Today we’d like to introduce you to Cass Zoubek

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I’m a silversmith making hand crafted jewelry from sterling silver and gemstones but that’s not where I started in my journey. Before I learned to use a torch, my vision was to create unique art and jewelry from materials foraged from the desert.

I spend most of my free time roaming the Nevada deserts where I frequently come across old bones, dried up cholla cactus, sparkling stones, and interesting pieces of juniper wood. I get a lot of joy from making these items into art like wind chimes, earrings, pendants, or sun catchers. That’s when I created High Desert Art and started my shop website HighDesertArt.net.

Over a short period of time my desire to create more jewelry increased. I started focusing more on working with gemstone beads and accepting custom orders for jewelry pieces. As my custom order requests became more complex, my need to learn how to create these orders and my own jewelry findings became a priority.

I decided I wanted to create without limitations and soldering sterling silver and learning the skills of silversmithing was how I decided I was going to do it. I immersed myself into learning everything I could and by trial and error, I’ve become quite confident with my skills as a silversmith and now offer both custom and shop jewelry pieces made by hand from sterling silver and unique gemstones.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Have you ever been in a 4×4 truck and thought, “I wonder where this road goes”? It might look pretty smooth but a few miles in things get bumpy and washed out with big boulders, and the only way out is a steep hill climb! But during the journey is adventure and beauty very few people have experienced.

This is how I would describe my experience as a creator and business owner. There’s ups and downs and in my experience, the ride never ends. It’s always a hustle trying to get sales and some months are better or easier than others. The only thing that’s consistent is my persistence.

I think the biggest struggle most of us as creators and artists of any kind face is the mighty sale! Some weeks, I’ll go without a single sale, custom order, or lead. I’ve learned it’s just the nature of the beast. How I keep going is reminding myself I’m not alone and that the next order WILL COME…. but only if I keep going and putting myself and my work out there for people to see!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I hand fabricate gemstone jewelry using silver solder and a torch, files, hammers and metal stamps to shape and form sterling silver sheet and wire into unique jewelry! I find beautiful faceted labradorite, quartz doublets, or hand carved gems and set them into one off jewelry pieces I sell on my website shop, HighDesertArt.net, or use to make fabulous custom jewelry.

It’s definitely a bit difficult to standout in a market double filled with talented jewelry designers and creators, but what sets me apart are not only the one of a kind gemstones use and settings I design, but my versatility. My buyers can choose from ready to go pieces from my shop or we can work together to design a custom piece. You can send me a stone you’ve had sitting in your jewelry box and I’ll make it into a custom ring, pendant, or maybe bracelet. And in some cases, I can repair or redesign an old piece and make it fabulous again!

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?

When I think back to my earliest memories, I always remember how magical it was to be a little kid in the redwood and pine tree laden town of Boulder Creek, CA. From the creeks I used to wade through looking for smooth colorful stones to hide in my pockets, to the big yellow banana slugs that gave me the shivers! I loved every bit of that period of my childhood and the memories always make me smile.

We lived in a cabin style house my Dad hand painted brick red one year because it was his favorite color. It was at the end of a long dirt driveway with tall trees alongside and we had maybe two neighbors I can remember that weren’t very close to our house at all. It was beautiful and full of birds, butterflies and flowers. I used to pluck honeysuckle straight from the shrub and suck the tiny bit of sweet nectar from the flowers. I also ate blackberries from thorny bushes that grew wild in the forest I would wander.

Thinking back to these magical days of my young life it’s no wonder I love the things I do as an adult in my 40’s. To this day I love shiny rocks which have matured to gemstones I use in my jewelry and going on adventures which now take place in our Toyota 4Runner spending hours or days driving down desert roads. That time I had in Boulder Creek definitely paved the way for who I am today. I’ll always cherish those memories!

Pricing:

• Custom Jewelry: I can work with your budget! But generally my custom pieces range from $200-$300
• Rings: $85-$350
• Earrings: $50-$250
• Necklaces: $130-$400
• Bracelets: $90-$380

Contact Info:

• Website: https://HighDesertArt.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highdesertart_cass?igsh=MWNldjFtNjB1aDVtcw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/j1tKwsRFKoH6ZUmJ/?mibextid=LQQJ4d