Inside the Designers Studio - A Design Combination

Hello sweet friends!  Today I am starting a new series of blog posts that give you an inside look at the studio and my design process.  I hope it gives you more insight into how the final pieces come to life and the significance of my design choices.

I will start this series by discussing a specific combination of design materials that I like to use together to create the "look" of Marsh Creek.  When I am designing, I love the juxtaposition of the refined with a natural, more organic form. 

In home decor, this would look like pairing a clean, clear glass vase with nubby tree branches.  The movement and shape of the branches soften the clear distinction of the glass jar, while the clear glass elevates the simplicity of the branches.

In fashion, it would look like a worn-in pair of jeans with an elegant cashmere sweater and handbag.  The elegance of the sweater and handbag elevates the casual ease and comfort of the jeans, for a versatile, go-almost-anywhere style. 

For my jewelry designs, I utilize this contrast by using more organic shapes and lines paired with precisely cut (sometimes even calibrated to the millimeter) faceted gemstones.  For me, there is nothing so beautiful as the one-of-a-kind shape of a baroque pearl set off by the refinement of micro-faceted gems.

I find this contrast to be more interesting than complete uniformity.  For my designs, I believe it creates a far more versatile piece that can be dressed up or down and still look appropriate and stylish.  This means you get more opportunities to wear your favorite pieces!

In addition, this contrast is representative of one of the values of Marsh Creek.  I believe in the importance of finding beauty, especially of that in nature.  This natural beauty doesn't always come with clean lines and perfect proportions.  But that is precisely what makes it beautiful.  And isn't that a reflection of us as humans?  Innately flawed, yet at the same time, wondrous and delightful in our very nature.  And just like a raw gemstone that is cut and polished by an artisan, becoming more refined and reflecting its inner beauty, do we not also become more refined and luminous as we grow and allow God (the original craftsman) to polish and refine us?

And so I hope when you wear your favorite piece from my collection, that every time you look upon it, or touch it, you remember that you are beautiful now as you are.  Also be encouraged that your beauty will not diminish or fade with time, but rather grow and become more luminous.