Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dina Goodhue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Dina, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Something I really enjoy about making jewelry, is cutting my own stones. I’ve spent quite a lot of time as an environmental worker, walking around in places looking at the earth around and beneath me. There is something about lapidary work, to me that brings you even closer to each piece’s story and history.

I think one of the most meaningful projects I ever made, was a collection of rings, that had inlayed stone in them from the Mojave Desert. Each stone I found in its own grand presence in nature, sitting there for thousands of years before I walked by. I called that collection “Nevada Sunrise”.

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

Well, up until about four years ago, I called New England home, and didn’t really know much beyond it.

I took a trip to Nevada and Arizona, and couldn’t believe what real mountains and open spaces actually felt and looked like. At 24 I left to become a Park Ranger at Mt. Whitney in Eastern California. After my season ended, I found a program in Portland, Oregon where I could learn how to metalsmith. I was sold. I remember driving up the Pacific Coast highway, not knowing a soul, so excited to pursue something I always wanted to know more about.

From that point out I bounced back in forth in the seasonal life. Going to jobs over the west in the summer, and going back to Oregon in the winters to pursue jewelry.

Regardless of all the constant moving around, jewelry was always what grounded me and kept me sane. The West and its landscapes always gave me that artistic ambition, and I was lucky that my community I had back in Vermont helped to support and push me up as I started my brand. This past winter I built out a truck camper to accommodate my jewelry making. Allowing me to bring my trade on the road.

As far as my style goes, my pieces to me often have a subtleness of funkiness. I like big, bold, and loud. (Maybe that’s the being raised in Massachusetts in me.)

In the coming year, I hope to find a work space that provides a little more space and stability so I can fully tap into all the different forms, practices, and stone setting techniques. I would love to create jewelry where I find, cut, and frame each piece in silver. Truly being apart of all its existence besides Mother Earth’s chemistry creating the stones.

But mostly, I’d say my brand has been one of persistence. I’ve never let the constant change and movement really slow me down when I came to creating. I have always found ways to continue to feed the fire.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I have come from a life of watching people I love put food on the table through their blood, sweat, and tears of owning a small business.

I think social media is a blessing and curse. I’ve made some really amazing connections, found inspiration, education, and connection through it. But, I’ve also experienced months of being shadow banned, feeling constant creative pressure to create just to post, compared myself to others, and overall just pure frustration.

With COVID, I think one of my biggest fears was what would happen to small business, those mom and pop stores that not only are the fabric of our country, but also provide the character, individual-ness, and genuine interactions.

In todays world, I think a fair creative platform that isn’t just run by ads, money, and algorithms, would be the creatives absolute best friend. Besides that, I think as individuals, our greatest power is how we spend our dollar. And that means, canceling your Amazon account, and trying to shop locally. Even taking an extra 10 minutes to drive down the street to the hardware store that’s owned by Mr. Smith, instead of going to Home Depot.

For holidays pick artists. Not Target. Truly it takes a village to support one another, and we have to all start at the decisions we make on where, and what we want to consume.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’ve had a lot of people come to me and ask me about how I can just move to places where I have no one. To me, I’ve never been afraid. It may be a blessing, it may be a curse.

But in those times, I’ve learnt over and over again, who I am, and how I react and deal with innumerable amounts of situations, good and bad.

I’ve learned to cherish alone time, because it allowed me to fully throw myself into dreaming, creating and making. I remember when I moved into my art studio in Las Vegas and didn’t know a soul. But every free day I had, I’d wake up even early than I would for work, to drive to my studio and create.

In those times of aloneness, I fully expressed all creative sides of myself that were available. I have experience my fair share of hardship, but I do have to say, I will never regret choosing the hard road.

Contact Info:

• Website: no9metal.com
• Instagram: @no9.jewelry