THE DESIGNERS
JEN HOLLYWOOD-SHOWELL
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JEWELRY DESIGN & FABRICATION
People often ask me how I got into this business, playing with beautiful gems and precious metals all day long.
My jewelry fetish began when I was young, and my style evolved as I got older (well, hello Tiffanyās, so lovely to meet youā¦).Ā After I left a full-time job as a web designer to stay home with my daughter, I took a random jewelry class at a local bead store and loved it. Then I bought some beads and sterling wire, then more beads, and more sterling. People began commenting on my pieces, āWhere did you get that?ā So I opened up an Etsy shop in 2007, selling all beaded items. Then I taught myself how to wire-wrap stones. Fast forward a year or so, I discovered metal stamping, so I bought sterling discs and hammers to make personalized sterling silver items. Yes, mom jewelry. *rolls eyes* After THAT I bought a few metalsmithing books, lots more tools (#ToolPorn) and stumbled uponĀ a wonderful jewelry mentor and now good friend Lance Johnson, ofĀ RioFire Jewelers. He convinced me I shouldnāt be afraid of a torch. Ā Now I love to light shit up. Melting metal is all kind of awesome. A number of years ago I learned about an intriguing gem called moissanite. I ordered a .5 carat round to play with, and ended up setting it in yellow gold engagement ring that I made. (I still have that ring, it makes me smile, although itās too damn small for me to be sporting now, lol.) I researched more about the stones ā loving the fact that they are conflict-free, affordable and really an awesome diamond alternative*. I grew our small line of handmade engagement rings and wedding bands into the custom designs you see in our shop today. Iāve been going strong since 2006.
*Moissanite is such an awesome diamond alternative, that I actually fooled 2 diamond dealers with my emerald cut engagement ring while on vacation in Cancun. I was in the pool, perhaps with a Corona in hand, and a guy came over and complimented me on my ring. I said thanks, let him check it out and then told him it was a moissanite. He was floored. He called over his wife, and she checked it out too, couldnāt believe it. We hung out, had a beer and he kept shaking his head and looking at my ring, he couldnāt believe how pretty it was. Moissanite rocks, Iām tellinā ya.
FEATURED IN
For the moment, We have been featured in several places, not anywhere super fabulous (like Vogue, ahem), at least not yet. But we will be, I promise you that. Stop byĀ our Press pageĀ to check it out.
GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGN
Iāve been working in the areas of graphic arts and web for over 15 years.Ā At my most recent in-an-office kinda job, I spent 4 years at Triton PCS/SunCom as a web developer. During my time there I was solely responsible for the expansion of a company-wide intranet from 300 pages to over 1,500.Ā No small feat. Iāve built websites for a number of small businesses, done logo and collateral designs as well. I also designed and built this website.
COLLEEN WALTMANDirector of Smooth OperationsTakes Care of Business, Designer, Wifey, Wrangler of Two Maniac Boys, Potential Crazy Cat Lady THE SKINNYIāve been making magic happen for over 15 years in the multi-media marketing space. Hereās where I name drop: Iāve delivered results for eBay, AstraZeneca, Agilent Technologies, Dick Sporting Goods, Toy āR Us, DuPont, Bayer, PointRoll and more. While at eBay, I managed an interactive project management team responsible for overseeing project for over 150 well-known brands. Letās just say, I know how to take care of business all while laughing and having a good time. Work hard, play hard. I consider myself one lucky woman because I get to work with AND play with jewelry. |
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FEATURED IN
Direct mail campaign for PointRoll was featured on the cover of DM News, July 2005 edition.
ANDIE TAYLORKickass Assistant to the Queen of MoissaniteHead Squirrel Wrangler
Party Girl by Nature/Professional by Necessity ĀONCE UPON A TIME Ā As a pre-teen I enjoyed restringing beads and making small repairs to the costume jewelry that my mother would find through her antiques business. Over the years I learned about the different styles and time periods of vintage jewelry, my first love. In college I leaped into becoming an art major, with the aspiration of becoming a jewelry designer (with absolutely no art background at allā¦like a maniac). Life took me in a different direction after college when I joined the retail jewelry workforce instead. I spent 10 years with the company, eventually managing my own store. When I got the opportunity to re-enter the jewelry field with J Hollywood Designs, I jumped all over it! I love to utilize my knowledge of gemstones, design, and metalsmithing to help our amazing clients. Moissanite is such a versatile stone that Iām amazed every day by what we can create with it. In our office, Iām our detail girl. While the creative and technical masterminds, Jen & Colleen, work on creating & executing their designs, Iām the one trying to make sure we donāt get distracted by all the sparkly bits (or social media, or the view out the window, or the glass of wine calling our namesā¦SQUIRREL!). Ā I swear I am part dragon because Iām all about hoarding glittery treasures. My overall style leans simultaneously towards āunique/different/modernā and āclassic/vintage/historicā pulling from both my love of antique & vintage jewelry and my quirky desire for individual expression. Sometimes itās really hard to put all of your beautiful orders in boxes and say goodbye. |
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