About the Artist

I was born in 1980. Though I was born with a very severe heart defect, it never slowed me down mentally or creatively. As a matter of fact, my favorite thing to do while recovering from a surgery was to make jewelry.

While attending high school, I learned several new techniques in jewelry making class, such as lost wax casting, working with precious metals, and soldering. I eagerly soaked up the new knowledge like a sponge. My teacher told me I was a natural, and I entered Advanced Jewelry Making, which I took each semester until I graduated.

In college, I was very disappointed to learn that my school did not have a jewelry class. During this time, I felt like I was losing my creativity. I took some drawing classes, but unlike high school, the teachers there taught by showing you a technique, and then telling you what to do with it, as opposed to allowing you to come up with your own ideas. I hated it. I looked into going to a Jewelry Arts school in San Francisco, but it was taught the same way, and that just didn't work for me. No one dictates my creativity!

On a personal note, college was completely worth it when I met the man I'm going to marry. He is my inspiration. It is because of Brian that I believed in myself enough to start my company, Romantic Treasures. He is very supportive, frequently driving me to bead stores that bore him into a near coma, just so I can find the perfect component for that one project I'm working on. I am currently taking a jewelry design course, and it's Brian who helps me with the technical stuff.

Besides Brian, I also live in the company of my "children." Higgins, a Phalene (floppy-eared Papillion), is my eldest baby at 13. His arthritis keeps him in bed often, but he still loves rides in the car, and can't stand to see me cry. Kahuna, a Pug/Japanese Chin mix, is quite the ferocious beast -- when he's not sleeping next to me on the couch. I call my dogs "the boys." My "girls" include my cats Mitska, a Maine Coon, who allows us to live in her home, Peanut, whom I adopted when I used to work in a vet's office, and Milly, the Brown Patched Mackerel Tabby with White who is the mother of our six kittens, born August 1st, 2005. The kittens, or "kids," are feisty. lovable sweethearts whose births I had the pleasure of watching. Seeing them grow up has been fascinating, and very rewarding. Harley is the black/gray one, Buddy has the longest tail and white paws, Buster is the biggest and most laid-back, Prince Charming is my shadow who always wants to be held (he's the one with the stubby tail), and the girls are the gray ones, Nala, the energetic one, and Kiki with the crooked tail, the runt of the litter. Having these animals living with me, and saying yes to marrying Brian are the two best decisions I've ever made.

In addition to making jewelry, I'm teaching myself to quilt, crochet, and knit, and I cross stitch quite a bit. I have some pictures of my work on another page. I also love photography, but I don't have a good camera, so I haven't done much recreational photography in a while. In high school, I used to develop my own film, which was a lot of fun. Surprisingly, as someone who loves color, I had a lot of fun shooting with black and white film. Maybe that's because it's a lot easier to develop...

I continue to make jewelry while Brian works and goes to school. I'm always trying to find unique components, beads, and crystals so my jewelry is one-of-a-kind. Often I buy high quality beads from eBay, to ensure they're unique from what you might find in bead stores near you. I am constantly coming up with new ideas for types of jewelry to make, so be sure to check back often and sign up for my newsletter.