There are so many things I love about being a designer, but I will forever be amazed and delighted when I see the concepts in my mind turn into a physical piece of jewelry in my hand. As anyone who’s been to The Showroom knows, the CMD team loves displaying and sharing our handmade pieces while they’re still in their infancy (read: not quite a necklace yet, but more than just a piece of metal).
I’m often asked about the design process, and I must admit it always starts the same way—with prisma-colored pencils, a BIC mechanical pencil, and blank sheets of paper of any size. This is the foolproof trifecta that’s served me well over the years. When I sit down to design, I just start sketching away: ideas of shapes, sizes, color palettes and all sorts of combinations. Quickly thereafter I bring out the torch and put flame to metal.
When I’m sketching my mind works in broad strokes, allowing all my creative thoughts to pour onto the paper. Once I’m working with the metal, all attention goes to detail and aspects of proportion and wearability. Sometimes what I envisioned isn’t just quite right in execution, and then I make tweaks until the piece is perfect. There’s a certain type of freedom in allowing the metal itself to guide me to the final piece.
Once the sample is complete, we essentially head straight to market! I cherish creating and selling handmade jewelry, and I love sharing this craft with our bi-coastal production teams in California and New York. If you’re ever in San Francisco, swing by The Showroom and check out the sketches hanging on the wall of our production studio. We’d love to share our latest creations with you!
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CMD’s biggest sale of the year is back! Last year, we sold through every. single. piece. This year will be no different, and I can’t wait to share these exclusive designs with you! The Metal Madness Sale will be held in phases by product type and we're kicking things off with EARRINGS next week on Tuesday, March 18th! Here’s [...]
As we approach International Women's Day, I want to introduce you to the remarkable women who bring CMD to life and share some of the inspiring stories that have shaped my journey. Please join me in celebration of strong female role models everywhere this Sat, 3/8 at The CMD Shop from 11am to 4pm [...]
At CMD, quality isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a commitment and part of our company’s ethos. We thoughtfully choose the type of people to join our team and what materials to use. We put our heads together when we think about how we’ll bring the sketch on the yellow post-it to a finished object getting ready to ship out the door. Every decision is made [...]