Barbara Samuelson & Russell Smith

Our work is an ongoing conversation. With complimentary strengths, we make jewelry that reflects our shared aesthetic. Inspired by nature, as well as the ethnography of adornment, we work together to create wearable sculptures that will surprise and delight. Most of our work has movement and is further animated through the act of being worn. The wearer takes part in our creation. Ideas and designs fly between us. We fabricate, emboss, etch, print, carve, cast and set stones. We play. We explore and invent techniques that will enable us to bring our ideas to life. We are both trained in all areas of production and everything we make is created in our studio by our hands. We are inspired by images and objects, literature and conversation. A turn of the century print that evokes another time and place or a tiny little seed pod may ignite the spark. The mehndi designs of the Middle East interpreted through our imaginations become a line of wedding rings. An antique trading card becomes a wearable collage.