My Story
I create each piece of Heather John Jewelry by hand using traditional techniques in my backyard studio in Portland, OR. I incorporate natural gemstones with sterling silver. Creating my first pieces with beads and wire in 2003 with an “I can do that” attitude, I’ve been making ever since. I began expanding my metalsmithing skills in 2017 in order to work with the stones that fascinate me. Being rooted in Oregon with all its rugged beauty, and having a background in graphic design and a primal urge to pick up interesting rocks to study, all inform my work.
Heather John Jewelry ‘Emerge’ Included Quartz Neckpiece
Turning a stone over in my fingers, feeling the gentle curves, the subtle roughness softened under the soil, seeing the shifting colors as the light passes through, enjoying the grounding weight in my palm. Imagining how to suspend this ancient mineral, celebrating its uniquely sublime character. Taking cues from modern design and architecture in its deceptive simplicity, always with an edge, something unexpected. Asymmetrical yet balanced. Sensual and fluid yet sound.
When I’m not in the studio my husband and I built together, you may find me cooking with him in our cozy kitchen, getting muddy in our naturescaped garden full of native plants, collecting agates on the beach or hiking in the forest, visiting the Portland Japanese Garden with my daughter, overloading my shopping bags at the local farmers market, shooting pictures with my phone of various things that catch my eye. Or maybe working a jigsaw puzzle or expanding my understanding of history.