We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Markie Zimmer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Markie , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve had a few:

On her wedding day a woman’s mother gave her a Leland Blue as her something blue. She had held on to the rock and wanted to do something special with it for years, She reached out to me and asked me if I could cut and grind it for her and make some pieces. It was substantial enough of a piece where I was able to get quite a few cabochons (rocks that has been shaped and polished and ready to be used for jewelry) and she had a lot of options for pieces we could make.

She meaningfully decided to have matching bracelets made for her and her mom and to surprise her with it for her birthday. Such an honor to make her something blue gift from her other into something they both could wear daily and cherish for years to come.

Another stand out meaningful project was a woman reached out to me after her mother had passed away and wanted some pieces made. She said that her mother and her has found the rocks together and she really wanted to commemorate those moments together with something she could wear everyday. She sent the rocks and we were able to get full set, earrings, ring, necklace and bracelet out of the rocks she sent. After she received the pieces she gushed about how meaningful they were to her and a way she remember and honor her mom daily.

Sometimes jewelry just seems like an accessory to enhance your outfit, but stories like this remind me why it is so much more than that and why I do what I do.

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.

How I got into the business:

I have been making jewelry for 5.5 years and this is my 5th year of summer art shows. I got started in this business for my own personal jewelry. My now husband, at the time fiancée, and I would rock hunt together when we first moved to Northern Michigan. We were wedding planning and if you’ve ever planned a wedding know how time consuming and stressful it can be. We would rock hunt to decompress and forget about the stress, our main goal find was Leland Blue. He found this killer Leland Blue and I wanted a ring made out of it. I called a local jeweler and received a crazy high quote so I vowed to learn to make myself that ring. I learned and made myself that ring. Friends wanted one and then strangers started asking where I got my ring from and next thing you know I was doing art shows and things have only grown from there.

My discipline/process.

Having two kids under two has me very disciplined with my business. My husband and I work full time and when we come home it is dinner time, bath time, story time, bed time and then we clean the house. When most people crash and go to bed that’s when our work begins. We each take a baby monitor and he goes and grinds rocks and I go and silversmith in my she shed studio. We each work until at least midnight then wake up and do it all over again. It’s so much work but we both can’t wait to teach our daughters “the family business” we started for them.

What I think sets me apart from other smiths is my process. My family and I hand hunt all of the stones we use in our jewelry. Once we find the stones my husband cuts and grinds all of them to shape for jewelry. I then silversmith them into jewelry inspired by my surroundings in Northern Michigan. I use my favorite hikes, sites and elements and use that in my jewelry.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My family and in particularly my two daughters. Showing them anything is possible and to work hard and you can make anything happen.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding is meeting everybody that has followed me on this crazy journey at art shows and from following me on social media. You never know the audience you’re hitting or how you translate to people. Hearing people come up to me and talk about how the relate to me if amazing, because I just feel like a mom chilling my she shed at midnight and who would want to see that. Haha     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.silverslagstone.com
• Instagram: @silverslagstone
• Facebook: www.facebook/silverslagstone

Image Credits
Two Twisted Trees Photography The Brouwers Photo