For the Love of Jewelers: A Jewelry Journey Podcast Presented by Rio Grande
61 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -For the Love of Jewelers, a Rio Grande podcast, delves into the multifaceted world of jewelry making. Through candid interviews with leaders and influencers in the field, we uncover the journeys, inspirations and challenges that shape their work.
Whether you're a seasoned jeweler seeking fresh perspectives or an aspiring artisan looking for guidance, join us as we explore the intersection of artistry and business in the jewelry industry.
Have questions or topics you'd like us to cover? We'd love to hear from you!
Reach out to us at [email protected] and be a part of the conversation.
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Episodes
S1-06: Tomas Wittelsbach, “Transcend the Transaction”
February 21, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 46.7 MBTomas Wittelsbach was a sculptor before he was a jeweler. At age 9 he built micro-worlds within repurposed baby food jars. He then spent most of his adult career creating movie sets—for Batman and Robin, he and his team had 8 days to produce 22-foot sculptures. Today, Tomas applies digital sculpting to jewelry design. As a ZBrush pioneer and instructor he helps students discover the intersections between mechanics and meaning. Courtney caught up with him at the Portland Jewelry Symposium, wh...
S1-05: Jo Haemer, “The World Doesn’t Owe Me a Thing”
February 07, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBMechanical and engineering skills are matrilineal in Jo Haemer’s family. Jo’s trailblazing mother studied chemistry in college in the early 1930s at age 15. When Jo started out in the jewelry industry, she was always the “first and only woman” in every place she worked. Her spectacular journey has included confronting the stigma imposed on her dyslexia, learning old-world skills from camp survivors, working with a 17-carat diamond (“a two-diaper setting job”), and fabricating luxury eyewear...
05: Jo Haemer, “The World Doesn’t Owe Me a Thing”
February 07, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBMechanical and engineering skills are matrilineal in Jo Haemer’s family. Jo’s trailblazing mother studied chemistry in college in the early 1930s at age 15. When Jo started out in the jewelry industry, she was always the “first and only woman” in every place she worked. Her spectacular journey has included confronting the stigma imposed on her dyslexia, learning old-world skills from camp survivors, working with a 17-carat diamond (“a two-diaper setting job”), and fabricating luxury eyewear...
S1-04: Mehrnoosh Ganji, Step into Your Power
January 24, 2020 11:00 - 14 minutes - 9.86 MBAs a young girl in Iran, Mehrnoosh Ganji could not fully express herself. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, she creates bold jewelry fueled by the intermingling of cultures and influenced by her lingering love of geometry after years as an industrial designer. Her intricately-engineered “Prospect Palace” won first place in the Silver/Argentium® Silver category of the 2019 Saul Bell Design Award. In this episode she tells Courtney how it feels to be a first-time entrant and winner, talks a...
04: Mehrnoosh Ganji, Step into Your Power
January 24, 2020 11:00 - 14 minutes - 9.86 MBAs a young girl in Iran, Mehrnoosh Ganji could not fully express herself. Now based in Melbourne, Australia, she creates bold jewelry fueled by the intermingling of cultures and influenced by her lingering love of geometry after years as an industrial designer. Her intricately-engineered “Prospect Palace” won first place in the Silver/Argentium® Silver category of the 2019 Saul Bell Design Award. In this episode she tells Courtney how it feels to be a first-time entrant and winner, talks a...
S1-03: Tim McCreight, Books from the Bench
January 10, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 44 MBWhile working on his iconic volume, The Complete Metalsmith, Tim McCreight imagined, “What if silver was writing this?” In 1985 he started Brynmorgen Press to provide practical, bench-tested textbooks on metalsmithing and design. Decades later his experiential approach to research led him to co-found the Toolbox Initiative, which delivers new and gently-used tools and silver to jewelers in Africa. Join Tim and Courtney as they discuss what makes a great jewelry book, the generosity of the ...
03: Tim McCreight, Books from the Bench
January 10, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 44 MBWhile working on his iconic volume, The Complete Metalsmith, Tim McCreight imagined, “What if silver was writing this?” In 1985 he started Brynmorgen Press to provide practical, bench-tested textbooks on metalsmithing and design. Decades later his experiential approach to research led him to co-found the Toolbox Initiative, which delivers new and gently-used tools and silver to jewelers in Africa. Join Tim and Courtney as they discuss what makes a great jewelry book, the generosity of the ...
02: Karin Jacobson, Keep Throwing Darts
December 23, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MBKarin Jacobson confesses to screaming when she learned that she’d won a Saul Bell Design Award. She compares entering contests to “throwing darts and hoping one is going to stick,” and believes in embracing and learning from failure. In this episode Karin shares her competition experiences, ponders hiring an apprentice, and remembers her own teenage jewelry apprenticeship.
S1-02: Karin Jacobson, Keep Throwing Darts
December 23, 2019 11:00 - 22 minutes - 15.3 MBKarin Jacobson confesses to screaming when she learned that she’d won a Saul Bell Design Award. She compares entering contests to “throwing darts and hoping one is going to stick,” and believes in embracing and learning from failure. In this episode Karin shares her competition experiences, ponders hiring an apprentice, and remembers her own teenage jewelry apprenticeship.
S1-01: Rémy Rotenier, Passion and Lucidity
November 25, 2019 17:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBAs a designer, Rémy Rotenier “loves collaborating with good hands.” His own education as a bench jeweler began at age 19—“too old” by the standards of the École de la Rue du Louvre in his native France. During his first time at the bench he drove a diamond bur through his finger, an experience that influenced his decision to “stick with design.” That, and looking through the iconic Tiffany Blue Book: “I thought, ‘Americans are really wild, they design all these crazy things!’” In this premi...
01: Rémy Rotenier, Passion and Lucidity
November 25, 2019 17:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBAs a designer, Rémy Rotenier “loves collaborating with good hands.” His own education as a bench jeweler began at age 19—“too old” by the standards of the Écoles de la Rue du Louvre in his native France. During his first time at the bench he drove a diamond bur through his finger, an experience that influenced his decision to “stick with design.” That, and looking through the iconic Tiffany Blue Book: “I thought, ‘Americans are really wild, they design all these crazy things!’” In this prem...