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I have Partnered with on of Big Sky’s newest boutiques, Bella Cose, Big Sky Montana. Located in the heart of Town Center at the roundabout Bella Cose is now home to a lively collection of Ari O Jewelry. You can find the turquoise, Montana and Yogo Sapphires, and rustic diamond collections. Stop in and say hello to the lovely ladies at Bella Cose and take a peek of what is in store.

Salt and Pepper Diamond Collection in White Gold. Just some of the many one-of-a-kind Ari O Jewelry items now at Bella Cose, Big Sky, MT.

New Studio Underway

Plans have been made and the go ahead has been given- so by late summer/ early fall the building should be in place. Not only will this be great for the business of creating, but great for my family as well- as the contents of the old studio take up the majority of the garage space as well as the dining room!

It’ll be a cozy 385 sq ft custom built design steps from my backdoor with room for designing, fabricating a little office and a little shipping station.

Inspired by Architecture

I’m often asked what inspired me towards my career in jewelry. There are a number of determining factors that catapulted me on my path, but undeniably, architecture has been a part of my story. I can’t deny that I am drawn to great buildings and the detail put into them. I have visited landmarks in great cites just to awe and oogle at what manmade wonders humans have placed on our landscapes. Whether it has been designers celebrating God at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala, or the brightly colored costal villas of the Amalfi Coast in Italy, architecture, it seems to me, is jewelry design on steroids. I don’t think it’s by accident that my College of Arts was next-door to the College of Architecture. Both of the trades are based in design, detail, and craftsmanship. So it was on a recent trip to SLC for an IKEA run ( also a marvel in design, I love the way the designers at IKEA put their furniture together - very clever ) that I made my way to the Capitol building to see one of the two most iconic structures of the city. It was there that I was more than pleasantly surprised at the detail and grandiosity of this Neoclassical revival, Corinthian style building. The outside of the building nods towards Grecian architecture while the overall design is a Corinthian style, a style based in formality, order and proportion. Not since my visit to the Vatican, have I been truly moved by a rotunda and dome’s detail. It goes to show that inspiring art and architecture are right in my backyard. #inspired

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_State_Capitol

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Often inspired by what I see, this rotunda in the dome of the capitol of Utah in Salt Lake City, moved and awed me.

Yester-year

My sister posted this photo on Facebook the other day. I feel like so many of us can identify with the grainy, muted color photographs of childhood. No sharp images. No true definition, but that wasn’t a thing then. The thing that was certain then was that we had our imagination and the freedom to be bored… leading to invention. This image here, me with my magic wand and my little sister with Dad’s cigar (!?)… what does it say to me, about me..? Well my Father was lucky enough to have 3 girls. He called us The Boys and did not treat us with any special favor- He treated us as he would have if he had had three sons.

I hiked with him- military style ( he was a Marine), I got up early in the morning to accompany him fishing ( him with his fly rod, me with my reel), I tried deer hunting with him ( didn’t really like it), and would go on skiing trips. I did everything a son would do with his father and I Loved every minute of it. I loved being treated like I could do anything a boy could do and being held accountable.

This part of my upbringing, the core of my childhood, is what I do believe has shaped where I am today. The belief that I am capable. Capable as any male.. no excuses, no bull.

Dad left the family a couple years after this photograph was taken. That action shaped a new aspect to my personality- the melancholy that I still find myself feeling nearly daily. Dad passed away in my teen years, leaving me callused and tough. How do all these things apply to me today and what does that have to do with the career path that I’ve taken? Well, I do believe it is all laid out in front of me..… the imaginative, no boundaries of a Creative. The often melancholic, “everyday is meaningful” aspect of myself that is the Artist. And the toughness, resolve, and discipline it takes to be the Business woman. For all those aspects I am grateful and blessed. They drive me to be my whole-self and to put all that into what is meaningful to me and to create something that lives on as meaningful to others.

grainy photo of days gone bye.

Today the memories of my father lead me to the thoughts of another man. My dear Uncle Frank, my mother’s eldest brother..

Uncle Frank, a father of five, was the only person to ever wash my mouth out with soap ( Irish Spring -no less!). He had stopped by my mother’s house to visit us and say hi. While he was there I was being unruly and sass talking my mother telling her to shut-up.

All while laughing and making his actions seem playful in front of Mom - he enlisted my sister to fetch a bar of soap, wrestled me over his lap and shoved that bar of soap in there- getting me real good.. it took me hours to brush the soap out of my teeth! I was so mad- mad at him, mad at my mom for letting it happen. When Mom asked him about it- he stated that didn’t know it had actually gotten in my mouth…- yea- right! But between he and I knew he meant to do it. I deserve it, and I learned from it. I was reminded that yea- I can act like that, be out of control and have no self-discipline, but at the end of the day-it’s only going to leave the bad taste of my actions in My mouth.

Today is a sad day, we have to let Uncle Frank go. A victim of the terrible disease sweeping our world, Uncle Frank has been on life support for too long. Not the quality of life this man or anyone deserves. Surrounded spiritually by his friends and family that have been blessed to have him in our lives we let him go to be with his wife Dear Aunt Sandy.

These memories of yesterday-year are what shape the Artists in the world and these are just some of the things that shape my work. The work that I am so blessed to share with you all. I have noticed some of my work becoming “tighter” more disciplined over the last couple of years. This is the direct result of pulling these memories together and making sense of them all. Using the sink or swim message from some of the meaningful men in my life and putting all the beauty of life into something tangible.

To my dad and to Uncle Frank.. thank you.

Art Inspired by Life

Cambodia ~ oh Cambodia.. how I love thee.  With my feet planted freshly on the ground back in the US from a whirlwind trip to Southeast Asia, I have time to start posting about my experience. One such experience (too many wonderful times to count) was at Ankgor Wat, just out of Siem Reap in Cambodia.  My family and I purchased tickets in early November, it gave me time to study some of the places I'd like to see.  One such place was the ancient metropolis capital of Angkor Wat, built early in the 12th century.  It was built by the Khmer king of the time in honor of Hindu deity Vishnu.  I had first read about the ancient city a number of years ago when my husband handed a National Geographic with Angkor on the cover and said, "I want to go here someday".  I read about it .. and Yep! I wanted to go too!  Many moons later and over the years- we had tickets.  I thought about what it would be like often.  I thought about all the Mayan and Aztec temples I had seen- and how amazing it was that worlds apart in different times in history- All these temples were built up block by block, in mounds, up towards the heavens.  I remembered that I had this amazing piece of Hessonite Garnet- a great mound if you will... and how it was going to be my muse to parle my rising excitement for the ancient Asian experience.  With my hexagonal "temple" in the middle I surrounded it with 6 strong prongs~ symbolizing the backs of the slaves and elephants that that would bear the weight of the massive granite and limestone slabs.  Upon my reading a bit about the history of the civilization I also learned about their complex water system~ starting with the moats built as protection and sustainability around the great temples.  With the importance of the water I designed the ring to have a halo of diamonds~ a stone of great strength and importance. 

Alternative Bridal done Simple, Contemporary, yet Classic

I've wanted to do Bridal Jewelry for sometime now.

- at Ari O Jewelry we started fabricating rings in the summer of 2016. When I was in college all I made were rings- they were super fun and funky and well received, however when I opened up the gallery in the studio - I didn't know how I was going to size the rings up and down so that I could custom fit them to my customers.  In the late winter of 2016 I visited the Revere Academy in San Francisco, CA and took extensive courses on stone setting. It was there under the tutelage of a 5th degree master jeweler, that I found my confidence in the world of rings.  We started of with some simple, affordable designs, but it didn't take long for me to want to get more detailed and use precious metals and stones.. and so here we are today- with this little number- a Platinum, Salt and Pepper Diamond engagement ring for some wonderful folks I met this winter.  ... I can't wait to see where my path leads next!  

Simple Elegance that can be worn Everyday

When my customers come in to shop at Ari O and are looking for that Amazing piece of jewelry ~ I often steer them to some of the smaller, layering pieces.  

At Ari O Jewelry we've been focusing in on some of the finer things in life.. little, luxurious necklaces and earrings that can be worn alone with a tee and jeans (a must here in Big Sky country) or matched up with other fine layering pieces to create a statement.  At Ari O we feel it's a win/win- you purchase individual fine, handcrafted, American made jewelry for everyday and when you feel a night-on-the-town coming on.. layer them up and get your groove on with layered luxury. 

Luxury, Big Sky and Ari O Jewelry

As you can imagine we were just delighted to see Ari O Jewelry featured in this seasons Soethby's "The Collection" magazine. Editor Corinne Garcia did a fabulous job taking on (what can be) a daunting task of summarizing all we have to offer here. She especially touched on our Signature Series which includes various shapes based off positive and negative space, and consists of our most high end products. We have a few copies of the magazine here for your viewing pleasure, come down, read all about it and see our Signature Series for yourself- you'll thank yourself (or your husband) later!  

Happy New Year from Ari O Jewelry

2015 for us at Ari O Jewelry has been anything but quiet. For starters we changed locations to be more centrally located in the Town Center where we are enjoying the views of Lone Peak and we're also adoring being right in the heart of the town we love! In addition to moving around we have had the pleasure of getting back some returning staff. Our first ever employee and technically the second metalsmith, Madison, is back working in the studio! During the weekends and off season we kept busy with the farmer's market and art shows. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle we also began to create some higher end pieces. While we still have affordable fine jewelry, we now offer pieces including Montana gemstones, diamonds and solid gold. 

Thank you for making all of these positive changes possible and shopping with us at Ari O Jewelry! Come in for a visit and see what we have to offer in 2016- chances are we'll give you some chocolate!

Pretty Blues For Summer

We've got the Blues at Ari O Jewelry! ~ In a good way :). I love to pair different shades of blue with just about anything! Whether it's the milky feel of blue chalcedony paired with the light shade of silver and the opalescent grey of labradorite, to give the fresh feel of summer like in the "Blue Bubble" Necklace or the Mediterranean feel of adventurine colored beads, paired with matte gold beads, like in the "Greek Goddess" hand-woven wrap bracelet. I just love blue. So if you think as much of this color as I do - I got 'cha covered!

Visit www.ariojewelry.com or visit me at the Gallery/ Studio and I will help you find that "special" jewelry piece for summer!

Trials & Tribulations of Being the Boss

Recently the jewelry studio/ gallery space Ari O Jewelry was in sold.  I was forced to pack up the jewelry studio and move to my new location.  As a person who compartmentalizes tasks - so as not to get overwhelmed by the "big picture" - I compartmentalize the move as just that - "a move". 

I didn't think about any other parameters.  So in 3 days I packed up the old space and threw it all in a heap on the floor of the new space.  I found myself in my new jewelry studio surrounded by chaos.  I hadn't thought about the new jewelry space at all.  I'm pretty sure I had convinced myself that I was going to move, set up shop and get back to business as usual. 

As I stood in my new jewelry studio, under the harsh glare of the florescent light and the orangish/cream colored office paint, the feeling of, "Ugh! This will never do!". I knew at that moment that I was going to have to convert the new jewelry space toAri O Jewelry Studio - a contemporary working studio/gallery space.

Where to begin? and Uh-Oh this is going to be a ton of work - as "detail" is my middle name.  Oh and did I mention that it was October- the beginning of Retailers ordering wholesale jewelry for Christmas?! 

So began the "new space" woes.  Step one: configure the space and the scheme ( that took a Long time and a lot of shopping on the internet, as we are Rural here in Big Sky).  While working on the gallery part of the jewelry studio, I still had to pay attention to my orders, my jewelry repairs, marketing, and try not to lose my mind- this is why I compartmentalize. 

A huge problem was ventilation.  When I moved from my old location (an old pizza parlor with a commercial hood for ventilation) I had to research and come up with a way to vent my toxic torch fumes.  I contacted Sentry Air and talked to a rep who sold me on a ductless air mitigation system that cost a pretty penny (found out later I was sold the wrong system).  The system consists of a filter housing in the shape of a box with a "snorkel hose" coming out of it, which you are to set close to your torch flame to suck up the bad air it puts off.  Well since the system that I was sold- didn't have enough suction, I had to get the torch flame Very close- So close I started the snorkel on fire!  Oh the odor of melting plastic- so good for you! (not) One Thousand dollars well spent- thanks Sentry man.

Then came the wholesale jewelry Christmas orders.  Those orders were fine- expected- but dang, always such a busy time.  I had to get my shop some inventory after being wiped out from a summer/ fall season of Farmer's Markets. 

Meanwhile, the retail special orders were pouring in AND for the first time in my career I had a product failure.  One of my wholesale jewelry orders consisted of a new group of earrings that were breaking.  Good to know so that I can learn from my failure, but ugh, the problems were starting to add up.

So now with the Grand Opening of the Ari O Jewelry Studio looming in the near future and the unveiling of Ari O door signage declared another do-over, I notice my jewelry torch has blown one of it's gauges.  I know I have come too far to give up - and I wouldn't do that anyway - so I trudge on - I trudge on as the Captain of my own destiny, the only sailor on my ship - I am the "Boss", the boss of all my own problems 

Bracelets, Beauties, & Badasses

We recently finished up another photoshoot at Ari O Jewelry.  When planning a photoshoot there are So many questions.  Who? What? When? Where? and What to Wear?! 

First I answered "Who"?  "Who" represents Ari O Jewelry?  Who do I envision wearing my jewelry when I design it?  First, I consider myself a strong, comfortable, confident woman.  I felt the models for Ari O had to represent that feeling.  In the town of Big Sky, MT I didn't have to look far for woman who are strong, confident AND above all BEAUTIFUL!

Now for "What"?  What am I looking for?  What is the setting that should represent the feeling of Ari O Jewelry?  How about where it is created: Montana.  Montana represents many different things to many different people.  To me, it's rustic and natural.  You can still drive anywhere in this great state and find barbwire doing it's job. 

Which leads me to "When" and "Where".  No time like the present I say!  A gorgeous spring day in the Rocky Mountains is not only the Perfect time for modeling, it provides the Perfect backdrop.  We only had to go so far as the "backyard" for "where".  Ari O Jewelry is inspired by where it is created!

And last, but not least ...What to Wear?!  I do not consider myself a cowgirl, but I do feel the essence of cowgirls is their inherent "bad-ass-ness".  I do consider any woman that lives at 7,000 feet a bad-ass.  We live in the Nation's largest ski resort (Big Sky Resort/Moonlight) in winter-like conditions 9 months out of the year!  The only thing to keep you happy around here is to get out into the elements and embrace them.  So I consider the Ari O Jewelry woman, a bad-ass or cowgirl of sorts.  So I made sure models wore some denim, and some boots for some of the photos... oh and don't forget the bracelets!

xoxo A

Pop of Pink!

Sometimes I get into the funk of wearing black. As a artisan jeweler  I love black!  Plain black clothes ensure that the jewelry I'm wearing "Pops".  I usually don't like to wear patterns or brights colors, as I feel that it may take away from the very thing I make and sell - however, today I found that if I put on a Pink Circular Scarf- like this one made by b.handmade designs and a reversible headband, my little pink earrings that I make on a long ear-wires still "popped".  It was a little pop of pink that did it.  I had my friend model all the pink together and I still think the earring looks fabulous on her - especially with her dark brown hair. :)

Using Models

My friend Tyler Call of Bozeman, MT is an aspiring photographer.  Tyler took some wonderful photos of my jewelry.  This one of my favorite pictures involving a model:

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 I like the use of the model, as I often get asked "Well how big is 2 inches in diameter?!"  You put the piece of jewelry on the model and BAM! people understand how it will look on their body.  I love the product shots - don't get me wrong, but the model gives the jewelry life and that is what jewelry is all about.  When you create jewelry it's okay to have structure and an idea of how the piece will look, but if it doesn't move well or fit correctly- it's all in vain. 

Jewelry's sole purpose is to decorate one's beauty, to accent what is already lovely about us all- our bodies!  Sometimes jewelry can make us move in certain ways.  For instance I have a ring I like to wear, it has a Huge piece of Chinese Writing Rock in it- 1 1/2 " in diameter (well, how big is that- you ask?!  BIG!)  Anyway, I wear it and my hand goes Wild!  Everything I say is accentuated by my hand waving that giant ring around- it makes for Drama and makes my whole arm look lovely.  Anyway, I'll get a picture of that big ring on a model and my point about using a model will be put to use. ttfn. Ari O