My journey into artisan design was anything short of unorthodox. It started as a way to cope with a physical health challenge, but it turned into a series of discoveries I am only recently beginning to understand. Long before I began my formal education in the spring of 2022, I was already looking at jewelry through the eyes of a systems engineer. When I initially surveyed my competitors, I learne
d that their clients faced several pain points with traditional spoon jewelry. At first, this was discouraging, but it actually pushed me to approach my designs differently. After countless hours of research, I found two main issues: the weight of traditional spoon jewelry made it uncomfortable for daily wear, and the size and style of spoon rings often prevented them from being worn alongside other rings. With this valuable insight, I decided to fix these problems. I realized that I could split the hollow chamber of antique knife handles and use a pair of calipers to measure the exact distance the ring band needed to be for formation. After polishing and flattening the material, I developed a new generation of spoon rings, one that was 60 percent lighter than traditional versions and purposefully designed to sit next to any other ring band without issue. Beyond my technical focus, another deeper question emerged. Why was the variety of historical patterns so vast in silverware? My answer was found in the archives. I shifted from just reshaping materials to becoming a curator of history, treating every piece that crossed my bench like a story waiting to be told. That changed for me in a major way when I discovered the silver plate pattern Avalon Cabin 1940. At a show in rural Nebraska, I met a woman who had been a neighbor to the original designer. She informed me that Avalon was the designer's wife, a woman who loved the White Mountains and owls. Sadly, in 1939, Avalon passed away from a "serious condition of the breast," a quiet, coded way of saying breast cancer during the era. Her husband designed Avalon Cabin as a tribute to her memory, carefully tucking an Art Deco-inspired owl beneath a floral veil at the base of the entire collection. Learning that story struck a chord within me; every piece I held was not just metal; it was a vessel of someone’s life story. Now that I am reaching the end of my undergraduate studies, I have realized that what I have been doing all along is systems engineering. This was recently affirmed by my acceptance into a Master of Engineering Management program, which, upon completion, confers the professional title of systems engineer. Today, as I continue my path as an engineer, I have decided to reimagine FITR from its exclusive silverware past. I am moving beyond the medium to include other historical artifacts from across the ages, from rescuing a beautiful sapphire out of an antique comb to repurposing old coins and broken estate jewelry. Every piece will still honor its past, but it will begin its new life with you. This is the evolution of FITR, no longer limited by material, but still completely dedicated to preserving history. As I reach yet another fork in my own path, I am adjusting how I work in FITR. To focus on my professional studies, I will not be producing designs full-time, but my commitment to archival history is more important than ever. This new journey will also allow me to work with platinum, palladium, and gold, opening the door for people with metal allergies to finally enjoy my designs as well. Who is FITR? I am. The designer who bridges the domains across history, engineering, and artisanal jewelry design. Thank you for being part of my journey; I cannot wait to start this new chapter of FITR with you. Jordan
Founder and Artisan Jewelry Designer, FITR
