My Story
I create each piece of Heather John Jewelry by hand using traditional metalsmithing techniques in my backyard studio in Portland, OR. I incorporate natural gemstones with sterling silver. Creating my first pieces with beads, wire, and silk in 2004 with an “I can do that” attitude, I’ve been making ever since. I began taking metalsmithing classes in 2017 in order to work with the stones that have fascinated me all my life and to manipulate metal into pieces of art. Being rooted in Oregon with all its rugged beauty, a previous career in graphic design, and with a primal urge to pick up interesting rocks, 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 by water and soil. Watching 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, the visual weight of midcentury modern jewelry. 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 something new with him in our cozy 2-butt kitchen, relaxing in our naturescaped garden full of native plants, birds, pollinators and wild bunnies, collecting agates on the beach, visiting the Portland Japanese Garden with my daughter when they’re home from college, overloading my shopping bags at the local farmers market. Or maybe working a puzzle on my iPad, dreaming of the Deschutes River, or collecting more rocks.