01/23/2026
2016 ... a breakout year for Bela Co (then Bela Begonias!)
I didn't know how to solder or bezel or set stones or make rings. (And here I am, now known as the "ring girl") My tools were limited and I taught myself some crazy chemistry called Electroforming so I could "dip things in gold". I wire wrapped, played with beads and stamped metal. (yes! The tag collection has been with me from the beginning!!). I figured out my Shape Earrings collection that still lives on today. I still had thrifted items and clay pieces at my shows. I launched full collections with titles and photo shoots (wowww the time you have when you aren't wrangling smalls)
It was all so new and inspiring, every thing I did was a "figure it out" situation.
Tommy and I skipped off to Spain for a few weeks. We moved to Chattanooga from Nashville. 2016 was a big year, a happy one as I look back. Pre kids, in love with life and the world of Bela Co had limitless possibility.
As a self taught jeweler, everything is STILL a "figure it out" situation and it's fun to look back and see how I have grown professionally and personally. During the past decade I've had kids, owned a store front, survived covid, pushed thru burnout phases, moved studio spaces, changed my business name, launched a website and added a boatload of new skills to my repertoire.
Gold prices back then were laughable at 1.1k an ounce and silver at a mere $14 an ounce. With gold at nearly 5k an ounce and silver hovering around $100 an ounce today, things look different in all the ways! (Be sure to value your jewelry as investments and take good care or them! They are more valuable than ever!)
In 2026 I hope to develop new skills and keep things fresh. I'm itching for new designs and more challenging work. I look forward to a year of skills development and making creative things with the excitement and fervor of 2016! Cheers to good things in these uncertain and often discouraging times. I find myself seeking solace in the creative process when things look dark. I hope you find your own version of restoration in whatever "art and creativity" looks like for you! 😘
Hmmmm, maybe I should pull out the old potters wheel 🍶
