We recently connected with Leah Hollrock and have shared our conversation below.

Leah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Learning a craft is never a straight path and every single experience lends itself to becoming better at what you do. Learning my craft as a jewelry designer and goldsmith has been a winding road over the last decade.

The first step to learning my craft was stretching my creative muscles and going to art school. I wasn’t sure what discipline I would pursue after school, but I knew it would in some way involve the arts. I have a bachelors in oil painting and I’ve found my foundation in creative expression and design to be crucial to becoming a jewelry designer.

It was during college that I became interested in metal work. I started to watch videos online and began to play with metals like copper and silver. I set up a little studio in my parent’s basement and just played with the materials. I invested in some basic tools and self taught myself skills such as soldering, wire work, and basic setting.

After a few years of playing with metal as a hobby, I got a job at a local jewelry studio. It was at this job where I really dove into learning the craft. I absorbed as much as I could on the job and continued to watching videos online, read books, and play in my at home studio. I learned everything from wire and bead work, to working with materials like gold and platinum, to stone setting.

As I continued to grow as a jeweler, I wanted to learn the craft of lost wax casting. It is a process of jewelry making that involves hand carving wax and casting it into precious metal. It’s a process that has been around for thousands of years and is how jewelry was made before we had computers. I dove into wax carving and haven’t looked back – it is how 90% of my jewelry is made. I learned by buying the supplies, watching videos online and practicing. It’s a skill that takes a very long time to master and I continue to learn new things every time I sit down to carve.

Learning my craft is never done – I’m learning every single day. Last year I took a week long course on stone setting and plan to go back for CAD classes in the next year or so. I think the biggest asset to learning a craft is pure curiosity.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I own a small fine jewelry business called Leah Hollrock Jewelry. I design and handcraft jewelry such as wedding rings, engagement rings and everyday fine jewelry. My jewelry is all handcrafted and the design is antique-inspired. Most of my jewelry is made using the lost wax process which is an ancient method of jewelry making. Each piece is hand-carved from wax and cast into precious metal, which gives the pieces a more personal, human-touched feel.

I do a lot of custom and personalized work. I design and hand make one-of-a-kind pieces catering directly to my clients. I’m able to provide very unique jewelry that you can’t find anywhere else.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s so rewarding to create unique pieces for my clients that they can treasure for a lifetime and then pass on to the next generation. Jewelry can be so much more than a simple accessory – they are mementos, memories and treasures that become a part of your story.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The most memorable pivot in my life was going from working for other businesses to starting my own. In the back of my mind, I always knew I would eventually work for myself. The time came where I was ready for something new and I had recently sold a painting that gave me a very small cushion in my bank account. I thought it was now or never to give my dream a try.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LeahHollrock.com
• Instagram: @LeahHollrockJewelry

Image Credits
Photography: Leah Hollrock