2024. I am in the process of building a new cottage and garden in a spectacular valley in the high desert. Leaving the west as a teenager left a yearning for the desert always with me, and I'm so excited to be bringing those desert dreams back to life. My jewelry studio is currently an adorable little cabin with mountain sunsets just over my bench - always inspiring!
My passion for art began as a six-year-old growing up in Chicago. My mother was an art student, and I was fascinated by her oil painting and jewelry projects. Trips to Chicago’s fabulous Art Institute came often, further instilling the love for art that would become a constant in my somewhat strange career path ranging from horsewoman, freight pilot and innkeeper/chef to computer programmer before finally settling into being a jewelry artist. Our family’s organic garden and frequent camping trips nurtured a love for nature, especially flowers and rocks, which find their way into much of my work.
Creating jewelry has been a passion and a joy that has kept the rest of my life in perspective. My style has evolved and grown over the years, and I worked full time from my home studio from 2008 through 2018. In January 2019, my elderly mom came to live with me, and I became her full-time caregiver. When she could still see my work, she always gave me useful critiques. In spite of advanced macular degeneration, she somehow managed to cut out my little gift tags for each jewelry package until just a few years ago! She is almost 92 now, and even with advanced dementia and blindness, she often asks, ‘Do you need any help?’ I still ‘show’ her my new rocks!My jewelry skills are mostly self-taught, and after starting with natural stone beads and wire, I quickly found a passion for moving metal with hammer, saw and torch. The beautiful shapes and textures that can be accomplished through these simple tools are nothing short of amazing.
Each one of the pieces in my shop is completely handmade, including jump rings and clasps. Metal pieces are fabricated by hand using a jeweler's saw, multiple hammers (you can never have too many hammers) and my wonderful acetylene torch. The beads, gems and metal charms that I use are lovingly gathered from sources all over the world. I love vintage brass stamped charms - it's an addiction, and you'll see them in many of my mixed metal pieces. Metals used in my jewelry include fine silver (99.99 pure, and less subject to tarnishing, but softer than sterling), sterling silver, copper and brass, as well as 14 and 18kt gold. Recycled metals and conflict free eco-friendly stones and gems are always used if at all possible.