We were lucky to catch up with Tara Magboo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My goal is to create well-made jewelry that brings joy and meaning to people’s lives. My work is based on positive memories from my childhood: pets that I loved, favorite toys, animated films and other childhood experiences. All these revolve around animal or Nature based themes. Happily, customers find aspects of my jewelry that resonate with them, which also prompts them to reminisce about positive memories from their own pasts. It is such deep connections that make me realize why I do what I do. My work is meaningful for me to create and when someone also finds their own unique connection to the work, it is very gratifying indeed. I make every effort to make my work in accordance with ethical standards. I specifically buy silver and gold from manufacturers that have been certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council. This ensures that my suppliers follows strict criteria on ethical sourcing, social, human rights and environmental standards. In addition, I only use precious metal is SCS Global certified assuring that the metal is manufactured from 100 percent recycled sources and is not newly mined. Since my work is primarily inspired by Nature, I feel strongly that my studio practices should respect Nature as well.

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.

My name is Tara Magboo. I have been working in the jewelry industry since 1999. I am currently the lead jewelry instructor at the new UCSD Craft Center and I run my small jewelry business, Adorable Mayhem. Honestly, I fell into jewelry making quite by accident! When I was enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design, I was an illustration major. In the Fall of my junior year, I was unable to enroll in a popular illustration course that I very much wanted to take. Though disappointed, I began scrambling to find another class to fill my schedule. I knew I needed out-of-major credit and saw that the Beginning Jewelry Fabrication course had a few open spots available. I rushed off to crash the first day of class and, unfortunately, there were 8 or 10 other students vying for a seat! I clearly hadn’t realized how popular the jewelry making class was! Since the odds were clearly not in my favor, I started to think about other class possibilities. The instructor asked all the potential students to each write their names on a piece of paper and place them in a hat. There was only space for two extra students, therefore only two names were drawn at random from the hat. Shockingly, I was one of the students picked to enroll in the course! Ever since then, I was hooked! I fell in love with the intimate scale of jewelry and the metalworking process. I continued to take jewelry classes on the side until I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in illustration. After college, I continued to pursue work in the jewelry industry and then later pursued my Master of Fine Arts degree through the Jewelry and Metalsmithing program at San Diego State University.

What sets my work apart from other jewelry is I still carve all my master models by hand. I’m not opposed to occasionally using computer programs in the future depending on the design, however, I don’t want CAD/CAM and 3D printing to become the sole method for my creations. I find it immensely gratifying to actually build and create objects by hand. What also makes my work unique is the application of details in areas that are often overlooked in modern production jewelry. For example, I construct the clasp in the back of my necklaces to look like leaves and branches so the entire piece of jewelry fits the overall theme, making a cohesive and aesthetically complete work.

The thing that I am most proud of is when a customer forms a deep connection with one of my creations. I am often told that they find something profoundly meaningful in the jewelry that reminds them of someone they loved or a special time in their lives. For example, I made a necklace of a little bear on a swing. I was inspired by my favorite teddy bear that I took with me everywhere as a child which served as the inspiration for that necklace. There was one customer that came to my booth at Comic-Con and immediately picked up my necklace of a teddy bear on a swing. She told me the story of how when she was a little girl, her favorite pastime with her grandfather was pushing her in a swing. The fond memories brought tears to her eyes. She felt this necklace was meant for her, a memento of her grandfather which she could always carry with her.

The main thing that I would like for people to take away from my brand is that jewelry can be more than just ornamentation. Well-made jewelry can be beautiful and can enhance the look of an outfit, for instance, but such jewelry can also provide meaning and significance to the wearer. My jewelry is meaningful for me to create and, in turn, I hope it is meaningful for the person who wears it.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

To this day, I make my own jewelry strictly by hand. After school, I went directly into working for various jewelry companies. I must say, while my formal education was beneficial, I would definitely say that the majority of my technical skills were acquired while actually working in the jewelry industry.

When I started my own business, Adorable Mayhem, my early work used to have rounded, smooth surfaces devoid of color. I learned over time to embrace texture and color in my jewelry work. I am glad that I made this aesthetic shift because this enhancement draws people in and engage with my work. There is an endless array of colors and organic surfaces in Nature. For instance, I reflect this by engraving lines for furry textures or hammering surfaces to replicate facets of rocks. Then the colors and textures breathe life into the jewelry and make them come alive!

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

Attending graduate school for Jewelry and Metalsmithing was easily the most difficult thing I have ever chosen to do! Before I began the program, I could never have fathomed the sheer volume of work and psychological challenges I would have to face. There were moments when I thought I was either going to fail or drop out of the MFA program. However, after about a year into graduate school, I realized that I had to compromise and figure out how to work within the system if I wanted to pass and get my degree. I had to keep my eye on the prize and to do whatever it took to reach my goal. In retrospect, I realized that the challenges I faced in graduate school helped me approach my work with more depth both conceptually and technically. And in the end, this experience helped me become a better artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adorablemayhem.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/adorablemayhem
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/adorablemayhem
• Other: www.threads.net/adorablemayhem