We recently connected with Sabrina Wyatt and have shared our conversation below.

Sabrina, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Going from the idea of creating jewelry to actually doing it was a journey! Once it all clicked and I came to realize that I could make jewelry with my hands it was endless research in to how. I had zero knowledge about this craft so I was starting from the absolute bottom.

The day I decided I wanted to, I spent about 12 hours online just researching tools for beginners ordering all kinds of things to help get me started. So much trial and error. My first ring I made, I actually didn’t trim the backplate before soldering the ring shank on. Hindsight, I am absolutely cracking up at myself and eagerness to just jump right in! I sold my first piece less than a month into it and things have been evolving from there. Although I have a class with a highly respected jeweler scheduled for Spring 2025, I am still a completely self taught metalsmith. Learning by trial, books and deep dives down YouTube. 4 years in I’m still learning soo much, new tools, new tricks, new suppliers! Tricks of the trade that you can only acquire over time.

What started as a tear up tear down table corner in my 15 foot trailer that I was living in at the time has now evolved in to an 8×8 dedicated workshop.

Sabrina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I had just officially moved to the South Coast of Big Sur in Winter 2019/20. Having been a long time Jade lover I found great solace in roaming the beaches looking for the elusive stone. In 2021, after going through an extended period of not working due to covid and a series of mudslides as well as the Dolan fire in Big Sur, I was caretaking property and pretty much jade hunting in all of my free time and acquired a large collection of stones. My entire life I’ve been obsessed with jewelry but it never even crossed my mind that I could make it myself. My stash of stones started to speak to me essentially and it all just clicked. I wanted to make jewelry! But it was important to me from the start that I wanted to maintain the natural integrity of the stone. Ocean polished and shaped! Which is something not often seen in the Big Sur Jade jewelry community. I took the leap and invested in some basic equipment, books and countless hours dedicated to trial and error. I’m coming up on 4 years in my metal smithing journey and loving every minute.

Now I have the privilege of offering one of a kind gold and silver heirloom jewelry, that are truly pieces of my heart. So much of my time, from hunting for the Jade myself to spending time getting to know the stone and creating a perfect lifetime setting for it… goes in to every single piece! I also do a lot of custom work for folks who have sourced their own Jade or have a special connection to a specific stone. Together, we create a piece of wearable magic.

While most of my offerings and niche market is in Big Sur Jade, I also love working with Australian opals and turquoise. Over this next year I will be transitioning in to a more fine jewelry direction and hoping to incorporate more faceted gemstones in to my work.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Running a handmade jewelry business solo out of the south coast of Big Sur is not for the faint of heart. 70% of my sales are online. When Highway 1 is closed (which it is now), almost everything comes to a halt. For over 1 year we were getting zero mail service which meant I was driving to the post office, which is 50 minutes away (without road construction), multiple times a week to pick up supplies and send out orders. Now I get paper mail most Friday’s, shout out to the Big Sur Post master, Andrew, who makes an arduous drive around to keep us looped in with the world and picks up my outgoing packages for me :) At one point we were islanded and had mudslides on both sides. Leaving me to hike out around the slide to get to town. I also live entirely off grid. My life and my business is run my solar power and a trusty Honda generator. Hiking gas and propane in and out. Bags of packages up and over. Truly a trip and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The remoteness also means that if something breaks or I need to restock supplies. It’s far from an easy jet to the store. It can sometimes be a weeks long process to find a store or order something and have it sent to town and then I can go pick up, because of the no package mail issue currently.

I’m grateful though, this allows me to work at a pace most people never even knew possible. The ultimate surrender to your surroundings.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

While this is something I’m still working on, I think my unique approach in making Big Sur jewelry has helped me to stand out. Not many artists are working with a 100% raw stone. It’s usually always polished if not cut up and made in to a cabochon. I have a unique brand that definitely leans more organic and feminine in a male led niche trade. I make jewelry for men too and a lot of unisex pieces but most of my work is definitely for the girlies :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.solshinesilver.com
• Instagram: solshinesilver
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

Sadie Simonis