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| I didn't start out in life to be a jeweler but I've always loved interesting jewelry. As a teenager I spent a lot of time and money searching out just the right pieces of both Scandinavian and handmade jewelry. I went to college to be a dental assistant and found I really enjoyed the lab classes, carving wax teeth and making crowns for teeth. Once I was out of college and working in the dental profession I had a great idea for a ring but couldn't find anyone to make it for me. Since crowns for your teeth and rings are both made by the lost wax casting method, I decided to try making it myself. I found a community education class where I could use their casting equipment and a new love was fostered. I owe a lot to the instructor of that class, a pottery and jewelry teacher named Marty Hale. He encouraged me to take the early jewelry I made into a local gallery and in 1976, a new career was born. I continued to work both in the dental profession and do my jewelry until 1987 when I decided to put all my effort into my jewelry. |
| My work has gone through a lot of changes over the last 32 years. I started with all sterling silver, lots of rings and then added some gold. I then switched over to all gold, concentrating on rings with asymmetrical stones, and a large line of earrings. Then after many years of being primarily self-taught, I went to Taos New Mexico and took a class from Harold O'Connor. One thing he said to me was that I was no longer a metalsmith but had become a wax worker. (All my rings were made using the lost wax casting method where they are carved out of wax first). I took offense until I realized that he was right. I was spending more time working in wax than metal. So Harold opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me when he taught me to fuse 24k gold (pure gold) to sterling silver using a mouth-held blowtorch. I went back to being a metalsmith. I've taken what I learned there and from subsequent classes from other people, and totally changed my work. It's much harder, but since 1988, I've concentrated on fabricating my mixed metal jewelry, which I really love. It's the most satisfying! |
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| My business has also gone through many changes. I started out working alone, really enjoying it for many years. It got to a point when I got tired of trying to do everything by myself and knew it was time to hire help. I was teaching a jewelry casting class for community education (yes, the same one that I first started casting jewelry in) so I looked there first. One of my students came to work for me one day a week and things became a lot livelier in the studio. I found I really enjoyed having someone working with me. So I went from working alone to having part-time studio help just one day a week. I’m happy to say that Julia VanderHeide still comes in one day a week to help me. She does errands, works on the mailing list and helps with the tons of strange jobs that seem to pop up out of nowhere. We always get a lot done on the days she works! Please check out the People section of my website for pictures. If you've seen me at an art fair, chances are you've met Nancy Martin in my booth with me. In her real life she's a social worker but on a few weekends a year she gains a new title as Executive Vice-President in charge of Sales. She has been absolutely fantastic and a life-saver at shows! Behind the scenes there is Dick, who is the reason I'm able to do this for a living. Although he's always taken care of my computer and accounting issues, when I first started in business, he was also my roadie for shows. He's now in semi-retirement as a roadie so he can stay home and spoil the cats. He takes care of real life so I can do what I love. So, that’s the person behind this jewelry. I hope you enjoy my jewelry as much as I enjoy making it! Bonnie Blandford
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Here I'll be collecting links to websites important or interesting to me...
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PO Box 1039, Grand Rapids, MI 49501 ~ 616-241-3084 |