We recently connected with Ben, Isabel Caldwell and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, Isabel, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Ben Our daughter Isabel, became very ill around the age of 2 and she spent more than 2 weeks recovering at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN. I was asked to create a sculpture for the lobby of Vanderbilt Children’s hospital. I named it Isabel’s Garden and it was comprised of 4 very large six foot copper flowers. Vanderbilt appreciated my art which led to my enamel paintings being named as part of their permanent collection. Now, when I walk through the lobby of Vanderbilt and see Isabel’s Garden, I am reminded that beauty can come from the most challenging of times. And now my daughter Isabel, is by my side at Ben & Lael.
Isabel
22 years after my recovery at Vanderbilt and the copper garden being named after me, I created a large flower sculpture titled “It’s My Turn To Plant A Garden.” I created this as a continuation to the piece that was made for me so many years earlier. This sculpture was featured in Bevier Gallery in Rochester, NY. It was the largest installation of any student final project at Rochester. It was about 25×40 feet in size.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ben I was mentored by Terry Talley, an exceptionally talented coppersmith for a year. He agreed to train me knowing his death was impending in less than a year. The agreement was that he would teach me old world smithing techniques until he could no longer teach, if I would teach his children when they grew up. I now teach and mentor his son Casey.
I make by hand, copper and silver serving pieces as well as large commissions for lobbies, meditation gardens, 6 foot copper mirrors, orchid bowls for the Ritz Carlton, copper panels for Starbucks Reserve, sconces and chandeliers for designers as well as custom jewelry.

Isabel
I grew up spending a lot of time in my dad’s studio. After school, I was hanging out in the corner of his studio with my own small anvil. I would hammer and create my own pieces using copper scraps. We made enamel paintings together and I would use a small torch to apply glass on copper while dressed in a fire suit. As I grew up, he slowly trained me on many different metal smithing techniques. I earned a BFA in metals and jewelry design in Rochester, NY where I studied under Carlos Caballero-Perez and Leonard Urso. From there, I went to work for a small jeweler, where I learned jewelry fabrication and basic repair from Mark Nulton and Emmett Crilly. The designs I am passionate about are taking traditional metalsmithing techniques and contemporary jewelry design and putting them together to create wearable sculpture.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Ben I believe that the arts has taken a back seat to science and math education. I have dyslexia. Art saved me by allowing me to find value in myself even though I was different than most other students and the way they learned. I began my creative journey by building a cathedral for my medieval architecture class at Tufts University instead of writing a 20 page paper. I received the highest grade in the class. All because a teacher went beyond the normal scope of teaching.

I teach classes across the country. My students are as young as 6 and as old as 86. My passion is teaching old world metalsmith techniques to the next generation.

Isabel
Society is now being pushed to be very digital. My last years in school were mostly online, and I felt very disconnected from the content I was trying to learn. I believe a big part of success in maintaining creativity and introducing people to the artistic world is having tangible media and face to face connection. Going to the library or an art museum to take art classes were an imperative part of falling in love with art. I am now teaching classes with my Dad in beautiful galleries out west, studios in Vermont as well as in our own studio close to Nashville, TN.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Ben I came home one day from the studio completely overwhelmed and cried. And I rarely cry. I was considered a very successful artist with commissions around the world. Yet, I could not cope with managing a staff of 6 and all that goes with it. I was fearful that I could not keep it all going. I had more than 50 wholesale accounts, over 30 shows a year and on line orders. My dream had come true of earning a living being an artist yet I was miserable. What I really felt was stress and impending disconnection from the craft I loved. I decided to pivot. I joined hands with my wife who worked in real estate development, and moved from being a production artist to collaborating with designers on fascinating projects like Starbucks Reserve. I took the risk that the money would take care of itself if I was disciplined and surrounded myself with a small yet very good team. I did it afraid. I signed up for less shows. I bought a building and spent a year renovating it.
I now focus on what makes me want to create instead of, “How do I pay the bills?” That is the pivot point for me. Moving from “ I have to …. to I want to”
Bigger is not necessarily better.

Isabel
The biggest pivot in my life came just recently. In November 2023, my fiancé just bought a house in NY. We recently started new jobs in our career fields. Then, about a year later, my fiancé proposed to me, and we decided that we would build our career and our lives, in NY. His family was there, and we both had incredible jobs. We had a future that was stable and growing. Then, early in the year 2025, my dad presented the opportunity to come into the business as Creative Director of Ben & Lael and production manager. He wanted another artist to work alongside him and he chose me. My fiancé, who has a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, is now the Operations Manager for Ben and Lael. So in March, we bought a small house in TN and in late June we finally made the move to be here.
We took a chance with a new direction and we are excited for what is to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.benandlael.com
• Instagram: Benandlael

Image Credits
No credit is due. We own all photos.